A THEOSOPHICAL MAGAZ INE .

DESIGNED TO B R I NG T0 L IGHT THE H IDDEN TH I NGS 0 1" DARK NESS .

"

F0l'

NDliI ) B Y

H. P. BLAVATSKY O

ED ITED B Y

BESANT G. R . S . MEAD

The L igh t - bearer is the Morn ing S tar, or L ucifer : and "L uci fer is no profane

or Satan ic t itle. I t is‘ the L at in L ari/27 7 1s. the L igh t - bringer, the Morn ing Star.equ ivalen t to the Greek ¢mrr¢¢3p09 the name of the pure. pale herald of

Dar ligh t .

V OL U ME X V I I I .

MARCH , 1 896— AUGUST . 1 896.

LONDON

THEOSOPHICAL PUB L ISHING SOC IETY.

26, CHARlNG CROSS , S .W .

NEW Y OR K : 65 , l’u f 'rn AV EN L

'

I

BEN A RES : Tm -znsovm cm . Pr mnsm xc; Scener y

M m um s : T/u' T/zmsop/n'

sl OFFICE. Am nm

INDEX .

PAGE

Activ ities, Theosoph ical 72, 1 67 , 253 , 3 4 1 , 43 2, 5 1 2

Aissaoui , The. M . C . B . 1 43

An im al Reincarnation . N . A . K NOX 209

BERTRAM K EIGHTLEY 4 1 6

Berkeley and the Occult Ph ilosophy. ERNEST SCOTTBuddh ism , Christian i ty and Phallicism . H . P . BLAVATSK YCagliostro

Catholic Priest , Letters to a. Dr. A . A . WEL L S 246, 470

Chaitanya, The System of. RAJENDRA LRL A MU K HOPADHAYA 1 46

Ch inese Alchem ists, From Some 400

Corresponden ce 74

Desi re Body, The. BERTRAM K EIGHTL EY 53

Devachan . C . W. LEADBEATER 59, 1 55 , 3 24, 426, 477

Early Christian ity and its Teach ings. A . M . GLASSEducation of the Sexes, The. SUSAN E . GAY

Fragm en ts. H . P . BLAVATSK YFolk - Lore. W. F . K IR B YFrom Som e Ch inese Alchem ists

Helping of the People, The. IV Y HOOPER

House of Dream s,A . MARYON URQUHART

L etter to the American Section . A . P. SINNET’I‘

Letter, An Im portan tLetters to a Catholic Priest . Dr. A . A . Wells

L ives of the Later Platon ists, The. G. R . S . MEAD

Madam e de Guyon and theQuietists. The Hon . OTWAY CUFFE 69

Man and h is Bodies. ANN IE B ESANT 9. 1 22, 21 5 , 3 1 3

Occultism in English Poetry. IV Y HOOPEROrpheus. G. R . S . MEAD

INDEX .

Rev iewsAn im al Magnetism .

Ash tfidhyfiyi of Pan in i , The.

W GREGORY

Books I I . and I I I . Tr . bySHR ISHA CHANDRA V ASU 8 1

Book of the Secrets of Enoch , The. Tr . by \V . R . MORFI I .L 3 45

Devil-Worsh ip in France. A . E . WAITE 643

En Route. J . K . HUY SMANS 43 7

Euph rates, or the Waters of the East . EUGEN IUS PH I LAL E

’I‘HES . Edi ted by W. W'

yn n W'

estcottIm itation of Shankara, The. Prof. MANI LA L N . DV IV ED I 83

Indian Pamphlets. ANN IE B ESANT 3 48

Journ al of the R .A .S . 525

Myst ical Hym ns of Orpheus, The. Tr . by THOMAS TAYLOR 82

Nephelé . FRANC IS W. B OURD I L LON

Orpheus. G. R . S . MEAD

Path of Disciplesh ip, The. ANN IE B ESANTPorphyry to Marcella. Tr . by AL ICE Z IMMERN .

Psych ic Philosophy. V . C . DESERTIS

Psych ic Photography. H . B ARADUC 52°

Recen t Buddh ism 59

Scien tific Demonstration of the Future Li fe, A . T. J . HUDSON 5 1 9

Story of Atlan tis, The. W. SCOTT - EL L IOT 1 70

Sword of Moses, The 84

System to wh ich we Belong, The. A . P. S I N NETT 260

Tarot of the Bohem ians, The. PARUSTheosophy of the Upan ishads, TheTran sactions of the Scottish Lodge. V ol. I I I .

Upan ishads, The. Tr. by G. R . S . MEAD and JAGADISHA

CHANDRA CHAT'

I‘

OPADYAYA

Spirit of the Age, The. AL EX ANDER FUL L ERTON 3 03 , 3 8 1

Spirits of V arious K inds. H . P. BL AVATSK Y 273

Siifism . The Hon . OTWAY CUFFESystem of Chaitanya, The. RAJENDRA LAL A MURHOPADRAYA

Theosoph ical ActivitiesTheosoph ical and Mystic Publications

Un ity Underlying all Religions, The. ANN IE B ESANT

Watch -Tower, On the

23 0, 3 3 5 , 3 93

1 46

72, 1 67 , 253 . 3 4 1 43 2

I , 89, 1 77 . 265 1 3 53 ’ 44 1

VOL . X V III . MARCH 1 5, 1 896. NO. 1 03 .

L U C I FER .

ON TH E WATCH - TOWER .

NOTH ING TOO MUCH .

THERE is an old Greek adage, dyav, nothing too m uch .

Therei n is m uch w isdom,for i t lays down the injunction to tread

that m idd le waywhich l ies between extremes. In perhaps no bookof m odern tim es has that inj unction been so flagrantly set at defianceas i n the two volum es of biography and autobiography which havej ust issued from the pen of M r . Edward Mai tland

,in record ing the

experiences of h im self and the late Dr. Anna Kingsford , the wri tersof 7710 Pcrfcr/ IVay and other works. (A n na A

'

z

'

ngyord, [1 1 7 s e,

L etters,D iary,

and lVork,by Edward Mai tland . London

,R edway,

1 896. Price 611 . net .)We are qu i te willing to bel ieve i n the sincerity of the bio

grapher and recorder of the experiences of Mrs. Kingsford , but wecannot have confidence i n the accuracy of the author with regardto the controversial inc idents which form no in considerab le part of

the narrative . We do not in tend,however

,to rev ive anc ient his

tory,and quote the v iews of the “ other side

,

” for no one is any

longer i nterested i n the matter . I t is suffi cien t to remark wi thregard to the presidency of the London Lodge, that the majori ty ofthe members of that Lodge preferred their stud ies conducted onthe l ines of the possibi l i ty of help from l iving m en who weretrained seers, rather than those of the i l lum inations of the godswhich were entirely out of the control of the recipien t . M r .

Sin nett’s poi nt - blank denial of the al legation that he denied

the truth of rei ncarnation also gives us pause,and so wi th other

th ings personal .

2 LUCIFER .

Not on ly is the rec ital of all these old con troversies to be re

gretted, but also the record of m any private incidents that shouldnever have seen the l ight . What

,above all things

,we im agine

,

M r . Mai tland has at heart,is that the teaching he venerates so

h ighly should be judged 011 its own meri ts; what good , then ,to dis

coun t it so heavi ly by these private i nciden ts ? However, perhaps

after all i t is best so, for now all can form their own judgmen t’

and

com pare good and bad together .I t is just the personal factor that is so importan t in all th ings

psychic ; so that when we rem ember the col laborators’ detestation

of M r . Gladstone and their opin ion ofMadam e B lavatsky,we are not

surprised to read the record of two prophetic visions, in the first ofwhich M r . Gladstone is i n hell , a Laocoon in the grip of dead ly

pythons, and at the sam e tim e illum inated with in by the fires ofrem orse

,whi le H .P .B . is in the B rz

‘

iln nan ical heaven smokingc igarettes. Mrs. Kingsford in troduces her to God Mercury ; at

which the “ old lady is m uch surprised and is converted to thebel ief in a personal God , ask ing whether his godship objected tosm ok ing All of which is very m ixed . The B rahm anical heavenis cal led i n Theosophical parlance K ama Loka

,and by som e spiri

tualists the Summ er Lan d the sam e rem arks applying to Mrs.

Kingsford ’s own Greek heaven,where are the gods and gu inea

pigs.

This bri ngs out another trai t in Mrs. Kingsford ’s character,one

for which all honour is due to her. Her extraord inary love foran im als led her to prosecute an unrem itting crusade against the barbarous cruel ties of the v iv isectionists ; wi th pen and voice she urgedthe cause of the poor defenceless dumb creatures, and never relaxedher energies as long as she could stand or hold a pen . In th is she

d id m ost adm irable and praiseworthy work , but here again she

forgot the wise old saw,noth ing too m uch

,

”for not on ly d id she

love the an im als,but she loved them m ore than her own k ind . Her

Chief pets were gu inea pigs, and one espec ially she loved beyond allothers. When her l i ttle friend R ufus d ied she was fran tic wi thgrief

,and ever afterwards

,011 the ann iversary of its exodus

,she

kept up a kind of Shraddha cerem ony, offering up prayers for itssoul .” This tendency in her sym bol i z ed i tself to her dream ingconsciousness in a verygraceful vision . She was at the feet of the

ON THE WATCH - TOWER . 3

Pope, praying the Holy Father to establ ish an order for the suppression of vivisection and give i t a sym bol . Tak ing a sheet of paperfrom the table the successor of St . Peter rol led i t i nto the shape of afool's cap and placed i t on her head , saying, There is your symbol

,

daughter . You shal l be called the Fools of Christ . ’

But, i ndeed , her unbalanced love for the anim als led her tosuch extrem es that i t is d iffi cul t to wri te on the matter wi thou tstrong speech . She del iberately tried to wi ll C laude Bernard

,Pau l

Bert , and Pasteur, the lead i ng vivisectionists, to death . She bel ievedthat she had succeeded in the first two cases, and determ ined to doher utmost to compass the end of the rest of their confréres. To pu tit plai nly

,this was calm , del iberate and cold - blooded m urder ; and

one so unbalan ced,under sutiicien t provocation , would be l ikely to

stick at nothing'

to accompl ish her ends. I t was i n reference to thissubj ect that Madame B lavatsky wrote to her

I feel sure and know that the Master approves your opposingthe pri nciple of vivisection , but not the practical way you do i t,inj uring yourself and doing inj ury to others, w ithout m uch benefitin g the poor animals. Of course, i t is Karma i n the case of Pau lB ert . But so i t is in the case of everymurdered man . Nevertheless,the weapon of Karma

,unless he acts unconsc iously, is a m urderer i n

the sight of that sam e K arma that used him . L et us work agai nst

thepn haPIc'

,then ; not against personali ties.

I t is, however, wi th Mrs. Kingsford in her capaci ty as seeressthat we are most interested . Tak ing all data into consideration ,she m ust be placed

,generally

,i n that category which , wh ile trans

cending ord inary m ed iumship, fal ls short of real ly trained seership- that desirable attainmen t wh ich is the goal of the truly philo

sophical and sc ientific mystic . At the sam e tim e she seems

occasional ly to have touched the h igher level , and som etim es tohave fal len to the lower

,being

,as she was, a kaleidoscope of m oods.

One of the i llum i nations which seems to have given especialpleasure, for i t is quoted no less than three times, tel ls us that an

occultist is a religious scien tist ” but not a“saint .” We have

neither anyquarrel wi th nam es nor yet any reverence for them , our

business is rather to tryand understand human l ife and character ; andhere agai n we get the personal factor i n the communication at theexpense of truth. We had always thought that eth ics had been

4 LUCIFER .

i ncu lcated alm ost aa'nausea”: by the occu ltists,

” in the theosophicalsense

,their ideals being the Christ and Buddha, whom they have

hitherto regarded as sain ts, pace the Gen ius of Mrs. Kingsford .

With the general programm e, however, of Mrs. Kingsford weare in entire sympathy her effort was to unify and in terpret all therel igions of the world known to us, especial ly d irecting her attentionto the Grecian

,Egyptian , Jewish and Christian . The essential ly

oriental rel igions en tered but sl ightly i nto the schem e of the Vedaand P itaka and Zend Avesta l i ttle is said . The lead ing idea of Mrs.

Kingsford was that the Christian rel igion m ust trace its true origi nto the Mysteries— pre

’

e’

m inently the Mysteries of Bacchus ; andthough we are strongly incl ined to bel ieve the mai n postu late

,we

can by no m eans en dorse the detai ls. This m uch is certain,that no

subject is of greater in terest for the western world than the one proposed by the authors of Ti mPerfect Way. B ut for the satisfactoryaccompl ishm en t of the task two th ings are absolu tely necessary ;firstly

,the facul ty to read the old records of the world - m emory at

will,the resul t of stern d iscipl ine and the exercise of that suprem e

comm on sense which so few m ortals ever possess ; and second ly,a

faculty of scholarly research , whereby the resul ts arrived at may befitly recomm ended to the m inds of the students of rel igion and

history . I t is the rarest th ing on earth to come across the m ysticwho w il l subm it to such trai ning

,or check his impressions by the

stern d isc ipl i ne of research ; and though no one would deny thatMrs. Kingsford had the abi l i ty

,we look i n vai n for the resu lts of

that accurate research in her works.

I t is exceed ingly probable that Mrs. Kingsford,in a past birth

,

was a priestess i n one of the Egyptian temples, and recovered some

gl impses of that birth . Both she and Mr . Mai tland claim to havebeen “ ini tiated i n the past . That agai n is highly probable ; bu twhat does i ni tiated m ean There were thousands and thousandsof the initiated ” in antiqu i ty . Having passed through the prel iminary teleta z

'

, the cand idates proceeded to the maesz'

s,where the facts

of the kamalokic state were dramatically represented for their edification

,and explanations given to i nduce them to lead a noble l ife

and escape from the attractions of sense . The cand idate was thensaid to be i nitiated .

”If judged worthy

,he could then pass on to

the epoptez'

a,where the state of blessedness or the facts of the deva

ON THE WATCH -TOWER . 5

chanie plane were revealed , and i n the higher stages of this degree

psych ic visions were induced . As Apuleius wri tes i n The GoldenA ss

“ I have seen the sun shin ing with bri l l iant l ight atm idnight

,and the lower and higher gods.

” But real i nitiation,

”

in the theosophical and platonic sense , was beyond al l that .The vestal virgins

,pythonesses and seeresses of the temples

were not the d irectors of the Mysteries, but were used by the

initiated priests as lan der. Of course we are only speaki ng of thegen u ine side of the Mysteries, and not of the time of their degradation

, when the priests were m ere Charlatans and m oney- grubbers,

of whom Porphyry wri tes : The sacrificesof fools are m ere food forfire, and the offerings they bring help the robbers of temples to leadtheir ev i l l ife . " The resul ts obtai ned through such a [w ide depended en tirely ou the moral character and knowledge of thed irecting priest ; and see i ng that the Characteristics of Mrs. Kings

ford place her in this category , an im portant factor to take i ntoaccount is the said “ d i recting priest .” The num erous adm issionsof want of knowledge on such po ints, and of lack of information onhistorical detai ls that are thoroughly wel l known to students of

such subjects,is suffi c ient i nd ication that the necessary d irecting

Nevertheless, i t is prec isely the presence or absence of suchfactors that m ake the whole record so interesting to the carefu lsttfi len t of psychology . Granti ng that Mrs. Kingsford , for i nstance,had a correc t impression of a past experience when find i ng herselfin a chorus singing a Bacchic chant

,nevertheless the version of that

chant which she gives is patently only a blurred rem iniscence, dis.

torted by her own sc ientific stud ies. We fortunately have some of

these old Hym ns sti ll remai ning, and one who has tasted theirgenu i ne flavour is qu ick to detect even a single new ingred ient

,m uch

more then to dmcover add ition s entirely unknown to ancient thoughtand fee ling . The form , too, is d isappointi ng ; the swing with whichthe verse starts is suddenly checked at the end of the l ine, especial lyof the second of the couplet

,and i t fal ls straightway into m ed iocri ty .

M r. Mai tland calls this the recovered gnosis.

” No one wou ldwelcom e m ore warm ly the recovery of that gnosis than the presentwriter

,as every reader of L UC IFER is wel l aware ; but when we

come across so many demonstrable errors,we shou ld have pre

6 LUCIFER .

ferred the C laim s to have been less and the industry of researchgreater .

The chief feature of Mrs. Kingsford ’s system is the glorificationof wom an . Here again the personal factor is largely to the fore,for M r . Mai tland several times records the exaggerated opin ions ofMrs. K ingsford 011 this poin t , and the keen ness wi th which she te

sented any imagined sl ight on her sex .

Therefore,the woman is made the type of the in tu ition

,and

we are final ly con fronted w ith the herm aphrod i te conception of a

dei ty designated by that horribly inelegan t com pound“bi- une.

”

Personal ly we prefer the v iew of Porphyry, who wrote to his wife,Marcel la :

“ Nei ther trouble thyself m uch whether thou be m ale orfemale in body

,nor look on thyself as a woman — all the m ore so

as th is perpetual harping on sex sym bology has created great prejud ice against m any beau tifu l ideas in 7 726 Perfect way. B ut why,

above all th ings,has the m ystic no idea of humour ? I t is an enor

m ous help to comm on sense,and m ight have saved the world m uch

absurd i ty . There is another symbol of the in tui tion,which M r .

Mai tland portentously reveals as a very great mystery; the readerwho has been carefu lly indoctrinated wi th the idea of woman ’s

transcen dent superiori ty , and of her being the on ly worthy sym bolof the highest of all hum an facul ties

,is sudden ly con fron ted w i th

the astound ing revelation that the sym bol of the i ntui tion in the

Mysteries was— ah ass !

Again,we can understand the m eaning of a wri ter when call in g

Tertul l ian,for instance

,a Calvin ist . We should not accuse such

a phrase as obnoxious to the charge of a‘

nachronism,for even the

slenderest education is aware of the respective dates of the fam ousMontanist and of Calvin ; but when we are gravely inform ed thatPau l was a Man ichaean

,and that the sect of Man ich zeans arose

m any years before Paul wrote,we feel incl ined to take the two

thick quarto volum es of old B eausobre’s H istoireCritiquea’e Alam

'

rkée

from our shelves and hurl them m entally at the head of such an

i l lum ination .

”

B ut i t is im possible to go through the whole of the present twovolum es and the rest of the col laborators’ wri tings

,and poin t out

the errors of th is k ind wi th which they are fi l led nor is i t our desireto do so ; for we should have to fi l l a number of L UC IFER at least .

ON THE WATCH - TOWER .I

We are perfectly aware, at the same time, that every work of thiskind ,

i n which there is an attempt to combi ne m ystic ism and history ,cou ld be treated i n the sam e way; an d all we desire to accompl ishis, if possible, to bring hom e to the m i nds of ind iscrim i nate adm irers

of the works of Mrs. Kingsford that i t would be as well for them to

study the subjects for them selves and not pi n their fai th to a si ngleind iv idual . What above all things we requ ire is the getting at thefacts . Verify quotations, and agai n verify quotations

,and yet

again veri fy quotations," was the wise i nj unction once given by afamous Oxford tutor to his favouri te pupi l when embark ing ona l iterary career, and we mayadd to th is triple- headed Cerberus ofan injunction which guards the way to the secret hal ls of history

,

Check and coun ter - check and te- check your rem in iscences,” if you

have any.

Let us take warni ng by past ex perience and avoid fal ling in tothe errors of our ancient selves. There is no m ore delusive path totravel on than the i ndiscrim i nate interpretation of anciental legories and myth s. In the early cen turies of Ch ristiani tymen

were busi ly engaged at compi l ing syn theses” of every system

i n existence ; the more opposed were any two systems,the m ore

anxious were they to reconci le them . They were to have a universalkeyof interpretation which should unlock the world al legories andm yths ; they in terpreted everything i n heaven and on earth , and saw

myth and fable of the soul in the m ost straightforward narrativesof human imbec i l i ty . Noth ing too m uch was forgotten

, and all

or nothing took its place.

I t is always a l ighter strain on the i ntel lect to take up an extrem eposi tion i t el im i nates the d isqu ieting factor of d iscrim i nation and

induces the pleasing delusion of be ing for ever qui te certai n of one’s

own ground . The m ore i ncongruous the revelation , the more virtueis there i n the faith of the extrem ist . Such a fram e of m i nd leads tothat acm e of absurd i ty— bel ief i n the i nfal l ibi l i ty of some particu larrevelation or even to that most im bec ile of all fol l ies— bel ief i n theinfallibi l i ty of some particu lar person . In all the above we cri tic iz eou rselves as wel l as others. The m embers of the Theosophica lSociety—a considerable number of them at anyrate— have ever had

a tendency in this d irection . They m ust have a particular hero orheroine whom theydo their best to i njure by clothing them i n a

LUCIFER

Nessus shi rt of fanc ied impeccab il i ty . Or if they be not hero

worshippers of th is type, then they w i l l have a set of infall ibledogm as ; and tak ing hints and amateur exposi tions, based , for them ost part , on m isunderstanding, as absolute veri ties, do their best tofor ever destroy the cred it of that Sacred Science for which they

protest them selves ready to sacrifice their lives.

L et us final ly conclude these notes w i th a few rem arks on the

rem iniscences of past b irthsput forward by Mrs. Kingsford . Am ongother personal i ties she was persuaded that she had occupied thebod ies of Anne Boleyn

,Joan of Arc

,Faustina the younger

,wife of

Marcus Aurel ius,Mary Magdalene

,an Egyptian priestess or Bacchic

votary,and Queen Esther . I t wi l l be a shock to Christian readers

to learn that Mary Magdalene shou ld have degenerated into AnniaFaustina

,whose profligacy was so open and infamous

,and so

notoriously known to all except to her wi lfu l ly bl ind husband .

What , again , had Anne Boleyn to spec ially recommend her ? Weexpected better things of the d isciples of Jesus, and cannot bu t thinkthat Mrs. K ingsford too read i ly identified herself wi th her imag inations. Mr . Mai tland

,too

,does not seem to have made m uch of an

advance when disincarnating from the body of “ John the Beloved— who lay on the breast of the Lord , and at the ripe old age of

ninety was seer of the Apocalyptic Vision of Patm os— into the bodyof Marcus Aurel ius

,the S to ic ; for M r . Mai tland is persuaded of

these th ings. Marcus Aurel ius was born in 1 21 A .D . ; and Johnm ust have d ied about 90 or so. Surely he shou ld not have forgottenallhis Christianity and his great Master i n thirty short years We arewi ll i ng to en tertain the idea of some sim i lari ty between the charactersof Titus Aurel ius Fulvus B oion ius Arrius Antoninus and Mr . Mai tland

,for theyare both sen tentiousenough

,butwe decl ine emphatical ly

to connect the wri ter of the autob iography under rev iew wi th John ,the brother of the Lord . R eserving all opin ion as to the historicalaccuracy of the Gospels, we have too high a respect for the greatTeacher whom the Christians worship, to do aught bu t i nd ignantlyhurl back the aspersion which such overwhelm ing van i ty has castupon his brother . I t is because of such things that we are convincedthat M r . Maitland has done his best to destroy the reputation of

T[1 5 Perfect izVay— an all the m ore regrettable state of affairs seei ngthat there are so m anygood ideas scattered throughou t the volum e .

G. R . S . M .

MAN AND H IS BODIES .

I I .— THE ASTRAL BODY .

(Confi rm ed from Vol. X V II . 15.

L ET us study this astral body under these impacts from w ith inand without . We see i t permeati ng the physical body and extending around i t in every d irection l ike a coloured cloud . The coloursvary wi th the nature of the m an

, wi th his lower, animal , passionalnature

,and the part ou tside the physical body is called the kam ic

aura,as belongin g to the kama or desire body

,commonly called the

astral body of man .

’ For the astral body is the vehicle of man’s

kfim ic consciousness,the seat of all anim al passions and desires,

the cen tre of the senses, as already said , where al l sensations arise .I t changes its colours continual ly as i t v ibrates under thoughtimpacts; if a man loses his temper, flashes of scarlet appear ; if hefeels love, rose red thri l ls through it . If the man

’sthoughts are high

and noble they demand finer astral m atter to answer to them ,and

we trace this ac tion on the astral body in its loss of the grosser anddenser particles from each sub- plane, and its gai n of the finer andrarer k inds. The astral body of a m an whose thoughts are low and

anim al is gross,th ick

,dense

,and dark in colour— often so den se

that the outl ine of the physical body is alm ost lost in i t ; whereasthat of an advanced m an is fine

,Clear

,lum inous and bright i n

colour, a real ly beautifu l object . In such a case the lower passionshave been dom inated

,and the selective action of the m i nd has

refined the astral m atter . By th ink ing nobly,then

,we purify the

astral body,even without havi ng consc iously worked towards that

end . And be i t remembered that th is i nner work ing exercises a

Th is separation of the “aura

" from the m an , as thou h it were someth ingdifferen t from h imself; is m islead ing, although very natural row the poin t of viewof observ ation . The “

aura”is the cloud round the body, in or dinary arlance ;

really. the m an lives on the various planes in such garm en ts as beht eac a nd all

thesegarmen ts or bod ies in te etrate each other ; the lowest and smallest of

these called “the body,

"an the m ixed substances of the other gar men ts are

called the aura wh en th e ext end beyon d that body. The kitm ic aura. then . is

merelysuch pan of the k m ic body as extends beyond the physical.

IO LUC IFER .

poten t in fluence on the thoughts that are attracted from wi thou t tothe astral body ; a body which is m ade by its owner to respondhabi tual ly to evi l thoughts acts as a m agnet to sim i lar thoughtform s in its vic in i ty, whereas a pure astral body acts on suchthoughts w i th a repulsive energy

,and attracts to i tself thought

form s composed of m atter congruous wi th its own .

As said above,the astral body h inges on one side to the

physical , and i t is affected by the purity or im puri ty of the physicalbody . “7c have seen that the sol ids

,l iqu ids

,gases and ethers of

which the physical body is com posed m ay be coarse or refined ,gross or del icate. Their nature w i l l in turn affect the nature oftheir correspond ing astral envelopes. If, unwisely careless abou tthe physical , we bu i ld in to our dense bod ies sol id particles of an

im pure k ind , we attract to ourselves the correspond i ngly impurekind of what we wi l l cal l the sol id astral . As we

,on the

other hand,bu i ld into our dense bod ies sol id particles of purer

type, we attract the correspondingly purer type of sol id astralm atter . As we carry on the purification of the physical body byfeed ing i t on clean food and drink

,by exclud ing from our d iet the

pol luting kinds of al im ent— the blood of anim als,alcohol

,and other

things that are foul and degrad ing— we not only im prove our

physical vehicle of consciousness, but we also begin to purify the

astral vehicle and take from the astral world m ore del icate and finermaterials for its construction . The effect of th is is not only important as regards the presen t earth - l ife

,but i t has a d istinct bearing

also— as we shal l see later— ou the next post - m ortem state,on the

stay in the astral world,and also on the kind of body we shal l have

i n the next l ife upon earth .

Nor is th is all : the worse k inds of food attract to the astralbody entities of a m ischievous k ind belonging to the astral world

,

for we have to do not on lywi th astral m atter,but also wi th wha t

are cal led the elementals of that region . These are entities of

higher and lower types existing on that plane, given birth to by thethoughts of m en

,and there are also i n the astral world depraved

m en imprisoned in their astral bod ies, known as elem en taries. Theelem en tals are attracted towards people whose astral bod ies containm atter congenial to their nature

,while the elem en taries natural ly

seek those who indulge i n v ices such as thev them selves encouraged

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I 2 LUCIFER .

purification . There are definite m ethods of Yoga bywhich develop

m ent of the astral senses may be helped forward in a rational andheal thy way, bu t i t is not of the least use to try to teach these to

anyone who has not been using these sim ple preparatory m eans of

purification . I t is a comm on experience that people are veryanxious to try some new and unusual m ethod of progress, but i t isid le to i nstruct people in Yoga when they wil l not even practisethese preparatory stages i n their ord inary l ife . Suppose one beganto teach som e very sim ple form of Yoga to an ordi nary unpreparedperson ; he would take i t up eagerly and enthusiastically because i twas new,

because i t was strange,because he hoped for very qu ick

resu l ts,and before he had been work ing at i t for even a year he

wou ld get tired of the regu lar strain of i t i n his dai ly l ife and disheartened by the absence of imm ed iate effect ; unused to persistentefl

'

ort,stead i ly maintained day after day, he

'

would break down andgive up his practice ; the novel ty outworn , weariness would soon

assert i tself. If a person cannot or wi l l not accompl ish the sim pleand comparatively easy duty of puri fying the physical and astralbod ies by using a temporary self- denial to break the bonds of

ev i l habi ts i n eating and drinki ng, i t is id le for him to hankerafter more d ifficul t processes which attract by reason of thei rnovel ty and would soon be dropped as an intolerable burden . All

talk even of spec ial m ethods is idle unti l these ord inary hum ble m eanshave been practised for som e tim e ; but wi th the purification new

possibi li ties wi l l begin to show them selves. The pupi l wi l l findknowledge gradual ly flow i nto him

,keener v ision will awaken

,

vibrations wi l l reach him from every side, arousing in him responsewhich cou ld not have been m ade by him i n the days of bl indnessand obtuseness. Sooner or later, according to the Karm a of hispast,this experience becom es his, and just as a child m astering the

d iffi cu lties of the alphabet has the pleasure of the book i t can read,

so the student wi l l find com ing to his knowledge and under hiscontrol possibi l ities of which he had not dream ed i n hiscareless days,new v istas of knowledge opening ou t before him

,a w ider universe

unfold i ng on every side .If now

,for a few mom ents, we study the astral body as regards

its functions i n the sleeping and wak ing states, we shall be ableeasi ly and rapidly to appreciate its functions when i t becomes a

MAN AND m s BODIES . 1 3

vehicle of consciousness apart from the body . If we studv a personwhen he is awake and when he is asleep we shal l become aware orone very marked change as regards the astral body ; when he isawake

,the astral activi ties— the changing colours and so ou— al l

manifest themselves i n and imm ed iately around the physical body ;but when he is asleep a separation has occurred , and we see thephysical body— the den se body and the etheric double— lyin g bythemse lves on the bed , while the astral body is floating in the air

above them .

‘ If the person we are studying is one of m ed iocredevelopmen t, the astral body when separated from the physical isthe som ewhat shapelessm ass before described i t cannot go far awayfrom its physical body, i t is useless as a vehicle of consc iousness, andthe man with in i t is in a very vague and dreamy cond i tion

,

unaccustomed to act away from his physical vehicle ; i n fact, he m ay

be said to be alm ost asleep , fai l ing the m ed ium through wh ich hehas been accustom ed to work

,and he is not able to receive definite

impressions from the astral world or express h imself clearly throughthe poorly - organiz ed astral body . The centres of sensation in i tmaybe afl

'

ected by passi ng thought - forms,and he m ay answer i n i t

to stim uli that rouse the lower nature ; but the whole efl'

ect given tothe observer is one of sleepi ness and vagueness

,the astral body

lacki ng al l definite ac tivi ty and floa ting idly,i nchoate

,above the

sleep ing physica l form . If anything shou ld occur tend ing to leador drive i t away from its physical partner

,the latter wi l l awaken

and the astral wi l l qu ick ly re- enter i t . B ut if a person be observedwho is m uch more developed , sayone who is accustomed to functionin the astral world and to use the astra l body for that purpose , i twil l be seen that when the physical body goes to sleep and the astralbody slips ou t of i t, we have the man him self before us in ful l cousciousness ; the astral body ts clearly outl ined and definitely organized, beari ng the l ikeness of the m an

,and the man is able to use i t

as a vehicle—a veh icle far m ore convenient than the physical .He is wide awake, and is working far more actively, m ore accuratelywith greater power of comprehension , than when he was confin ed inthe denser physical vehicle, and he can move abou t freely and wi th

See For a fuller descript ion the art icles on‘Dream s in L ucrraa for

November and Decem ber, (895,pby C. W . Leadbeater.

1 4 LUCIFER .

imm ense rapid i ty at any d istance, w i thout causi ng the least d isturbance to the sleepi ng body on the bed .

If such a person has not yet learned to l ink together his astraland physical veh icles, if there be a break in consc iousness when the

astral body sl ips out as he fal ls asleep,then

,while he him self w il l

be wide awake and ful ly conscious on the astral plane , he w i l l notbe able to impress on the physical brai n on his return to his denservehicle the knowledge of what he has been doing during his

absence under these circum stances his wak ing consc iousness

as i t is the hab i t to term the m ost l im i ted form of our consc iousness

wi l l not share the m an ’s experiences in the astral world,not

because he does not know them ,but because the physical organism

is too dense to receive these im pressions from him . Som etim es,

when the physical body awakes, there is a feel i ng that som ething

has been experienced of which no m em ory remai ns ; yet this vervfeel ing shews that there has been som e functioning of consciousnessi n the astral world away from the physical body

,though its brai n

is not suflicien tly receptive to have even an evanescent m em ory ofwhat has occurred . At other tim es when the astral body returns tothe physical , the man succeeds in m ak ing a m om entary impressionon the etheric double and dense body

,and when the latter awake

there is a v ivid m emory of an experience gained in the astral world ;but thememory quickly vanishes and refuses to be recal led

,everyeffort

rendering success m ore im possible, as each efl'

ort sets up strongvibrations i n the physical brain , and sti l l further overpowers thesubtler vibrations of the astral . Or yet again

,the man m ay succeed

i n im pressing new knowledge on the physical brain wi thout bei ngable to convey the m em ory of where or how that knowledge wasgai ned ; in such cases ideas wi l l arise i n the wak ing consciousnessas though spontaneously generated , solutions w i l l come of problem s

before uncom prehended , l ight w il l be thrown on questions beforeobscure. When this occurs

,i t is an encouraging sign of progress,

showing that the astral body is wel l organ iz ed and is function ingactively in the astral world

,al though the physical body is sti l l bu t

very partial ly receptive. Sometim es,however

,the m an succeeds in

maki ng the physical brain respond , and then we have what is t e

garded as a very vivid,reasonable and coherent dream

,the ki nd

of dream which m ost thoughtful people have occasionally enjoyed ,

MAN AND m s 8001 5 5 . is

in which they feel more al ive, not less, than when awake,

"

and

i n which they m ay even receive knowledge which is helpfu l tothem i n their physical l ife. All these are stages of progress

,m ark

in g the evolution and im proving organi z ation of the astral body .

But on the other hand i t is wel l to understand that personswho are mak ing real and even rapid progress in spi ri tual i ty may

be funct ioning most actively and useful ly in the astral world wi thout impressin g on the brai n when they return the sl ightest memorvof the work i n which they have been engaged , al though they may

be aware in their lower consciousness of an ever- increasing illumination and widening knowledge of spiri tual truth . There is onefact which all students may take as matter of encouragem ent

,and

on which they may rely wi th confidence,however blank their

physical memory mav be as regards super - physical experi

ences : as we learn to work m ore and more for others,as we

endeavour to becom e m ore and m ore useful to the world,as we

grow stronger and stead ier in our devotion to the Elder Brothers ofhumanity, and seek ever m ore earnestly to perform perfectly ourl ittle share i n their great work , we are i nevitably developing thatastral body and that power of functioning in i t which render usmore effi cient servants ; whether wi th or wi thou t physical m emory,we leave our physical prisons i n deep sleep and work along usefu ll ines of act ivity in the astral world , help ing people we should otherwise be unable to reach , aid ing and com forting in ways we couldnot otherwise em ploy . This evolu tion is going on wi th those whoare pure in m ind , elevated in thought , wi th their hearts set on thedesire to serve. They may be working for many a year i n theastral world without bringing back the m em ory to their lowerconsciousness, and exercising powers for good to the world farbeyond anyth ing of which they suppose themselves to be capableto them ,

when Kar ma perm its, shal l com e the ful l unbroken consciousness which passes at wi l l between the physical and astralworlds ; the bridge shal l be m ade which lets the m em ory crossfrom the one to the other wi thou t effort , so that the man returningfrom his activities in the astral world wi l l don agai n his physicalvesture wi thou t a m oment’s loss of consciousness. This is thecertain ty that l ies before all those who choose the l ife of serv ice .Theywi l l one day acqu ire th is unbroken consc iousness ; and then

1 6 LUCIFER .

to them l ife shal l no longer be composed of days of m em oriedwork and nights of obl iv ion

,but i t w i ll be a continuous whole,

the body put aside to take the rest necessary for i t, whi le the m an

himself uses the astral body for his work i n the astral world ;then they wi l l keep the l inks of thought unbroken , knowi ngwhen they leave the physical body, knowing whi le they are

passing out of it,knowing their l ife away from i t

,knowing when

they return and again put i t on thus they w il l carry on week afterweek

,year after year

,the unbroken

,unwearied consciousness which

gives the absolute certai nty of the existence of the ind iv idualself

,of the fact that the body is only a garm ent that they wear,

pu t on and off at pleasure, and not a necessary i nstrum en t of

thought and l ife. They wi l l know that so far from its be ing accessary to e i ther

,l ife is far m ore active

,thought far m ore un tramm el led

wi thou t i t .When this stage is reached a m an begins to understand the

world and his own l ife in i t far better than he d id before,begins to

real iz e m ore of what l ies in front of him,m ore of the possibi l i ties

of the higher humanity . Slowly he sees that j ust as m an acqu iresfirst physical and then astral consciousness

,so there stretch above

him other and far higher ranges of consciousness that he may

acqu ire one after the other,becom ing active on loftier planes,

rangin g through wider worlds,exercising vaster powers, and

all as the servant of the Holy Ones for the assistance and benefi tof hum anity . Then physical l ife begins to assume its true proportion , and noth ing that happens in the physical world can affecthim as i t d id ere he knew the fu ller

,richer l ife

,and nothing

that death can do can touch him ei ther i n h im self or i n those hedesires to assist . The earth - l ife takes its true place as the smal lest

part of hum an activ i ty,and i t can never again be as dark as i t used

to be, for the l ight of the h igher regions shines down into itsobscurest recesses.

Turning from the study of the functions and possibi l i ties of theastral body, let us consider now certai n phenomena connected wi thi t . I t m ay show i tself to other peopleapart from the physical body

,

ei ther during or after earth - l ife. A person who has complete m asteryover the astral body can of course leave the physical at any time and

go to a friend at a d istance. If the person thus visi ted be clair

MAN AND m s somas. x7

voyan t, has developed astral sight, he wi l l see his friend’s astral

body ; if not, such a visi tor m ight sl ightly densify his vehicle bydrawing into i t from the surround ing atm osphere part icles of

physical matter, and thus m aterializ e suffi ciently to make himself

visible to physical sight . This is the explanation of many of the

appearances of friends at a d istance, phenomena which are far m orecomm on than m ost people imagine, owi ng to the reticence of tim idfolk who are afraid of bei ng laughed at as superstitious. Portunately that fear is lessening, and if people would only have thecourage and common sense to saywhat they know to be true, weshou ld soon have a large m ass of ev idence on the appearances of

people whose physical bodies are far away from the p laces where

thei r astral bod ies show themselves. These bod ies m ay, undercertainc ircumstances, be seen by those who do not norm al ly exerc ise astralvision , without material i z ation bei ng resorted to . If a person ’snervous system be overstrained and the physica l body be i n weakheal th so that the pu lses of vi tal i ty throb less strongly than usual

,

the nervous act ivi ty so largely dependent on the etheric double may

be unduly stim ulated,andunder these cond i tions theman m aybecom e

tem porari ly clairvoyan t . A m other,for i nstance, who knows her

son to be dangerously ill i n a forei gn land , and who is racked byanxiety about him ,

m aythus become susceptible to astral vibrations,espec ial l y in the hours of the night at which v i tal ity is at its lowest ;under these con d i tions, if her son be think i ng of her and his physical body be unconscious

,so as to perm i t him to v isi t her astral ly ,

she wi l l be l ikely to see him . More often such a visit is made whenthe person has j ust shaken off the physical body. at death . These

appearan ces are by no m eans uncom m on,espec ial ly where the dying

person has a strong wish to reach som eone to whom he is closelybound by affection

,or where he des ires to communicate some par

t icular piece of i nform ation , and has passed away withou t fulfi ll i ngh is wish .

If we fol low the astral body after death , when the etheric doublehas been shaken off as wel l as the dense body

,we shal l observe a

change i n its appearance . During its connection wi th the physicalbody the sub - states of astral m atter are interm ixed wi th each other ,the denser and the rarer kinds i nterpenetrating and i nterm i ngl ing.

B ut after death a re- arrangem ent takes place, and the part icles of

1 8 LUCI FER .

the d ifferen t sub- states separate from each other,and

,as i t were, sort

them selves out in the order of their respective densi ties, the astralbody thus assum ing a stratified cond i tion

,or becom ing a series ofcon

centric shells of which the densest is outside. And here we are

again m et wi th the importance of purifying the astral body duri ngour l ife on earth for we find that i t cannot

,after death

,range the

astral world at wi l l ; that world has its seven sub- planes, and the

m an is confined to the sub -

plane to which the m atter of his externalshel l belongs ; as th is outerm ost coveri ng d isi ntegrates he rises tothe next sub -

plane, and so on from one to another . A m an of verylow and animal tendencies would have in his astral body m uch of

the grossest and densest kind of astral m atter,and th is would hold

h im down on the lowest level of Kamaloka ; unti l this shell is disin tegrated to a great extent the man m ust rem ain imprisoned i nthat section of the astral world

,and suffer the annoyances of that

m ost undesirable local i ty . When this outerm ost shel l is suffic ientlyd isintegrated to al low escape, the man passes to the next level of theastral world , or perhaps i t is m ore accurate to say that he is ableto com e i nto con tact with the v ibrations of the next sub- planeof astral matter

,thus seem i ng to h im self to be i n a d ifferen t

region ; there he rem ai ns ti l l the shell of the sixth sub-

plane isworn away and perm i ts his passage to the fifth , his stay oneach sub -

plane corresponding to the strength of those parts of

his nature represented in the astral body by the am ount of thematter belonging to that sub-

plane. The greater the quanti tythen of the grosser sub - states of m atter

,the longer the stay

on the lower kamalokic levels, and the m ore we can get rid of thoseelem ents here the briefer wi l l be the delay on the other sideof death . Even where the grosser m aterials are not el im i natedcompletely a process long and diflicult be ing necessary for thisen tire erad ication— the consc iousness m ay during earth - l ife be so

persistently wi thdrawn from the lower passions that the matter bywhich they can find expression wi ll cease to function actively as a

vehicle of consc iousness— willbecome atrophied , to borrow a physicalanalogy . In such case

,though the man wi ll be held for a short

time on the lower levels,he wi l l sleep peacefu l ly through them ,

feel i ng none of the d isagreeables accompanying them ; his con -

0

sciousness,having ceased to seek expression through such ki nds of

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20 LUCIFER .

present astral body to the utm ost, using our present knowledge toi nsure our future progress.

For al l our l ives are l inked together, and none of them can bebroken away from those that l ie behind i t or from those that stretchin front . In truth , we have but one l ife in which what we cal l l ivesare real ly only days. We never begin a new l ife wi th a clean sheet onwhich to wri te an entirely new story ;we do but begin a new chapterwhich m ust develope the old plot . We can no m ore get rid of th ekarm ic l iabi l i ties of a preced ing l ife by passing through death , thanwe can get rid of the pecuniary l iabi l i ties incurred on one day bysleeping through a night ; if we incur a debt to - daywe are not freeof i t to - m orrow

,but the claim is presen ted unti l i t is discharged .

The l ife of man is conti nuous, unbroken ; the earth - lives are l inkedtogether

,and not isolated . The processes of purification and

developm ent are also continuous, and m ust be carried on throughm any successive earth - l ives. Som e tim e or other each of us m ustbegin the work ; som e tim e or other each wi l l grow weary of thesensations of the lower nature, weary of being in subject ion to theanimal

,weary of the tyranny of the senses. Then the man wi l l no

longer consent to subm i t , he wi l l dec ide that the bonds of his

captivi ty shal l be broken . Why indeed should we prolong ourbondage

,when it is in our own power to break i t at anym oment ? N0

hand can bind us save our own ,and no hand save our own can set

us free . We have our right of choice, our freedom of will,and

inasm uch as one daywe shal l all stand together i n the higher world ,whyshou ld we not begi n at once to break our bondage

,and to claim

our d iv ine b irthright ? The beginning of the shatteri ng of thefetters

,of the winning of l iberty, is when a m an determ ines that he

wi l l make the lower nature the servant of the higher,that here on

the plane of physical consc iousness he wi l l begin the bu i ld ing of

the higher bod ies,and wi l l seek to real i z e those loftier possibi l ities

wh ich are his by right d iv ine , and are only obscured by the an ima lin which he l ives.

ANN IE BESANT .

(To be continwed.)

2 1

ORPHEUS .

(Con/fund from Vol. XVI I . f)

Tue Tnvasus.

THE cand idates also carried i n their hands thyrsi or wands,

headed with pine - cones,which were generally covered with ivy .

This explains the ph rase many thyrsus- bearers there are,but few

Bacchi .” The sym bology of the thyrsus m ust be taken togetherwi th that of the Caduceus

,the Rod of Herm es.

Clem ens Alexandri nus (Co/e ,I . i i . 1 2) quotes the mystic sen

tence , “ bul l is father of dragon , and dragon of bul l ; on the heightthe hidden goad

,that gathers the herd together ” (m frposspa

'

kovros m i

M m m épov war-

rip, iv dpa roxpthpwv Bovmihos r?» xr'

wpov.) The hidden or

m ystic goad is th is sam e thyrsus,the staff of which was m ade out

of the l ight,p ithy stalk of an umbe l l iferous plant

,which was fabled

to have conta ined the fire ” that P rom etheus brought down fromheaven (Hes

,op. 52, 771505 , 567 ; and also i n E sch

,P rom . Vr

'

ucl. ,

b vdpomu xcnpvpévov. ) Many wri ters assum e that the narthex (fenne lstalk) or ferule, and the thyrsus or wand , were two d ifferent th ings,but i t seems more probable that the one was part of the other .Moser i n his notes on Nouans (p . 241 ) tel ls us that the narthex orferule was a hol low rod , in which fi re cou ld be carried .

Bacchus is said to have used th is narthex for the tam ing oflions

,for combat

,and for spl i tting i n two the rocks (Nouans, 1 086,

884,

Now these thyrsi were covered wi th ivy or v ine ten drils.

Bacchus,

“

god of wine ,” is covered wi th v ine tendri ls and grape

bunches,and so are his worshippers. All these symbols have con

siderably puz z led the commentators, who have wandered off aftertheir vintage festivals and got drunk on the w ine of gross material i ty .

The Sufis at least could have told them what wine meant , and the

Christ, too, i n his wonder- work i ng at Cana.

22 LUCIEER .

The thyrsus in which the sacred fire is hidden is i n every m an,

the Sushum naNadi of the Ind ian mystic . The narthex is physically the sp inal - cord , and the pine - cone at its head is the pi nealgland . The ivy and v ine leaves and fru i ts are the Nad is and

Chakras,the nerve gangl ia and ram ifications. Prom etheus has

i ndeed hidden the sacred fire i n “a fennel stalk .

” Why do certainSannyasis in Ind ia carry a seven knotted bamboo cane ? B ut th is

subject has been sufficien tly deal t wi th elsewhere in m odern theoso

phical l i terature.

MYST ICA VANNUS Iaccm .

Another of the sym bol ical instruments was the so- cal led winnowing

- fan,which Virgil (Georg ,

i . 1 66) nam es the “m ystic fan of

Iacchus. Serv ius, in his notes on this passage, and also on E on,v i .

741 , tel ls us that there were three symbol ical purifications, m , by

(a) fire, (6) water, and (c)air. These purificationsof the sou l (L z'

oerz'

Pam'

s sacm ad purgofz'

onem amour ficr/z'

n c'ban t of a t kom z

'

m 'r ey

'

us

mysferz'

z'

spurgaom ztur)were physical ly symbol i z ed by (a)the burningof resinous gum s and sulphur, (o) by ablutions or baptisms

,and

(c) by fann i ngI t is curious to notice that in the earl ier days of the Church two

fans or flabella were used at the celebration of the Eucharist— a

custom which is sti l l in vogue i n theGreek and Arm en ian Churches.

This flabellu tn is called by Cyri l of Scythopol is in his ofSf. E ufbym ius (S 70 ; c . A .D . 550) the m ystic fan (Merci ras p vm txijc

fnm'

Bos); whi le the E uclzo/ogz'

on, the m ost com prehensive Service

Book of the Eastern Church , based on the l i turgies of Chrysostomand Basil

,cal ls i t the “ holy fan ”

(dywv fiem'

Swv).

The flabellum in ord inary use in the Greek Church representsthe head of a Cherub or Seraph surrounded w i th six w ings

,and is

explained m ystical ly by references to [solo/z vi . 2, and R evelatio n iv .

6,8 . Flabella were also m ade of a single d isc of si lver and brass

surrounded wi th l ittle bel ls, recal l ing somewhat the sistrum of

Egypt . So m uch for the Mystica Vannus Iacchi , the physicalsymbol of the spiri tual dz

'

m'

n us) purification .

THE PL AYTH INGS or B accn us.

The Bacchic legend tel ls us that the young god was seiz edupon by the Titans whi le i nten t on his playthings, and torn i n

oarn sus. 23

pieces as narrated above . The symbols of th is particu lar mysteryare given by Clemens p . 1 1 ) as a d ie a spinningtop (w péfid os), aball apples (Niko), a m agic wheel (orifi ce), a

m irror (icon-mow) and a fleece (m inor). Arnobius (V . xix) gives themfrom Orpheus as d ice (lolos), a m irror (speculum), tops (turbines),wi nged or flying wh eels (volatiles fondue} , and the apples taken from

the Hesperides (sumla noHes/057 1 3 1 3 1“ mai n).

The sport (lifo'

) of Vishnu is the bu i ld ing of the universe ; thesport of young Bacchus

,as a cosm ic force, is also the bu i ld ing of

the universe and, as the young sou l

,is the evolution of vehicles,

form s or bod ies i n which to reside. Such bod ies are bu i l t according to the types and designs i n the Great M ind , upon which theBu ilder contemplates.

Proclus (Tina ,i i i . 1 63 ) tel ls us that the theologists understood

the m irror as si gn ifying the means whereby all th ings were fi tly

arranged here below accord ing to the noetic types. They say thatit was Vu lcan who fabricated th is m irror for Bacchus, and thatBacchus see ing his own image in its surface

,wen t forth after i t .

And so he sought his image i n matter and went forth wi th desire,and was confined i n matter

,and becam e a partible soul

,or m any

personal i ties, and thus was torn in pieces by the Titans.

Plotinus (Em : IV . referri ng to this m irror of Dionysus,says that the souls of men ,

when they have once seen the image oftheir true selves, hasten above. That is to say that the soul havi ngbecome partible m ust retrace its path to return to its pristinestate. And j ust as it saw its reflection in the sensible world

,and

went forth after i t,so m ust i t now contemplate its type or idea i n

the supersensible, noetic or sp iri tual world , and be joined thereto .

B astius (ad Gregor . , p. 24 1 ) explai ns that the sp i nning - top hasthe same sym bology as the pine- cone, and that the flying- wheel isthe same as the d iscus or thunder- bolt . Both words m ean also a

vortex or spiral whorl . Mystics say that the forces playing roundthe pineal gland are of th is nature , and are reflection s of the greatcreative forces which fashion whee ls or globes i n space .

Bastius further tel ls us (L obeck, op. ( 1 1, p . that in the

Mysteries the cone was a small p iece ofwood of that shape,round

which a cord was wound,so that i t m ight be made to spin and give

o ut a humm i ng noise . As the Upanishad has it“ The sun as he

L L'

CIFER .

m oves chants Om . This cone was also called the Heart of

Bacchus.

"

Vl'

ith regard to d ice i t is interesti ng to bear in m ind the city

set four- square and the sacred four in all its variations, and

also to recal l the fact that the four great cycles or Yugas of the

H indus are nam ed from the faces of a die (see also concern ing the

square and cube under The Orphic Lyre, infra).

L ydus (De J lm sz'

bus, p . 82) says that the m irror symboliz ed the

sky , and the bal l the earth , but the m irror is rather that part of theworld - envelope which is som etim es cal led the astral light .

The golden apples of the Hesperides may verywell represen t

the heart - shaped atom described by seers,and the golden fleece

probably sym bol iz ed the higher robe of in i tiation,just as the fawn

sk in typified the lower.Many other svmbols could be described , but for the presen t it

wi ll be sufficien t to conclude w ith som e rem arks on

THE OR PH IC LYRE .

The Orphic Lyre was the seven - stringed lute of A pollo.

Am ong the Greeks the favourite instrum ents of m usic were the

tetrachord and heptachord , or the four and seven - strin ged lyrcs.

Of their m ak ing there are many legends and m yths. The greater

an tiqu i ty is given to the tetrachord,and Gesner (Orph , 226, n . )

refers to a picture found in the ru ins of Herculan eum wh ich repre

sents the original shape of the lyre as a trian gle .The seven - stringed lvre is said to have been in ven ted by

Orpheus or Pythagoras.

The tetrachord was said bv the Pv thagoreans to have been

bu i lt on the type of the four elem ents, and the heptachord on that of

the seven planetary spheres.

N icom achus the Pvthagorean (771ml. A f it/L, vii. 5 1 ) says

There are four elem en ts, and three i ntervals between them, where

fore Linus the theologer savs m ysticallv ‘ four sources hold all

w i th triple bonds.

‘

For fire and earth are to one another in a

geom etrical proportion as earth is to air, so is water to fi re, an d as

fire to air so water to earth .

oapn svs. 25

These are adm irably arranged by Proclus as fol lowsFin a

Subtle, Acute , Movable . Subtle,B lunt

,Movable .

Dense , B lun t, Movable . Dense,B lun t

,Imm ovable .

The tetrachord then reproduced the harm on ical proportions ofthe elemen ts

,and was used for certain so- cal led magical purposes.

The heptachord represented the harmony of the planetaryspheres. Pythagoras is said to have had actual knowledge of thisharm ony while out of the body . As S im pl icius writes (on Aristotle,D r Grim

,i i . ) “

If any one, l ike Pythagoras, who is reported to haveheard this harm ony

,should have his terrestrial body exempt from

h im,and his lum inous and celestial vehicle

,and the senses which

i t con tains, purified , ei ther through a good al lotm ent [favourable

karm a, train i ng in a previous l ife] , or through a perfection

arising from sacred operations [theurgy or yoga] , such a one wi l l

perceive things i nvisible to others, and wi ll hear th ings inaud ible toothers.

Taylor (T/zm r . A ri/IL, p . 244, n . ; see also lliysf. fly /m s

, p .

82, n . ) tel ls us that accord ing to th is psychology“the soul has

th ree vehicles,one ethereal

,another aerial

,and the third this ter

restrial bodv . The first,which is lum inous and celestial

,is connate

w i th the essence of the soul , and in which alone i t resides in a stateo f bl iss in the stars [the K araua Sharira] . In the second i t sufferst he pun ishm en t of its sins after death [Silkshm a Sharira] . And

from the third i t becom es an inhabi tant of earth [Sthflla Sharira] .

Further in h is In troduction to the Tim aeus (Plat. Im ay,i i .

h e wri tes The sou l is conjoi ned wi th this gross body through two

v ehicles as m ed ium s,one of which is ethereal and the other ae'rial

,

an d of these the ethereal vehic le is sim ple and immaterial , but theaerial sim ple and m aterial and this dense earth ly body is com posi te

a nd m aterial .”

The soul here is the m onad ic sphere of ind ividual i ty .

As then the tetrachord was attuned to the elem en tal or sub

l u nary sphere and awoke the correspond ing forces and broughtthem in to relation w ith the gross body

,so the heptachord was

a ttuned to the harm ony of the planetary spheres and brought the

subtle or aerial body in to sensible con tact wi th their powers. Now

26 LUCIFER .

Pythagoras,in his doctri ne of the harm ony of the spheres. called the

interval between the Moon and Earth a tone, between the Moon

and Mercury half a ton e , between Mercury and Venus also half a

tone,from Venus to the Sun a tone and a half, from the Sun to

Mars a tone,from Mars to Jupi ter half a tone ; from Jupi ter to

Saturn half a tone, from Saturn to the Zod iac or Inerratic Spherea tone .

Plato,in the Tz

'

maws,fol lowing Pythagoras

,d ivides the Soul of

the World accord ing to n umbers,bi nds i t by analogies and harmonic

ratios,i nserts i n i t the primary principles of geom etrical figures,

the right and circular l ine, which in m otion generate theSpirals and

“ intel lectual ly m oves the c ircles which it contains

(Taylor, Tlzeor . A ri/la,

The m otion of the planetaryspheres is spiral and appropriately so, savsTaylor (In trod . Timaeus

,

”

P lat. " forks, i i .“as i t is a m cdunn between the right - l i ned

m otion of the elements and the circular m otion of the inerraticsphere for a spiral is m ixed from the right l ine and circle .

”

Further the seven boundaries” of all num bers pre- exist i n th isSoul

,and these are 1 , 2, 3 , 4, 8, 9, 27, or I , 2, 3 , 2

2, 2

3, 3

9, 3

3.

Of these num bers, 1 , 2, 3 , are apportioned to the World - Sou li tself in its intel lectual or spiri tual aspect, and sign ify its abid i ng in

,

proceed ing from and returning to i tself ; thiswi th regard to prim arynatures. Bu t in add i tion , in term ed iate or subtle natures are prov iden tially d irected i n their evolution and i nvolution by the World

Sonl, they proceed accord ing to the power of the fourth termwhich possesses generative powers

” and return accord ing to that ofthe fi fth which reduces them to one.

” Fi nal ly also sol id or grossnatures are also providential ly d irected i n the ir procession accord ingto 8

,and in their conversion by 27 (see Taylor, for. rz

'

t., p .

Hence we get the fol lowing table

Ethereal Spiri tual

P lanetary Psychic

Sublunary Physical

The central poin t of stab i l i ty and ab idi ng is 1 2 is the n umber

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28 L UCIFER .

These series can of course be continued indefinitely ; but Taylorgives only two sets of five term s each . In m usic these em bracewhat were called the five sym phonies, m , (1 ) the d iatessaron , orsesqu i tertian proportion ,

composed of two tones and a sem i - ton e ;(2) the d iapente or sesqu ial ter proportion , com posed from th reetones and a sem i - tone ; (3 ) the d iapason or duple proportion , consisting of six tones ; (4) the d iapason d iapente, consisting of n i netones and a sem i - tone ; and (5) the d isd iapason or quadruple proportion

,which contai ns twelve tones. This, i n m usic, pertai ned to

what was called the “ greater system , contai n ing two octaves, therange of the hum an voice .Sesqu ialter proportion

,or ratio

,is when one num ber conta in s

another and the half of i t besides,or 3 2 ; sesqu i tertian proportion

when a number contains another and a th ird of i t besides, as 4 : 3sesquioctave proportion when a number contains another and an

eighth of i t besides,as 9 8 .

From an inspection of the above table we find that al l theratios are formed i n a perfectly orderly m anner, being gen eratedfrom the seven “ boundaries

,as shown in the nmneration of the

World - Soul given above . These num bers,1,2, 3 , 4, 8, 9 and 27 ,

con tai n two tetractydes, as fol lows

i 1 2. 4. 8 . 0

Q 1 . 3 . 9. 27 .

These are the even and the odd tetractydes, for the m onad isconsidered as both odd and even . Now Theon of Sm yrna (Elia/IL ,

p . 1 47 , quoted by Taylor, TIzm r . p . 1 86) tel ls us that : “ The

tetractys was not only principal ly honoured by the Pythagorean s,

because all symphonies are found to exist wi th in i t , bu t also becausei t appears to contai n the nature of all th ings. And thus the famousoath of the Pythagoreans was Byhim who del ivered to our sou lthe tetractys

,which contains the fountain and root of everlastin g

nature.

"

In these num bers the m ore perfect ratios of sym phonies are

found,and i n them a tone is com prehended The tones of

d i fference between the “

planets and spheres m en tioned abovehave here their place.

Taylor further tel ls us (MM , p . 1 87) wi th regard to the

tetractvs :“ The monad ( 1 ) contains the productive principle of a

oapn svs. 29

poi nt , but the second num bers 2 and 3 the principle of a side,

sin ce they are i ncomposi te, and first are measured bv the m onad,

an d natural ly m easure a right l ine. The th ird term s are 4

and 9, which are i n power a square superficies, si nce they are

eq ual ly equal . And the fourth terms 8 and 27 being equallyeq ual ly equal , are in power a cube. Hence from these numbers,and this tetractys, the increase takes place from a poi nt to

a sol id . For a side fol lows after a point , a superficies after a side,

and a sol id after a superficies. In these numbers also,P lato in the

T{1111q consti tutes the soul . B ut the last of these seven num bers,

zla,27, is equal to all the num bers that precede i t ; for 1 2 3

4 8 9 27 . There are,therefore

,two tetractydes of numbers

,

on e of which subsists bv add ition ,but the other by m u l tipl ication ,

and they comprehen d m usical , geometrical , and arithmetical ratios,

from which also the harm ony of the un iverse consists.

”

From all of which it is plainlv eviden t that the Lyre of Apol lois som eth ing vastly d ifferen t from a m ere m usical i nstrum ent

,

a l though indeed the tetrachord and heptachord of the Pythagorean sand Orphies were based on a real ly sc ientific knowledge of the

harm onies of nature ; and that the m yths connected w ith i t hadn othing to do wi th an im aginary “ prim i tive m an produci ngbarbarous m usic from a few strings and a tortoise- shel l .

On the con trary the Lyre of Apollo is the balanced harm ony ofthe spheres of evolv ing nature, and pertains to the m ysteries of

d ivine creation . Further,that as man is the m irror of the universe

,

he can tune his own nature to that of d ivine nature, and by suchm eans can becom e a creator in his turn and a m aster of the cosm ic

powers, that m ysterious“ Army of the V o ice which in the Stan z as

of Dz yan ,are cal led the Spheres, Triangles, Cubes. Lines and

M odellers. But i n order to do so,he m ust follow the Path of Puri

fication and l ive that Orphic Li fe of which som e detai ls w i l l now be

g iven in the fol lowi ng Chapter .

IX .

— ORPH IC DISCIPL INE AND PSYCHOLOGY .

MoRALs.

IN order to have some sl ight idea of Orphic m orals, we m av

w i th advantage set down here one or two details of the Pythagorean

3 0 Lucmaa .

d iscipl ine , which was of the sam e nature as that of the Orphic comm un ities. The in formation is taken to som e extent from Manry

’s

H istoire des R eligions de la Gréce (i i i . 3 67 at sq .)We m ust first give ourselves up en tirely to God . When a man

prays he should never ask for any particular benefit, ful ly conv incedthat that wil l be given which is right and proper

,and accord ing

to the wisdom of God and not the subject or our own selfish desires

(Diod . S ic .,ix . By v irtue alone does man arrive at blessedness

,

and this is the exclusive privi lege of a rational being (Hippodam us,

D e Felicitate,

Ofusc‘

. Graecor . Sen t. ei 111 0 ml.,i i . In

h im self,of his own nature

,man is nei ther good nor happy, but he

may becom e so by the teaching of the true doctrine (paOéows m l

r povofas waf fi fef ut— H ippoq The m ost sacred duty is fi lial piety .

“ God showers his blessings on him who honours and reveres theauthor of his days — says Pampelus (De Paren tibus

,Orelli

,op. ( in

,

i i . Ingrati tude towards one‘

s parents is the blackest of all

crim es,wri tes Perictione (iéid .

, p . who is supposed to havebeen the m other of P lato .

The cleanl iness and del icacy of all Pythagorean wri tings wereremarkable (ZElian , H ist. Van ,

xiv . In all that concerns chasti tyand marriage their pri nc iples are of the utm ost puri ty . Everywherethe great teacher recommends chasti ty and temperance ; but at

th e sam e tim e he d irects that the m arried shou ld first becom eparents before l iving a l ife of absolute cel ibacy

,in order that

chi ldren m ight be born under favourable cond itions for con tinuingthe holy l ife and succession of the Sacred Sc ience (J am blichus, Vii.Pyl/mg.

,and Hierocl.

,ap . Stob . Serm

,xlv . This is excedingly

interesting,for i t is precisely the same regulation that is laid down i n

the rlla‘

na z -a D /mrma Shéstra,the great Ind ian Code . Before a m an or

woman could give up fam i ly duties and devote them selves entire lyto the rel igious l ife (Vanaprastha Ashram a), they had to becom e

parents and fulfi l the duties of the fam i ly life (Grihastha Ashram a).

Perhaps after all the legend that Pythagoras journeyed to Ind ia isnot wi thou t foundation , for the m em ory of the great Y avanacharyasti l l li ngers i n the land .

Adultery was m ost sternly condem ned (Jam b .,

Moreoverthe m ost gentle treatm ent of the wife by the husband was enjo ined ,for had he not taken her as his compan ion

“ before the Gods

ORPHEUS . 3 1

(See L ascaulx , Z ur Ga r/ debts der E lle bei den Gu st /1m ,i n the J lim .

dc I’Acad . dc B arrios,vii. 1 07, sq.)

Marriage was not an anim al union,but a spiritual tie . There

fore,i n her turn , the wi fe shou ld love her husband even more than

herself, and in al l things be devoted and obedient . I t is furtheri nteresting to remark that the finest characters among women wi thwhich an cient Greece presents us were form ed i n the school ofPythagoras

, and the same is true of the m en . The authors of

an tiqu i ty are agreed that th is d iscipl ine had succeeded i n producingthe highest examples not only of the purest chasti ty and sentiment ,but also a simpl ic i ty of manners, a del icacy , and a taste for seriouspursu its which was unparal leled . This is adm i tted even by Christian writers (see Justin , xx .

The lad ies on enteri ng the school cast aside their finery anddedicated thei r jewels to Hera

,j ust as the postu lant, on tak ing the

vei l i n the Roman Cathol ic Church , offers her adornm ents to theVirgin .

Among the m embers of the school the idea of j ustice d irectedall their acts, whi le they observed the strictest tolerance and com

passion in their m utual relationships . For j ustice is the pri ncipleof all v irtu e

, as Polus (ap . S tob .,Sa m

,vi i i .

,ed . Schow, p . 23 2)

teaches ;’tis j ustice which m ai ntains peace and balance i n the sou l ;

she is the mother of good order i n all comm uni ties,makes concord

between husband and w ife,love between m aster and servant .

The word of a Pythagorean was also his bond . And final ly aman shou ld l ive so as to be ever ready for death (H ippolytus,Path s

,

This was the outer d isc ipl i ne, bu t for pledged d isc iples stricterrules were laid down , som e of which have been preserved , thoughm ixed wi th fantastic glosses of wri ters who-were ignorant of whatthe secret d iscipl i ne really was.

Tm : INNER DISCIPL INE.

The disciples were forbidden to frequent crowded places or tobathe in public . They were to drin k no wine. In the m orningth eir food consisted of bread and honey ; i n the even ing the m ealconsisted of vegetables,

and som e say o ccasional ly of a portion of

th e flesh of certain specified anim als. Before and after each meal

3 2 LUCIFER .

there were certain purificatory ceremonies, accompanied by the

burn ing of incense and pouring out of l ibations. At certain hoursthere were read i ngs in common . The youngest presen t read aloud ,the oldest presided over the m eeting

,and in the evening he

rem i nded all of the pri ncipal ru les of the order . Before retiring torest

,each subj ected him self toa searching self- exam ination . There

were also certai n physical exercises to be perform ed .

On entering the school,every neophyte added his property to

the comm on fund , but if he withdrew for any reason , he had i treturned to him . The d isciples wore a simple white l inen robeconfined by a flaxen cord , and n ever wore leather . To obtainentrance to the i nner d iscipl i ne i t was necessary to be of an

unblem ished reputation and of a contented d isposi tion . There wastherefore a period of probation , during which certai n pnrification sand expiations had to be undergone .Before a complete knowledge of the in nerm ost rules was

obtained,three degrees had to be passed through . For two years

the probationer had to l isten wi thou t opening his mouth ,endeavour

ing his u tm ost to comm i t to m emory the teachings he received . He

was thus called a Hearer (dxovcm xés— com pare this wi th the Buddhistfirst degree Shravaka). Thence he passed to the second degreeand i nto the ranks of the Mathem atici (M parcxof),where the d isciplelearned the mean ing of real geom etry and m usic

,and the nature of

number,form

,colour and sound .

Now what were mathem atics original ly ? To this im portan tquestion Proclus gives the followi ng adm irable answer : “

The

Pythagoreans perceived that the whole of what is cal led mol/wsis isrem in iscence

,

’ not external ly inserted in sou ls,in the sam e manner

as phan tasm s from sensible objects are impressed in the im agina

tion,nor adventi tious l ike the knowledge resul ting from opin ion ,

but excited indeed from fl: ings zip/mren t, and inwardly oxcrtoa'

from ll:0

reason ing power converted to i/solf . Mathesis,therefore

,

is the rem iniscence of the eternal productive principles inherentin the soul ; and the m athem atical sc ience is 011 this account theknowledge which contributes to our recol lection of these pri nc iples

(Taylor, Tlwor . A f it/L, pp . xxvi.

“ ‘That is, the recovery of lost knowledge, on the hypothesis that the soul istruly immortal, and therefore had an ex 1stence prior to that of the presen t life.

”

ORPHEUS . 3 3

Final ly the student passed i nto the th ird degree, and was

adm i tted am ong the Physici who were taught the i nnernature of things, and the mysteries of cosm ogony and true m eta

physics. In th is degree the cond i tion of si lence was no longerim posed , and the student cou ld ask questions. I t was only to those

who had ded icated them selves to the ascetic l ife that Pythagorascomm unicated the practical detai ls of the i nner teaching ; the rest

were taught only such general outl i nes of the system as they werefi tted to understand (Proclus, Tit/L ,

i i . 92, Schneider , p. 21 7 ;

Power's ,v . p. The esoteric i nstruction was not wri tten but

com m i tted to memory , and consisted of sym bols, and enigmaticalaxioms

,wh ich were afterwardsexplai ned . The scrapsof these teach

ings which have come down to us are sa id to have been wri tten ata later date .

The ful l tim e of probation lasted five years, and women wereadm itted as wel l as men .

The l ife i n common developed a strong feel i ng of real “ brotherhood

,

"

and if one of the order lost his property , the others sharedwi th him . If a d ispute arose, the d isputants had to find the meansof reconc i l iation before sunset , practical ly carrying out the i nj unet ion , Let not the sun go down upon your wrath .

” This stronglyrem inds us of the Sangha or Order of the Buddha

,and leads us all

the more to cred i t the legend that Pythagoras actual ly met Gautama

Shahya Muni in Ind ia . (Compare Q't/mgom s um! die Ind ”,by

Dr. L . v . Shroeder, Leipz ig, A word from the teacher wassuffi c ient to settle d isputed po ints, and hence arose the phrase z

’

psc'

dir t? («fires i'

oa ), the Master has said i t . (See also for the OrphicLife , Fraguier, 8 11 1 la vie Orphique ,

” i n Paris,v . 1

THE Macnocosn ax » M ICROCOSM .

The whole of Orphic psychology was based on the axiom thatm an has in him potential ly the sum and substance of the universe.

Everything was ensouled , there was no spot in the universe w i thoutl ife of some kind (m

‘

iv ( Ivar 06m {nymxov— Philoponus, Do . ln .,

And again , the race of m en and gods is one (P i ndar , who was a

Pythagorean , quoted by C lem ens, S im on,v . Thus the un i

verse was an anim al or th ing ensouled . The sun is its heartthe moon its l iver , and so on (P lu tarch , DeFor . L uau

,xv “)

3 4 LUCIFER .

Thus man was called the m icrocosm or l i ttle world,to dis

tinguish him from the universe or great world . Hence wefind m an referred to as the “ l i ttle an im al (C6O1: mxpév— Galen

,

Do Usu i i i . the“ l i ttle world (oivflpm ros Bpaxizs xdopos

— Phi lo,De Vil. Silos

,i i i . 673 . D), or

“ l i ttle heaven ” (Phi lo, De

.llm uz'. Opif , p . 1 8 . E); the

“ l i ttle diacosm (p cxp6v 81dxooaov 1

Porphyry, S tob .,Son ia

,xxi . the “ lesser world (m inon

'm

mundm n— Sol in .

,e. and so on . And as man was the Little

Universe,so the un iverse was the Great Man (Phi lo ,Qm

’

s R ef . D iv.

Haifa, p . 502. C).

Thus we find Proclus (Tim .

,i . 3 48)tel l i ng us that we must v iew

man as the l i ttle universe,“ for he has both a m ind and a reason

(logos), a d ivine body and a perishable body, l ike the universe in

fact his whole consti tution bears an analogy wi th the universe.

Thus i t is that som e assert that his noeric prin ciple correspondsw i th the inerratic sphere , the contemplat ive aspect of his reasonwi th Saturn , and the soc ial aspect wi th Jupi ter, whi le of his

i rrational princ iple, the passional nature corresponds wi th Mars,the expressive w i th Mercury

,the appeti tive wi th the Sun ,

and the

vegetative wi th the Moon ; while his rad ian t vehicle correspondswi th heaven and this m ortal body wi th the elem ental (or sublunary)sphere .

”

We thus have correspondences given wi th the i nerratic and

planetary spheres, though the Sun is a m istake for Venus,and its

own characteristics are om i tted ; hence we get the fol lowing tab leInerratic l

- voepov, the noen e pr1nc1ple, vovs or real m ind .Sphere.

Saturn Gewpqr txov (con tem plative) lM57 09 (rationalJupi ter fl oh fl xbv (social) l part).

Planetary Mars ovft oaSés (passional)Spheres. lMercury¢wmfl k 5v (expressive) «R oyce (irra

Ven us e’

mevmrrmbv (appeti tive) tional part).Moon ovm a

‘

w (vegetative)The three higher characteristics separate m an from the an im al ;

the passional is that part of the soul in which resides courage,spiri t , anger and the l ike

,and is superior to the appetit ive, the

seat of the desires and aflections ; the expressive is con nected w i ththe power of speech and sound , and rem i nds one of the vach orvoice of the Upanishads ; the vegetative is that con nected w i th

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3 6 LUCIFER .

planets and the members Of the body, the consti tu tion Of the body,

and the elem ents, etc . B ut the most im portan t teaching Of the

anc ien t psvchology is that relati ng to the Subtle Body .

G. R . S . MEAD .

CONCERN ING THE TRANSM IGRATION OF Sou s — But thetransm igration Of souls, if they take place i nto such as are rational ,then they becom e the souls Of particu lar bod ies if i nto such as areirrational

,they follow external ly

,i n the same m anner as our

presid ing daemons attend us in their beneficen t operations ; for therational part never becomes the soul Of the irrational nature . Bu tthe truth Of transm igration is evinced by the circum stances whichtake place from the birth of ind ividuals ; for why are some bornbl ind

,others imbecile

,and others wi th a v ic ious soul ? And besides

,

since souls are naturally adapted to perform their pecul iar employm ents i n bod ies

,i t is not proper that when they have once deserted

them they should remai n indolent for ever ; for if sou ls d id no treturn agai n into bod ies

,i t is necessary that ei ther they should be

infinite i n num ber,or that others shou ld be continually produced by

the d ivin i ty . But there can be nothing actual ly i nfini te i n theworld ; for that which is i nfini te can never exist in that which isfinite. B ut nei ther is i t possible that others can be produced ; foreverything in which som eth ing new m ay be generated is n ecessari lyimperfect ; bu t it is requ isite that the world should be perfect ,because i t is produced from a perfect nature . (Sal lust, Dc /) iis of

.ll zm do,xx .

,lrm zsla/od by THOMAS TAYLOR . )

3 7

EARLY CHRISTIANITY AND ITS TEACH INGS .

Con/73 : 1 1 : 71 from Vol . j).

V I . THE CHR IST .

AL L the teachings Of Christianitv turn upon the central conception Of the Christ . This is the great figure that stands outthrough the m ass Of dogma and Of creed and that gives characterto the faith . Upon the view held w ith respect to this central ideadepends the character of the Christian bel ief

,and i t is thus natural

that a large portion Of the d isputes that so Often d ivided the Churchshould have referred to the existence and qual i ties Of Christ

,and

that so nm ch tim e was spen t in settl ing the dogmas Of h is in carnation

,his relation to the Father and other points.

Ord i nary orthodox Christianity isbui lt upon a supposed bistorical fact

,that Of the birth

,l ife

,and death by cruc ifixion of Jesus, at

som e tim e in the reign of Augustus. Thus if the even ts related inthe New Testam ent d id not occur , then the whole fabric is a delusionand the rel igion a m ockery .

B ut in the earl ier tim es,at least am ong the more cul tured and

philosophical , fai th was not bui l t upon such uncertai n ground .

That a great rel igion should base i tself upon an event which happened

,if i t happened at all

,at som e one period in human history

now far rem oved , seem s scarcely reasonable and as by every freshinvestigation m ore and m ore doubt is thrown upon the accuracy Ofthe accounts we have received , the historical foundation crum blesgradual ly away . If a rel igion is to last i t m ust base i tself on an

eternal fact,and not 011 an inciden t which has com e and gone before

its nature has been clearly real i z ed .

How m uch wil l there be left Of Christianity if we rem ove thequestionable history ? An orthodox bel iever would probably answer,None ; for the historical foundation col lapsing, he has no other onwhich to bui ld. But this is a poor foundation at the best, and now,

3 8 LUCIFER .

aspiece by piece the evidence for at least the more m arvel lous eventsi n the l ife of Jesus is weakened by continued research , un less som eother ground can be d iscovered there wil l be l i ttle remai ning of

Christian ity in a few cen turies.

While the historical aspect Of the rel igion is one that has alwaysbeen prom in en t in the Church

, as already poin ted out, i t is not the

on ly one,and were all the history Of the B ible to be proved a m yth ,

there would sti ll be left the m ain doctrinesOf the m ore m ystical andspiri tual Of the early Christian wri ters. This appl ies not only tothe history Of the Old Testam ent , but even to the story Of the birth

,

the l ife,and the death Of Jesus.

Tak ing up first the orthodox doctrine relating to Ch rist,accord

ing to the Counci ls Of the Church,we find the following form i ng

part Of the original Nicene C reed , the first creed settled by a generalassem bly of the b ishops.

“We bel ieve in God , m aker Of all th ings,one Lord

,Jesus

Christ,the Son Of God

,begotten Of the Father

,only begotten

,that

is to say, Of the substance Of the Father,God Of God

,Light Oi

Light,begotten

,not m ade

,by whom all th ings were m ade

,both

things i n heaven and th ings O11 earth,who for us m en cam e down

and was m ade flesh,m ade m an

,sufl

'

ered death and rose agai n on

the third day, went up into the heavens and is to com e to judge thequick and the dead .

”

We see here a very carefu l and precise exposi tion Of dogm a.

Each poin t has been m ost carefully thought out and every wordweighed so that its exact m ean ing m aybe clear . And there wasm uchneed Of th is

,for the Coun cil , am ong other th ings, m et to settle a

heresy which,though hard ly intel l igible to the ord inary reader

of the presen t day, bore very strongly on the fundam en tal ideas Ofthe fai th

,and i t was necessary that a heresy which touched on the

nature Of their Saviour shou ld be rigorously put down . Theheretical view espec ial ly condem ned by the Coun ci l m ade a vi tald istinction between the Father and the Son . I t was argued that ifthe relation between the Suprem e God and Christ was that Of fatherand son

,there m ust have been a tim e when God becam e a father

,

and therefore the Son had not existed from etern i ty . A d ifferen cei n nature was thus m ade between the persons Of the Godhead

,and

th is was held to be the v i lest Of heresy . Both sides of course had

CHR ISTIAN ITY AND 1 1‘

s TEACH INGS . 3 9

the ir authori ties ; both quoted at i n term inable length from the B ibleand expounded the scripture so as to Obtai n the desired m eaning.

Consideri ng that the subj ect was so vast and so far beyond experiencethat there cou ld be no posi tive ideas which were not false , no matterhow carefu l ly expressed , i t seems very strange that such exc itementwas raised and so much blood spi l t on metaphysical d istinctions.

B ut having once laid down dogmas,i t was necessary to strengthen

them and render them precise, and so for centuries council aftercounci l met to arg ue ou t the fai th afresh as each new heresy

.

The m ost vital doctri nes Of the Ch ristian bel ief relate to thedual nature of Christ

, the God - m an . How they were to regard theman - Christ and how the God— that was the problem the early m akersof doctrine had to solve . Christ i ncarnated as m an was the

sam e as Ch rist the God,and yet the man was not the d ivine

being who had existed from eterni ty,one i n substance with the

supreme Father . To solve th is mystery was impossible, but unlessthe Church had clear teaching upon the poin t al l its dogmas wou ldbe of no efl

'

ect. The teaching was that the Christ was both perfectGod and perfect man ; that the d iv in i ty in al l its fu lness was present,and at the sam e time humanity in all its fulness was contai ned i nh im , sin alone excepted .

The m ain poin t Of interest for us is that underneath all th is

con fusion there are concealed some great ideas, doctr ines that,viewedapart from the m eaningless d iscussions of crowds of bishops, Oftenignorant m en of the people

, are seen to be the great underlyingtru ths Of all the world - fai ths. That this fact was recogn i z ed bysome Of the greater wri ters Of the Church wi l l be seen in the passages quoted

,and if we bear i n m ind the ev idence already given Of

the existence of a secret teaching,and of the mystical i nterpretation

of the sacred writi ngs,we m ay see som e reason for d ispu tes as to

the m eanings Of term s and Of dogmas.

With regard to the nature of the doctri nes relating to Christ,we have a very surprising statement made by Origen wh ich throwsm uch l ight upon the ideas held by m ore advanced Ch ristian thinkers.

To the l iteral - m i nded (or carnal), we teach the Gospel i n thehistoric (or l i teral) way, preaching Jesus Christ and Him cruc ified ,bu t to the proficients, fired w i th the love Of Divin e wisdom we

,

40 1 . 1'CIEER .

im part the Logos. (From the Comm entary on the Gospel Of St .John

,

” quoted by Dr. G . Wyld i n TIzooso/flzy and flu : mgr/w L ife.)The doctrine of the Logos is evidently the inner teaching which

lies beneath the story Of “ Jesus Christ and Him crucified .

”

The tale,which appeals to the higher em otions Of the people ,

and leads them to reverence a great ideal,is fi tted for their com pre

hension,but the real i ty which is beyond is fitted only for those who

have set them selves on the right path , and m ake their rel igion nota m ere creed

,but a gu ide to their own inner growth .

The low place assigned to the story or trad i tion , so far as i t

form ed part Of the rel igious bel ief is, if possible , sti l l m ore clearlyshown in a passage from Con/m Cc'lsum

,book i . chap . xi i i .

Moreover, that i t is in agreem ent wi th the spi ri t of Christian ity, of m uch m ore im portance to give our assent to doctrinesupon grounds Of reason and wisdom than on that Of fai th m erelyand that i t was only i n certain circum stances that the latter coursewas desired by Christianity , i n order not to leave m en al togetherwi thou t help, is shown by that genu ine d isciple Of Jesus

,Paul,

when he says : For after that,i n the wisdom Of God

,the world by

wisdom knew not God,i t pleased God by the fool ishness Of preach

ing to save them that bel ieve .

‘

Now by these words i t is clearlyshown that i t is by thewisdom Of God that God ought to be known .

B ut as this result d id not fol low,i t pleased God a second tim e to

save them that believe,not by ‘ fol ly ’

un iversally,but by such

foolishness as depended on preaching . For the preaching Of JesusChrist as crucified is the ‘ fool ishn ess ’

Of preaching, as Paul also

perceived , when he said ,‘B ut we preach Ch rist cruc ified , to the

Jews a stumbl ing- block,and to the Greeks fool ishness ; but to

them who are cal led,both Jews and Greeks

,Christ the power Of

God,and wisdom Of God .

The Older Christian wri ters laid great stress on the doctri ne Ofthe Logos

,the d ivi ne in term ed iate

,and the un iversal sp iri tual in

telligence, through whom the world was created . As Justin Marty rsays in his first - 1pologv

“We have been taught that Christ is the first- born Of God,and

we have declared above that He is the Word Of whom every race Ofmen were partakers, and thosewho l ived reasonablywere Christians,

canrsrmm rv AND 1 i‘

s TEACH INGS . 41

even though they have been thought atheists '

as,among the Greeks,

Socrates and Herac li tus, and men l ike them .

The d istinct ion between the Father and the Son or Logos,was

that the form er was immovable,ever rem aini ng the sam e and never

m an ifest to man,whi le the Logos God was that God which could

appear i n various places. He i t was who appeared i n the Gardenof Eden ,

and not the Father. In h is Dialog ue will: Tryplto, ch .

lxi. and cxxv i i . , Justin stil l further expounds the nature of theLogos .

“ God begat before al l creatures a Beginning, [who was] a cer

tain rational power [proceed ing] from H im self, who is called bythe Holy Spiri t, now the glory Of the Lord

,now the Son

,agai n

Wisdom , again an Angel , then God , and then Lord and Logos ; andon another occasion he cal ls himself Captai n , when He appeared i nhuman form to Joshua the son Of Nave (Nun). For he can becalled by al l those names

,since He m inisters to the Father’s wi l l

,

and since He was begotten Of the Father by an act of wi ll ; just aswe see happen ing amongst ourselves ; for when we give out som eword , we beget the word ; yet not by abscission , so as to lessen theword [which remains] in us

,when we give i t out ; and j ust as we

see also happening in the case of a fire, which is not lessened wheni t has kind led [another] , but remains the sam e .

You m ust not im agine that the unbegotten God H imself camedown or went up from any place . For the ineffable Father and

L ord of al l nei ther has come to any place, nor walks, nor sleeps, norrises up , but remains in His own place

,wherever that is, qu ick to

behold and quick to hear,having ne i ther eyes nor ears, but Of in

descr ibable m ight . How,then

,could he talk with any one,

or be seen by any one, or appear on the smal lest portion of the

earth Therefore neither Abraham ,nor Isaac , nor Jacob,

nor anyother man,saw the Father and inefl

'

able Lord of al l , and alsoof Christ, but [saw] Him who was accord ing to H is w i l l His Son ,being God , and the Angel because He m inistered to H is wi ll ;whom also i t pleased Him to be born man by the Virgin who alsowas fire when He conversed wi th Moses from the bush .

”

A more m etaphysical d issertation on the nature Of the Logos is

to be found i n H ippolytus, i n his Contra Heron s, ch . xxvii i .

and xxix .

,enti tled “ The Doctrine of Tr uth .

”

42 LUCIFER .

[The] one God, the first and on ly [Dei ty] , both C reator andLord Of all

,had noth ing coeval [wi th H im self] , not i nfinite chaos,

nor m easureless water, nor sol id earth , nor dense air, nor warm fire,

nor refined spiri t , nor the az ure canopy Of the stupendous firm am en t .

B ut He was One,alone i n H im self. Therefore th is sol i tary

and supreme Dei ty,by an exercise Of reflection

,brought forth the

Logos first, [that is,] not the word i n the sense [of being articu lated

by] voice , but as a ratioci nation Of the universe,conceived and

resid ing [in the d iv ine m ind] , Him alone He produced from existin g

things ; for the Father H im self consti tuted existence,and the being

born from Him was the cause Of all things that are produced . The

Logos was in [the Father] H im self,bearing the wi l l Of His Pro

genitor,and not being unacquain ted wi th the m ind Of the Father .

For sim ultaneously w i th His procession from His Progenitor,inas

m uch as He is th is [Progenitor’s] first- born

,He has

,as a voice in

H imself,the ideas conceived i n the Father . And so i t was

,that

when the Father ordered the world to com e in to existence,the

Logos one by one completed [each Object Of creation , thus] pleasingGod .

”

The Christian doctri ne as thus presented is a highly m eta

physical and m ystical teaching, and not a m ere mass Of superfic ialdogm a to be swal lowed w ithou t d iscrim ination

,as an inspired pro

duction that is too far beyond hum an specu lation to be reasonedupon . I t m ust not be supposed , however, that the passages quoted ,or those to be found i n anypubl ished wri tings, contai n the doctri neOf the Logos spoken Of by Origen . I t is clear from other passagesi n his works that he refers to spec ific teachings regard i ng the actionOf the Logos or spiritual power in the hum an being

,and not to

m ere m etaphysical speculation .

The Logos or Word is the Christ universal,regarded nOt as

the Sav iour, which is a later phase Of his m an ifestation,but as the

first emanation from the Father or suprem e God . These are the

two m ain conceptions of the Son , one, that Of the Logos or creat ive

power Of God, the force which goes outward , so to speak , and

bu i lds the world,and the other

,that Of the sam e power i n its

returning phase, descend ing in order that i t m ay draw the sou ls

prev iously created to their real and lasting abode. We thus find i nthe Christian dogma the rem nants Of the archaic ideas of the emana

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

44 LUCIFER .

not d ivested Of the Logos-

power Him who begat Him . TheLogos

,begotten in the beginning

,begat in turn our world

,havi ng

first created for H imself the necessary matter .”

Havi ng given som e Of the ideas Of the early Christians on thenature Of Christ regarded as God or the Logos

,i t rem ains to d iscover

their v iews on Jesus Christ the m an,and his relation to the d iv in e

Power or Word . These have m uch m ore bearing on the ord inaryChristian fai th than the m etaphysical and general ly incomprehensibleconceptions embod ied i n the passages q uoted above . We shal l findviews that to som e extent explai n the comm on dogm a Of theChurches

,and lessen its crudeness by introduc ing m ore spiri tual

m eanings.

A . M . GLASS .

To be concluded .)

45

FOL K LORE .

FOL K- LORE is a general term em braci ng the customs,beliefs

,

habits and trad i tions of the people, in so far as they have not beenc ivil iz ed out of all original ity . Consequently

,the term has a very

wide significance, and trenches on a great variety of subjects,and

i n the present paper I propose to glance at i t in som e Of its relationsto Theosophy , wi th which m ost folk - lorists are qu i te unacquai nted .

Folk - tales and trad i tions are perhaps the m ost importantbranches Of folk - lore to Theosophists. Though they are necessari lymod ified i n accordance wi th the present state Of the world , m any Of

them areOf immem orial antiqu ity,and are found wi th comparatively

li ttle variation in all parts Of the world . Dating,as they do

,from

ages Of the world when m en m ayhave possessed other powers than at

present , and hav ing been transm i tted oral ly am ong the classes leastaffected by the m aterial ism Of the Kal i Y ug, they can hard ly fai l tocontain sym bol ical references to lost knowledge

,hints Of m uch sig

n ificance,and information relative to elem entals

,Shel ls

,and other

entities not belonging to the physical earth - plane .There are two m odes of studying folk - tales. That usually

adopted is to regard them from the outside,as an interesting account

Of the ideas of the people, and as throwi ng ligh t on their habi ts,

language,history

,m igrations, etc. Noth ing is at presen t m ore

keenly debated than how far tales resembl ing each other in differentcountries m ay have had an independent origin ,

and how far they

m ay have been transm i tted from one nation to another . The lattertheory I bel ieve to be true Of many tales Of w ide d istribution but Im ust confess that i t is a m atter i n which I feel but l i ttle i nterest .

B ut the other poin t Of view,which I have already briefly ind i

cated,is that from which Theosophists wi l l be m ore incl ined to regard

folk- tales. They wi l l treat them wi th respect and reverence, andwill endeavour to search out their i nner m eanings. We wan t m ore

46 LUCIFER .

books wri tten by sympathetic folk - lorists, l ike our friend M r . W . B .

Yeats.In his l i ttle book, T/zo Celtic Twilight, he has fai thfu lly and

reverently recorded the stories which he has heard from the peoplei n I reland . Theosophists wel l know that ord inari ly sceptical and

even scientific men wi l l Often relate stories Of strange th ings whichhave happened ei ther to themselves or to near relatives and friends

,

which they cannot explain (and which they sometim es pretend notto bel ieve in), provided they are certa in that their hearers wi l l takethem seriously, and not treat them as fools or impostors. Suchconsiderations doubtless operate m uch m ore strongly among prim itive peoples, who Si ncerely bel ieve in occul t or astral phenom ena .

Thus,the ord inary l i terary folk - lorist or archaeologist cannot always

expect to m eet with great resu lts when questioning the people onsuch matters as an outsider, whereas a sym pathetic Theosoph istm i ght reap i n the sam e d istrict a rich harvest Of information wh ich

m ight be Of great interest even to l i terary in qu irers.

A West In d ian gentlem an , a graduate Of London Un iversi ty,

told m e the fol lowi ng story . His father had once arranged toaccompany a party from oneWest Ind ian island to another . But hehad befriended an Old negro Ob i man

,who d id his u tm ost to per

suade him not to go . At last,j ust as the boat was about to start

,

the Old m an sent a m ost pressing m essage to the gentleman that hem ust see him at once 011 a matter Of the greatest importance . Hewent reluctantly , and the Old m an delayed him as long as he cou ldon one pretext or another

,and when he returned to the shore he

found to his great annoyance that the boat had left without him .

That boat was cast away, and everyone on board was drowned . Ye tmy friend protests, of course, that he does not bel ieve in Ob i w i tchcraft .Witch - persecutions, i nvolv ing the destruction Of all supersensi

tive persons,and the m aterial ism Of m odern sc ientific c iv il i z ation

,

combined wi th the habi t of l ivi ng in new houses,which prevents

astral influences from accum ulating, have alm ost whol ly bluntedour perceptions Of the elem entals, and even Of the grossest creaturesof the astral planes. Therefore i t is Of al l the m ore im portance forus to Obtain as m uch information as we can from those whosespiri tual perceptions are less blunted than our own . Yet we m ust

,

of course, m ake every al lowance for hal luci nations,errors of Obser

vation or statem ent,and embel l ishm ents, even when we get an

apparen tly authentic narrative at first hand, and we m ust beware ofm istaking literary tales or al legories for folk - tales pure and simple .If a man believes i n ghosts and fairies, i t is only a material ist whowould jump to the conclusion that he must needs believe all the

ghost and fairy tales that he may happen to read or hear . We can

easi ly imagine a materialist laughing at a friend and saying,

“Why,

what a fool So- and- so is ! I told him a grand ghost - story only theother day, and wou ld you bel ieve i t, he took i t al l i n bu t I made upevery word of i t out ofmyown head But where is the fun Of i t ?

If you be l ieve that a fox - hunter can j um p his horse over a hedge,whyshould you d isbel ieve your friend if he tel ls you that he hasseen M r. Brown or Mr . Jones do so ; even though

,i n poi nt of fact

,

these two men never d id so,and perhaps could not . And if you

bel ieve in ghosts, why shou ld you not be l ieve a man who tel ls youapparently in good fai th that he has seen one ? Of course if youdo not believe in the possibi l i ty of ghosts, that is another affair, and

you would hardly bel ieve your own eyes if you were to see one, andtherefore could not be expected to bel ieve the evidence of anybody

else .In studying the folk - tales Of d i fferent countries

,we mayperhaps

i nd icate some d irections i n wh ich enqu iriesmay be profitable . Thuswe find haunted houses exhibi ting prec isel y sim ilar phenom ena i n

England and Egypt ; bu t i n England they are supposed to be dueto ghosts, and i n Egypt to j inn . Here we have at once an i l lustration of the necessity for d isting uishing between facts and deductions.

The similari ty of the phenom ena in such widely separated countriesgoes far to prove the real i ty Of the phenom ena them selves ; bu t i tdoes not necessari ly prove the existence Of ei ther ghosts or j inn , oreven granting their ex istence, i t does not fol low that they have any

connect ion with the d isturbances. On the other hand,j inn are

sometimes confounded wi th ghosts i n Egypt ; bu t we want m oreinformation before we can decide whether such phenomena as

haunted houses are due to elementals,shel ls

,or other agencies.

The probabi l i ty is that they are due to a variety of causes,and we

cannot yet pretend to be perfect ly acquainted wi th anyof them .

The m odern ignorance of all occultism has led to such philoso

phical confusion in m any m i nds that if an occurrence was publ icly

48 LUCIFER .

w i tnessed which cou ld not possibly be explai ned by so- cal led natu ralcauses, num bers would bel ieve that i t m ust be the d irect hand iworkof ei ther God or the dev il

,while if i t was wrought by a human agent

,

or in obed ience to his command,he would ei ther be regarded as a

prophet , if not as the i ncarnate Dei ty H imself,or else persecuted

as a sorcerer .I bel ieve I do not exaggerate when I say that any m an

who was capable of exerting even very m oderate occul t powers inpubl ic

,m ight almost lead whole nations at wi ll

,and impose alm ost

any comm ands or bel iefs upon them .

We are exposed to great dangers in Europe from our totalignorance of occu l t phenom ena, which wou ld render us helpless tocontrol or understand them if they should ever reappear am ong us

in a m ischievous form . At present we are protected by the generalignorance of and d isbel ief i n such subjects on one side, and by thelessened susceptibi l i ty of m odern c ivi l i z ed Europeans to such in

fluences on the other . This has been partly caused by the stam pin g

out of the grosser form s of wi tchcraft,obsession

,vam pirism ,

etc .

,

duri ng the Midd le Ages. B ut we cannot any longer safely perm i tignorance and insusceptibi l i ty to do duty for knowledge and foresight . Much can be learn ed by studying folk - l i terature ; not som uch in the form of folk - tales

,as i n that of occul t phenom ena, related

as actual occurrences. B ut,as I said before

,we m ust be on our guard

both against al legori z ing and against using l iterary tales as ev idence .

An instance of the latter error m aybe found in Gubernatis’Z oological

Alyt/zology, a book i n which what used to be cal led the Solar Theoryis ridden to death

,and i n which everything is in terpreted as t e

ferri ng to the sun and m oon . Wri ting of the White Cat,

”

which is,I think

,i n its presen t form a m odern l i terary story

,

though em bodying various i ncidents real ly drawn from popu lartales

,Gubernatis speaks of theWhite Cat - MoonAfter denounci ng m esm erism for many years

,the doctors hav e

at last been compel led to adm i t its real i ty,but i n order to d isgu ise

its iden ti ty wi th their form er bugbear they have fixed on a m orerecent term

, properly appl ied only to one of its phases, and havecal led i t hypnotism . I t has hitherto received m ost attention inFrance

,and the French doctors have been experim enti ng in a very

fool ish and reckless m ann er, i n total ignorance of what they were

FOLK 49

doing ; and i t is surprising that they have not yet k i lled any of theirpatients. Had they stud ied the records of psych ical phenomena, orknown anything of the consti tution of man , they would hard ly haveventured on so absurd and dangerous an experim ent as attempting

to concen trate the astral double i n a glass of water and then drinki ng it

,the effect of which was to throw the patient into a deep sleep

for m any hours. This actual ly rem inds us of the story of the twodem on brothers i n the Ramayana, one of whom used to transformhimself i nto a sheep to be k i l led and eaten by their enem ies

,and

when his brother called him he used to come to l ife again,and

destroy the unfortunate victim s who had eaten h im :The wi tchcraft ofAbyssin ia, as described by Mansfield Parkyns,

m uch resem bles the grossest formsofmedizevalwi tchcraft,combi ned

wi th lycanthropy , the hymna i n Abyssin ia playing the part of thewolf i nEurope . TheObiwi tchcraftofWestern Africa andamongthe

negroes of America and theWest Ind ies is of a d i fferent stamp ; i t isless foul

,and perhaps less dangerous, for though it deals wi th

nox ious drugs and other ev il in fluences, and is stern ly suppressed bylaw i n the Bri tish West Ind ies, where laws against wi tchcraft are

st i l l necessary , i t deals less wi th obsession , and may be used , aswe have al ready seen , for harm less, or even for beneficial purposes.

The Maghrabees or Moors have always been fam ous as magic ians,

and i t is th is phase of witchcraft (probably ide ntical wi th Obi)andnot that of Abyssin ia ,

which is practised i n Egypt and is describedi n the fl am e! and 0716 N z

'

g/zts. An exhaustive treatise on the

witchcraft of difl'

eren t ages and nations is a book which has yet tobe wri tten

,- for which

,probably, we have not yet accum u lated

suflicien t m aterials.

I t is curious to note how d ifferent nations have the idea that theirn eighbours are greater m agicians than them selves. The Lappshave always been fam ous as magic ians

,and the F inns

,their next

neighbours to the south , though laying claim to be great magic ianstoo, con tinue to regard the Lapps as their equals

,if not their

superiors,i n wi tchcraft . In the sam e way the F i nns them selves are

famous as magicians among the Esthonians,who l ive to the south

of the Gulf of F inland . On the other hand,al though som e of the

Fi nnish ballads represent thesun and moon to have on ce been stolenaway and hidden by the wi tch - queen of Lapland

,one ballad (which ,

50 LUCIFER .

however, appears to be of later date than the others) representsthem to have been stolen by German and Esthonian sorcerers.

Another subject on which we can probably obtain great l igh tfrom popular tales is the nature, character, and d istribution of thevarious classes of elem entals which com e m ost frequently intocontact wi th m ank ind . I expect that d ifferent species wi l l be

found to i nhabi t countries i nhabi ted by d ifferent races of m en,

though we can hard ly expect them to correspond exactly . I think ,too

,that some of them at least are i ntermed iate between anim als

and m en,and that they are l iable to be d ispossessed and driven

away,even if not destroyed , by the draining of m arshes, the fell ing

of forests,and the other changes in the face of nature which attend

the progress of c iv i l i z ation ,and tend to exterm inate the wi ld beasts.

Much,too

,depends on the character of the country . The horrible

m onsters which infested the Engl ish fens a thousand years ago,

i n the days of Beowulf,and of the found ing of C rowland Abbey ,

appear to have remained i n the neighbourhood,accord ing to local

trad i tion,alm ost down to the present day. Not that all or any of

these stories,ancient or m odern , are to be accepted as true withou t

exam i nation and comparison , but they ind icate the d irection inwhich such investigations are l ikely to be instructive and profitable.

Again,the gnom es or Dvergar, as they used to be called , were

wel l known to the Norsem en a thousand years ago, and are m et

wi th throughout the whole of northern Europe, whether Cel tic ,Teutonic

,Scand inav ian or F innish

,with very sim i lar attribu tes

,

and under very sim i lar cond i tions. They wi ll probably be foundto inhabi t all the m in ing countries of the northern hem isphere at

least ; I am told that they are known in Asia M i nor ; and the

Y akshas,the attendants of Kuvera

,the Ind ian God of Weal th

,are

probably gnomes. They appear to com e into con tact wi th men

m ore frequently than any of the other elementals,perhaps because

their nature is m ore nearly all ied to our own .

I have l i ttle doubt,too

,that the sam e

,or nearly the sam e

,ele

m en tals,wi l l be found to i nhabi t the Sahara

,the Gobi

, and the

other great deserts of Asia and Africa . Among these are the elemen tals of the sandstorm s. The account of one of these in the storyof the Merchant in the TIzousamz’ and 0m N zgr/zts may be com pared

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52 w omen .

thing m ore occul t , m ay wel l be suffi cient to d isturb the del icatecond i tions which enable an appari tion to becom e v isible at all.

I ron,too

,in various forms

,is said to drive away elem entals. I pre

sum e th is is due to its m agnetic properties ; and thus the greater

useof iron in m odern houses, for fireplaces, beds, etc .,maybe another

reason for the comparative rari ty of occul t phenom ena in m odernc iv il i z ed Europe .The assumption of the imm ortal i ty of the elem entals may be

paral leled by another notion , equal ly m odern,and equal ly un

philosophical and absurd the idea that when a m an d ies,he finds

him self at once i n the presence of a personal God . I once heard i tsaid of a su icide

,

“ that he had rushed unbidden into the presenceof his Maker ; m uch as if he had dodged the guards and i ntrudedon the privacy of an earthly m onarch . It is also a popu lar notionthat a m an becom es practically om niscien t when he d ies. This

,

however,is less absurd ; for i t has perhaps origi nated i n the l ife

v ision , which there is reason to bel ieve always precedes death ,

comm encing even before the link between the physical and theastral bodies is actual ly and irrevocably broken . I t is such notionsas those d iscussed in the present paragraph which wil l go down toposterity as the folk - lore of the present age.

I do not pretend to have exhausted the extensive subject of

folk - lore in the present paper, bu t have m erely touched on a few

points i n which it appears to m e that the m ethods of Theosophy andfolk - lore may be advantageously combi ned . Special ism is the greatbane of our age ; and we should try to counteract i t by investigati ngevery subject from as m any d isti nct poin ts of view as possible.

Many of my rem arks are ten tative, and remai n to be proved ord isproved by further enqu iry .

W . F . Kway .

53

THE DESIRE - BODY .

RECENT i nvestigations have th rown som e further l igh t

upon the nature of the desire- body i n m an,

and al thoughthe resul ts are sti l l fragm en tary and som ewhat incomplete , theyhave been thought of suffi cient i nterest to be briefly laid before thereaders of LUCIFER . A great deal m ore experim ent and observationwi l l

,however

,be needed before a com plete theory of the lower

veh icles of m an ’s consciousness can be form ulated,and especial ly

before the various l i nes of evolution which com e together therei ncan be d isentangled and assigned to thei r proper places in relationto that general system of evolution on the planetary chain to whichthe hum an race belongs.

The wr i ter is merely a scribe who has been requested to putupon paper the resul ts arrived at as clearly as can at presen t be done,and w i th these few words of introduction we may turn to the

subject in hand .

In the recent articles upon Dream s and Man and his

Bod ies wh ich have appeared in these pages, the statem ent is m adethat the physical body and the etheric double possess each a

sort of consciousness of its own,apart from and independen t of the

Ego, which uses these bod ies as veh icles for its m an ifestation on

the physical plane. These statem en tswi l l becom e m ore in tell igiblewhen i t is added that this dim

,bl ind

,and exceedingly restricted

consc iousness is due to the fact that both the gross body and the

etheric double are each in form ed ” by a portion or rayofelem ental

essence which is th is consciousness. This special i z ation of m onad icessence— as in all sim i lar cases in the an im al

,vegetable

,and m ineral

k i n gdom s— is only tem porary,lasting as long as the organ i z ed l ife

of the body in question endures,and being reabsorbed in to the

particular class of elem ental essence from which i t was special i z ed assoon as the body which it inform s d isin tegrates.

This monad ic essence, i t m ust also be remem bered,wh ich is

54 L UC IFER .

speciali z ed as the in form i ng consc iousness, say of the gross body of

an anim al,is qui te d ifferen t and d istinct from that other type of

m onad ic essence which is special iz ed as the consc iousness of th e

an imal as such . For the latter belongs to one or other of th esegregated classes of the m onad ic essence which have reached th ean imal stage on the upward arc of their evolution ; whi le the form er ,the essence which in form s the gross body onlv,

belongs to a qu i ted ifferen t class of m onad ic essence which is evolv ing th rough the

elem ental k ingdom s on the opposite or descend ing arc of

evolution . This d istinction wil l perhaps becom e clearer in

the l ight of the fol lowing remark : the gross body of the

animal is in form ed by one type of elem en tal essence,its ether ic

double by a second,

and its astral body by a third,these

three seem ing to occupy adjacent posi tions in the downward seriesof stages ; but there is on ly one class of anim al m onad ic essence on

the upward are out of which is special i z ed that raywhich consti tu testhe sou l ” of the animal

,which uses all these three vehicles (w i th

their respective in form i ng essences)as its vehicles du ri ng the l ife of

the an im al in question .

In the preced ing paragraph I have anticipated a statem en twhich is the foundation of what is to fol low

,by speak i ng of the

“astral body ” of an an im al as being inform ed by a rayof elem en talessen ce

,just as are the gross and etheric bod ies. This is in fac t the

case,and all that has been said of the latter appl ies equal ly to the

astral body— whether of an im al or m an . And i t is abou t the astralor desire - body of m an thus in form ed that we have now to speak .

First,however, a remark or two m ust bem ade upon the m ean in g

of the word “ desire.

” Som etim es, both in ord inary and i n Theosophical usage, we find i t em ployed in a narrow

,restricted sen se

,

and then agai n i n its w idest and m ost exten ded sign ification .I t is

m ost conven ient now to take i t in the latter . Used thus i t com pr isesevery form and phase of reach ing out towards

,longing for

,seek in g

after, or craving for anyth ing, whether actual ly present or on l yd im ly fel t after . I t thus in cludes at one end of the scale su chselective attraction as we see in the m ineral k ingdom i n the form of

chem ical affin i ty, and on the other the highest form s of sp iritualaspiration ,

w i th all that l ies between the two. Each stage,whether

of upward or downward evolution , wi l l d isplay a d ifferent form of

r n s DES Iaa~aonv . 55

this activity of desire , and some day spec ial terms will be neededto deno te each . Thus the essence i nform ing the gross bodyexhibits its own phases of desire in the for m of hunger

,th irst

,

desire for rest or activ ity and the l ike, som e of which are inducedtherei n by the cond i tion of the tissues of the body, while others m ay

arise spontaneously in the essence i tself.

Now “ desire is much m ore active and varied i n the astralbody than in either the etheric or the physical , and this appears to

be mai nly due to the peculiar nature of the essence wh ichinform s i t . This i nform ing essence is extremely active

,ceaselessly

gropi ng and reaching ou t in all d irections, producing the everchanging flashes of colour which are so characteristic of the

kam ic aura , or aura of the astral bodv. This elemental essence,

special i z ed in the astral body , seems to be inspired wi th the one

dom inant craving to feel, to get the sense of existence throughm ah

’

on . Its chief characteristic is thus an unceasing reachingout after sensation in every for m ; preferably pleasurable, bu trather the m ost pai nfu l than none at all. For

,i n some curiously

bl ind and inchoate way, this essence gets a sense of l ife andexistence when suffused wi th sensation ; and this is what i t is ceaselessly groping and reaching ou t after, i n the strange

,bl i nd

,d im ly

intell i ge nt , instinct ual wayalready m entioned .

This groping after sensation is the l ife of the essencewhich informs the astral body, and is the m eans by which its own

evolution proceeds. Qu i te natural ly,therefore

,i t is ever striving

after its own ends, irrespective of all else,being total ly in

d ifferen t to , and probably unconsc ious of,any resu l ts or couse

q uences which may ensue ei ther to the body on the one hand orthe Ego on the other. And equal ly, of course , no such conceptionsas those of right and wrong are i n any way appl icable to i t .In seeking sensat ion i t is only fol lowing ou t the law of its own

nature ; and the keener, the m ore vivid , the more i ntense the sensation it obtai ns

,the more its evolution is furthered . Hence we m ust

not i n any way associate the idea of evi l or good w i th the

activity of th is order of monad ic essence i n itself ; though theseactivit ies acqu ire the aspects of good and ev i l when considered

,

as we shal l do presently, i n relation to the Ego and its evolution as

affected by them . But considered apart from the Ego they have no

56 LUCIFER .

colouring of good or evi l , and i ndeed i t may be question ed whetherwhatweknowaspain and pleasure are d istinguishable i n itssensations

apart from the presence of the Ego.

Now,as has j ust been remarked

,the more keen and v ivid the

sensation , and the more there is of i t,the m ore the evolution of

th is elemen tal essence is furthered . And this essence feels in a

dim kind of way— though whether by inherent instinct or as the

resu l t of past experience is as yet undeterm ined— the essencefeels that when it can bring m ind

,that is the power and l ife

of Manas,i nto association wi th i tself

,its capac i ty of sensation is

greatly enhanced,and i t obtains keener, ful ler, m ore viv id and

in tense sensations, as wel l as k inds and orders of sen sation which,

apart from Manas,would l ie beyond its reach .

Hence,taking now the complete man

,this elem ental essence

which in forms the astral body is ever strivin g to draw the Manasi nto closer and closer association w i th itself

,and to make the Manas

work for its ends by lead ing it to bel ieve that i t (Manas) wants

these sensations which the essence is reaching out after . Hencearises a conflict of i nterests. The l ine of evolution of Manas leads i taway from those regions where those sensations are obtainablewhich this essence craves for

,up i nto the higher regions of pure

m anasic l ife ; whi le the evolution of this essence,tend ing as

i t does downwards towards the m i neral kingdom,leads in the

exactly opposi te d irection . Thus the true in terest of Manas isopposed— for the time being— to that of the elem en tal essence

,and

hence there arises i n man that inner conflict which St . Paul described as the law of the flesh

,which warreth against the law of the

spiri t .Here we seem to have a solution of the d ifficul t problem of the

desire - nature in m an . For that h igher order of m onad ic essencewh ich has com pleted its downward sweep through the m ineralkingdom and has developed upwards through the vegetable an d

animal stages to the verge of ind ividual i z ation as m an,finds i tself

using as a vehicle the astral body of a highly developed an imal type

in form ed by this sensation - seek ing order of m onad ic essence on itsdownward course. And when com plete i nd ividual i z ation ensues and

the m anasic consciousness develops, i t is largely en tangled in the

meshes of this astral or desire body.

ran DES IRE - BODY . 57

If the above be taken in connection wi th what has been saidelsewhere i n Theosophical l iterature about the desire - body andits pu rification , i t wi l l , I think, becom e m ore i ntel l igible howthe Ego, as i t gradual ly gains control over the elemental essencewhich inform s the desire - body , and learns through suffering that itsow n goal is not the same as that of th is i nform ing essence

,gradually

d isentangles i tself from the m eshes of this kam ic sheath,unti l at

last i t trains this essence to energiz e only along the l i nes and i n

the ways which the Ego , now grown wise through accum ulatedexperien ce , selects for its activitv upon the astral plane:

One po int more remai ns to be mentioned , and then these fragm en tary notes may be closed for the present . After the death of thephysical body it is known that the matter of the astral body, insteadof be ing all m ixed up together as is the case i n l ife, arranges itselfin a sort of stratified series of shel ls

, wi th the m atter of the lowest

(and therefore coarsest and grossest) astral sub- plan e on the ou tside ,and tha t of the m ore refined and higher sub- planes i n order as onepasses i nwards or upwards.

This rearrangem ent of the m atter of the astral body is broughtabout by the action of the i nform ing essence about which we havebeen speaking. This essence during its tem porary special i z at ioni n a given ast ral body acqu i res a k i nd of quasi - ind iv idual iz ation

,

analogous to what happens i n the case of an artificial elem ental .I n th is cond i tion it exhibi ts a sort of i nsti nct of self- preservation .

And as, after the death of the physical body , the d isintegrati ngforces of the astral plane begi n to play upon the astral body

,th is

special iz ed essence, feel i ng its separated existence i n danger,

seeks to maintai n i tself,as separate , by rearranging the m atter in

which it is special i z ed i n such a m anner as to resist d isintegrationas long as possible . This i t does by pu tting the grossest m atteroutside , as i t were , since the lower the order ofmatter the greaterits resistance to disi ntegration .

And now i n conclusion let me agai n rem ind the reader thatthe foregoing is not an infal l ible revelation , not even as vet a

thoroughly worked - ou t theory ; bu t m erely a brief statem ent of theresu l t of some recent investigations. Though there is strongreason for bel ievi ng these to be accurate

,yet further experim ent

and more cri tical comparison wi l l be necessary before they can

58 LUC IFER .

be final ly fitted in to their proper place in the great scheme of

veri fied and tested Theosophical knowledge .

For i t m ust always be rem em bered that however accurate an

observer’s v ision m aybe from his present standpoi nt , that standpo in ti tself is constantly changing as he gradual ly grows in knowledge ; aswe rise in the scaleofevolu tion ourhori z on m ust in ev itablyw iden

,and

though,if we have been carefu l in the bu ild i ng up of our structure

,

we shal l not need to pull down any part of what we have erected ,we shal l certai nly have to add to i t in m any d irections

,to learn to

con tem plate i t from many new poin ts of view,and to be ever ready

to m od ify our deductions from i t in the l igh t of ful ler information .

And indeed this m ust always be so,for Theosophy is no dogm atic

rel igion w i th narrow and in flexible creed , bu t the ever - progressivescience of the d ivine.

B ERTRAM K EIGHTLEY .

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60 L L'

C IFER .

are i nvariably ei ther in i tiates or Adepts, for unti l a pupi l has beentaught by hisMaster how to form the Mayavirfrpa he wi l l be unableto m ove wi th freedom upon even the rfipa levels of Devachan . Tofunction consc iously duri ng physical l ife upon the arfipa levelsdenotes stil l greater advancem ent

,for i t m eans the unification of the

Manas,so that the m an down here is no longer a m ere personal i ty,

m ore or less i nfluenced by the i nd iv idual i ty above,but is him self

that i nd iv iduali ty,trammelled and confined by a body

,certainly

,but

nevertheless havingw ith in him the power and knowledgeof a highlydeveloped Ego . Very magn ificent objects are these Adepts and

in itiates to the vision which has learnt to see them— splend id globesof l ight and colour

,driv ing away all ev i l influence wherever they

go,and shedd ing around them a feel ing of restfulness and happiness

of which even those who do not see them are often consc ious. I t isin this celestial world that m uch of their m ost important work isdone— m ore especially upon its higher levels, where the indiv i

dual i ty can be acted upon d irectly . I t is from th is plane that theyshower the grandest spiri tual i nfluences upon the world of thought ;from i t also they impel great and beneficen t m ovem ents of all

k i nds. Here m uch of the spiri tual force poured out by the gloriousself- sacrifice of the N irmanakayas is d istributed ; here also d i rectteaching is given to those pupi ls who are suffic iently advanced toreceive i t in th is way, since i t can be im parted far more read i ly andcompletely than on the astral plane . In add i tion to all these activities they have a great field of work i n connection wi th devachanees

,

but this wi l l be more fi tly explained under a later head ing .

I t is a pleasure to find that a class of i nhabi tantswh ich obtrudedi tself painful ly on our notice on the astral plane is entirely absenthere . In a world whose characteristics are unselfishness and sp irituality the black m agician and his pupi ls can obviously find no

place, since selfishness is of the essence of all the proceed ings of thedarker school . Not but that in m any of them the i ntellect is veryhighly developed , and consequently the matter of the m ind - bodyextrem ely active and sensi tive along certai n l ines ; but i n every casethose l in es are connected w i th personal desire of som e sort, and theycan therefore find expression only through Kam a- Manas— that is

,

the part of the m i nd - body which has becom e alm ost inextricabl yentangled w i th Kam a . As a n ecessary consequence of this l im i ta

nsvacnax . 6:

tion it fol lows that their activities are confined to the astral andphysical planes

,and thus is j ustified the grand old description

of the heaven - world as the place“where the wicked cease from

troubling, and the weary are at rest .”

In th inki ng of the ltv mg i nhabi tants of Devachan , the questionna turally s uggests i tself whether either ord inary people during sleep,or psychically developed persons i n a trance cond i tion , can everpenetrate to th is plane . In both cases the answer m ust be that theoccurrence is possible . though extremely rare . Puri ty of l ife and

purpose wou ld be an absolute pre- requ isi te,and even when the

plane was reached there would be nothing that cou ld be cal led realconsciousness, but sim ply a capac i ty for receiv i ng certai n impressions . As exem pl ifying the possibi l i ty of entering the devachan icstate duri ng sleep , an i nciden t m aybe m entioned which occurred incon nect ion wi th the experim en ts m ade by the London Lodge ondream consc iousness, an account of some of which was given in theDecem ber number of LUCIFER . I t m ay be rem embered by thosewho read that article that a thought - p icture of a lovely tropicallandscape was presented to the m inds of various classes of sleepers,with a v iew of testing the extent to which it was afterwards recol

lected on awak ing . One case,however, which as i t d id not i l lustrate

the phenom ena of dreams was not referred to i n the art icle , was thatof a person of pure m i nd and considerable though untrai ned psychiccapaci ty; and the effect of the presentation of the thought - pictureto her m i nd was of a som ewhat startl ing character . So intensewas the feel i ng of reverent joy, so lofty and so spiri tual were thethoughts evoked by the contemplat ion of th is glorious scene, thatthe consciousn ess of the sleeper passed entirely into the m ind - body,or, to put the same idea i nto other words, rose on to the devachanic

plane. I t m ust not , however, be supposed from this that she

became cogniz ant of her surround i ngs upon that plane,or of its

real condi tions ; she was simply in the state of the ord i nary devachance after death , floating in the sea of l ight and colour i ndeed , bu ten tirely absorbed i n her own thought , and consc ious of noth ingbeyond it— resti ng in ecstatic contem plation of the landscape and of

all that i t had suggested to her— yet contemplati ng it, be i t understood , wi th the keener insight

,the more perfect appreciation , and

the enhan ced v igour of thought pecu l iar to the devachanic plane ,

62 LUCIFER .

and enjoying all the while the in tensi ty of bl iss which has so oftenbeen spoken of before. The sleeper remai ned i n that cond i tion forseveral hours, though apparently en tirely unconscious of the passageof time

,and at last awoke wi th a sense of deep peace and inward

joy,for which , si nce she had brought back no recol lection of what

had happened , she was qu i te unable to account . There is no doubt,

however, that such an experience as this,whether rem em bered in

the physical body or not, wou ld act as a d isti nct impu lse to thesp iri tual evolution of the Ego concerned .

Though in the absence of a suffic ien t num ber of experim entsone hesi tates to speak too positively, i t seem s almost certai n tha tsuch a resul t as th is just described wou ld be possible on ly in the

case of a person hav ing already som e am ount of psychic developm en t ; and the sam e cond i tion is even m ore defin itely necessaryin order that a m esm eriz ed subject should touch the devachan ic

plane in trance . So decided ly is th is the case,that probably not

one in a thousand am ong ordinarv clairvoyants ever reaches it atall ; bu t on the rare occasions when i t is so attained the clai rvoyan t

,as before remarked , m ust be not only of exceptiona l

developm en t, but of perfect puri ty of l ife and purpose : and evenwhen all these un usual characteristics are present there sti l l t e

mai ns the difliculty which an untrai ned psychic always finds i ntranslating a vision accurately from the higher plane to the lower .All these considerations

,of course

,only emphasi z e what has been

so often insisted upon before— the necessi ty of the carefu l train in gof all psychics under a qual ified i nstructor before i t is possible toattach m uch weight to their reports of what they see.

THE D ISEMBODIED .

Before considering in detai l the cond ition of the d isem bod iedenti ties on the various sub-

planes of Devachan , we m ust have veryclearly i n our m i nds the broad d isti nction between the rftpa and

arfipa levels, of which m ention has already been made . On the

form er the man l ivesEntirely in the world of h is own thoughts, st i l lfully iden tifying h im self wi th h is personal i ty in the l ife wh ich hehas recently qu i tted ; on the latter he is simply the rei ncarnati ngEgo

,who (if he has developed suflicien t consc iousness on that level

to know anything clearly at all)understands, at least to som e extent ,

unvacnax . 63

the evolution upon which he is engaged,and the work that he has

to do. And i t should be rem embered that every man passes throughboth these stages between death and birth , though the undevelopedmajori ty have so l i ttle consc iousness in ei ther of them as yet thatthey might m ore truly be said to dream through them . Neverthe

less, whether consc iously or unconsc iously, every human bei ng m usttouch his own Ego on the arupa level of Devachan before reincarnat ion can take p lace and as his evolu tion proceeds this touchbecomes m ore and m ore defini te and real to him . Not only is hemore consc ious here as he progresses, bu t the period he passes i nthis world of reali ty becomes longer : for the fact is that his consciousness is slowly but stead i ly rising through the d ifferent planesof the system . Prim i tive m an

,for example

,would have compara

tively l ittle consc iousness on any plane bu t the physical duri ng l i feand the lower astral after death , and indeed the sam e m ay be saidof the qu ite undeveloped man even i n our own day a person a l i ttlem ore advanced wou ld perhaps begin to have a short deva chan icperiod (on the rupa levels, of course), bu t wou ld sti ll spend by far thegreater part of his tim e , between incarnations, on the astral plane. As

he progressed the astral l ife would grow shorter and the devachan icl ife longer

,unti l when he becam e an in tel lectual and spiri tual ly

m inded person , he wou ld pass through Kamaloka w i th hard ly anydelay at al l

,and would enjoy a long and happy sojourn on the higher

of the rupa levels. By this time, however, the consc iousness in thetrue Ego on the arfi pa levels would have been awakened to a veryconsiderable exten t

,and thus his consc ious l ife i n Devachan wou ld

d ivide i tsel f into two parts— the later and shorter port ion beingspent on the higher sub -

planes i n the causal body . The process

prev iously described would then repeat i tself, the l ife on the rfrpa

levels gradual ly shorten ing, while the higher l ife becam e stead ilylon ger and fu l ler, ti l l at last the tim e came when the consciousnesswas unified—when the higher and lower Manas were i nd issolublyunited , and the man was no longer capable of wrappi ng himself up

i n his own cloud of thought , and m istak ing that for the greatheaven - world around him— when he real i z ed the true possibi l i ties ofh is life, and so for the first time truly began to l ive. Bu t by thetime that he attai ns these heights he wi l l already be an i n it iate, andwill have taken his fu ture progress definitely into his own hands.

64 w omen .

I t has frequently been urged as an objection to theTheosoph icalteaching on the subject of the hereafter

,that the l ife of the ord i nary

person in Devachan is noth ing but a dream and an i l lusion— thatwhen he im agines him self happy am idst his fam i ly and friends, orcarrying out his plans w ith such fulness of joy and success

,he is

real ly only the victim of a cruel delusion : and this is som et im es

un favourably con trasted wi th what is cal led the sol id objectiv i ty ofthe heaven prom ised by Christianity . The reply to such an objection is twofold first of all

,that when we are studying the problem s

of the future l ife we are not concerned to know which of two hypotheses put before us wou ld be the pleasanter (that bei ng, after all,a m atter of opin ion), but rather which of them is the true one ; andsecondly, that when we enqu ire m ore ful ly i nto the facts of the

case,we shal l see that those who m ain tain the i l lusion theory are

look i ng at the matter from qu i te a wrong po int of v iew . As to thefirst poin t , the actual state of the facts is qu i te easi ly d iscoverab leby those who have developed the power to pass consc iously on tothe devachan ic plane during l ife ; and when so investigated i t isfound to agree perfectly w i th the teaching given to us by the

Masters ofWisdom through our great founder and teacher Madam e

B lavatsky . This,of course

,d isposes of the sol id objectiv i ty

theory men tioned above. As to the second poi nt , if the con tent ionbe that on the lower levels of Devachan truth in its fu lness is not

vet known to man,and that consequen tly i l lusion sti l l exists there

,

we m ust frankly adm i t that that is so. B ut that is not what isusual ly m ean t by those who bring forward this object ion they are

generally oppressed by a feel ing that the devachan ic l ife w i ll bemore i l lusory and useless than the physical— an idea which furtherconsideration w i ll

,I th ink , show to be inaccurate.

Let i t be clearly grasped first of all that such i l lusion as thereis inheres i n the personal i ty, and that when that is for the tim ed issipated no i l lusion rem ains. (Of course I am usi ng the wordi l lusion in its ord inary everyday m ean ing— not in that m etaphysicalsense in which all is i l lusion un ti l the absolute is attai ned .) I t w i l lbe seen , as our account of the plane progresses, that th is i l lusiond iffers very m uch on d ifferent levels

,and that i t stead i ly dim i n ishes

as the sou l advances. Indeed , we m ay say that just as i t is on lythe child down here who constantly m akes bel ieve

,

”so i t is on ly

navacnxn . 65

the child - soul who surrounds him self agai n and agai n wi th an i l lu

m y world created by his own thought . In po int of fact , the

Devachan of each person is exactl y su i ted to him ; as in: becomes

more real , if becomes m ore real also . And we ought in fairness tobear i n m ind , before i nveighing against the unreal i ty of Devachan ,that we are,

after all, at the present moment l iv i ng a l ife which is

stil l more unreal . Is i t contended that on that plane we m ake our

own surround i ngs, and that they have therefore no obj ective exis

tence ? But surely that argum ent cuts both ways ; for even downhere the world of which a person is sensible is never the whole of

the outer world , bu t only so nm ch of i t as his senses, his intel lect ,his education , enable him to take i n . I t is obvious that during lifethe average person ’s conception of everyth ing around him is real lyqu i te a wrong on e— em pty , im perfec t , inaccurate i n a doz en ways ;for what does he know of the great forces— etheric, astral , devachanie— which l ie behind everything he sees, and in fact form by far

the m ost important part of i t ? What does he know,as a ru le , even

of the m ore recond i te physical facts which surround him and meet

him at every step he takes ? The truth is that here, as i n Devachan

,he l ives i n a world which is very largely of his own creation .

He does not real i z e i t , of course, ei ther there or here, but that isonlv because of his ignorance— because he knows no better . It

may be thought that there is a d ifference in the case of our friends— that here we have them really with us

,whereas in Devachan

what we have is only an image of them which we ourselves make .

This latter statem ent is true only of the lowest planes, and if thefrien d is an entirely undeveloped person bu t, once m ore, is not thecase exactly the same down here ? Here also we see our friend only

part ly—we know only the part of him which is congenial to us,and

the other sides of his character are practical ly non - existent for us.

If we were for the first time, and wi th the d i rect and perfect v isionof the devachan ic plane, to see the whoa

'

of our friend , the probab i l i tyis that he would be qu i te unrecogni z able : certai nly he would not be

at all the dear one we had known .

Not only is i t true,as above stated

,that as a man becom es m ore

real himself his Devachan becomes more real but i t is also a factthat , as the man evolves, the image of him in his friend

’s Devachan

becom es more real , too . This was very wel l i llustrated by a simple

66 w omen .

case which recen tly cam e under the notice of our investigators. It

was that of a m other who had d ied, perhaps twenty years ago,

leav ing behin d her two boys, to whom she was deeply attached .

Natural ly they were the m ost prom inen t figures in her Devachan,

and qu i te naturally , too, she thought of them as she had left them,

as boys of fifteen or sixteen years of age. The love wh ich she thus

ceaselessly poured out upon these im ages in Devachan was reallv

acting as a beneficen t force showered down upon the grown - up m en

in th is physical world , but i t affected them to a very d ifferen texten t— not that her love was stronger for one than the other

, bu t

because therewas a great d ifference between the im ages them selves.

Not a difl'

erence,be i t understood

,that the m other cou ld see ; to

her both appeared equal ly wi th her and equal ly all that she cou ldpossibly desire : yet to the eyes of the i nvestigators i t was veryev ident that one of these im ages was a m ere thought - form of the

mother’s,wi thout anyth ing that could be cal led a real i ty at the back

of i t , wh ile the other was d istinctly m uch m ore than a m ere im age,

for i t was instinct with l ivi ng force. On tracing this very in terestin g

phenom enon to its source,i t was found that in the first case the son

had grown up i nto an ord inary m an of business— not spec ial ly ev i lin anyway, but by no means spiri tually - m i nded

,while the secon d

had becom e a man of high unselfish aspiration ,and of considerab le

refinem en t and cul ture. H is l ife had been such as to develope a

m uch greater am oun t of consciousness in the Ego than his brother‘

s,

and consequently his higher self was able to energi z e the im ageof him self as a boy which his mother had form ed i n her Devachanto put som ething of him self into i t

,as i t were. A large number of

sim i lar instances were revealed by further research , and i t was

eventual ly clearly establ ished that the m ore highly a m an is developed along spiri tual l ines, the m ore truly is his image in h is

friend ’s Devachan i nform ed by a ray from his higher Ego, eventhough the personal i ty down here in incarnation m ight often beentirely ignoran t of its action . Thus as the m an rises his im agebecom es real ly him self

,un ti l in the case of an Adept that im age is

fu l ly and consciously entered and used as a m eans of raising and

i nstructing the pupi l who has form ed i t . Of th is m ore w i l l be saidlater ; but m ean tim e i t is abundantly evident that

,as m an evolves ,

the i l lusions which clung round h is spiri tual chi ldhood drop away,

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68 m cwsa .

would be im possible for them if,w i thout knowing what was hap

pening to them ,they had to wai t un ti l the death of those friends

before m eeting them , there would be a pain ful‘

period of suspense ,often extend ing over m any years

,while the friend wou ld often arrive

so m uch changed as to be no longer sym pathetic . On the systemso w isely provided for us by nature every one of these d ifficu lties isavoided ; a m an dec ides for himself both the length and the

character of h is Devachan by the causes which he him self generatesduring his earth - l i fe therefore he can not but have exactly the

am ount which he has deserved,and exactly that qual i ty of joy wh ich

is best sui ted to his id iosyncrasies. Those whom he loves m ost hehas ever wi th him

,and always at their noblest and best ; whi le no

shadow of d iscord or change can ever come between them,si nce he

receives from them all the tim e exactly what he wishes. In poin tof fact

,as we m ight have expected

,the arrangem en t really m ade by

nature is infin i tely superior to anything which the im agination of

man has been able to offer us in its place.

C . W . L nanm iarnx .

(To be'

awl/m u d .)

MADAME DE GUYON AND THE QUIETISTS .

DR . WEL L S contributes to the January issue of LUCIFER a m ostin teresting criticism of Madame deGuyon and her school of Quietism ,

founded on an article by myself,on the same subject

,in the

Novem ber and Decem ber issues.

That the cri ticism is an extrem ely interesting one we shall all

read i ly adm i t,whether we agree wi th or d iffer from Dr. Wel ls i n the

v iew he takes. More especial ly is i t of i nterest when we considerthat the views so ably set forth by him are precisely those mostvigorously urged by the orthodox opponents of Madam e de Guyonduring her l ife

,and that his argumen ts are identical wi th theirs.

Dr. Wells gives us great assistance towards the proper com prehension of the views of those who opposed the movem ent

,and

al lows us a glimpse of it through orthodox spectacles.

Dr. Wells assum es that all occul tists wi l l be at one wi th him i n

condem n ing that which he describes as Sem i - Qu ietism ,

” them ovem en t associated with the nam es of Madame de Guyon and of

Fenelon— and,indeed

,if the v iews they sought to prom u lgate are

correctly estimated by him and the resul t of their practices accuratelydescribed

,not only wou ld Dr. Wells have, I trust, every occul tist

at his back,but every heal thy - m inded

,comm onplace ind iv idual

in to the bargai n,for surely the i nsight of an occul tist is not neces

sary in order to apprehend the undesirabi l i ty of practices whichlead to such a goal .The whole crux of the posi tion l ies i n the question whether Dr

Wel ls is correct in his d iagnosis, and therefore we turn to his articleto see what ev idence he offers to support his v iew . What we findis a quotation of opin ions ascribed to Mol inos which were condem ned by Innocent X L ,

but I venture to th ink th is can hard ly beaccorded m uch weight as evidence agai nst Madam e de Guyon . Weare told that Madame de Guyon’s Qu ietism was not Quietism at all,

but Sem i -Qu ietism .

” This nam e m ayserve as wel l as another to

70 LUC IFER .

m ark one phase of the whole Qu ietist m ovem ent , but the nam e doesnot seem a m atter of very great mom ent . Then .we have a pictureof St . Theresa i n Sam adhi contrasted wi th one of a m edim n istic ,

and I conclude, obsessed , Qu ietist . Madame de Guyon is thendeclared to have been a

“woman and no saint

,

”and is m i ldly re

proved for being so obstinate and wrong - headed as to adhere to herv iews even after the ev i l of her ways had been so kindly and considerately explained to her by the gentle representations of the

Church ; and final ly Madam e de Guyon ’s l ife is thus i n a few words

summed up for us What,after all

,is i t to us of th is later world

,

that two hundred years ago Madam e de Guyon flu ttered about th efashionable world of Paris and m ade a party for herself am ongst thedevout Court lad ies That these words convey a lud icrously nutrue picture ofMadam e de Guyon

’s l ife and career wi l l be paten t to

anyone who has fol lowed i t . She was a woman whose l ife hadbeen one of alm ost un ceasing storm

,who had passed her days i n

being driven from pil lar to post, who had been a m ark for everyk ind of persecution , and who, during th is storm - tossed career

,only

enjoyed for a short space anything approaching peace as regards heroutward circum stances— a brief i nterval of sunshine to be rapidlyfollowed by renewed strife and stress ; and to speak of the flutteri ng about the fash idnable world of Paris as characteristic of such a

career is nothing short of grotesque.

What we are chiefly concerned wi th,however

,is the question

whether the inward l ife,on the l ines advocated by those described

by Dr . Wel ls as Sem i - Quietists,leads to m ed ium ship . Does the

ind ifference which is sought and which is described as the “ hol yind ifference m ean

,as Dr. Wel ls suggests, i nd ifference to everything,

even to the d istinction between good and evilIs there no other possible i nterpretation of this k il l ing out of

the wil lIf there is another p ossible read ing

,then what we wish to learn

is which mean ing Madame de Guyon and Fenelon attached to theseterm s when they m ade use of them . For answer we m ust turn totheir wri tings, and in them we find i t repeated ly stated

,and the

greatest possible stress laid on the fact , that the right in terpretationof th is ind ifference is i nd ifference to anything out of God ’s wi l l .

This is noth ing else than the cessation of desire, so often spoken of

MADAME DP. ouvox Axn THE QU IETIS’

I‘

S . 7 1

i n l i terature deal ing with the Path of Occultism,which seem s in

real i ty to consist in the attai nm en t of such a cond ition of balancethat no outward attraction or repulsion can m ove the ind ividualfrom the right course, the course decided in Christian m vstic

phraseology as being in accordan ce wi th God’s wi l l .”

Next,as to the ki l l ing out of the w i l l

,on which both Bossuet

and Dr. Wel ls laym uch stress. I t seem s clearly enough shown bythe wri tings of Madam e de Guyon and Fenelon that what theyreferred to was what we should perhaps now describe as thedestruct ion of the lower personal will , or rather the uni fying of the

w i ll,the m ak ing of the lower to act in harmony and un ison wi th

the higher— this h igher wi ll being cal led by them God ’s wi l l,i n

contra- d istinction to the lower or man’

s wi l l .

Now success i n this control of the lower personal i ty, i t is evi

dent, m ust depend on the exerc ise of concentrated effort and

i nflexible determ ination to achieve success. If such train ing can besaid to be train ing calculated to develope m ed ium ship, then i t seem s

c lear that the term med ium is being used i n a sense preciselv

opposite to that in which i t is usual ly em ployed .

Whether the above correctly represents, as I conceive i t to do ,the ideas of Madam e de Guyon on these poi n ts, can on ly be decidedby each ind iv idual after a study of her wri tings ; as giv ing supportto this v iew,

instead of making any fresh quotations, I would merelv

refer to the quotations c i ted in the original article deal ing especial lyw ith the poin ts raised bv Dr . Wel ls.

OTwAY C I 'PPE.

72

THEOSOPHICAL ACTIVITIES .

AMERICAN SECTION .

A new branch of activity has been started in Ch icago in the formof an extension cen tre. A circular has been issued to the membersasking for their assistance and for suggestions as to fresh work . The

correspondence comm ittee consists of the following members : Mrs.

Darling,Dr. Mary Weekes Burnett, Mrs. Tisdale. Mrs. Brainard and

Mrs. Trumbull. Mr . Fullerton acts as coun cillor.The Lodges carry on their usual activi ties, lectures being regularlv

delivered , bu t little detailed in formation has been received .

AUSTRALASIAN SECTION .

It is finally settled that the Second Conven tion is to be held in

Melbourne at Easter, and the decision is regarded with general favour .I t is felt that the claim s of Melbourne were unden iably the fi rst to be

considered ,and the other Branches have been con ten t towai t . The ideaof hold ing the conven tion at each of the larger cen tres of Theosoph icactivi ty in rotation is welcom ed by all. Where distances are so great ,it is on ly fair that each Branch should have its chance of receiving theother delegates.

In regard to the business to be transacted , the ch ief i tem on the

agenda paper will be the con sideration of the Report of the Comm itteefor the Revision of the Constitution .

I t is rumoured that the General Secretary will apply at Con ven tionfor six mon ths’

leave of absence in order to attend to business at hom e

but the date of his departure is not settled . I t is possible that he m av

return by way of San Francisco and New Y ork , so as to m ake acquain

tan ce with the Am erican m embers.

The Coun tess Wach tm eister is now in Tasman ia. Mr . H . A .

Wilson is accompanying her, and is m ost efficien t in assisting her in the

work she is carry ing on .

The following report comes from Auckland ,New Zealand

A t the presen t time Miss Edger is paying a visi t to the branchesand isolated m embers in the southern portion of the colony. So far

THEOSOPH ICAL ACT IVIT IES . 73

her trip has been successful, and , upon the whole, her visi t is likely tobe of use.

Since last mail the following public efforts have been m ade : on

Sunday even ing, Jan . sth , Mrs. Draffin lectured upon“ Revolution of

Orthodoxy, or Peace on earth and Goodwill to all men . On Jan . 1 7 th ,

at the open Lodgem eeting, C . W. Sanders read a paper upon Though t ,Though t - forms and K arma . On Sunday even ing, Jan . roth , Mrs.

Draflin lectured upon Brotherhood and the Service ofMan .

”

IND IAN SECTION .

The ch ief Indian activities to be chron icled are the lectures and

other work of M rs. Besan t, most of her work, however, consisting of

correspondence and'

the preparation of articles for publication . Alecture again st vivisection was delivered for the Calcutta An ti- V ivisection Society. The other lectures in Calcutta were on TheWay to

Liberation ,

”and Education as a Factor in National Li fe, Mrs. Besan t

afterwards leaving for Benares, to take up the usual round of receptionsan d correspondence.

EUROPEAN SECTION .

Mr. Mead ’

s lectures on“ The Lives and Teach ings of the Later

Platon ists at the Pioneer Club have proved very successful, the

audiences attending those already delivered having d isplayed muchin terest in the subject .

The com plete syllabus is as follows

Feb . 1 4th ,Alexandria and her Schools. Feb . z rst, Plotin us,

the Sain t ; Porphyry,the Ph ilosopher ; Ecstasis. Feb . 28th ,

“

Jambli

chus ; On the Mysteries ; Theurgy. March 6th ,

“ Julian , the Em perorPh ilosopher ; and h isTeachers.

” March 1 3 th ,

“ Sosipatra, theSeeressHypatia,

the Orator : and the Women Disciples.

” March 20th ,

Proclus, theWorld - Priest the Conclusion of theWhole Matter.”

In February Mr. Leadbeater v isi ted the groups in the south - westof England ,

holding private m eeting and giving lectures at Bristol,Plymouth , Tavistock, and Exeter.

An excellen t report comes from Holland , wh ich has always been

one of the most active of Con tinen tal coun tries. A new cen tre has beenformed in Haarlem by Mynheer van Manen . Twen ty- three person swere presen t at the open ing m eeting, and a lecture was delivered byMynheer W. B . Fricke. A syllabus has been arranged for fortn igh tlym eetings.

The m eetings at the Dutch Lodge have been proceeding with the

usual success, lectures being delivered every week .

CORRESPONDENCE .

APOLOGIA FIDEI CHR ISTIANORUM .

WI L L you kindlyallow m e tom ake a protest ,wh ich I know expressesthe feelings not on ly of the wri ter, but of others also who are attractedby the in terest ofTheosoph ical stud ies ?

Those of us who are Christians by conviction object to have our

creed cred ited with all the stupid and irration al accretion s wi th wh ichuneducated Protestan tism has saddled i t, and alsowi th what we considerthe un founded assertions with wh ich the Rom an Church has sough tto m ake an outwork for its ci tadel. I t seem s, for instance, absurd tous that en ligh tened and educated Christians should be held to believein a New Jerusalem of li teral gold and jewels, in a heaven of golden

harps and a hell of flam ing coals, and qui te as absurd as th is, that weshould be cred i ted wi th a system wh ich m akes either doing righ tlyor believing righ tly a m ere bargain for securing eternal happiness forourselves.

I t is sufficien t to d isprove such a V iew as the last I have men tioned ,

to poin t to the teach ing of the old Church collects. Take for examplea fi fth - cen tury collect, slightly altered in our prayer book . Give to

us the increase of fai th,hOpe and chari ty, and that we may obtain what

thou dost prom ise, m ake us to love that wh ich thou dost command .

”

Obtain is in the original “ may be worthy to attain ”

; the th ingprom ised is not eternal happiness, but fai th , hope and charity, wh ichare to be attained by learn ing to love duty . Surely those who wouldread the notion of a bargain in to such a passageas th isare not altogetherunprejudiced .

Y et such are the sort of ideas wh ich a good m any of the wri ters of

LU C I FER have ever since its starting associated with what we considerthe noble n am e of Christian i ty.

Perhaps it m ay lead to en ligh tenm en t in non - Christian m inds if Itry to answer the question as to what, as a Christian and a studen t of

Theosophy, I con sider Christian ity to mean .

I hold Christ, the one and only Master of Christian s, to havefounded a society of in itiates, in wh ich the cond i tions of in itiation wereen tirely moral, and founded upon the right direction of the affections .

Baptism was the appoin ted ceremony for adm ission in to th is societyconfirm ation (in its original form) con ferred the use of occult powersord ination carried on the succession of its heads ; the Lord ’

s Supper

provided the members wi th a ceremony of personal un ion with their

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76 LUCIFER .

Christ . One or two Theosophists, notablyMrs. Besant, seem to real i z ethat Christ is to Christians an actual and living Master, and I am surewe are endlesslv grateful for any fresh light wh ich she brings to us on

the how”of our religion , though the why can on ly be spiri tually

attainable to the insigh t of the individual. B ut we wish tha tother Theosoph ists would respect our Christian susceptibilities as

she does.

A CHR ISTIAN STUDENT OF THEOSOPHY .

[We were somewhat at a loss to understand what had called ou t

the above protest from our corresponden t . Further corresponden ce ,

however, has elicited the fact that the paper en ti tled“ Letters to a

Catholic Priest is the offending documen t .LUCIFER is en tirely impartial in the matter, being nei ther Chris

tian nor an ti - Ch ristian in his proclivi ties at the same time our corres

ponden t should be in formed that the writer of the paper referred to

has spen t a long life as a studen t of theology in both the Protestan tand Catholic schools, and is in timately acquain ted wi th the religious

I t certain ly is absurd to im agine that the enligh tened and edu

cated members of the Christian religion should believe in a New

Jerusalem of li teral gold and jewels, or in that long list of crudedogmas wh ich have been stigm atiz ed by the enlightened members of

the Christian fai th as the Calvin istic and other heresies.

And pleased as we should be to accept the statemen t of ou r

corresponden t as an authori tative defin i tion of “ Christian ity, we

can not but believe that the vast m ajori ty even of the en ligh tened an d

educated ”m embers of the Church would reject such a defin ition .

I f i t were otherwise, there would be no need of Theosophy ; but asi t is, the laying down of such defin i tions is simply the na plus ultra

of individualism , where every m ember of the community arrogatesto h imself the righ t of defin i tion of a common faith ,

a posi tion wh ichdestroys the en tire idea of an authoritative Church .

The question of prayer is one on wh ich Theosoph ical studen tshave very various opinions ; there is a vast differen ce between

prayer” i tself and an analysis of the various “ forms” of prayer ;

and, of course, i t goes wi thout saying that the con trast of prayer an dm an tra and the spiri tual and astral plane is a pe/ilio prina

'

p z'

z‘

of the

m ost m ixed kind .

We have, not, however, any in tention of en tering on a d iscussionwith a corresponden t whose paragraphs lend themselves so easily to

con t roversial treatment —En ]

REVIEWS .

PoRPHvRv To MARCEL LA .

T ranslated byAlice Zimm ern . [London Redway. 1 896. Price 3 5 . 6d . ]

TH IS is one of the most pleasing books that fortune has latelyb rough t in to our hands. Tastefully and artisticallyprin ted and bound ,

sym pathetically and dain tily tran slated , i t is a treatise that every theosoph ical studen t should hasten to place on his shelves. I fwe wish tolearn the eth ical principles of that great theology and theosophy whichwas handed on by Orpheus, Pythagoras and Plato to that brillian tschool of th inkers wh ich surrounded the declin ing years of Rome wi thu n fad ing lustre— if we would understand what true ph ilosophycan prod uce at its best , then we should turn to the pages of Porphyry, who

above all others was attracted to that school by the eth ical side of itsteach ings. At the age of seven ty (3 02 Porphyry m arried a lady

called Marcella ; she was already a widow wi th seven ch ildren , and the

allian ce was essen tially platon ic .

” Porphyry m arried Marcella to

educate her and train up her ch ildren in that theosophywhich he lovedbetter than life. I t was to com fort her and console her during his

absen ce on a long journey, that he penned th is famous Letter .” One

soli tary and im perfect MS . of Porphyry’

s wise words had su rvived theoblivion of the cen turies

,and was d iscovered in the Ambrosian Library

at M ilan in I 8 I6 ; and though several texts have been published , un til

the presen t excellen t translation of Miss Zimmern no version has everbeen given to the English - reading world . I n fact, of versions, thereseem s to be on lyan I talian tran slation in existence. Why so charm ingand h igh - m inded a treatise should have been left all these years in

such obscurity is hard to imagine ; but Porphyry has never been a

favouri te because of h is fifteen books Con /m Clzris/z’

anos, which Constant ine had publicly destroyed . Being h im selfaTyrian (the nam e Porphyryor Basileus being Malchus or Malec in the Cyro-

phoen ician tongue)and perfectly conversan t wi th Hebrew, his criticism s were exceed inglysevere, and among other th ings he demon strated the unauthen tic n atureof the Book of Dan iel, a conclusion at wh ich the H igher Cri ticism of

modern times has unan imously arrived .

78 mem es .

The translation is prefaced by a few paragraphs from the pen ofDr .

Garnett, of the British Museum in the main sympathetic, Dr. Garnettis wide of the m ark in his criticism on the eth ics both of the Platon istsand Ch ristians, when wri ting : To Porphyry and h is con temporaries ,

the moral con stitution was main ly the concern of the ind ividual.

Scien ce, by asserting its physical origin and physical transm ission ,

makes it a concern of the race . Hence a conception of duty to

posterity, surpassing in grandeur and cogency any incen tive to righ taction wh ich either Porphyry or h is opponen ts could conceive. Hereis a dual error. Those who taugh t that the effort should be that all

the world m igh t be saved , and those who believed in reincarn ation ,

had an in terest in the race wh ich no m aterialistic belief in the physicalorigin and transm ission of the individual, and of the ann ih ilation of

consciousness wi th the individual body, can possibly arouse. The

puz z le has always been why the confirmed m aterialist and ann ih ila

tion ist is generally so far in advance of h is creed .

MissZ imm ern’

s In troduction ismost readable and instructive, givingan adm irable outline of the m ain features of the teach ings of Plotin usand Porphyry ; but further notice of detail would be too long for th isreview, wh ich m ay fi tly be con cluded by quoting a few sen tences fromthe text to give the in tending reader a foretaste of the treat in store forhim

What was i t then that we learn t from those men who possess the

clearest knowledge to be found am ong mortals? Was it not th is— th at

I am in reali ty not th is person who can be touched or perceived by any

of the senses, but that wh ich is farthest removed from the body, the

colourless and form less essence wh ich can by no m ean s be touched bythe hands, but is grasped by the m ind alon e.

“ Education does not consist in the absorption of a large amoun tof knowledge,

but in casting off the afi'

ections of the soul. Now the

passion s are the beginn ing of d iseases. And vice is the d isease of thesoul

Is it not then absurd , though thou art persuaded that thou hastin thee the saving and the saved , the losing and the lost, wealth an d

poverty, father and husband , and a guide to all true good , to pan t afterthe m ere shadow of a leader, as though thou hadst not with in thyselfa true leader, and all riches wi th in th ine own power ?

Reason tells us that the d ivine is presen t everywhere and in all

m en ,but that on ly the m ind of the wise m an is san ctified as its temp le,

and God is best honoured bv h im who knows H im best . And th ismust naturally be the wise man alone, who in wisdom m ust honour the

REV IEWS . 79

Div ine, and in wisdom adorn for i t a temple in his though t, honouringit wi th a living statue, the m ind moulded in His image.

For puri ty is God’

s beauty, and H is ligh t is the life-

giving flame

of tru th . In a purebody wheresouland m ind are loved by God , words

should con form wi th deeds since i t is better for thee to cast a stone at

random than a word , and be defeated speaking the truth rather thanconquer th rough decei t .

“ Thou wilt best honour God by making the m ind like un to

Him , and th is thou canst do by virtue alone. For on ly virtue can

draw the soul upward to that which is akin to i t . Next to Godthere is noth ing great but virtue, yet God is greater than virtue.

And th is d isposes en tirely of K ingsley’

s m isrepresen tations of

Platon ic eth ics, with wh ich his lectures, A lexandria and fur .S’

aiools,

and his novel . Hypah'

a , are filled : it is true that Charles K ingsley hasdone m uch to bring the existence of our ph ilosophers before the noticeof the general public, but as he said of the professors of the Museum ,

so we may say of him , he knew “about m any th ings connected

wi th the later Platon ists, but he did not know their teach ings.

The man who practises wisdom practises the knowledge of God

a nd he shows his piety not by con tinued prayers and sacrifices but by

Not he who d isregards the images of the gods is impious, but he

who holds the op in ions of the multitude concern ing God .

“ Anger is foreign to the gods, for anger is involun tary. and thereis noth ing involun tary in God . Neither can tears or supplicationsturn God from His purpose.

There are four first principles that must be upheld concern i ngGod— faith , truth , love, hope. We must have faith that our salvation isin turning to God . And having faith we m ust strive with all our m ightto know the truth about God . And when we know th is, we must loveH im we do know. And when we love Him we must nourish our

souls on good hopes for ou r life.

”

And so far abou t one of the most adm irable letters ever pen ned .

G. R . S . M .

TH E Tq sopn v or: r un UPAN ISHADS .

[Theosoph ical Publish ing Society, London , 1 896. Price 3 52]THE author in this book has attem pted to give an accoun t of the

impressions that the study of the Upan ishads has produced on h is m indrather than a mere description of the doctrines propounded therein .

He begins with an introduction showing that the needs of the

80 LUCIFER .

presen t tim e are“ rather for the understanding than for the will ; for

wisdom than for righ teousness ; for a theosophy than for a religion .

”

And nowhere,”he m ain tains, it is certain , shallwe find these needs

better supplied , or n early as well supplied , as in the theosophy of the

great Ind ian Upan ishads. And th is is so for three ch ief reasons : by

the happy un ion of the h ighest poetic suggestiveness and beauty, they

give a clear and viv id stimulus to m ind and will they “ consist ratherof a series of vivid in tuition s of life than of a system of though t wovenin to ph ilosophic completeness and con tinuity the adm irable expression for the divine underlying power, “

the supreme Self, the real Selfof all beings

”an expression of the greatest power in life that

draws our heart to i t as no other could .

” It is d istinguished from all

other expressions, such as the Ch ristian “ Father in heaven , wh ich ,

however beautiful, vet involves an idea of rem oteness.

In the n in e chapters form ing the body of the work the authord iscourses on the following z

— How our sorrows, m iseries and nu

satisfied desires gradually lead us on to seek after the truth ; how we

gradually recogn ise the h igher Self underlying the habitual self of

our daily life or our selfish personali ty ; how th is h igher Self ultimately proves to be the Supreme Self of all ; the three states of con

sciousness correspond ing respectively to the th ree great d iv isions of theconscious world , the an imal kingdom , or the world of the presen tativeconsciousness, the hum an or the world of the represen tative consciousness, and the h igher sphere of bliss ; death and rebirth ; the way of

liberation , wh ich consists in the ren unciation of all desires, and in the

complete subjugation of the person al and lower self ; the eternal, andhow i t gradually reveals i tself, first th rough time and space, then in itstranscenden tal aspect ; the harm done by crystalli z ed form s and ceremon ies and the con tinual protest of the Upan ishads against them ;

conduct— how the Upan ishads teach the same doctrine of love toward sothers as does true Ch ristian i ty, but the former appealing to the understanding and the latter to the feeling.

All these poin ts, wh ich the au thor has treated of in an adm irablem anner, havebeen illustrated by quotations from the Upan ishads .

On the whole the work is a valuable add ition to theosoph icalliterature. I t has been wri tten by one who has studied the subjectwith great sympathy and who speaks with earnestness— so m uch so,

indeed , that, carried away by emotion he has put forward certain ideaswh ich would not otherwise be defensible.

J . C . c.

REVIEWS . 8I

TEE AsnTfiDnvfivt or PAN I NI : Booxs I I . I I I .

Translated into English by Shrisha Chandra V asu , B .A . [SatyagfifinaChatterj i , the Pan in i Offi ce, Allahabad , Ind ia.

TH IS is the con tinuation of the tran slation of Pan im s greatGramm ar, wh ich Sh t ish Babu has published for the first time in Englishdress. I t is of course needless to speak of the m eri ts of th is wonderfulGrammar itself ; but we are pleased to find that the translation is clearand easy, and the extracts from the Kashikfi are not on lv very numerousbu t also valuable. The large number of references to the preced ingSfi tras for the form ation of padas will save m uch time and trouble,and obviate a difficulty wh ich discourages m any from the study of

Pfin in i. Indeed , the English translation of the Grammar could rightlybe called Pan ini Made Easy .

"

In spi te of all these advan tages, however. i t lacks one of the greatm eri tsof the original , and . I am afraid , allsuch attempts at simpl ificationwill be equally deficien t . The study of Pfin in igives not on ly a thoroughinsigh t into the Sanskri t language, bu t also, in addi tion to the meta

physics"

of grammar, i t con tributes greatly to the developmen t of thesubtle in tellect and powerful memory of the educated Brahmans. Atevery step the original brings the reason and the memory in to play ,while the translation , being honeycombed with aids and commen ts

,

fai ls to serve th is purpose. I t can , however, be recommended as of

great importance. not on ly to allwhowish to have a general knowledgeof Panini , but also to the few who desi re to m aster the great Grammarthoroughly and enjoy all its benefits, i t will prove of value as an

in troduction and prelim inary to the original. The work is to be com

plete in eigh t Books, ofwh ich three have already appeared . Subscrip

tion in advance for the complete work Z2. Price per Book duringpublication 6s. Price for the complete work after publication g3 .

J . C . C .

EUPHRATES , on Tap: WATERS OR THE EAST .

Wi th a Commen tary by S . S . D . D . Being V ol. V I I . of the Col/«lam a

Hem cfi ca , ed i ted by W. Wyn n Westcott, M . B . [Theosoph icalPublish ing Society, 7 , Duke Street , Adelphi , London , W.C . I S96.

Price 3 33 ]THI S is a reprin t of a curious old alchem ical publication by Euge

n ins Philalethes (Thomas V aughan). The author, however, in his

introduction disclaims any connection wi th common alchemy or thetorture of Mews,

"his object being of a spiri tual nature.

82 LUC IFER .

The comm en tator supplies at the end ofeach paragraph explanatorynotes and an ep itome of the m atter con tained in the tex t . The endea

vou r to ex tract som e real in form ation out of alchem ical books is a verylaudable one, and i t is to be hoped that at some time in the future it m ay

be crowned with visible success. The presen t notes are careful and

judicious, and at tim es throw ligh t on obscuri ties in the tex t, but one

is tem pted to wonder why there should be mystery about so m uch thatis obvrous— when true.

The science is em phatically mediaeval, and requires an ex tensiveuse of symbolism to m ake i t fi t in with any class of observed facts .

For example, vegetables are said to feed , not on water, but on the

sem inal viscosi ty that is hid in thewater .” Th is sem inal v iscosi tybreaks out at times through the bark and congeals to a gum , but in the

norm al course proceeds to form fruits and so on . Th is happens to i tby cold , and above ground , but in the bowels of the earth i t is congealedby a sulphureous heat in to m etals, and if the place of its congelation be

pure, then in to a brigh t m etal, for th is sperm is impregnated with ligh t ,and is full of the star fi re, from whence all m etals have their lustre.

All of wh ich is doubtless very m ystical.Regarded from the poin t of view of the comm en tator— that the

book relates to the ph ilosophy of n ature and the spiri tual developmen t ofman— many readers m ay fi nd the quain t expression s agreeable,and capable of conveving fresh ideas or old ideas in fresh form s, an d

th is is no doubt the desire of the editor in reprin ting the work .

A . M . G.

THE MYSTICAL HYMNS OF ORPHEUS .

Translated byThomas Taylor . [New Edition Theosoph ical Publishing Society. 1 896. Price 53 . 6d . net ]

READERS of LUC I FER who have studied the articles on Orpheusnow runn ing in our pages will need no further recommendation of

Taylor’s excellen t work . I t is a facsim ile reprin t of the 1 824 edi tionthe second— the first having appeared as early as 1 787 . The work of

Taylor is of value, not so m uch for his versified tran slation of the

Hym ns, as for his in troduction , volum inous notes and appendices, inwh ich is in corporated a translation of the m ajor part of Proclus

’

Com

men taryon the Cra ty/us of Plato, an indispensable work for all studen tsof Orph ic theosophy. The style and get up of the work Lis iden ticalwith the reprin t of j amblic/ms on t/wM 'sten

'

es, and the price is lessthan half that of second - hand copies. I t is indeed encouraging to

lovers of the genuine Platon ic ph ilosophy to fi nd that the in terest in

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

84 LUCIFER .

and exoteric knowledge in V edic ph ilosophy. The distin ction is, however, clearly h in ted at in the pard and aparci- vidyé , in the para and

apam - B ra/zman of m any an Upan ishad text . And but for th is dis

tin ction the ph ilosophy of Shankara, perhaps all ph ilosophy whatever,had no ground to stand upon . Un less experience were a school of

wisdom lead ing to graduation in that wh ich is beyond experien ce,

there were no sense in talking of Ph ilosophy, or of the ultimate truthof th ings.

”

G. R . S . M .

THE SWORD OF MOSES .

THE last number of the j ournal of Me Royal A siatic Society is

rem arkable for the translation of an old Hebrew magical MS . wh ichhas just been brough t to ligh t . Dr. M . Gaster; having recen tly receiveda d ilapidated copy of th is curious kabalistic relic from Arabia, h as

arranged its folios, translated all that is translatable, and prefixed to i ta learned and valuable in troduction . The doctor places the final ori

ginal from wh ich his copywas m ade, as far back as the fourth cen tu ryA .D the copy i tself being as late as the fourteen th cen tury. There is,

however, m en tion of The Sword of Moses ”bya writer of the eleven th

cen tu ry, speaking of i t at that earlydate as a curious and precious relic .

The value of th is small encyclopaedia of sorcery is that i t m ay serve as

a help to the elucidation of those sacred “n am es (nom ina barbara),

wh ich have so far proved the despair of studen ts of Gnosticism and the

Greek magical Papyri , and also of that so- called “sacred language

”

wh ich the Egyptians and Chaldaean s and the earliest Greeks possessed .

Dr. Gaster refers especially to the P istis Sop/z ia , for in stance, forsuch n ames, but m akes no m en tion of the Bruce MSS . of the same date,

wh ich con tain them in far greater abundance. From a m agical poin tof v iew,

en thusiasts who deligh t in Barrett, Cornelius Agrippa, and

Peter de Abano,m ay perhaps fi nd someth ing to in terest them in The

Sword , but judging from the list of uses to wh ich th is preciousGrimoire could be put, i t can be of practical utility only to those who

are prepared to sink to the level of the foul abom inations of Obealr,V oodoism or Ta

’

in trika jadoo.

G. R . S . M .

THEOSOPHICAL

MYSTIC PUBL ICATIONS .

THE THEOSOPH IST (Adyar). d isappearance of Damodar, and the

V ol. xv”. No. 5—The journey hom e second of her own troubles in con nect ion

from S im la is described in the presen tWith the Society.

“ The Scope and

in stalm en t of “ Old Diarv L eaves.

” Pu rpose Of Theosophy” is an abSt t Of

S toppages were m ade at the various ao

lecturc .

“ The Subjective and Objec

towns ou the way, and lectu res and “V 3 opens W‘th a q uotation from Plato,

recept ions given . Following the b istori and works out the m etaphysical ideas incal sketch is an art icle on Atlan tis and a clear m anner.

the Sargasso Sea,

”in wh ich the au thor

suggests th at th is seaweed - covered and

unexplored port ion of the Atlan tic m ayTHE VAHAN (LONdO'll

con tain land still above the water, a Vol. V, No. 8 z— The L i terary Notes

rem nan t of the lost Atlan tis. An provide th is m on th a useful m ass of in

interest ing accoun t is given of an at form ation as to recen t publicat ion s.

tem p t to penetrate in to th is region . The The Enqu irer deals with though t trans

art icle is carefully written from the ference, reincarnation in the writ ings of

sc ien t ific standpoin t . M iss Arundale Synesius, dream s, K fim aloka, astral

con tribu tes an excellen t paper on bodies and acciden ts. A long extract

I’sychism and Spirituality.

”The from Synesius

’

book on dream s is given

translation of Armada L almri is con in reply to the question on re- incarnation ,

t in ned , as is the accoun t of the peculiar con tain ing a m ost in teresting sketch of

hypnotic experim en ts by Colonel de the nature of the soul according to Neo

Rochas.

“ The Com plex it ies of Karm ic platon ic views.

L aw is an art icle founded on the

ltihasas and Puranas.

“Obsession an d

its Treatm en t”is a weird story of an MERCURY (San Ifiu nrisro).

I nd ian woman possessed by en ti ties in V ol. I I , No. 6 : — The open ing paper is

the power of an ev il-m inded priest. on the “ Birth and Evolu tion of the

Theosoph ical Society, by AlexanderFullerton ; the d ifferen t stages 1 1] the

THE PATH (A’a tl York). growth of the Society and its general

V ol. X,No. I t —“ The Screen of Tim e pu rpose are briefly sketched .

“ The

con tains som e sensible rem arks on the R ationaleofHypnotism and Mesm erism ”

tendency to look for the fulfilm en t of is con tinued, and gives som e useful in

prophec ies at the end of the cycle. form ation on the subject .

“ A Theoso

Madam e B lavatsky’s letters are of som e ph ical Conception of Prayer is trans

in terest, the fi rst one speaking of the lated from the Swedish , In the section

86 LUCIFER .

Beh ind the Veil an accoun t of a ends with a lengthypolem ic between thepeculiar psych ic cond ition is con tribu ted . Ed itor and one of h is late assistan ts,

A . carried on w i th that comm and of

language“ frequen t and pain ful and

free, in wh ich it is the hab it ofGer manprofessors and literati of th is generat ionto express them selves in prin t .

L E LOTUS BL EL' (Paris).V ol. V I , No. I z z— The conclusion of the

art icle on“ Theosophy and the Theo

soph ical Society has the first place inth is issue, and a translation of “ Occult

Chem istry” with a reproduction of theLO

,

N S BL I 'THEN

d iagram s from L UC IFER follows. The No. ”tu— Con tain s a tran slation of a

rem arkable accoun ts of hypnotic experi portion or “ The Perfect Way,

"

a CO“

m en ts bv M . L ecom te are con tin ued and tinuation Of the art icle 0" the Natu ral

provide som e pu z z ling problem s. Two Relatw‘wh‘l’ Of Spiri tual Forces, sen

sensi tives are hypnoti z ed respectively by ten t ion s and d ign ified but, alas, u tterly

passes and a m ech an ical appliance, andbeyond the power Of an average 5 08 1 3 11

“

both describe the projections of their m an like myself even to.

read th rough ,

doubles. The fact that theysee their own far less to appreciate at “5 due worth

doubles emergewh ile they rem ain in the and an in troductory paper wh ichbody m ay cause the reader to doubt the prom ises “5 Specim en s Of the

nature of the vision . One observation is Mysteries.

of in terest. The double”of one sensi ‘V B

t ive em erges in two parts, one from each

side, colou red respectively blue and red ,

the port ion s or colum ns then un iting.

Thenumber is com pleted byshort articles,correspondence and an swers to q ues

tion s.

THE S I’H INX

V ol. X X I , Nos. 1 20 and 1 21 — The

piére do resistanre in the first num ber

is a long and serious paper byDr. JosefKlinger under the title “ Occultism as

the Th reshold of Theosophy,

”followed

by a translat ion of a portion of M rs.

Besan t’s K ar ma. A paper read byV ol. IV , No. 2 z— The translations of

R ich ard Wolf before the Breslau Theoso L etters that from i n1M !me. and TlieB uild

ph ical Society on“ Vivisect ion treats 1718 of ”if COS’W S are concluded in th is

the subject on the lines wh ich M rs.issue. K ar ma is con tinued ane . Lead

Besan t and others have m ade fam iliar beater’

s art icle 0"“ Dream s

” is trans

to us. lated from LUCIFER . Helios ” con triThe second num ber opens with the

translation of a paper by Mob in i M .

Chatterj i on“ The H igher S ide of

Theosoph ical Stud ies taken from Tfie

Theosophist. Dr. Hubbe Schleiden ’

s

letter from Ind ia con tains a very in teresting accoun t of h is approach by sea to

Calcutta and by train to Darjeeling.

After several shorter papers the number

bu tes a paper on Astrology : The In flu

ence of the Sun upon the Earth ,

”the

first of a proposed series wh ich will forma treat ise on the subject . A sligh t h istorical sketch of astrology is given in

wh ich it is stated that in the m iddleages Spain was a great cen tre for th at

branch of study.

THEOSOPH IA (Amsterdam ).

V ol. IV , No. 46 z— The open ing art icle

1 8 en titled “ A Welcom e End,

”by Afra,

and is followed by the con tin ued tran slation s of The K ey to Theosophy, Through

Stor m to Peace, L ight o n thePath. Trans

lations are begun of TheB hagm'ad Gitd ,

from M rs. Besan t‘s English version , and

of K arma .

“ Ind ia and her Sacred L an

guage is con t inued .

Tnnosoem cm. AND MYSTIC PUBL ICAT IONS . 87

ANTAB KARANA (Barre/anal. Adyar is reported at length . Tiru

Vol. m No. 26 z—Tbe fi rst “aus‘au‘

on mantra"

wh ich is still con tinued , givesu this number is that of

" The an“, of much in form ation of doubtful value as

Lift "

well- known art icle in Five ya, ” to the benefits accr uing from d ifferen tof M y. The B hagnwd C ité has form s of Pfija. A li ttle discrim inationreached its ten th Chm“ . and the pam

o would do no harm to the art icle. The

phlet K am a: and Reincarnation. by H . papers“ The Veilof Avivelta and “ The

sum Ward is translated . the im ePnth of Fire "

are of in terest .concluding with wine maxim s from

Epictetus on happiness. revenge and

other points.

THOSOl’ lS l-C TlDSK R IF’

I’

Vol. Vl l. No. z z—Th is num ber opens

with a.short essay by S. T. Sven N ilsson

on the Doctrine of the Atonemen t."

and

the article on th e same subject by Mrs.

Besant . wh ich appeared in the Decemberiss ue is com men ted upon by Dr. Z ander

in his add ress given at the StockholmLodge. Madarne B lavatsky

'

s Babel of

Modern Though t is concluded, and a

useful paper on“ Med itat ion and Con

templation is con tributed by CountWach tmeister. The number concludes

with a tran slation of an articleon Every

Member 3 Cen tre.

"a few words on “ The

Righ t Religion .

"

by Pastor C. Wagner.

and an accoun t ofTheosoph icalActivi ties.

M. H .

THEOSOPHY IN AUSTRALIA(M o).

Vol. I. No. to z—The ch ief art icle is

en titled “ Christmas Morn ,

"

and deals

with the many trad itions of divine ihcarnations. and immaculate conception s.The “

question"relate to vision. physi~

cal and psychic. the separation of soul

and body. thought transference and re.

A.

THE THEOSOPH IC TH INKER(M M )

Vol. IV . Nos. 1 to 4 z—With the beginn ing of a new volume the e ditor placesbefore his readers particulars relat ing tothe conduct and past h istory of the

journal. The ann iversary m eeting at

THE BRAIlMAVADlN (Madras).

V ol. I . No. to z—Th is is an excellen t

number of the new Indian periodicaland contains two art icles of considerableinterest on Moltsha. or the L i fe of Blissafter Death , and “ Titutrikism , or the

Worsh ip of Shakt i. " The title of the firstpaper appears to be somewhat m isleading. as it is said that those who have

not attained Moltaba enjoya temporarybliss between their incarnations. The

paper sketches the growth and changeof

belief as to after-death states from Ved ict im es to the developmen ts of Vedan ticthough t, and illustrates the points by

num erous quotations. “ TAutrikisni” is

treated in a very favourable man ner.

Tantra it is said sign ifies the path that

leads men to salvat ion or to un ionwi th the supreme. The d ifference be

tween the means oi attain ing the goal

according toV edAutism and toTan trilt ism

is that in the former case the man'

s own

self-culture is the motive power, and in thelat ter it is th rough thegraceofHerwho isthe seat of all power. good and bad , the

Devi. that you can be save d."The lower

side of the subject is m erelymen t ione das a later growth . the original worsh ipbeing qui te pure.

m s anonm sr (Colombo).

V ol. V I I, Nos. 5 1 and sz z— Con tain

th e report of them eeting at Adyar, and ofM rs. Besan t

's address. Maranan usmriti

or“

.The Contemplation of Death gives

an accoun t of the Buddh ist doctrinerelating to rebirth , m ain tain ing the con

tinuity of the individual. The other

88 LUCIFER .

art icles are“ The Doctrine of Rebirth ”

and The Om n ipotence ofGood .

”

THE ARY A BALA RoDH INl (Madras).

V ol. I I , No. t z— The ed itorial notes

in for m us that the first year of the littlem agaz ine has been a successful one, a

large num ber of subscribers h av ing beenobtained . An article on re- birth is begunin th is n umber, the ideas being illustratedby quotat ions from the B bagaz

'ad Gitti.

The Studen t Comm un ity in Ind ia ” iscon tinued , and is followed by a short

sketch en titled ,

“My Friend and I .

"

An

accoun t of a Swam i ’s life is extracted

from 7718 L iz /1 1 0] 1118 East.

THE THEOSOPH IC GL EANERBombay).

V ol. V, No. 6 The Head and Heart

D iscipline, from the Z oroastrian Stand

poin t,” byD . D . \Vriter is concluded th ism on th . Extracts on prayer and on the

Theosoph ical Society are taken from

L I'

C IFER . and an art icle on B halt ti from

The B rahmaz 'cidin . Letters and notes

com plete the issue.

JOURNAL OF THE MAHA- BODH ISOCIETY

V ol. IV . No . to z— Con tains besides theusual supply of notes on curren t topics,a sum m ary of a paper on ancien t S inh alese literature, short articles on the “ Ex

pansion of Buddh ism in Ch ristendom ,

”

and Exoteric and Esoteric Buddh ism ,

a collection of texts from the New Testa

m en t, wh ich can be paralleled in Buddh istscriptures and the fam iliar Buddha-Gays

tem ple case.

THE LAM P (Toron tol.V ol. I I , No.

—The first art icle has

Women'

s Printing Society. L imited , 66. Whitcemt: Street,W.C .

the somewhat eccen tric ti tle, “ Theoso

phyandGeosophy.

” The F iveM inu tesare spen t th is tim e on

“ The Wheel ofL ife,” and form a poetic exposit ion of

the sym bolism of a bicyclewheel! Otherpapers are on

“ The Mormons and Polygamy,

"

Maori M agic ” and “ The Mys

tery of the Moon , wh ich has at last

term inated.

PLOTINUS.

Th is volum e for ms the first of a pro

posed series. en titled, “ The Theosophyof the Greeks,” and is a reprin t of th e

preface written by M r. Mead to a new

ed ition of Thom as Taylor’

s Sele'rl lVorks

of Plotinus, the essay hav ing been also

published in L UC I FER . The book is

d iv ided in to three sections, the first comparing the in tellectual cond it ions of th epresen t t im e with those of the age of

Plotinus, the second giving an accoun t

of the system he taugh t. and the th i rdform ing a m ost useful bibliography

OTHER PU B L ICATIONS .

B ook Notes L a Estrella Polar, th e

Span ish spiri tualistic paper, con tain ingthe experiences of a m ateriali z ing m e

dium ; .fllodem Astrology; Tbe Seen and

Me I'

nsec’

n , w i th som e notes on Theoso

phyand art icles on Spiri tualism ; B is/tops

m Vie/oria'

s Time only Idolalers, a queerpam ph let consisting m ainly of cap italletters and scripture quotat ions ; L a Re wlaa

'

én , a Span ish period ical publish ed at

Alican te ; American Orz'en lal Departmen t

Paper [Cal/fa Tire dietapltysiral [Vaga

z ine, the m ost notable paper in wh ich isan accoun t of observations m ade on

pulse action , going to show a d irect nervous influence of one person over another

in con tact or prox im ity to h im ; The

Prasnollara a pam phlet on H indu Idolatrv. a defence of Ind ian s\ mbolism .

VOL . XVI I I . APR IL 1 5, 1 896. NO. 1 04.

L U C I FER .

ON THE WATCH - TOWER .

Is A Consrs'ranr NOMENCLATU RE POSS IBLE ?

ONE of the m ost patent facts which confronts thestudent of modern theosophical l i terature is the m arvellous inconsistency of its nom enclature . Agai n and aga in groups of studentshave d iscussed the subject

,and whi le al l are agreed that som e

consisten t term inology is em inently desirable,the d iffi cul ties Of

sett ling on any particu lar nomenclature have so far proved insurm ountable. Not only do various writers use term s i n a total lyd ifferen t sense, but even the sam e writer i n successive books employsthe sam e term i n total ly d ifferent sign ifications. This is

,of course

,

qu i te natural when wri ters are treating of d ifferent schools Of

thought,for the difl

'

erences Often m ainly consist of dissim ilar defin itions of sim ilar ideas

,but when the sam e wri ter is continual ly

usin g the sam e term! for new ideas the resu l t is exceed ingly puz z l ingto the superficial reader.

No one who has carefully fol lowed the evolu tion of ideas i n the

present theosophica l revival can have fai led to rem ark the absoluteincapabil i tyof the nom enc lature to keep pace w i th the ideas. Andwhen

,moreover , we rem ember the tendency of the average m i nd to

seek for sim i lar nam es and terms rather than for sim i lar ideas, wecan not but bel ieve that such m inds are reduced to a state of chaosrather than brought into the form Of an orderly cosmos as the resultof th eir stud ies.

Speak ing general ly, the tendency has been to push back them ean ing of such term s

,new ideas crowd ing in and ei ther compel

ling the i nvention of new words or the subd ivision Of already existing term s. Perhaps the greatest m istake has been the use Of Sans

90 LUCIFER .

kri t nam es which were already of protean signification in the irnative dress. The six m ain schools of Ind ian thought and themany sects of rel igion in H indostan

,the numerous schools of

Buddhist m etaphysics and m ystic speculation , especial ly in thenorth

,all use m any sim i lar term s and m ost of them in a pecul iar

sense . Thus Atm an,Buddhi

,Manas

,etc .

,are so far from bein g

desirable importations,that perhaps no m ore obscure and doubtful

design ations cou ld have been chosen . S im i larly i n English we are

confronted wi th the sam e d ifficul ties i n deal i ng wi th such vagu eterms as spiri t

,sou l

,m ind

,etc .

Now what is the reason of all this i ncertitude,for every

school of thought m ust plead gu i l ty to the sam e ind ictm ent, ms ,

of using term s which other schools use i n a d ifferent sense ? Andi ndeed

,for the most part the various system s of philosophy in both

ancient and m odern tim es are qu i te as m uch engaged on the defin ition of term s as on the eluc idation of ideas.

The reason is not far to seek . Our term s are loose,because

our ideas are obscure . There is no obscurity in the term s wh ichdesignate a horse or a dog. There is an adm irable consensus ofOpinion all over the world wi th regard to equus caballus and arm

'

s

and the d ictionary definition of “a sol idungu late peris

sodactyl mamm al does not blurr our m ental image of the fam i l iarhorse. Bu t once bid good - bye to the normal content of consciousness of the average man i n the street

,

”and even extraord inary

physical objects are d ifficult to define. Much m ore then is thereobscuri ty in objects transcend i ng physical consciousness.

Therefore we find that the m ystics of antiqu i ty have contentedthem selves wi th m ere general i ties. We look i n vain in the booksof Brahm an ical m ysticism or Neoplaton ic psycho logy for any

description of real detail . Com pared to our acquai ntance w i thphysical detail all is com paratively vague and obscure . Bu t them ai n outl ines and i ndefinite general i ties which contented the m i ndof antiqu i ty wi l l certai nly not conten t the m odern m i nd , and thisis proved beyond any possibi l i ty of adverse argum ent by theenorm ous progress that sam e m ind has m ade in its deal ings wi ththe physical universe, which has so far been its sole field of certai nactiv i ty . Bu t the tim e has com e when a new field of research andinvestigation is opening up on all sides

,and this same m ind wi ll

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92 LUCIFER .

means by the qual ifying phrase in ethics, seeing that the whole

problem is one of psychology . The so- called Northern Schools of

Buddhism hold d istinctly the “ tim e - honoured bel ief i n soul,

”as is

am ply testified to by the ir doctri nes of Sattva and Ekotibhava

Sattva being the rei ncarnating en tity (the“ ind iv idual i ty

,

” not the

personal i ty”)and Ekot

‘

ibhava bei ng the thread - soul idea . The

so- called Southern Schools, on the other hand , have been morei nterested i n denying the persistence of the “

personal i ty” than in

asserting the “ imm ortal i ty of the “ i nd iv idual i ty .

”

If the Professor cou ld prove that the permanency of the individual i ty duri ng a seriesof l ives or a Kalpa was denied by the SouthernBuddhists, he wou ld simply prove that such fol lowers of the Tathagata were ignorant of one of the basic facts of real psychology . Onthe other hand

,the absolu te eternity of the i nd ividual i ty is not

to be bel ieved i n,for even the spiri tual veh icle or l im i tation of the

Self m ust give place to l im i tlessness i n the infin itude of tim e .As a matter of fact again

,the soul

,

” or subtle body , does fly

ou t ” of the physical body as out of a cage (to use a sim ile— forthe subtle body is not contai ned in the physical body of course), notonly at death but also in sleep ; and i t is im possible to bel ieve that theSou thern Buddhists can be ignorant of so patent and elem entary a

fact of psychic knowledge .As for the rest of the paragraph , i t need hard ly be stated i n

LUCIFER that the Theosophists do not bel ieve in seven souls,”

nor do they cal l themselves Buddhists.

QQ

THE BORDER L AND OF PHYSICS .

The fol lowing note,i n Tbe Daily Chron icle of March 1 4th , is

i nd icative of how far the ord inary newspaper sc ientist is beh in dthe tim es i n matters of psychology , and consequently how far thegeneral publ ic which is spoon - fed wi th such material ism ,

is a stranger to the m ost elem entary experiments i n psychic science . Theed i tor of Science at Work

,

” in the issue referred to , naive ly writes

In connection with Ron tgen '

s discovery, a curious fact has been recalled .

About the year 1 848, Reichenbaeh , the discoverer of creosote, published a

pamphlet on what he called the 0d , which consisted of a sort of halo surrounding

every natural body, and rendering it lum inous under certain cond itions. In his

writings at that time Reichenbach gave illustrations of bodies wh ich he stated

ON THE WATCH - TOWER . 93

had been photographed through other bod ies which were tran sparent to th isillum inating medium or fluid : but th is was too m uch for the sc ientists of 1 848,

and Reichenbaeh was promptlydenounced as a lunatic by Du Bois- Reymond .

Since Routgen'

s discovery, curiosity has been excited about the matter, and a

certain professor at Cologne has m ade further experiments. and has, it is stated ,

succeeded in repeating Reichenbach‘

s results .

Reichenbach ’s pam phlet,

”as every student of m agnetism and

m esmerism knows, is a th ick volum e of som e 600 pages ; i t conta i nsno photographs, but a number of d iagram s and one l i thograph . His

researches were carried on by m eans of l iving sensi tives,and the

secon d ed i tion of his work was translated i nto English by Dr.

Ashburner, the wel l - known investigator of m esmeric phenomena,in 1 85 1 .

The m ost interesting side of Rontgen ’s d iscovery has not yetpresen ted i tself to the general publ ic . If i t is true that fresh re

searches on the sam e l ines have produced instruments whereby thephysical eye can be enabled to penetrate through otherwise imperm eable med ia , i t is wi th in the region of possibi l i ty that any daymay i ntroduce the publ ic to a new d iscovery that wi l l en tirely revoln tion ine existing soc ial cond i tions. If one can see the inside of hisn eighbour

’s despatch box or safe, if clothes becom e non - existent

,

and wal ls and flesh are permeable by artificial ly increased sight,

then we are face to face w i th soc ial problem s wi th which a m oreprecise ethic than has hitherto obtained wi l l alone cope .

Increased power over nature can progress safely only hand inhand with an increase of morals

,and as these new physical d iscoveries

threaten to trespass on what have prev iously been psychic realms, i t

is to be hoped that an effor t wi l l be made to strengthen publ icm oral i ty suffi ciently to stand the stra i n . The ethics of occul tismteach that it is as d ishonourable to read a person’s thought withouth is knowledge

, as i t is to pry i nto a person’s correspondence ; as

crim in al to p ick a person’s brains as to burglariously enter another’sh ouse . What are called del icacy of feel i ng and honourable conduc tare signs of a m oral development, a development which is the sole

guarantee i n the most del icate soc ial relations of the world . This

being so, how m uch more del icate and refined m ust be the m oralnature before it can safely be en trusted with defini te psychic powers

And if this higher standard of m orals is not to be looked for asa gen eral possession at present , what precautions will our legislators

94 worsen .

be enabled to devise to cope wi th the new cond i tions? At presen tour legislators as a class do not bel ieve in even the possib i l i ty of

such facul ties. I t is,therefore

,a not undesirable th ing that physical

d iscovery should force them to face som e of the elem entary factorsof a problem that wi l l i ndubi tably confron t them i n the near fu ture.

A statem ent has recently been m ade i n the press that Mr.

Tesla,the wel l known electrician , confidently asserts, as the result

of his experim ents, the possibi l i ty of telegraphic comm unicationw ithou t w ires

,not only between the m ost d istant local i t ies on th is

earth,bu t also between th is earth and other planets. And though

the latter half of the pred iction appears to be over sangu ine, to say

the least of i t,nevertheless the establ ishm ent of the form er possi

bilityas a definitely acqu ired fact of physical science w i l l give thematerial istic m ind an excuse for tentatively entertai ning the ideaof the possibi l i ty of thought - transference . The paper- notices, withjournalese humour, suggest that Theosophists wi ll claim that M r .

Tesla’s d iscoveries have been already anticipated . Bu t the lastlaugh

,as usual

,is wi th the Theosophists, for they have already all

along claim ed the possibi l i ty of thought comm unication,wh ich

they know to be a fact . As to M r . Tesla’s experim ents,however,

they have never made any claim ,and join the journal ists i n their

adm iration for the patient investigator’s industry. The Theosophist

’s bel ief is that man contains his m icroscope, telescope, and

telegraph in himself,and he looks upon the physical instrum ents as

a pai nfu l and slow external iz ation of instrum ents or facul ties which

man possesses internal ly . These physical adjuncts were not neces

sary so long as man not only bel ieved he had a soul , but knew that

he was rather that sou l than a body but now that man , so far fromknowing he is a sou l , does not even bel ieve he has one, he natural lyregards m achinery and m echanical instrum ents as m iracu lous~pro

ductions of hum an ingenu i ty ; by his use of external instrum en ts,he is really a cerem onial m agician, though d isbelieving in magic ;whereas the true Theosophist, while bel iev ing in m agic, is the realscientist who uses only internal instruments.

We should,however, be very carefu l to give all honour where

honour is due,and though we may regret the ind ifference to the

spiri tual nature of m an which is so characteristic of the present

age, we shou ld , nevertheless, rem em ber that the bri l liant d iscoveries

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96 L UCIFER .

has ever claim ed to see through sol id bod ies,and can undoubtedly

deal wi th every region of i nvestigation that the “ X rays” can openup ; but the physical d iscovery is a triumph of physical sc iencewhich historically has never been antic ipated . The ROn tgen

d iscovery does not prove the“astral l ight

,

”for that cannot possib l y

be dealt wi th by physical means,but sim ply w idens our area of

perception of physical matter .

WE ARE STUDENTS, nor TEACHERS .

What we m em bers of the Theosophical Society should aboveall th ings rem ember

,is that we are students

,and not teachers. N o

doubt,on som e poin ts, we m ay be able to supply inform ation that

is of value wi th regard to theosophical stud ies, but we are very farfrom bei ng possessed of a complete science of any departm ent of

nature . I do not for a m om ent deny that there are teachers— farfrom i t ; but the m embers of the Theosophical Soc iety have noneof them reached that exalted rank . And perhaps none have donem ore harm to the general cred i t of those sam e teachers than

m em bers of the Society who have not infrequently m ade wildstatements which they ascribed to higher authori ties

,owi ng to their

own very im perfect com prehension of what they have heard . E x

cat/m in i statem ents are always objectionable,and can only impose

them selves on those who wi ll not th ink for them selves. Bel ief isone th ing

,knowledge is another ; and each has itsappropriate m ode

of expression . One, therefore , who uses expressions of knowledgefor questions of bel ief, deceives both himself and o thers

,and is pro

port ionately a stranger to tru th . How many th ings have had to be

unsaid by wri ters on Theosophy, wh ich the use of a l i ttle pruden cewould have rendered unnecessary ! And not on ly have m any th i ngsbeen already unsaid

,bu t also m any m ore w il l have to be unsaid

,as

knowledgeand experience grow i n the Soc iety . The only safe atti tude,

therefore,is that of the student . We m ust be content to be studen ts

for many a long year to com e , and the length of the years can on lybe shortened as we develope the characteristics of gen u ine pupils

patience, accuracy,m odesty, laboriousness, all v irtues which are

absolu tely ind ispensable if we would draw nigh unto wisdom .

G . R . S . M .

ORPHEUS .

(Concluded from p.

THE SUBT LE Bonv .

FOR the fol lowing information I am to some ex tent indebted totexts cited in Cudwortli ’s I ntellectual System (i i i . 506, scqq .

,ed .

Philoponus (Proa'm . in A ristol. dc A n . ) tel ls us that the rational

part of the sou l can be separated from every k ind of body, bu t theirrationa l part, al though i t is separable from the physical body ,has another subtle vehicle wh ich is called the “ sp iri tuous body ”

(m aint a in adpa). The irrational principle does not owe its existenceto the physical body , for when the soul qu i ts the physical body , theirrational part sti l l retai ns the “ spiri tuous body as its veh icle andsubstratum (5

'

v m!

{m u ffl e-

vow), term s which closely resemble theVedantic technical expressions Deha and Upadhi. This

“spiri tuous

body is com posed of the elements,” but in i t is a predom i nance

of the “ elem ent “air

,

” j ust as i n the physical body there is apredom inance of

“ earth . I t is therefore often ca lled the aerialbody . Th is is the body which passes i nto the i nvisible world afterd eath . Thus the sam e PhiIOponus wri tes :

“ Our soul , after itsexodus from the body, is bel ieved , or rather is known , to go i ntothe invisible world [Kama Loka] , there to pay the penal ty for theev i l of its past l ife . For providence (vi r pém a)is not only concernedw i th our being, but also wi th our wel l - be i ng . And therefore a sou lthat has lapsed i nto a state contrary to its [true] nature [nam ely,earth - l ife] is not neglec ted , but meets wi th fitting care . And si nceerror arose in i t on account of the desire for pleasurable sensation

,

of necessity i t m ust be purified by pai n . But if the soul isw ithou t body it could not su ffer. I t is absolutely necessary

,

therefore, that i t shou ld have a kind of body attached to i t .This is the spiri tuous body of which we speak , and i n i t as a ground ,as i t were, are rooted the passional and sensational nature of the soul .

”

For if the sou l were freed from these,i t wou ld be freed from

generation , and be carried up aloft to the higher celestial regions”

98 LUCIFER .

Philoponus then proceeds to explain spectres, phantom s,etc .

,

by m eans of th is subtle body . He further adds that we shou ld

abstain from a foul and gross d iet , for the ancient sages affi rm thatthereby this subtle bodyis densified and incrassated

,and the sou l

rendered m ore sensible to the passions.

”

Of the next passage I give Cudworth’s version , so that there may

be no suspic ion of tw isting the text to su i t any preconceived v iews.

“ They further add, that there is som ethi ng of a plantal and

plastic l ife (n‘

is gbvn xas (mic) also,exerc ised by the soul

,i n those

spiri tuous or airy bod ies after death ; they bei ng nourished too,

though not after the sam e m anner, as these gross earthly bod ies of

ours are here , but by vapours ; and that not by parts or organs, butthroughout the whole of them (as sponges) [endosm osis and exosm osis] , they imbibi ng everywhere those vapours. For which cause

,

they who are wise wi l l i n th is l ife also take care of usi ng a th inn erand dryer d iet

,that so that spiri tuous body (which we have also at

th is present tim e wi th in our grosser body), may not be clogged and

i ncrassated , bu t attenuated . Over and above which those anc ien tsmade use of catharms

,or purgations, to the sam e end and pu rpose

also : for as th is earthly body iswashed by water,so is that spiri tuous

body cleansed by carthartic vapours ; som e of these vapours beingnutri tive

,others purgative. [This explai ns the sym bol ical purgation s

and purifications i n the Mysteries ] Moreover,these ancien ts

further declared concerning th is spirituous body, that i t was not

organi z ed,but d id the whole of i t

,i n every part throughou t, exerc ise

all functionsof sense,the soul hearing and seei ng

,and perceiv i ng

al l sensibles,by i t everywhere . For which cause Aristotle affi rmeth

i n his Alefaplzysirs that there is properly but one sense,and but

one sensory ; he, by th is one sensory , m eaning the spiri t, or subti leairy body

,in which the sensi tive power doth all of i t

,though the

whole, imm ed iately apprehend all variety of sensibles. And if i tbe dem anded , how i t comes then to pass, that th is spiri t appearsorgani z ed in sepulch res, and m ost comm on ly of human form

,bu t

som etim es i n the form of som e other animals to th is thoseancients repl ied : That their appeari ng so frequently in hum anform proceedeth from their being incrassated wi th evi l d iet, andthen , as i t were, stamped upon wi th the form of the exterior a mb ientbodv in which they are

,as crystal is formed and coloured l ike to

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1 00 LUCIFER .

And agai n (flirt ,p . 1 64) Wh i le we are on high we have no need

of these d iv ided organs, which we now have when descend i ng i ntogeneration ; but the rad iant vehicle alone is suffi cient

,for i t has all

the senses un ited together i n i t .Moreover P lato him self in his Epz

'

nom is wri tes of a good m an

after death : “ I confidently assert,both in jest and i n all serious

n ess,that such a one (if i n death he have worked out h is own

destiny)wi l l no longer have m any senses as we have now, but wil l

possess a un iform body,and so hav ing becom e one from many w i l l

obtai n happi ness.

”

Hierocles i n his Comm entary (pp. 21 4, 2 1 5) on the Golden

Verses of Pythagoras tel ls us that the Oracles call th is augoeidesthe “

subtle vehicle of the sou l (ulrvxas An n-by Elmira). The Oracles

referred to are evidently the Chaldaic,and this is borne out by th e

fact that one of the Oracles sti ll preserved refers to the two subtl evestures of the sou l

,i n their usual enigmatical fashion , as fol lows

Do not soi l the spiri t nor turn the plane i nto the sol id .

” The

spiri t” is ev iden tly the aery body and the

“

plane th eluc iform

,for as we have learned above from the Pythagorean m ath e

m atics,the poin t generated the l i ne

,the l ine the plane or super

ficies,and the plane the sol id . This is also the opi n ion of Psellus,

who in his Comm en tary upon the Oracleswri tes : The Chaldaean sclothed the soul in two vestures the one they cal led the sp iri tuous

,

wh ich is woven for i t (as i t were) out of the sensible body ; th eother the rad iant

,subtle and im palpable, which they cal led th e

plane.

”And this is a very appropriate term ,

for i t signifies that i tis not subject to the laws of sol id bod ies. H ierocles further assertsthat th is luciform body is the sp ir i tual vehicle of the rational partof the soul

,whereas the aery body is the vehicle of the irrational

part ; he therefore cal ls the form er the pneum atic (w cvpar txbv) an d

the latter the psychic body (061m dfvxucbv), usingthe sam e nom enclatu reas Pau l

,the Christian (1 Con ,

xv .

Synesius (De I nsomm'

z

'

s, p . 1 40) calls the augoeides the

“ d iv i nebody ” (Oem re

’

m ov odp a) and Virgi l in his fi nczkl (v i .) speaks of i t asthe pure ethereal sensory ” purnm (elben ’

um scnsum)and a pure fiery breath (aural sz

'

mfilz'

a’

s zgr/zem).

B ut not only does the sou l possess th is luciform body afterdeath , but also during life, and thus Suidas (sub sou

,airyoecS

-Pjs)

ORPHEUS . IOI

writes : “ The sou l possesses a luciform vehic le,which is also cal led

the ‘starlike ' and the ‘everlast i ng .

’ Som e say that th is radian tbody is shut in th is physical body, wi thin the head .

” And thisagrees wi th Hierocles (p . 2 1 4, ed . Needham), that

“the augoeides is

in our mortal physical body, i nspiri ng l ife into the i nanimate body,

and conta i ning the harmony thereof — that is to say, i t is the“ causal body ” or karm ic vesture of the soul

,in which its destiny

or rather all the seeds of past causation are stored . This is the“ thread - sou l ” as i t is sometimes cal led , the

“ body ” that passesover from one i ncarnation to another.And just as the aerial or subtle body could be purified and

separated from the physical body, so could the luciform or

augoeides. These purgations were of a very h igh character , and

pertained to the telestic art and theurgy, as the sam e Hieroclesinform s us By th is means the purification that takes placefor the m any after death , is accompl ished by the few here i n thebody on earth , and they can separate the luciform vehicle from the

lower vehicle, and be consc ious of heavenly th ings whi le on earth .

Therefore i t is that P lato (PM , p . 3 78) defines phi losophy as

“a continual exercise of dying ”— that is to say, firstly , a moraldying to corporeal lusts and passions, and second ly

,consc iously and

voluntarily passi ng through all the states of consc iousness whi lestill alive wh ich the soul m ust pass through after death .

Thus there are four classes of virtues : the pol i tical or practical ,pertain ing to the gross body the purifying

,pertaining to the subtle

body ; the intellectua l or spiri tual , pertain ing to the causal body ;and the contem plat ive, pertain ing to the supreme at- one -m ent

,or

union wi th God . Thus Porphyry in his A uxx'

lz'

an'

es (i i .)wri tes :“ He who energi z es accord ing to the practical virtues is a

worthy man ; but he who energiz es accord i ng to the purifying

(cathartic) vi rtues is an angelic man, or is also a good demon . He

who energiz es accord ing to the in tel lectual vi rtues alone is a god,

bu t he who energiz es accord ing to the paradeigm atic vi rtues is thefather of gods .

”(Compare Porpkyry flu: P/ u

'

losop/ler to his Wife

M arcella,by M iss Al ice Zimm ern , pp. 40, 4 1 ; com pare also the

openin g paragraphs of Marinus’ L ife of Proclus and P lotinus

,Em ,

I I . ii. , On the Virtues”)

This lucifhrm body is the root of i nd ividual ity (thrift/Mullahs

1 02 LUCIFER .

prim ipz'

um) for just as the Egyptians taught that every enti ty con

sisted of an“ essence and an

“ envelope (see“ The Vestures of

the Sou l ” in my col lection of Essays entitled Tbe World Alysfery),soHierocles (p . 1 20) tel ls us that

“the rational essence

,togetherw ith

its cognate vehicle, cam e i nto existence from the creator,i n such

a fashion that i t is neither itself body norwi thout body ; and thoughi t is incorporeal yet its whole nature is l im ited by a body .

”

He therefore defines the real m an (p . 21 2)as a rational sou l with

a cognate imm ortal body , or envelope (com pare wi th this the sym

bologyof the Orphic Egg, supra), and cal ls the enlivened physica lbody the“ imageof the man

”(£180:o dvepu

'

mov). Moreover, be furtherasserts that the form er is true of all other rational beings in the

universe below Dei ty and above m an . Th is then is the nature of thedaim ones (angels), the d ifference between daim ones and men be i ngthat the form er are “ lapsable into aerial bod ies only , and no further ;but the latter into terrestrial also .

"

(Porphyry, De A delinai i .

F inal ly Hierocles asserts that thiswas the genu i ne doctri ne an dsacred science of the Pythagoreans and P lato ; and Proclus tel ls us

that the l ine of teaching cam e original ly through Orpheus. Fromthe above I think i t is abundantly apparent that those who fol lowedthe trad ition of Orpheus were the sternest of m oral ists and the m ostpractical of m ystics, possessi ng a true knowledge of the sacredsc ience of the soul

,and teaching a psychology that wi ll stand the

test of the m ost searching experim ent in our own and in all tim es.

I speak here only of the genu ine fol lowers of the science,not of the

many impostors and Charlatans who preyed upon the refuse flun gou tside its shrines.

Further inform ation concerning the vehicles of the sou l according to the Platonic psychology m ay be derived from the Comm entaryof Proclus on the Tz

'

mzeus (Book v .,see Taylor’s Trans

,i i . 3 93 , sg.

,

41 6 sq .,and 43 6 The fol lowing (pp . 41 6, 41 7) is the m ost

important passage .“ Souls in descend ing

,receive from the elements d ifferen t

veh icles, a'

eirial,aquatic, and terrestrial ; and thus at last enter in to

this gross bulk . For how,wi thou t a m ed ium

,cou ld they proceed

i nto this body from imm aterial spirits? Hence before they com ei nto th is body they possess the irrational l ife

,and its vehicle

, wh ichis prepared from the simple elem ents

,and from these they becom e

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1 04 LUCIFER .

the vehicles,one isperpetual and always m undane [cosm ic] another

is prior to th is ou tward body, and posterior to i t ; for i t is both priorto

,and subsists posterior to i t, i n generation ; and a third is then

only,when i t l ives a certai n partial l ife on the earth . Plato

,there

fore,by using the term adlzerz

'

ng, and by suspend ing the i rrationalnature from the soul , accord i ng to all its l ives, d istingu ishes this irrational nature from this outward body, and the pecu l iar l ife of i t . B u tby add i ng the words externally and afterwards, he distingu ishesi t from the connascent vehicle i n which the Dem iurgus m ade i t todescend . Hence

,th is vehicle which causes the soul to be a ci tiz en

of generation,is a m ed ium between both .

”

And now i t is tim e to bri ng th is essay to a conclusion . I t hasbeen a labour of love undertaken ou t of grati tude to the ancients

,

and i n memory of the past ; and perhaps no m ore usefu l subjectcou ld be chosen to bring the task to an end than the doctri ne of

rebi rth— a law of nature by v irtue of which the anc ients and the i rideas once m ore return to leaven the m aterial iz ation i n m odernphilosophy, sc ience and rel igion .

X .

— THE DOCTRINE OF REBIRTH .

THE BODY rs THE PR ISON OF THE SOUL .

TOGETHER wi th all the adherentsof the Mysteries in every landthe Orphics bel ieved i n reincarnation .

Now P lato i n the Crazj 'lus gives the fol lowing m ystical wordplay of the term body (063m ):

“ Accord i ng to som e the body is thesepulchre (m

'

ipa)of the soul,which they consider as buried i n the

present l ife and also because whatever the soul signifies i t signi fiesby the body so that on this accoun t i t is properly cal led a sepulch re

[The word 0 13m). also connotes the m eans whereby anyth i ng

is sign ified . This rem inds us of the Linga Sharira of theV edan tins— Linga m eaning sign

,token

,etc .] And i ndeed the

fol lowers of Orpheus seem to m e to have establ ished this nam e,

principal ly because the soul suffers in body the punishm ent of its

gu i l t, and is surrounded wi th th is enclosure that i t m ay preservethe image of a prison . (Plato

’s " forks

,Taylor

,v .

The Phrygians i n their Mysteries cal led the soul im prisoned i nthe body the dead .

” The wri ter of the Naasenian School ofGnostic

ORPHEUS . 1 05

ism ,quoted by H ippolytus v . tel ls us :

“ ThePhrygian s also cal l i t the ‘dead ,’ i nasmuch as i t is i n a tomb andsepulchre buried in the body . This, he says, is what is wri tten Y e

are whited sepulch res, fil led w ithi n w i th the bones of the dead’

(cf .

Mattie" xxi i i . 27)— for the‘ l iving m an is not in you . And agai n

The dead shal l leap forth from the tombs (cf . Aloft/L,xxvii . 52,

53 ; xi . 5 ; L uke, vi i . That is to say,from their earth ly bod ies

regenerated spi ri tual men , not fleshly. For this (he says) is theresurrection which takes place through the Gate of the Heaven s

,

and they who pass not through it all remai n dead .

”

On the above passage of P lato , Taylor adds an interesting note

(of . all" l'

bidJ , from wh ich we learn that Heracl i tus, speaki ng of unembod ied souls, says : We l ive the i r death

,and we die their l ife.

”

And Empedocles, speak ing of generation,

” the equ ivalent of theBrahmanical and Buddhist San sara, or the wheel of rebirth , writes :She m akes the ‘ l ivi ng ’ pass i nto the dead and again , lam ent

ing his imprisonm ent in the corporeal world , he calls i t an nu

accustom ed realm .

”

THE SOUL IS Pvnrsnan IN rm : Bonv .

Again,thePythagorean Phi lolaus(c i ted by ClemensAlex .

,Sh ow

,

i i i .)writes: The ancient theologists and i nitiatesalso testify that thesou l is unitedwi th body for the sakeofsuffering pun ishment; and thati t is buried i n body, as in a sepulchre.

” And Pythagoras him self

(cited by the sam e Clement) assures us that : Whatever we see

when awake is death , and when asleep a dream . R eal l ife is i nnei ther of these states.

And so Taylor i n hisE lcuslm’

m z and B acc/z z'

c .lIyslcrz'

cs (Wilder’scd .

, pp . 8,ct. say.) shows us that The ancients by Hades sign ified

nothin g more than the profound union of the sou l wi th the presentbody ; and consequently, that ti l l the sou l separated herself byphi losophy from such a ru inous conj unction

,she subsisted in Hades

even in the present l ife; her pun ishm ent hereafter be ing nothingmore than a continuation of her state upon earth

,and a transm i

gration , as i t were , from sleep to sleep , and from dream to dream : and

this, too, was occul tly sign ified by the shows of the lesser m ysteries.

C icero also , referri ng to Orpheus and his successors,says (i n

Hortensio,Frag ,

p . The anc ients,whether they were seers

1 06 LUCIFER .

or interpreters of the d ivi ne m ind in the tradi tion of the sacredi nitiations, seem to have known the tru th , when they affi rm ed thatwe were born i nto the body to pay the penal ty for sins comm i ttedi n a form er l ife superiors

Augustine also (De Cz’

m'

lateDel,XX I I . xxvi i i .)wri tes : Certain

of the gentiles have asserted that in the reb irth ofmen there iswhat theGreeks cal l pal i ngenesis (r ak twet

'

av— Sansk . He

further adds that “ they taught that there was a conjunction of the

sam e soul and subtle] body in four hundred and forty years.

”

But accord i ng to P lato (w da,and R epublic, X) the average

tim e that elapsed between two births was a thousand years. Vi rgil

(E m,vi . 758) gives the sam e period .

Olympiodorus in his Schol ion on Plato’s Plucdo (p . 70 C (f .

Gesner, Frag. Off /L ,p . 5 1 0) says that : There is an archaic teach

i ng of the Orphic and Pythagorean trad i tion which bri ngs souls in tobod iesand takes them out ofbod ies

,and th is repeated lyand i n acycle.

”

THE PAST B IRTHS OF PYTHAGORAS .

Now D iogenes L aErtius ( Vz'

f. Pyllzag.,v i i i . 1 4) asserts that he

(Pythagoras) was reported to have been the first [of the Greeks,Orpheus not being a Greek] to teach the doctri ne th at the sou lpassing through the circle of necessi ty ’

(1: 15v dwiyms'

)was bound

at various tim es to various l iv ing bod ies.

In fact the sam e wri ter tel ls us (vi i i . 4- 6) that Pythagoras hadgiven the detai ls of som e of his former births to his d isc iples.

That he had been (1 ) in Argonau tic tim es E thalides, the

son of Mercury , that is an i n itiate ; that in that birth he hadgained the power of retai ning his m em ory through the i nterm ed iatestate between two l ives. This he obtai ned as a boon from Mercury(his Initiator or Master), who had offered him anypower short ofimmortal i ty (dOa fa)— the supreme in i tiation .

He next was alm ost imm ed iately reincarnated in (2)Euphorbus.

In that birth he was wounded by Menelaus at the S iege of Troy,

and so d ied . But that during his l ife he asserted that he had beentE thalides, and further taught the doctri ne of reincarnation

,and

explai ned the course of the“sou l ”after death

,and

,in his own case

,

to what species of the vegetable and animal k ingdoms i t had beentemporari ly attached— wepccye

’

vero (or rather in con tact wi th , as far as

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1 08 LUCIFER .

when the E th iopians” Atlan teans) occupied Ind ia, and thathis body in that birth was ten cub i ts high . At the sam e tim e he

pointed out a young H indu who,he averted

,had form erly been

Palamedes in Trojan tim es, and who knew how to write wi thou tever having learned the art (I I I . xx

Iarchas (xxi i i .) then proceeded to tel l his Grec ian guest that hesaw that he (Apollonius) had been in a form er b i rth the captain of

an Egyptian vessel . Apol lon ius repl ied that that was true, and

added som e in teresting detai ls.

Ju l ian the Emperor bel ieved that he was a rei ncarnation of

the sou l of Alexander the Great .F inal ly Marinus (Vit. P roc

‘li) tells us that Proclus was persuadedthat he had been Nichom achus

,the Pythagorean

,i n a form er b i rth .

THE WHEEL OF L IFE .

The wheel of l ife,referred to by Pythagoras

,is cal led by Proc lus

(Tim .,i . 3 2) the

“ cycle of generation (xéxltos f f); yeve'

oews), Orph eushim self nam ing it the “

wheel,

”whi le S impl ic ius (De Crelo, i i . 9 1 , C)

says that i t was sym bol i z ed by the wheel of Ixion,and adds

,

“he

was bound by God to the wheel of fate and of generation . And

Proclus (Tim ., v . 3 3 0)wri tes that :

“There is but one way of escapefor the sou l from the cycle of generation

,nam ely

,to turn i tself

from its pi lgrimage in gen eration,and to hasten to its spiri tual

prototype as Orpheus says,

‘to cease from the cycle and

gain breath ing space from

OF METENSOMATOSIS .

P lotinus also (E IL,I . xii .)makes the fol lowing emphatic declara

tion con cerning reincarnation : “ I t is a universal ly adm i tted bel iefthat the sou l comm i ts sins

,expiates them ,

undergoes pun ishment in

the inv isible world,and passes in to new bod ies.

” He further states

(Em ,IV .

“ There are two modes of a soul entering a body ;one when the sou l being already in a body

,undergoes m etensom a

tosis (pwwowpdrwm s) that is to say, passes from an aérian or igneou sbody in to a physical body the other when a sou l passesfrom an incorporeal state in to a body of a certain kind .

”

OF THE TENET,I N THE MYSTER IES .

Now in the Mysteries, the doctrine of rei ncarnation was fu l l yand sc ientifically expounded . Thus we find P lutarch (DeEm Carm

,

ORPHEUS . 1 09

Or. i . 7 , 240, T . xi i i .) declari ng that the whole story of Bacchusand his being torn in pieces by the Titans, and their subsequent

destruction by Jupi ter , was“ a sacred narrative concerning reincar

nation “9 " l“W WW ” )

Agai n the Rape of Proserpine, which was also one of the

drama tic representations of the lesser m ysteries,

signifies the

dwcen t of souls ” (Sal lust , DeD iis at M anda,

As to the popular superstit ion that i t was possible for the sou l

to reincarnate i n an anim al , the true teaching of the Mysteries onth is poi nt is set forth clearly and p lai nly by Proclus. I t refers toone aspect of the in term ed iate state of the i rrational part of the soulbetween two births. Therefore we find him wri ting : True.reason

asserts that the human soul may be lodged i n brutes,yet in suck a

man ner , as Mat it mayobtainsitsown profier lzfc, and that the degraded

soulmay, as i t were, he carried above i t and be bound to the haser

nature by a propensity and sim i l i tude of affection . And that this isthe only mode of insinuation we have proved by a m ul ti tude ofarguments, i n our Comm entaries on the Plusdrus.

”(Proclus,

M l. Plat , Taylor, p . 7 , Introd .) For Hermes, expound i ng the

teaching of the Egyp tian Mysteries, asserts'

in unm istakable terms

that the human soul can never return to the body of an animal

(Com . of Chalcidius on Tim ur, ed . Fabric , p . 3 50 ; bu t see my

P lotinus, pp . 3 2 sq) .

THE Psvcnoeon e.

The presid ing dei ty of reb irth was Herm es, the psychopomp,or leader of sou ls. Thus Proclus (Comm nl. on First A lameda )writes : Herm es governs the d ifferent herds of sou ls, and d ispersesthe sleep and oblivion w i th which they are oppressed . He is l ikewise the supplier of recol lection , the end of which is a genu in e

in tellec tual apprehension of d ivine natures.

” This is the “ eternal

m emory ” or “heart - memory and thus Hermes is appropriately

said to have given this boon to fEthalides as narrated above .

On L IBERATION .

F inal ly Porphyry , i n his Am i/{d ries toMe Perxph’

on of I ntelli

gibles, adm irably sets forth the m ode of l iberation from the cycle ofreb i rth as follows : “ That which nature binds

,nature also dis

solves : and that which the soul binds, the soul l ikewise d issolves.

N ature, i ndeed , bound the body to the soul ; bu t the sou l bi nds

I IO L UCIF’ER .

herself to the bodv . Nature,therefore, l iberates the body from

the sou l ; but the sou l l iberates herself from the body .

Hence there is a twofold death the one,indeed

,universal ly known ,

i n which the body is l iberated from the soul ; but the other pecu l iarto ph ilosophers [i ni tiates] , in which the sou l is l iberated from thebodv . Nor does the one entirely fol low the other .This is further explained by Taylor (Alysf. Hymns, p . 1 62,

who wri tes “ Though the body, by the death which is un iversa l lyknown

,may be loosened from the soul , yet whi le m aterial passions

and affections reside i n the sou l,the soul wi l l conti nual ly verge to

another body, and as lon g as this i ncl ination continues,rem ain

connected w i th body .

”

Such is a very bare outl ine of the great doctri ne of reb irth ,on

which many volum es cou ld be wri tten . I have only attem pted to

set down a few points,to show what were the v iews of the genuine

ph ilosophers and mystics of the ancien t Orphic trad i tion,and how

sim i lar they are to the m odern exposi tion of the tenet . Much m orei nform ation could be added

,but the subject wou ld then have to be

treated separately and'

not as m erely subord inate to the general

subject of Orphic theology .

CONCLUSION .

My task is done and my smal l sk iff launched . That it isimperfect and unworthy of so prec ious a burden of ancient treasure

,

no one is better aware than m yself. But such as i t is,I comm it i t

to the troubled sea of m odern thought,hoping that a favourable

curren t m ay carry it to som e few who can value the freight at itstrue worth . In the construction of my sk iff I have m ainly com

bined the researches of L obeck ,who was a scholar and no m ystic

,

wi th the wri ti ngs of Taylor, who was half scholar,half m ystic

,

and cem ented all together with som e inform ation derived fromH . P . B lavatsky, who was a m ystic and no scholar . I wri te as am an conv i nced that the Mysteries have not gon e from the earth

,

but sti l l exist and have their genu ine adherents and i n itiators ; inthe fervent hope that som e, at least , who read , wi ll not be unm in dfu lof the past , and w i th the certain knowledge that a few actuallypossess a fu ll m em ory of that past which the many have

,for a tim e

,

forgotten . G. R . S . MEAD.

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I I 2 L UCIFER .

is but a fragm ent of less than 1 50 pages, or 1 82 paragraphs, inclusive of the In troduction ; th is, i ndeed , bei ng not a m ere preface, buta reasoned exposition of a V iew of abstract ideas

,essential to the

argum en t of the m ain work . The P rinciples of H uman K’

nowledge

is one of the great books of the language . S ir John Lubbock , i nhis choice catalogue of classics, in cludes i t am ong the best hundredbooks.

”Its very sm al lness is one of the qual i ties of its greatn ess.

I t is compact wi thout being scan ty,and closely reasoned wh i lst

never sacrifici ng luc id i ty to compression . There is not an unnecessary senten ce i n i t

,nor one that could wi th advantage be expanded .

Its periods are m odels of style, and as an exampleof the selection ofform s of words to express niceties of thought about subtle th ings

,

Engl ish l i terature probably has nothing to show that can be sa id tobe superior to i t . Even were i t not important as a philosoph icaltreatise

,cri tic ism would m ark the P rinciples of [fur/tan K

’

nowledge

as d istingu ished for its purely l i terary virtues.

B ut though this m uch in praise of Berkeley m ay be gratefu l lyconceded

, yet som e of his m odern adm irers claim for him an originalitywhich ful ler knowledge does not j ustify . Dr. Collyns S im on ,

in the introduction to his ed i tion of the P rinczples, speaks of the

great fact of nature d isco vered by Berkeley through all the vastentanglem en ts of the physics and m etaphysics of his day, as bei ng“sim ply and singly the proposi tion that m atter is a phenom enon , a

thing m an ifest in sense,not in ferred

,not a thing rendered probable ,

or possible, or necessary,by What we thus find m an ifest in sense.

”

Professor Cam pbel l Fraser— surely the m ost devoted ed i tor a phi losopher ever had— also uses this word d iscovery concern ingBerkeley’s proposi tion .

B ut in truth , Berkeley no m ore d iscovered this fact in naturethan

,to quote another popu lar error, Darwin d iscovered the fact

of evolu tion . It was,in deed

,new to his day and generation . I t

burst in to bei ng wi th all the audac i ty and freshness of a newly - bornchi ld of thought . B ut ideas

,like i nd iv iduals

,wou ld seem to l iv e

,

die,rem ain in a Devachan of temporary obl iv ion , and then te- incar

nate in to the world of m in d . How m any of the notions that are

supposed to tingle wi th m odernity and l i teral ly smell of wet pain t

are sim ply old truths rev ived ? The oldest tru ths,i ndeed

,are st i ll

the most novel , and the newest but the old ones t e- stated .

BERKELEY AND THE OCCU I/l‘ PH I LOSOPHY . I I 3

B erkeley was, as po inted out i n a footnote to theSerf-

t lDoctrine)

no bet ter than thepale copyist of antiqu ity .

” The j ustification forth is remark is afforded on the sam e page , where quotations are

given from the A nugt‘

ld,i n which M i nd

,personified , is made to say

“ The rose sm el ls not wi thout me, the eye does not take i ncolour, etc .

,etc .

,I am the eternal ch ief am ong al l the elem ents— 12a

,

senses. Without me,the senses never shine , l ike an empty dwel l ing,

or l ike fires the flam es of which are extinct . Without me,al l be ings,

l ike fuel ha lf dried and half moist,fai l to apprehend qual i ties or

objects, even with the senses exerting them selves.

”

What does th is passage do bu t state i n the language of poetry,

i n which the m etaphysics of Eastern l iterature are usual ly i nvestedas wi th a si lken robe , what Berkeley expresses i n cold prose whenhe wri tes that nei ther our thoughts nor passions nor ideas formedby the im aginat ion

,exist without the m ind .

" And he proceeds, i nthe same strain “ there was an odour

,that is

,i t was smel led ;

there was a sound , that is to say i t was heard ; a colour or figure,and i t was perceived by sight or touch . That is al l I can understandby these and the l ike expressions. For as to what is said of theabsolute existence of unth inking things

,without any relation to

thei r being perceived , that seem s perfectly unintel l igible . Theira re isM ay} nor is i t possible they should have any existence ou tof the m inds of thinki ng th ings which perceive them .

”

The identi ty of the essen tial features of the.Berkeleyan phi lo

sophy wi th the anc ient Eastern m etaphysic is even clearer from theaccount given by Professor Max Mul ler? of the two schools whichh ave claimed to b e the true i nterpreters of the Vedanta

,that of

Shankara, and that of Ramanuja. Both agree “ that whatever istru e i n this unreal world is Brahm an

,

" the highest self— the “ selfof the universe and the self of the soul .” “Without Brahman

,

even this unreal world would be im possible or, as we should say,

there wou ld be n othing phen omena l un less there was somethingnoumenal . " What is th is bu t pure B erkeleyanism ,

as expressed i nthis noble passage i n the Prz

'

fl a'

plcs :“ Som e truths there are so

near and obv ious to the m ind that a man need only open his eyesto see them . Such I take th is important one to be

,to wi t , that al l

Serra Doctrine, V ol. I . p. 96 (edi tion of

t Pyrhologr’

m l e x’

gion, p . 3 14.

r 1 4 LUCIFER .

the choir of heaven and furniture of the earth,in a word al l those

bod ies which compose the m igh ty frame of the world,have not any

subsistence wi thou t a m i nd , that their being— esse— is to be perceivedor known ; that consequently so long as they are not actual ly perceived by m e

,or do not exist i n mym ind or that of anyother creafed

spirit, they m ust ei ther have no existence at al l , or else subsist in the

m ind of some d am n! spirit ; i t being perfectly unintel l i gible andi nvolvi ng all the absurd i ty of abstraction

,to attribute to any single

part of them an existence i ndependent of a spiri t .”

We do wel l to be jealous for the greatness of the old phi l o

sophies, in which all that is best in the newest thought m ay be foundto be rooted . Our adm iration for the m oderns is not lessened by anunderstandi ng of the extent to which they are indebted to

,or i n

harm ony w i th , the anc ients. Nor is i t m erely archa ologically

interesting to find the philosophy of a wri ter l ike Berkeley asserti ngthat which was asserted in the Upanishads that have been sacred i nInd ia for m i l lennia. I t is a l i ttle startl ing at first ; bu t the effect is,or should be, that while grateful ly avai l ing ourselves of the adapta

bilityof the newer wri ters to newer needs, we are sent back to the

founts of wisdom and understand ing which have flowed pure and

undefiled for ages. The circum spection and calm bui ld ing up of

the logical structure of the argum ent, such as m ark the work of

a wri ter l ike Berkeley, appeal to the modern m ind perhaps m orepowerfully than the simple d irectness or the poetical sym bol ism of

the old books. Old d iamonds are often the better for new setti ngs,

accord ing to the exigencies they are requ ired to meet . Every agerequ ires the old tru ths to be stated to i t d ifferently . And , fortu

nately, truth is not copyright . To plagiariz e from i t is not a lega loffence. Anyon e m ay publ ish i t at wil l . The pity is that so few

are in cl ined to do so.

The d isti ngu ish ing m eri t of Berkeley’s arg um en t in the Prin

ciples of H uman K nowledge, that which raises i t above the work

of the group of m etaphysicians who preceded and fol lowed himthe form er of whom he endeavoured to set ri ght

,and the latter of

whom founded their thought on cri tic isms of h is contentions— isthat i t m akes the m aterial istic standpoint simply untenable . Thosewho have endeavoured to answer him have usually started by m isunderstand ing him . This is a method from which thosewho adop t

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r 1 6 LUCIFER .

cannot know anyth ing whatever apart from that sou l or self in us

which is not material at all.So far as the argument of his best- known book is concerned ,

Berkeley does not settle the whole problem of m i nd and phenom ena.

In the P rinciples of H uman K nowledge, he does but make plai n thedependabi l i ty of the very recognition of the m aterial world uponm ind . I t is a trem endous gain to start away on the m etaphysical

pi lgrimage wi th this com pass in hand . B ut the subject is as yet byno m eans exhausted .

At present we understand (I ) that the m aterial world is real ;but (2) that its real i ty is only recogni z ed through m ind or spiri t .Now we want to know m ore of the nature of matter

,and its relation

to spiri t . Are they two separate , d istinct , and irreconc ilable ele

m en ts in nature ? or are they simply the polari ties of one substan ceor is matter but the sensible in terpretation and outward expressionof spiri t

It is in trying to obtain an answer to th is problem from theworks of Berkeley

,that one d iscovers how his views ripened wi th

his years. When he wrote the P rinciples he was a young m an of

twenty - seven . We are none of us infal l ible,not even the youngest

of us, on ce rem arked the late Lord B owen and we are none of us

om n isc ien t ei ther . An imm en se w iden ing of the in tel lectual rangeis apparent between the P r z

'

na

'

jbles of H uman K’

nowledge and the

philosophical ideas expressed in S in s. Twen ty - four years had

passed between the issue of the two books. Berkeley had beenB ishop of Cloyne

,had travel led

,and had read and reflected m uch

in the m ean tim e. A spiri t less insistent pervades the later work .

I ts l i terary style is richer,and its phi losophic tem per is finer . There

is an absen ce of that elem ent which Professor Huxley cal ls cocksureness.

”S z

'

r z'

s suggests rather than enforces. Scholarship is

brought to the aid of deep th inking, and the resu l t is a noble and

stim ulating piece of phi losophical l iterature.

Had the book of the young logician of twenty - seven been com

pleted by the ripe scholar of fi fty- one,we should have had i n the

second part an exposi tion of a conception of m atter identical w i th

that upon which the philosophy of occu l tism is based . We are

warran ted in saying that m uch from what we find in S z’

rz’

s. What

is that conception ? I t is stated by H . P . B lavatsky ‘ i n these term s :

Secret Doctrine, V ol. I . p . 274.

asam t nv AND THE occuur PH I LOSOPHY . 1 1 7

Everything in the universe,throughou t al l its k i ngdoms

,is con

sa'

oas : i .a.,endowed wi th a consciousness of its own k i nd and on

its own plane of perception . We m en must remember that becausewe do not perceive any signs—which we can recogni z e— of consciousness, say i n stones, we have no right to say that no consciousness ex ists there. There is no such thing as e i ther dead

,or bl ind

matter, as there is no bl ind or unconsc ious L aw. These find noplace among the conceptions ofoccu l t phi losophy . The latter neverstops at surface appearances, and for i t the noumenal essenceshave more real i ty than their objec tive counterparts : i t resemblestherein the m ed iaeval Nout inalists, for whom i t was the universalsthat were the real i ties, and the particulars which existed oq in

name and human fancy .

”

I t was towards this conception of the universe that the thoughtof Berkeley grav i tated i n his later years. Professor Campbel l Frasernotices his “ growi ng i ncl i nation towards P latonism

,i n its Neo

platonic myst ical form . In the Principles he had cleared the way fora proper philosophical conception of the world of phenom ena . InSiris he becom es constructive, and, w i th a luxuriance of erud i tionwhich makes the essay a delight to the reader, he propounds a viewof thought and of things that was necessary to m ake his systemcomplete.

He fin ds throughou t nature an universal ly difi’

used principle ,i ntel l i gen t and self- sustai ned .

“ The hidden force that unites,adj usts, and causes all th ings to hang together and move in harmony— which Orpheus and Em pedocles styled love— this principle of

union is no bl ind principle, but acts wi th intel lect . This d ivine

love and intel lec t are not themselves obv ious to our v iew,or other

wise d iscern ed than in thei r effects. Inte l lect en l ightens,love

connec ts, and the soverei gn good attracts all things.

" Al l things

are made for the supreme good , all things tend to that end .

”

The Pythagoreans and Platonists, Berkeley considered , had a

notion of “the true system of the world .

“ They allowed of

m echanical principles, bu t actuated by soul or m i nd ; they d istin

guished the primary qual i ties i n bod ies from the secondary, m akingthe form er to be physical causes, and they understood physica lcauses in a right sense : they saw that a m ind i nfinite i n power,un extended , invisible, immortal , governed , connected and contained

I 1 8 LUCIFER.

al l things: they saw that there was no such thing as real , absolu te

space that m i nd , soul , or spiri t tru ly and really exists that bod iesexist only in a secondary and dependent sense, that the soul is theplace of form s that the sensible qual i ties are to be regarded as actsonly in the cause, and as passions i n us : they actually considered

the d ifferences of intellect, rational sou l , and sensi tivesou l,wi th

their d istinct acts of intel lection , reasoning, and sensation : poi nts

wherei n the Cartesians and the ir fol lowers, who consider sensation

as a m ode of th ink ing, seem to have fai led . They knew there was

a subtle aether pervad ing the whole mass of corporeal beings, andwhich was i tself actually m oved and directed by a m i nd : and thatphysical causes were only instrum ents, or rather m arks and signs.

”

This paragraph is especial ly worthy of carefu l study, as showing what Berkeley had com e to regard as the true philosophy of theuniverse. Here we have set forth a clear conception of the astralworld

,as separate from the physical and spiri tual worlds. The

whole Theosophical m etaphysic is, in fact, summ ari z ed here wi thtolerable exactness and adm irable succi nctness.

Y et agai n , in passages ful l of interest for the Theosoph icalstudent, does Berkeley insist on the uni ty of nature

, and the invariable operation of L aw i n all things. The idea of bl i nd fate orbl i nd chance being at the root of happenings seems to him to beunintell igible.

“ Such is the m utual relation,connection

,m otion

and sym pathy of the parts of this world , that they seem as i t wereanim ated and held together by one soul .” He quotesw i th an ev iden tsense of its value

,the “ opin ion of remote antiqu ity that the world

was an animal .” This opin ion was so general and current amongthe Greeks

,that Plutarch asserts all others held the world to be an

an imal,and governed by prov idence, except Leucippus, Democri tus,

and Epicurus. And although an an imal contain ing allbod ieswi th ini tself could not be touched or sensibly affected from w ithout

,yet it

is plai n they attributed to i t an inward sense and feel ing, as wel l asappeti tes and aversions: and that from al l the various tones

,actions

and passions of the universe, they suppose one sym phony , one an im al

act and l ife to resul t .”

And agai n he wri tes Jam blichns declares the world to beone an im al

,in wh ich the parts, however d istant from each other

,

are nevertheless related and con nected by one common nature . And

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I 20 LUCIFER .

quick perception of truth flashing across their brains while yet i tfai ls to stir m i nds less acute to i nspirations from the d ivine m ind ,have frequently given exquisi te expression to this idea. Shel leydoes so in Queen Mab

How strange is hum an pride !I tell thee that those living th ings,To whom the fragile blade of grass

That springeth in the m om

And perisheth ere noon

Is an unbounded world ;I tell thee that those viewless beingsWhose m ansion is the smallest particle

Of the im passive atm osphere,Th ink, feel, and live like m an

That their affections and an tipath ies,L ike h is, produce the lawsRuling their moral state ;And the m in utest th rob

That th rough their fram es d iffusesThe sligh test, fain test m ot ion ,

Is fixed and ind ispensablethe m ajestic laws

That rule you rolling orbs.

Those who find a d iffi cu l ty in th ink ing out the idea of the truerelation of spiri t and matter em bod ied in th is conception

,wi l l pro

bably be helped by a very apropos paral lel worked out in an essayby Emm a Marie Cai llard

,in the Con temporary Review for Septem

ber,1 894. The wri ter takes an exam ple which she rightly describes

as“at once close and extraord i narily suggestive — that of thought

and language . Matter is a real thing, she says,j ust as language is

a real th ing but we could not have had language w i thout thought,

and in the same manner i t is contended that we cou ld not have hadmatter wi thout sp iri t

,or the imm inent reason

,of which it is the

expression . Language is the m ode in which thought takes shape,its way of becom ing known to i tself

,and therefore language is

eviden tly dependent upon thought for its existence,but their re

lationship is a far m ore in tim ate one than that of cause and effect .”

Argu i ng from this ingenious analogy,the wri ter of the essay arrives

at the conclusion “ that sp iri tual l ife is universal,

and that tohuman intell igence i t is universal ly manifested through matter ;only that as we descend i n the scale from man to animal

,from

animal to plant,from plant to crystal

,we observe i t d im in ish in

power,activ i ty and in tensi ty, un ti l when we reach the i norgan ic

stage of matter we find an enormous d ifference i n the spiri tual l ife,as in its m aterial expression .

”

BERK ELEY AND THE OCCULT PH I LOSOPHY . 1 2!

Stud ies of th is kind may not be popu lar, but nevertheless theyrepay labour . A proper understand ing of these matters is essen tialto a true grasp of rel igious and philosophical truth and scientificknowledge . And

,as Berkeley beautiful ly says : “ The eye, by long

use, comes to see even in the darkest cavern and there is no subjectso obscure but we mayd iscern som e gl impse of tru th by long poringon it . Truth is the cry of all and the gam e of a few. Certain ly

,

where it is the chief passion , i t doth not give way to vulgar caresand v iews : nor is i t conten ted wi th a l i ttle ardour in the early tim eof l ife active

, perhaps, to pursue, but not so fi t to weigh and revise .He that wou ld make a real progress in knowledge must ded icatehis age as wel l as youth

, the later growth as well as first fru i ts,at

the al tar of truth .

”

ERNEST SCOTT .

1 22

MAN AND H IS BODIES .

(Con lin [ledfrom p.

I I I .— THE M IND BODIES .

WE have already stud ied at som e length the “physical and

astral bod ies of man . We have stud ied the physical both i n itsvisible and i nvisible parts, work i ng on the physical plane ; we havefol lowed the various l in es of its activ i ties, have analyz ed the natureof its growth , and have dwel t upon its gradual purification . Then

we have considered the astral body in a sim i lar fashion,trac i ng its

growth and functions,deal ing wi th the phenomena connected with

its m an ifestation on the astral plane, and also wi th its purification .

Thus we have gained som e idea of human activ i ty on two out ofthe seven great planes of our universe . Havi ng done so, we can

now pass on to the th ird great plane, the m ind - world ; when wehave learned som ething of th is we shal l have under our eyes the

physical , the astral , and the m ental worlds— our globe and the twospheres surround ing it— as a triple region , wherei n m an is act iveduring his earthly incarnations and wherein he dwel ls also durin gthe periods which intervene between the death that closes one earthlife and the birth which opens another . These three concen tricspheres are m an ’s school - house and k ingdom : i n them he worksout his developm ent

,i n them his evolutionary pi lgrimage ; beyond

them he m ay not consc iously pass unti l the gateway of i ni tiationhas opened before him

,for out of these three worlds there is no

other way.

This th ird region that I have cal led the m i nd - world i ncludesthat which is fam i l iar to Theosophists under the nam e of Devachanor Devaloka

,the land of the gods

,the happy or blessed land

,as

some translate i t . I t bears that name because of its nature andcond i tion

,nothing interfering with that world which may cause

pain or sorrow ; Devachan is essential ly the world of the m i nd— of

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1 24 LUCIFER .

astral m atter is m uch less dense than even the ether of the physical

plane, and we have now to en large our conceptions of m atter still

further,and to extend i t to i nclude the idea of a substance i nv isible

to astral sight as wel l as to physical , far too subtle to be perce ivedeven by the i nner ”senses of m an . This m atter belongs to the fifth

plane counting downwards, or the third plane counting upwards, ofour universe, and i n th ismatter the Self manifests as m ind

, as i n the

next below i t (the astral) i t m anifests as sensation . There is onem arked pecul iari ty about the m ind - body

,as its outer part shows i tself

in the human aura ; i t grows, increases i n si z e and i n activ i ty,

i ncarnation after i ncarnation , wi th the growth and developm en t ofthe m an him self. This pecul iari ty is one to which so far we are

not accustom ed . A physical body is bu i l t incarnation after incarnation

,varying accord i ng to national i ty and sex

,bu t we think of i t

as very m uch the sam e i n si z e si nce Atlan tean days. In the astralbody we found growth in organiz ation as the man progressed .

But the m ind - body l i teral ly grows i n siz e w i th the advancin gevolution of the man . If we look at a very undeveloped person

,

we shal l find that the m ind - body is even d ifficu l t to d istingu ishthat i t is so l i ttle evolved that some care is necessary to see i t at all.Looking then at a m ore advanced man

,one who is not sp iritual

,

bu t who has developed the facu lties of the m ind,who has train ed

and developed the i ntel lect, we shal l find that the m i nd - body is

acqu iring a very definite development, and that i t has an organiz ation that can be recogn iz ed as a vehicle of activi ty ; i t is a c learand definitely outl ined object , fine i n material and beautifu l i ncolour

,conti nual ly vibrating wi th enorm ous activi ty

,fu l l of l ife

,

fu l l of vigour, the expression of the m ind in the world of the

m ind .

As regards its nature, then , m ade of this subtle m atter ; asregards its functions, the imm ed iate vehicle i n which the Selfmanifests as intellect as regards its growth

,growi ng life after l ife

i n proportion to the i ntel lectual developm ent , becom i ng also m oreand m ore defini tely organi z ed as the attributes and the qual ities of

the m ind becom e m ore and m ore clearly marked . I t does not,like

the astral body,becom e a d ist in ct representation of the man i n form

and feature,when it is work ing in connection wi th the astral and

physical bod ies i t is oval— egg- l ike— in outl ine,interpenetrati ng of

MAN AND m s 8001 3 8 . 1 25

cou rse the physical and astral bod ies, and surround i ng them wi th

a rad iant atmosphereas i t developes— becom ing, as I sa id , larger andlarger as the i ntel lectual growth i ncreases. Needless to say, th is

egg- l ike form becom es a very beau tiful and glorious object as

the m an developes the higher capaci ties of the m i nd ; i t is notvisible to astral sight , bu t is clearly seen by the higher visionwh ich belongs to the devachan ic plane , the world of m ind . Justas an ord i nary man l iving in the physical world sees noth ing of

the astral world— though surrounded by it— unti l the astral sensesare opened

,so a man i n whom only the physical and astral senses

are active wi l l see nothing of the m i nd - world or of for ms composedof its matter, unless the devachan ic senses be opened , albei tDevachan surrounds us on every side .These keener senses, the senses which be long to the m i nd

world , differ very m uch from the senses with which we are fam il iarhere . The very word “

senses i n fact is a m isnom er,for we ought

rather to say the devachanic sense .” The m ind comes i nto contact wi th the things of its own world as i t were d irectly over itswhole surface . There are no d isti nct organs for sight

,hearing

,

touch , taste and smel l ; al l the v ibrations which we shou ld hererece ive through separate sense - organs, i n that region give rise toall these character istics at once when they come i nto touch wi ththe m i nd . The m ind - body receives them all at one and the sam e

tim e,and is at i t were consc ious al l over of everyth ing which is able

to impress i t at all.I t is not easy to convey in words any clear idea of the way this

sense rece ives an aggregate of impressions wi thout confusion , but i tmay perhaps be best described by saying that if a trained studentpasses in to that region , and there comm unicates with anotherstudent , the m i nd i n speak ing speaks at once by colour, sound andform ,

so that the complete thought is conveyed as a coloured andmusical picture instead of only a fragm ent of i t be ing shown

,as is

done here by the sym bols we cal l words. Som e readers may haveheard of ancient books written by great ini tiates i n colour- language

,

the language of the Gods ; that lang uage is known to many chelasand is taken

,so far as form and colour are concerned

,from the

devachan ic“speech ,

” i n which the‘

vibrations from a single thought

give rise to'

j orm , to colour and to sound . It is not that the m i nd

r26 LUCIFER .

thinks a colour, or thinks a sound , or thinks a form ; i t th inks athought

, a comp lex v ibration in subtle matter, and that thoughtexpresses i tself i n all these ways by the v ibrations set up . Thematter of the m ind - world is constantly bei ng thrown into v ibrat ionswh ich give b irth to these colours, to these sounds

,to these forms ;

and if a man be functioning in the m i nd - body apart from the astraland the physical , he finds him self entirely freed from the l im i tationsof their sense - organs, receptive at every point to every vibration thati n the lower world would present itself as separate and d ifferent

from its fel lows.

When,however, a man is think ing in his wak ing consciousness

and is worki ng through his astral and physical bod ies, then thethought has its producer i n the m ind - body and passes out , first tothe astral and then to the physical ; when we th ink , we are think i ngby ourmind - body— that is

,the agent of thought, the consciousness

which expresses i tself as I .” The I is i l lusory,but i t is the

only “ I ” known to the majority of us. When we were deal ingw i th the consciousness of the physical body, we found that the m an

him self was not conscious of all that was go ing on in the physica lbody itself, that its activi ties were partial ly i ndependent of him ,

that he was not able to think as the tiny separate cel ls were th inki ng

,that he d id not really share that consc iousness of the body as

a whole . B ut when we com e to the m i nd - body we com e to a region

so c losely identified wi th the man that i t seem s to he him sel f ;I th ink ,

” “ I know — can we go behind that ? The m ind is the

self in the m ind - body,and i t is that which for m ost of us seem s

the goal of our search after the self. B ut th is is only true if we

are con fined to the wak ing consciousness. Anyone who has learnedthat the wak i ng consc iousness, l ike the sensations of the astralbody

,is only a stage of our journey as we seek the self

,and who

has further learned to go beyond i t, wil l be aware that this i n itsturn is bu t an instrum ent of the real man . Most of us

, however

,as I say, do not separate, cannot separate i n thought, the m an

from his m i nd - body,which seem s to them to be his highest expres

sion,his highest vehicle, the highest self they can in any way

touch or real iz e . This is the m ore natural and i nevitable in th a tthe i nd ividual

,the man , at this stage of evolu tion , is beginni ng to

viv ify th is body and to bring it into pre - em i nent activi ty. He has

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1 28 LUCIFER .

yourself suddenly now and then during the day, and see what youare th ink i ng about , and on such a sudden checking you w i l l

probably ei ther find that you are th ink ing about noth ing— a verycommon experience— or that you are th ink ing so vaguely that avery sl ight im pression is made upon anyth ing you can ven ture tocal l your m i nd . When you have tried th is a good many times

,and

by the very trying have becom e m ore self- conscious than you were,

then begin to notice the thoughts you find in your m ind,and see

what d ifference there is between their cond i tion when they cam e

i nto the m i nd and the ir cond ition when they go ou t of it— what youhave added to them during the ir stay wi th you . In th is way you rm ind wil l becom e really active and wil l be exercisi ng its creative

powers, and if you be wise, you wi l l fol low som e such process asthis : first

, you w i l l choose the thoughts that you wi l l allow to

remain in the m ind at all; whenever you find i n the m i nd a though tthat is good

,you wi l l dwel l upon it, nourish i t , strengthen it, try to

put i nto i t m ore than i t had at first,and send i t out as a beneficen t

agen t in to the astral world ; when you find i n the m i nd a though tthat is evi l , you wi l l turn it ou t wi th all imaginable prom pti tude.

Presently you w i l l find that as you welcom e i nto your m i nd all

thoughts that are good and useful,and refuse to entertai n thoughts

which are evi l,this resul t wi ll appear : that m ore and m ore good

thoughts wil l flow i nto your m ind from wi thout,and fewer an d

fewer evi l thoughts wi l l flow into i t . The effect of mak i ng you rm ind ful l of good and usefu l thoughts wil l be that i t wil l act as a

magnet for al l the sim i lar thoughts that are around you ; as yourefuse to give anysort of harbourage to evi l thoughts, those tha tapproach you wi l l be thrown back by an autom atic action of them ind i tself. The m ind - body w i l l take on the characteristic of

attracting all thoughts that are good from the surround ing atm os

phere, and repel l ing all thoughts that are ev i l , and i t w il l work uponthe good and m ake them m ore active

,and so constantly gather a

m ass of m en tal material which wi l l form its content and wi l l growricher every year . When the tim e com es when the man shal l shake

off the astral and physical bod ies final ly, passing into the m in dworld he wi l l carry with him the whole of this gathered - up

m aterial ; he wi l l take w i th him the content of consciousness in to

the region to which it properly belongs, and he wi ll use his

MAN AND m s BODIES. 1 29

devachan ic life i n work ing up i nto facu l ties and powers.

the wholeof the m aterials which i t has stored .

At the end of the devachan ic period the m i nd - body wi l l handon to the perm anent causal body the character istics thus fashioned ,that they may be carried on into the next incarnation . Thesefacu l ties

,as the m an returns, wi l l clothe themselves in the matter of

the rupa planes of the m i nd - world , form i ng the m ore highlyorganiz ed and developed m ind - body for the com ing earth l ife, andthey wil l show themselves through the astral and physical bod iesas the innate facu l ties,

” those wi th which the child comes i nto theworld . Duri ng the present l ife we are gatheri ng together materialsi n thewaywhich I have sketched ; duri ng the devachan ic l ife we workup th ese materials, changing them from separate efforts of thoughtinto facul tyof thought , i nto m ental powers and activi ties. That isthe imm ense change m ade during the devachanic l ife, and i nas

m uch as it is lim i ted by the use we are maki ng of the earth - l ife,we

shall do wel l to spare no efforts now . The m i nd - body of the nexti ncarnation depends on the work we are doi ng in the m i nd - body ofthe present ; here is then the imm ense importance to the evolutionof the man of the use which he is now m aki ng of his m ind - body ; i tl im i ts his activities i n Devachan, and by l im iting those activi ties i tl im i ts the mental qual i ties w i th which he wil l return for his nextl ife upon earth . We cannot isolate one l ife from another

,nor

m iracu lously create someth ing out of noth ing . Karma bri ngs theharvest accord i ng to our sowi ng ; scanty or plentifu l is the crop asthe labourer gives seed and ti l lage.

The au tomatic action of the m i nd - body , spoken of above , m ay

perhaps be better understood if we consider the nature of the

materials on which it draws for its bu i ld i ng. The Universal M ind,

to wh ich i t is all ied in its i nmost nature , is the storehouse i n itsma terial aspect from which it draws these materials. They giverise to every k i nd of vibration , varying i n qual i ty and i n poweraccord ing to the combinations m ade. The m ind - body automatical lydraws to i tself from the general storehouse matter that can mai ntai n the comb inations already existi ng in it, for there is a constantchan ging of particles in the m i nd - body as i n the physical

,and the

place of those which leave is taken by sim i lar particles that com e . If

the man finds that he has evi l tendenc ies and sets to work to change

1 3 0 LUCIFER .

them,he sets up a new set of v ibrations

,and the m ind - body

,

m oulded to respond to the old ones,resists the new

,and there is

conflict and suffering. Bu t gradual ly,as the older particles are

thrown out and are replaced by others that answer to the new

v ibrations— being attracted from outside by their very power torespond to them— the m ind - body changes its character

,changes, i n

fact,its materials

,and its vibrations becom e antagonistic to the

evil and attractive to the good . Hence the extrem e difficu lty of thefirst efforts

,met and combated by the old form - aspect of the m i nd ;

hence the i ncreasi ng ease of right th inking as the old form changes,

and finally,the spontanei ty and the pleasure that accompany the

new exercise.

Another way of helping the growth of the m i nd - body is thepractice of concentration ; that is, the fixing of the m ind on a poi ntand hold ing it there fir mly

,not al lowi ng it to drift or wander . We

should train ourselves in th inking stead i ly and consecutively,not

allowing our m i nds to run suddenly from one thing to another,nor

to fri tter their energies away over a large number of insign ifican tthoughts. I t is a good practice to follow a consecu tive l ine of

reasoning,i n which one thought grows natural ly out of the thought

that went before i t,thus gradually developing in ourselves the ih

tellectual qual i tieswhich m ake our thoughts sequential and thereforeessen tial ly rational ; forwhen them ind thus works, thought fol lowin gthought in definite and orderly succession , i t is strengthen i ng i tse lfas an instrument of the Self for activ i ty i n the m ind - world . Thisdevelopm ent of the power of think i ng wi th concentration and

sequence wi l l show i tself in a m ore clearly outl ined and defini tem ind - body

,i n a rapidly increasing growth , i n steadi ness and balance,

the efforts being wel l repaid by the progress which resul ts fromthem .

ANN IE BESANT .

(To1m ( rm /in fl ed .)

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LUCIFER .

I t was funny,wasn’t i t ? And it’s always the sam e house too .

Y es,very odd . I suppose you could draw i t, couldn

’t youIf I cou ld draw, yes. I could m ake a plan of that house

almost,i t is so clear . It

’s my ideal house , you know Jack .

”

Of course i t is, that’s whyyou dream t abou t i t .

I’m not sure ; i t seems m ore real som ehow than a house one

bu i lds in one’s own head for fun .

”

He raised his eyebrows.

“We m ust try to get as near to i t i n real i ty as we can . Let’shave the description once agai n then fire aheadShe lean t forward i n her chair and the firelight flickered on her

face,showi ng the eager look in her eyes. I t was a curious face

,

not pretty perhaps as far as features and colouri ng went bu t al ive ,sensi tive

,spiri tual . She m oved her hand i n front of her two or

three tim es,as if to create an atm osphere .

I see that house,”she said slowly, stand ing in the m iddle of

a big field,a bleak field

,and the trees are bent at good deal by the

w ind . I t is a red house wi th gables and tal l twisted chim neys,and

som e of the windows have lattice panes and very deep em brasures ;the ivy knocks against the panes, i t wants cutting dreadfu lly . A t

one end there is a gi lt weather - cock l ike a fish— I shou ld l ike thattaken down— and l ittle dorm er windows on the roof. The fron tdoor isn’t in the m idd le of the house ; I shou ld th ink it has beenvery m uch added to . The door is l ike a church door

,and has such

lovely h inges ! I t swings very heavi ly when you open it, and thenyou see the hal l : i t is al l oak , carved in the l inen pattern we l ikesom uch and the staircase runs up one side and joins the gal lery atthe top . There is an oriel window at one end, and the top panesare fi l led wi th coloured glass— shields and th ings. There are fiverooms opening out of the hal l ; I rem ember the b i ll iard room best,I think ; the drawi ng - room

,I know, is al l panel led and pain ted

whi te,w i th raised white flowers and ribbons carved and pain ted

,

too . There’s a very odd window i n the bi ll iard - room,and I ’m sure

i t m ust put the players off most dreadful ly, it’s on one side of the

fireplace; and there’s a door in to the garden on the other side

,and

tapestry hangings— rather ugly ones,great big gods and goddesses

,

and peacocks, and they wave about i n the draught . I t’s a creepy

house,bu t

,oh

,so nice !

A aouss or DREAMS. 1 3 3

I t all seemed i ntensely real to her , he noticed ; she absentlydrew plans with her finger on her kn ee , as if to make the placeyet clearer to her.

And the garden has yew hedges, and a bowl ing green , and afountain ,

”she wen t on ;

“ the fountai n is a Tri ton,and when he

blows on his shel l the waters play . Ah .” wi th a sigh,I wish we

could find that house , Jack , don’t yo u

We shan ’t th is side of Jordan , anyway; I w ish we cou ld , iffor no other reason than to stop these dream s of yours. Don ’t youfind them j ust a bi t m onotonous by now ? ”

You don’t understand, Jack ; I love that place . I t makes mequ i te happy j ust to dream abou t it . I always feel as if som eth ingso lovely m ust be go ing to happen .

Why,what could happen ? ”

I don’t know ; but I always feel as if someth ing w il l , someday . Perhaps I shal l dream that too .

”

He laughed .

“ I shal l have to have adv ice for you,young woman

,if th is

goes on . How long have you dream t of this wonderful house of

yours ? ”

Oh , ages .

That’s com fortably vague. How oftenI hard ly know ; I alwavs seem to have been dream i ng of i t

more or less.

”

Pi ty you can’t dream the nam e of i t as wel l .Yes

,

”she sa id

,so I have often thought .”

Then they both laughed at themse lves for m ak ing a seriousdiscussion ou t of a dream .

I t becam e a standard joke to ask each morning,How goes the

house ? ” ti l l both seem ed to know i t inside and out thoroughly,

almost to the i nventory of fu rniture i n the pri ncipal rooms.

One morning as he was shav ing he propounded the usualquestion

,add ing How are the attics furnished— we m ust have got

th ere surely by now ? ” and wai ted for the answer . His w ife cam eto the door of the dressing- room .

“

j ack ,"she said

,

“ the dream has stopped .

“Stopped he turned to her raz or i n hand ; finished wi th thepoor old barn at last, have you ? Wel l , I th ink i t was abou t played

1 3 4 women .

out . You m ust set to work and find another .. Beatrice,

” he cal led

after her as she wen t back to her dressing- table, this tim e arrange

the ren t not over a hundred a year, w i l l youAfter breakfast that morni ng Beatrice proposed a bonfire of all

the advertisem en ts and letters abou t houses which d id not su i ti ndeed i t was necessary, as the wri t in g table was a pile of papers.

He looked each over carelessly,hand ing i t to her to burn .

B igger the.

nam e,smaller the place,

” he observed,as she

stuffed a huge bundle between the bars of the grate . “ Gad,what

a we ight those agents m ust have on their consc iences !”

Grim ston Hal l,

” he read out,wi th a chuck le

,rem ember that

parad ise ? Not a door or window in the house that fi tted properly !Grimston Hal l advertisem en t met a fi tting end .

The Oaks,B eechholt

,Vayner Park

,

” he read rapid lysells everyone of them— here, burn them qu ickly . Hu l lo

,

what’s this ? I never noticed this before : ” he held a letter in h ishand

,and read i t through again . She looked over his shou lder

and read i t too .

“ To be let or sold,Kerne Court

,and eight l i nes of descrip

tion which m ight or m ight not be truthful .Moderate rental

,

” he said,mark i ng it wi th his thumb ;

“ l ikeall the rest

,I daresay ; i t only m eans twice what it

’s worth ; what

shal l we do— burn i t, or what ?”

Kem e isn ’t very far from here,is i t

,Jack — we cou ld do i t in

the day, I m ean And i t says ‘ imm ed iate possession — and I am

so tired of room s.

“ Very wel l ; j ust as you l ike. If you don’t m ind starti ng off

on another w i ld goose chase I’m agreeable. Where’s the agen t’s

address?” He noted i t down on paper, while she read the advertisem ent through again .

I t m ay be a real find this t im e, Jack,”she said .

“I’m sure

we’ve persevered enough .

”

“ That we have,

” he agreed . Now,if you ’l l j ust m ove tha t

other bund le of rubbish , I ’l l drop the agent a l i ne and ask for further

particulars.

”

Oh,don ’t let us do that ; i t wi l l only be an extra bother

,an d

they wi l l be expecting us and get the place tidy , and so on . Let ’sjust go and look i t over

,shan ’t we ?”

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1 3 6 w omen .

In the d ip , or shal low depression , they found the house, red ,ivy

- grown, picturesque and old .

Beatrice eyed i t wi th partial recognition , then her face cleared“ The weather- cock’s been m oved ,

”she said wi th satisfaction .

“Yes,m um ,

”said the flyman

,

“ Colonel Streatfield had it tookdown not long ago. I t d idn’t go rightly wi th the house, he said .

”

The heavy oak door swung back on its hinges ; they were i n the

oak- panelled,oak - roofed hall .

S imu ltaneously they turned to each other . Each recogn i z ed it

nowMy dream - house

,

” Beatrice whispered softly . And Jack,in

stupefaction , answered“ Y es.

”

The caretaker received them courteously, but Jack noticed she

seemed very m uch im pressed by his wife, alm ost as if she recogn iz edher

,he thought . She deferred to her, and i nstead of lead ing the

way with that calm proprietary manner comm on to caretakers,

fol lowed patiently where she chose to go .

“ This is the drawi ng- room I told you of,Jack

,

” Beatrice said ,

as sheopened one of the narrow doors lead i ng out of the hal l youremember what I said to you about the carved flowers and ribbons,don’t you ? Aren’t those l i ttle cupids ducks ? What a room for a

dance ! She cou ld hard ly resist tak i ng a few steps on the glassypol ished floor . “ You’ve had heaps of dances here, haven

’t you

she added to the old wom an .

“Y es

,m a’am ,

a m any in the old days, was the answer .

Now I want you to let m e try to find myway to the l ibraryand bi ll iard room by myself. Don’t tel l me if I

’m goi ng wrong .

Beatrice led the wayacross the hal l wi th curious precision,open ed

a door wi thout any hesi tation , and went in .

The wal ls were hung w i th tapestry, i n d ingy reds and lem on

yellows, w i th here and there a gigantic l im b thrust into mom entaryprom i nence by the draught .

The bi ll iard - room,

”announced the caretaker . Beatrice

nodded,look ing round i n recognition of the place . Sudden ly

she paused , looked puz z led , and demanded eagerly,Surely

there used to be a window there,what have you done w ith it ?”

and she poi nted to one side of the high old - fashioned fireplace .Yes

,m a

’am

,so there was ; but the Colonel thought the l ight

A nouss os p agans. 1 3 7

had for the play, and had i t blocked up lately . We’ve hung apicture up, you see, so i t don

’t show .

”

And the door,the door i nto the garden ?

Oh yes, m a’am ,that’s here sti l l

,only we’ve pu t a curtai n up

and a screen . The draughts were just awfu l , ma’am .

”

“ I see. Do you know I seem to rem em ber th is place qu i te

wel l ? ”

It’

s som e time since you were here , ma’am

, isn’t it ? I ’ve been

lodge - keeper here eight years, and haven’ t seen you .

”

Beatrice sm i led .

E ight years, have you she answered . Now,I want to

see the l ibrary and p icture gal lery .

”

They wen t out of the room together, and as they passed throughthe hal l Beatr ice whispered :

“ I believe she thinks I ’m one of the fa mi ly .

The house was thoroughly explored , sti l l wi th that certain ty ofknowledge and recogni tion of al l parts. In the picture gal lery theold woman drew Jack aside and pointed to a picture .

She does favour the fam i ly wonderful ,”she said

,and looked

from the p ictu re to Beatrice and back agai n . The portrai t was oneof a l i ttle girl and a lamb, one of R om ney ’s best

,bu t the face

was the face of Beatrice .I t is a l ikeness,

” Jack adm i tted,with an Engl ishman ’s d islike

of som ething he cannot qu i te grasp ; he was very pu z z led at i t al l .Beatrice cam e back from her explorations at the other end of thegallery , and almost laughed at his expression .

I don’t l ike i t,

” he sa id . I can’t m ake i t out at al l .Poor Jack I Shal l I quote Ham let for your benefi t ? I

’

ve

found my house, and I’m rampantly happy ; I feel so thoroughly at

home here, too .

”

“We'l l hear about the ‘m oderate rent ’ though

,fi rst . There’s

the house - agen t to i nterview again .

”

But you won’t m ind , w i l l you , if that

’s all satisfactory . You

don ’t d isl ike the houseDisl ike i t No . I don’t understand about your dream i ng of

it, that’

s all .”

That’s my faul t, not the house’s. How happy I shal l be if we

do come and l ive here, though .

1 3 8 w orsen .

They offered tribute to the caretaker and drove away,Beatrice

often turning her head to catch a gl impse of the house before a bendi n the road hid i t from her sight .

I bel ieve if we cou ld get that house you ’d settle downhappi ly ,

” her husband said , rousi ng him self at last ;“ it’s the

queerest thing, though , dream ing so long about i t,and then j ust a

chance if we wen t to i t at all.”

I feel as if we shal l l ive there,” B eatrice answered ;

“ perhapswe aren’t m eant to understand why I dream t of i t, or how i t cam eabout .”

“ I shal l feel too jol ly glad to get the whole thing settled tobother my head about i t m uch ,

” Jack sa id, though I shal l alwayscall i t a queer co in c idence .”

Between talk ing and speculating the drive seem ed qu ickly over,and they soon drew up at the house agent’s.

Are you com ing in to hear particu lars ?” Jack asked .

Oh yes, please ; I feel a special interest, you know.

”

They went into the l i ttle room wi th its big paper- strewn deskand hard

,horse - hair covered chairs. The level sun through the

wire bl ind of the win dow fel l full on Beatrice, l ighting up her ha irto dusky gold . Jack noticed wi th some anger and surprise an

involuntary start of recogn i tion from the agent . They d iscussed

prelim inaries with some restraint,the agent’s eyes wandering to

Beatrice as if half puz z led , half afraid .

“ N inety pounds a year for a house that si z e !” Jack couldn ’t

help exclaim ing ;“ i t seem s absurd . What’s wrong wi th the

place“ Nothing actual ly wrong

,repl ied the agent somewhat con

s trai nedly ;“of course there are reasons. The place is undoubted ly

to let far below its proper value, sti l l the reasons— perhaps you m ay

have heard of them,though ?”

Haunted,I suppose you mean

,said Jack . Don’t m ind

speak ing out , mywife is not afraid of ghosts.

”

No,no

,of course not

,very rightly

,too. Wel l

, yes, the

place is haunted . Doubtless,though

, you know all about that .”

He em phasi z ed the pronoun strongly .

“Whyme especial ly ? ” Jack asked annoyed .

For an instant the man hesi tated,then spoke his thought .

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1 40 women .

wi th the young wom en of his tim e . He was educated, taught gam es,

and trained to arm s am ong other youths whose prowess, or gifts, oreven personal beauty bounded the circle of his horiz on . The bookshe read were m en ’

s books,the dramas he beheld were dev ised and

acted ou t by men alone . All the world over, the sam e causes haveproduced the sam e resu lts ; the sam e m is- education

,the sam e igno

rance,and the sam e restricted sympathies, the sam e dangers and

evils.

Seeing the unwholesom e nature of the assoc iations thus form ed,

P lato sough t to bri ng liealth to the souls of the youth of h is nativeland by advocating that system of philosophy known by his nam e

affections exalted and purified by idealsof goodnessand truth , wh ichshould gradual ly lead to ind ividual developm ent and a worship of

the divi ne . In som e respects his idea was a grand one, althoughwe

,as Theosophists, m ust decided ly d iffer from his bel ief that per

sonal enthusiasm s can lead the sou l to God . S ti ll m ore delusivewas th is conception when wom en were excluded from inspiri ng and

sharing in that higher l ife, and remained regarded as m ere obj ectsof passion . For al though P lato i n hisR epublic assign s m ore freedomto wom en than anyother c lassic wri ter— in fact maybe said to stan dalone i n th i nking that they should possess any

— his argumen ts are

based on exped iency rather than on the right of wom an to be con

sidered as a sou l i nstead of a producer of offspring . Hence Plato’sdream has never been real iz ed except in the rarest instances, and

even then not in the manner,nor owing to the causes

,of which he

had conceived .

Many a century has rol led by since the old Greek l ived , andwe find m uch the sam e system pursued in the education of you thsnow as then . The sons of the fam i l ies of the wealthier classes inEngland

,those who possess m ost social power and influence, are

expel led from their hom es before they enter their teens, are alm ostwhol ly deprived of the companionship and influence of wom en foryears of their l ives

,and are herded together i n schools that resemble

huge clubs m ore than anyth ing else,l iving solely under the guar

dianship of m en,and rece iving instruction in m i nd , manners and

morals,from them alone. When the publ ic school course is over

,

the system is pursued sti l l further at the universit ies,and only a

short tim e ago a letter appeared in a L ondon daily paper urgently

THE EDUCATION or run sexes. 1 41

dem and ing that the universi ties should be preserved for men only,

al lud i ng in con temptuous term s to women and the unrecogniz edhonours they have already won and advocating that they shouldstil l be debarred from reapi ng the fru i ts of their stud ies i n the shapeof degrees . This narrow and one- sexed method of l ife is stil l considered by m any to be manly ,

”and the you th is thrust i nto i t while

he is yet too ignorant to understand his own nature,the nature of

woman or his real du ties. Is no responsibi l i ty to be attached tothe nation which acqu iesces in this I think there is

,and that a

process of education which breaks up hom e - l ife at the m ost im pressionable age, and deprives boys and young men of the i nfluences ofwhich they are m ost i n need

,is of the destruct ive order

,and calcu

lated to perpetuate old sores i nstead of opening a pathway towardsgen u i ne progress.

When men reach the plane of tr ue spi ri tual l ife, sex becom esnothing, the entire forcesof their natures are transmu ted into psychicand spiritual energies

,and whether they dwel l i n a monastery w i th

or without equal ly purified women m atters l i ttle . But unti l thatplane is reached the laws of nature

,continual ly violated by man ,

demand that m en and women should be assoc iated together. Thereis absolutely no argum ent agai nst co- education properly carried outi n connect ion wi th home - l ife and the dai ly superintendence of

parents and i nstructors who are both men and wom en , except theantiquated idea that boys and girls m ust not be together .” Whythe y cannot sh are a class- room

,whywom en cannot del iver lectures

to boys as well as girls,and why schools w i th good m ethods of

trai n ing and education cannot be establ ished in al l the towns i n theB ritish isles

,no one knows except such as prefer that their sons

should be sen t off to the fashionable E ton or Harrow,and th eir

daughters to Paris or Brighton , to learn m ore m ischief sometim esin a few years than can be undone in a l ife- tim e .

Another reform ation is also urgently demanded , i n the selection of educational l i terature of a pure kind . There is no needbecause young persons are to be brought up with a knowledge of

the classic m asterpieces, that the whole range of the l i terature of

the past,filled as its pages often are w i th errors and Obscenities, is

to be handed over to them . Many of the old classic wri ters exh ibi tsuch serio us blem ishes i n their works that they ought to be aban

1 42 woman .

doued as educational text - books, unless i ntel lectual train ing is toi nclude m ental corruption . To th is should be added instruction inthe laws of heal th and physiology , and how to m ai ntai n a pure m i ndi n a pure body, and the best and m ost invaluable advice on suchm atters can be given to young people without a word that need beobjectionable from any poi nt of view . Do the young ever m eetwi th sen sible train ing of th is k i nd ? No ; instead of being aided torise above the Karma of the past, they are hindered , and the oldmud - holes are fal len into generation after generation wi thout ahelping hand from anyone

,or a j ust and d ispassionate view of their

case when cri tical issues are i nvolved . A rad ical reformation in thetrai ning which takes place early i n l ife would also tend to effect achange i n the v i tal ly important relation of marriage, which is atpresen t d isgraced by vices second to none that can be nam ed , all themore d iffi cul t to attack because they are entrenched within theChinese wal l of a so- called sacred relationship, inst ituted for the

perpetuation of the race of man . Each vice is l inked to each,

connected as is the air we breathe,the water i n the ocean that

we see. In no i nstance can anyone hold himself apart and say,“ I

am not mybrother's keeper. " We are the keepers of others i n our

own deeds, i n our desires, in our very thoughts. Our desires m ay

corrupt though never spoken our aspirations may bring lightthough none hear them ; our deeds maybe ful l of shame though westand respected before the world . To be pure ourselves is the firststep towards purifying others, more i gn orant

,less fortunate

,and

more tem pted than we have been . And of all things,vi rtue i n

m arriage wi l l rad iate physical and m oral heal th to human i ty atlarge .The pure - hearted are not afraid of close association am ong men

and wom en and the expansion of l ife which would. fol low that

higher marriage of the d iffering qual i ties of each . For that whichwoman tru ly represen ts—m otherly love, sympathy, m oral strengthand endurance— the world starves. She who shou ld be its insp irer

,

and shou ld transform i t in to the larger hom e, has been cloistered i nthe harem and the z enana . The real functions of womanhood are

not yet dream ed of, and the price we have to pay for our ign oranceacts and reacts upon us i n a thousand ways.

To aid the younger portion of the present generation to over

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1 44 LUCIFER .

the L aouia of S id i Abd el- Kad ir cl Dj i lani , and were received bythe Mokaddam

,or head of the order . He was a m ost strik i ng

person in appearance, wi th an in tensely sad face and the m ost

pecul iar h ands I have ever touched— they made m e shudder .Gravely conducti ng us to a small da‘

is faci ng the outer court,

he inv ited us to be seated wi th him . In a l ine in front were them usic ians

,and a fire i n a braz ier . Several people strol led in wi th

no apparent object, and seem ed,l ike ourselves

,to have noth ing

particular to do ; m ost of them cam e up to the Mokaddam ,who

touched them on the forehead— from which we concluded thathypnotism played a part in the proceed i ngs— so casual ly that we

scarcely noticed i t being done. F ive or six l i nked arms and swayedqu ietly to and fro, but rap id ly the l ine fil led up, and soon a longrow were rocking wi th rap id ly increasing exc i tem en t

,and the ha

,

ha,ho

,ho

,

”of the howl i ng dervishes

,the wild m usic

,and the

frantic swaying of the men advised us that the service had begun ,and we becam e aware that the place was fu l l of people .Suddenly a man flung out of the l ine

,threw off his cloth ing,

shook down his lock of hair, utteri ng frantic howls, and look ing as

though sei z ed wi th an ep i leptic fi t . Then he sank on the ground insi lence

,but w i th the m ost awful expression of m aniacal fury

,and

sl id along in snake fashion , the body wri th ing in an indescribab lemovem ent

,n ei ther hands nor feet seem i ng to help the progression .

The m ovem ent was hideously fasci nating,and when

,on reach i ng

the Mokaddam,the head wi th its awfu l

,evi l face was l ifted

,it

seem ed l ike noth ing hum an . To recal l the expression of horror anddespair in its d istorted features gives even now an unpleasant shock .

With the face but a few inches from m e I took an iron nai l from the

Mokaddam,as he offered i t for exam ination . I t was three or four

inches long and thick in proportion . Look ing at i t careful l y,I

handed i t back, wondering what was its pecu l iari ty . I t had scarcelyleft my fingers when i t was put into the m ou th of the face at my

knee,the l i the hand of the chief had stroked the throat and the

dain ty m orsel had passed on for d igestion . In rapid succession fivem ore of the succulent ti t - bi ts followed . The m eal ended

, the

creature wri thed away and was lost in the shadows beyond,wh ere

,

we were told , the wai ting attendan ts took the worshippers off to thecel ls in the bu i ld ing.

THE AISSAOU I . 1 45

By this tim e the worshippers had m u l tipl ied , and the place wasfu l l of what appeared to us tortured hum an ity . Many had passedthe howl ing stage

,and were variousl y em ployed in showing their

devotion , as there seem ed to be a considerable num ber eating cactusspi nes, gouging out their eyes wi th broken glass, applying red - hoti rons to their flesh

,and doi ng other actions of a sim i lar nature .

While endeavouri ng to take note of al l the princ ipal proceed ings,I fol lowed attentively the m ovem ents of those i n our immed iatevicinity . One devotee was laboriously occupied i n forcing a longth ick stake through his body by leaning on one end and pressingthe oth er on the ground . The squashing sound of the yield i ng fleshas the stake was forced through was sickening, and as the man was

on ly two or three feet from me i t was clearly d isting uishableabove the d i n of drums and howls. Another held two stakes againsthis body which an assistant w ith a heavy mallet drove through wi thh earty goodwill . One m an w i th a st ick projecting a long wayonei ther side of his body comm enced w i ld gyrations so close to us thatthe Mokaddam taking one end turned the body away as a gentleh i nt to keep further off. Several were now skewered i n th is fash ion ,an d were whi rl i ng wild ly about

,though not for long

,as they too

passed in to the dim shadows at the side . The wi ld scene washorrible bu t fascinating to an onlooker, though perhaps not qu i tew i thou t some l i ttle elem ent of danger .Once

,as am an approached frantical ly flourishing a huge broad

sword,i t h issed i n the ai r so close that the wi nd i t made sti rred my

ligh t cloth ing . The Mokaddam evidently fel t i t also,and tucked

up his legs on the dais. I fol lowed his example,leaning back

as far as possible,feel ing assured that if an A

‘

issaou i cou ld find dutyor pleasure i n be ing cu t up I shou ld not, and that one touch of thatdeadly - look ing weapon , w ielded wi th the strength of its bearer

,

would render my return to the bosom of myfam i ly m ore than doubtful. Sti l l watch i ng the devotee i nten tly

,I saw h im draw the sword

ri gh t across his body,but at the m om en t myattention was sudden ly

arrested , as my companion , succum bi ng to the horrors and the evi latmosphere, perhaps aided also by a m eagre d iet of dates and coarsebread for a week

,had fainted .

Hurried ly bidd ing ad ieu to the chief we got outside,our gu ide

hoping we wou ld retu rn to the interesting finish,when the pleasant

1 46 LUCIFER .

m eetin g wou ld conclude wi th the introduction of a l ive sheep,which

would be torn in pieces and eaten on the spot by the survivin g

m embers of th is remarkable rel igious comm unity .

M . C . B .

[I t seem s not improbable that we have here a rel ic of thei nd igenous m agical and elem ental worship of the aborigi nes of the

western and northern coasts of Africa . The trad i tion doubtless

came down through the ages from the Atlantean races. The

man iacal obsession and reward of bloodsuck ing point d istinctly to

the traffi c wi th elem entals — Eu ]

THE SYSTEM OF CHAITANYA .

THE system of Chai tanya,w ith all its imperfections, is a protest

both agai nst the nihi listic conceptions of Shankaracharya’s d isciples,

and also against the wooden and heartless doctri nes and m eaninglessri tes of the exoteric H indu ism prevalent in his tim e . I t is an em

phatic declaration of the love side of the d ivi ne, which had beenlost sight of in the hol low d issertations of wordy Advaitins who hadresolved the Brahm an into Gfiana sim ply

,and thereby had given

add i tional im pu lse to the m ere striving after know ledge— knowledgeun reduced to feel ing

,which is empty and has no bearing on l ife .

I t m arks also a dec ided advan ce of hum an i ty,which is no lon ger

content wi th m ean ingless ri tes and cerem on ies. With the fundam ental concept of love and devotion (of which infinite compassionfor all beings and i l l im i table love to the d ivi ne are the pri nc ipalcharacteristics), i t i nd icates the uprising of the human heart againstthe en croachm ents of the eye - doctrin e

,which glorifies selfishness

under the garb of knowledge, d ivorces love from concepts of thed ivi ne

,i gnores the claim s of humanity

,and is even now subverti ng

the social fabric by prom u lgati ng the ideal of fanatical ascetic ism .

This be ing so,a brief survey of the system may, notwi thstand i ng its

m any gaps and shortcom ings, prove of som e serv ice at the present

tim e .The primord ial essence, wi th which the philosophy starts, is

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1 48 Lucrm .

(a) Hladini or Auauda, through which the d ivi ne loves and isloved by his votaries

,and which is the cause of the i nfinite Ananda

of the Yogins and S iddhas. The qui ntessence of this Shakti is thed ivine love i n which to please himself he m an ifests as the imm ortalR adha. The ray of this love i n man is cal led Bhakti , the source ofundying happiness. From this source comes the th irst after happiness wh ich characteri z es all bei ngs.

(6) Sam vit, the Chit side of his essential nature and the causeof all evolution and be ing . Through th is the d ivi ne knows and isthe source of all consc iousness. Accord ing to the schoo l , th is Chi twhen taken si ngly and wi thout reference to the other aspec ts of thed iv ine nature is the Brahm an of the V edantins, which therefore, isnot the d iv ine bei ng in his entirety .

(c) Sandhini or existence , through wh ich the Divi ne takesforms

,and which , when unconnected wi th his prakri tic nature is

cal led Shuddha Sattva or pure essence , wi th which he createsAprfikrita Loka or the region of real existence, and peoples i t w i thhis favouri te votaries and servants who have earned th is privilege .Accord i ng to the Vaishnava phrase

“ i t is the Shuddha Sattva, in

which the essence of the Divi ne rests .

"

Next in order to his essential nature is the j iva - Shakti . Thisis the K shetragfl a Prakri ti of the B lmgavad Gitd , chap . xi i i . This

nature, m its essence Chit, is eternal and produces i nfinite orders of

Jivas . I t is the source of all l ife , whether m an i fested or not . Bei ngChit

,i t is d i fferentiated from i nert Prakri ti or the Maya side of the

d iv i ne nature,whi le be ing lim i ted and c ircum scribed by Maya,

owing to its capac i ty for be ing acted upon by it , i t d iffers from the

d iv ine essential nature .The th ird side of the nature of Krishna is the prakri tic or

mayavic, which is also eternal i n the succession and order of its

m ani festations. The Vaishnavas of the schoo l do not accept the

V ivarta or the i l lusion theory of the Vedanta, but on the contraryregard this Prakri ti somewhat i n the Sankhya fashion , only wi th th isd ifference

,that its self- evolvi ng power is denied i t cannot work , i t

cannot generate the Mahat Tattva or Un iversal Ideation , wi thout theIshvara influencing i t with its essential Chi t energy . It

‘

has i n factno separate existence , and is entirely dependent on Mahat for itsevolution

,through which it generates the threefold gu nas, Sattva

rap: svs'

rsn os CHAITANYA . 1 49

R ajas and Tamas. Like the Chintamani , which , though produc ingvarious k inds of jewels from its rays

,yet always remains the sam e,

the d iv ine is unaffected by the evolutions and i nvolution s of his

prakritic side. This Prakri ti works by envelopi ng the mani festations of the Jivashakti or l ife - energy in nam e and form

,and thus

produces the cosm os, and under the supervision of the Logoievolves the K oshas or sheaths for man .

Aprakrita Loka . Accord ing to the system there are two pri neipel Lokas, the prakrita or mayavic, subject to eternal transforma

t ion and change, and the aprakrita or the real , i n which name and

form ,tim e and place, are of real nature , and therefore not l iable to

change . This Aprakrita Loka is subd ivided i nto various m i norLokas where reside the various self- manifesta tions of the d ivine

be ing.

(a) At the cenn e of this real world is the Goloka, the abode of

the d iv ine be ing himself, where he sports i n his own unlim i tedn ature with his devotees. Here he m anifests himself as the BalaGopala

, the boy, and the you th Krishna.

(6) Ou tside the Go loka is the region of Balarama , the Vaibhavam anifestat ion of the Dei ty .

(5) Next is the V aikun tha or the Loka of Narayana, himself a

part of the essen ce of Balaram a. He is the dei ty considered i nrela tion to the powers of the d iv ine . Round him are the Chatur

vyfiha or four c ircles of defence, presided over by four bei ngs whoare the germ s of the Logoi and the Avataras. They are the Prabh5va self- d ifferentiations of the d ivine

,though at least i n the case of

three of them immed iately proceed i ng from Balaram a . They are

(4) Vasudeva— begotten of the d ivi ne Son , and the source of al lspec ial AvatAras. He is the Krishna of the Gi taas opposed to theKrishna ofV rindavana, who is the d ivine himself. In man he isthepresid ing dei ty of Chitta , the eye of the soul .

(6) SankarshanH ray from whom is the first Purusha or theLogos. Lying in the ocean of Karana, the eternal cause, he contai nswi th i n himself the potential i ty of l ife

,of Ka la or time

,which

evolves or involves the worlds, and of the K riya Shak ti or thepower of man ipulati ng Prakri ti . To him is ascribed the Shru ti“ He looked and said : I w il l m ul t iply .

” He is the lshvara, thesource of Mahat, and not , as the V edan tins say, under the Sattva

t50 LUCIFER .

Guna of Prakri ti,but above i t . In man he is the presid i ng dei ty of

pure ego ism or the I -

princ iple.

(f ) Pradyum na,a ray from whom is the second Purusha. He

l ies on the waters of the womb . The first Logos looking in to hisinherent Maya Shakti produces the waters of the womb and an egg

is form ed of which one- fourth is the shel l and three - fourths water,

and which is fecundated by the second Logos. The egg then burstsand from i t the V iraj form appears

,lying in the waters. From th e

navel of the Purusha rise innum erable lotuses,each con tain in g

w i thin itself the poten cy of a Brahm an wi th his particu lar un iverse.

In man he is the presid ing dei ty of the im pure I -

princ iple or th em ind

,the controller of the Indriyas or senses.

(g) An iruddha the third Purusha,lying on the waters of th e

ocean of m i lk,which is a d ifferentiation of the Shuddha Sattva of

the d ivine. He is the Param atman,the all- pervad ing Vishnu ,

the

chief Purusha and the source of all Purusha forms. He presidesover a particular universe and in m an is the presid ing dei ty of

Buddhi

(lz) Brahman . The Loka of Brahman,the und ifferentiated Ch i t

,

l ies in the m idd le region between the real and the unreal worlds.

Prakrita Loka. At the head of the un real world stands Brahm an

the creative dei ty of his particular universe— the essentially mayav icGod— the man of a past Manvantara desirous of power and m anagem ent over the world . He is the sum total of the Jivas of the world ,and presides over fourteen B huvanas or Lokas, the upper seven an d

the lower seven . He is surrounded by the heirarchy of creat iveintel l igences

,also men of a past Manvan tara who had earned th is

Adhikara or privi lege. He is under the Prakri ti of the dlvm e and

at the tim e of a Pralaya (of his worlds) is absorbed wi th his Jivasin to the second Logos

,who in turn enters the fi rst . Thus the

evolutions and the involutions of Brahmans and their un iversesdepend upon the sum total of the Karman of the Jivas conta inedtherein and are regulated by the first Logos. All are absorbedexcept those who have earned the priv i lege of servi ng the Dei ty i nthe Aprakrita by transcend ing Maya .

The general evolution of beings through rebirth is adm i tted bythis theory .

Accord ing to the system man is the highest of all l ivi ng form s,

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1 52 woman .

The Path ofBhakti . The chief characteristic of the system beingthe prom ulgation of love and devotion as the prim e requ isi te of

Sadhana the school gives an exhaustive classification of the variousstages of devotion along which the hum an sou l ascends. Beginningw i th the lowest

,the scale runs thus

(a) By observing strictly one’s own Dharma,devotion to the

Over - soul is generated .

“ Vishnu is worshipped by the Purushafol lowing his proper caste and Ashrama rules. This is the good

path , and there is no other way to con tentmen t . (V ishnupurana,i i i .

,8,

Thus doing one’s duties— duties which appertai n to a

m an by the fact of his being born in a particu lar status— is the firststep in th is path

°

of sacrifice .

(5) By offeri ng everything to Krishna . Whatsoever thoudoest

,whatsoever thou eatest, whatsoever thou offerest, whatsoever

thou givest,whatsoever thou doest of austeri ty

,U K aun teya, do

thou as an offering unto me. (B /mgawd Gitri,

‘ix .,27 . Mrs.

Besant’s translation .)

(6) By the renunciation of one’s Dharma— not from ignoran ceor agnostic ism

,but from Bhakti , and from fol lowing in the path of

N ivritti,or renunciation of desires. He is the most perfect Sadhu

who after ascertaining the good and the evi l of fol lowi ng and

d isregard ing the particular Dharm a prescribed by m e i n theVedas worships me by renoun cing these ” (B laigaw ta , X I . i i . ,

R enouncing all Dharm as come u n to m e for shel ter ; sorrownot

,I wi l l l iberate thee from all sins (B izagaw d Gila

”

,xv i i i .

By devotion m ixed w i th Ghana.

B ecom ing Brahman serene in the Self he nei ther grieveth nor

desireth balanced am ong all beings he obtai neth suprem e devotionunto m e. Gilri

,xvi i i .

(0) B y devotion withou t strivi ng for Gfiana. Those who

wi thout exerting them selves after knowledge,stay in their own

place, and by hearing about thee from the l ips of the holy Sadhusdo proper honour to all which they have heard , in body, i n speechand in m ind

,and thus manage to l ive (patiently), those can conquer

thee who art the One Unconquerable in the three Lokas.

(B /zeigam ta, x . 1 4,

(f ) By devotion wi th love. By worshipping the d ivi ne notwi th external things but with the offerin gs of a loving heart .

rm : svsr sn or caan‘

axva. 1 53

(g) By the loving devotion of a servant . Heari ng whosevery nam e every Jiva is at once freed from i gnorance ; what isthere unattai nable by his servants whose feet are l ike the holy placesabsolving from all sin ?

” ix . 5 , In th is love and

devotion the many restrictions and obstacles to devotion fal l away .

(it) By the loving devotion of a friend . Here there is more of

freedom and less of respect .

(f) By the lovi ng devotion of a parent . This is a decidedadvance ; for a friend may feel wounded if there be no reciproc i ty of

frien dship , but the parents are more sacrificing and look less totheir own self.

(f) By love and devotion of a lover . This’

is the height of

sacrifice. The loving woman demands nothing in return , nor doesshe calcu late l ike the parent, bu t exists entirely for the pleasure of

her lord . Even the Ananda which she feels at the sight of her lordis none of her own seek ing, but is there to heighten his Ananda allthe m ore ; and i n that Ananda the consciousness of i nd ividualexistence is now entirely merged . In order to depict m ore graphically the subl im i ty of such love and sacri fice the Vaishnavas l ikenthis d ivine union to the love of the immortal m aiden Radha for heri llici t lover, for here the m aiden sacrifices her Dharm a, riches, andeven the honour of her nam e for her d ivinelover, and is wi ll i ng tobrave every danger and to face every evil , not for her own happi nessbut for the happiness of her lord . In the m idst of the world doingher duties therein , she is always on the alert to catch the faintest

sound of his m usical flute— he stand ing under the Kadam batree of l ife beside the Yam una

,and beckoning all his devotees to

com e to him . Few, indeed , there are who can real iz e the subl im i tyof a ren unciation l ike th is fewer sti l l

,those who can love thei r lord

w i th the love of immortal Radha . To those who yet are on thekam ic plane this love may savour of the carnal

,but the l ife

of Chaitanya,who l ikened himself to Radha

,is an am ple

refu tation of th is. This love, if i t can be called love, isen tirely devoid of self, not to speak of Kam a or desire .Parod ied by ignorant Vaishnavas

,slandered by persons unable

to comprehend i t , and held i n contempt by those who pass as wisebut are unable to l iberate themselves from the lusts of the flesh

,th is

love will always have a pleasing and delicious fasci nation for the

1 54 LUCIFER .

soul wh ich has ou tgrown the senses,and for the heart wh ich feels

the darkness around and seeks after the l ight beyond .

RAJENDRA LALA MUK HOPADHRYA .

[The school of Chai tanya is one 01 the latest Of the H i ndusects

,dating only from the latter end of the fifteenth century . The

m odern fol lowers of the Chai tanya phase of Vaishnavism are for the

m ost part exceed ingly i ll iterate . As may be seen from the abovesketch of our contributor, the Chai tanya school consists of the m ostexaggerated and unbalanced developm ent of the Bhakti idea con

ceivable by bl ind devotion . I t is,however

,interesting as throw i ng

l ight on one of the phases of rel i gious enthusiasm in Ind ia.

G. R . s. M .)

Tm : PROVIDENCE OF Tm : THEOSOPH ICAL SOC IETY .— The

Theosophical Society has so far presented the appearance of

an unorganised chaos slowly evolving into an ordered cosm os ;and a great puz z le its chaotic state has been to many a seriousm inded m an and woman inside and outside its ranks. Person al lywe know no one who has thrown any l ight on the m ethod

, or

rather want of method,in its evolution . One thing

,however,

comes out triumphantly from th is sam e chaos ; as the m ind gaz eson the strange elem ental spectacle that the past h istory of the

m ovem ent presents to the v iew ,the idea is overpoweringly borne

into the m ind that som e prov idential force has watched over itscrad le ; for if anymovem ent has done its best to drown itself andtie an infini te number of m i l lstones round its neck

,i t has been th is

same Theosophical Soc iety . I t is the one great m iracle of thecen tury that th is movemen t not only sti l l exists, but that i t is now

healthy and vigorous. What then m ust be the power of thatprov idential superv ision

G . R . S . M .

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r56 a msa.

save thei r own m iserable souls— a posi tion which forc ibly suggeststhat they have not yet developed anything that real ly deserves thenam e of a sou l at all .On the other hand there is the real rel igious devotion , which

thinks never of self, but on ly of love and grati tude towards the dei tyor leader

,and is fi lled wi th ardent desire to do someth ing for him or

i n his nam e ; and such a feel ing often leads to prolonged Devachan

of a com paratively exal ted type . This would of course be the casewhoever the dei ty or leader m ight be , and followers of BuddhaKrishna, Orm uz d , Al lah and Christ wou ld all equa l ly atta in thei rm eed of devachan ic bl iss— its length and qual ity depend ing uponthe i ntensi ty and puri ty of the feel ing, and not in the least upon itsobject

,though th is latter considerat ion would undoubted ly affect

the possibi l i ty of rece iving i nstruction duri ng that higher l ife .I t wi l l be seen , therefore, that m any undeveloped and backward

egos never consc iously attai n the devachanic state at al l , whi lst asti l l larger num ber obtai n only a comparatively sl ight touch of som eof its lower planes. Every ego m ust of course wi thdraw i nto itstrue self upon the arupa levels before rei ncarnation ; but i t does notat al l fol low that in that cond ition it wi l l experience anyth ing thatwe shou ld cal l consc iousness. This subj ect w i ll be dealt wi th m orefu l ly when we com e to treat of the arfipa planes i t seem s better tobegi n wi th the lowest of the rupa levels

,and work stead ily upwards

,

so we may for the moment leave on one side the mass of humani ty

whose conscious existence after death is practical ly confined to theastral plane, and proceed to consider the case of an enti ty who hasj ust risen ou t of that posi tion— who for thefirst time has a sl ight andfleeting consciousness i n the lowest subd ivision of Devachan .

There areevidentlyvariousmethods by which th is important stepi n the early development of the ego m ay be brought about, bu t i t wil lbe suffi cient for our present purpose ifwe take as an illustration of oneof them a somewhat pathetic l i ttle story from real l ife wh ich cam e

under the observation of our students when they were i nvesti gati ngthis question . In this case the agent of the great evolutionary forceswas a poor seamstress

,livi ng in one of the dreariest and m ost

squal id of our terrible London slums— a fetid court i n the EastEnd i nto which light and air could scarcely struggle . Natural lyshe was not h ighly educated , for her l ife had been one long round

DEVACHAN . r57

of the hardest of work under the least favourable of cond it ions ;bu t nev ertheless she was a good - hearted

,benevolent creature

,over

flowing with love and k i ndness towards al l wi th whom she camei nto contact . Her rooms were as poor, perhaps, as any i n the court,but at least they were cleaner and neater than the others. She hadno m oney to give when sickness brought need even m ore d ire thanusual to som e of her neighbours, yet on such an occasion she wasalways at hand as often as she could snatch a few m om ents fromher work , offering wi th ready sympathy such service as was wi thi nher power. Indeed

,she was qu i te a Providence to the rough

,

ign orant factory gi rls about her, and they gradual ly cam e to lookupon her as a ki nd of angel of help and mercy

,always at hand i n

time of trouble or i ll ness. Often after toi l ing all day wi th scarcelya moment’s i nterm ission she sat up half the night, tak ing her turnat nursi ng some of the m any sufferers who are always to be foundi n surround ings so fatal to health and happiness as those of a

London slum and i n m any cases the grat itude and affection whichher unrem itt i ng k indness aroused i n them were absolutely the on lyh igher fee l ings they had duri ng the whole of their rough and

sord id l ives.

The condi tions of existence in that court bei ng such as

they were , there is l ittle wonder that som e of her patients d ied ,and then i t became clear that she had done for them m uch morethan she knew ; she had given them not only a l i ttle kind lyassistance i n their temporal trouble

,but a very important im pu lse

on the course of spi ri tual evolution . For these were undevelopedegos— pitris of a very backward class— who had never yet in any oftheir births set i n m ot ion the spiri tual forces which alone could

give them consc ious existence on the devachanic plane ; but nowfor the fi rst tim e not only had an ideal towards wh ich they couldstrive been put before them , bu t also really unselfish love hadbeen evoked i n them by her action

,and the very fact of hav in g so

strong a feeli ng as this had raised them and given them morei nd ividual i ty , and so after their stay in Kam aloka was ended theygained their first experience of the lowest subd ivision of Devachan . A short experience

, probably , and of by no means an

advanced type,but stil l of far greater importance than appears at

first sight ; for when on ce the great sp iritual energy of unselfishness

r58 w omen .

has been awakened the very worki ng out of its resu l ts in Devachangives i t the tendency to repeat i tself, and, sm al l i n am ount thoughth is first ou tpouring m ay be , i t yet bu i lds in to the ego a faint ti ngeof a qual i ty which wi l l certainly express i tself agai n in the n extl ife . So the gentle benevolence of a poor seamstress has given to

several less developed sou ls their i ntroduction to a conscious sp iritual l ife which incarnation after i ncarnation wi l l grow stead i lystronger

,and react m ore and m ore upon the earth - l ives of the

future . This l i ttle i ncident perhaps suggests an explanation of

the fact that i n the various rel igions som uch im portance is attachedto the personal elem en t i n chari ty— the d irect assoc iation betweendonor and recipient .

Swen”: Sub-plana— This lowest subd ivision of Devachan,to

which the action of our poor seam stress raised the objects of herki ndly care

,has for its pri ncipal characteristic that of affection for

fam i ly or friends— unselfish,ofcourse

,but usually somewhat narrow .

Here,however

,we m ust guard ourselves agai nst the possibi l i ty of

m isconception . When it is said that fam i ly affection takes a m an

to the seventh devachan ic sub- plane,and rel igious devotion to the

sixth, people som etim es very natural ly imagine that a person

havi ng both these characteristics strongly developed i n him wou ldd iv ide his devachan ic period between these two subd iv isions, firstspend ing a long period of happin ess i n the m idst of his fam i ly , an dthen passing upward to the next level , there to exhaust the spiri tua lforces engendered by his devotional aspirations. This

,however

,is

not what happen s, for in such a case as we have supposed the man

would awaken to consciousness in the sixth subd ivision,where he

wou ld find himself engaged,together wi th those whom he had loved

so much,in the highest form of devotion which he was able to real iz e .

And when we th ink of i t this is reasonable enough,for the man

who is capable of rel igious devotion as wel l as m ere fam i ly affection is natural ly likely to be endowed with a higher and broaderdevelopm en t of the latter vi rtue than one whose m i nd is susceptibleto influence in one d irection only . The sam e rule holds good all

the way up ; the higher plane may always i nclude the qual i ties of

the lower as wel l as those pecu l iar to i tself, and when it does so itsi nhabi tants alm ost invariably have these qual ities in fuller measurethan the sou ls on a lower plane,

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1 60 LUCIFER .

Yet another was that of a young girl who was always absorbedin contemplating the m an ifold perfections of her father

,and

plan ning l ittle surprises and fresh pleasures for him . Anotherwas a Greek wom an who was spend ing a m arvel lously happytim e w i th her three chi ldren— one of them a beau tiful boy

,whom

she del ighted in imagin i ng as the victor in the O lym p ic gam es.

A strik i ng characteristic of th is sub-

plane for the last few cen

tut ies has been the very large number of R omans, Carthagin ians,and Engl ishm en to be found there— th is being due to the fact thatam ong men of these nations the principal unselfish activi ty found itsoutlet through fam i ly affection ; while comparatively few H i ndusand Buddhists are here

,since in their case real rel igious feel ing

usual ly enters m ore imm ed iately into thei r dai ly l ives, and con

sequen tly takes them to a higher level .There was of course an alm ost infinite variety am ong the cases

observed,their d ifferent degrees of advancem ent being d istingu ish

able by varying degrees of lum inosi ty,while d ifferences of colour

ind icate respectively the qual i t ies wh ich the persons in questionhave developed . Som e

,for example, were lovers who had d ied in

the ful l strength of their affection,and sowere always occupied w i th

the one person they loved to the entire exclusion of all others .

Others there were who had been alm ost savages, one exam ple bei nga Malay

,a low th ird - class pitri , who obtain ed just a touch of

Devachan in connection wi th a daughter whom he ‘

had loved .

In al l these cases i t was the touch of unselfish affection wh ich gavethem their Devachan ; indeed , apart from that

,no part of the

activi ty of their personal l ives cou ld have expressed itself on thatplane . In m ost instances observed on this level the im ages of theloved ones have in them but the fai ntest gl imm er of real vi tal i ty

,

owing to the fact that i n the vast majori ty of cases the iri nd iv idual i ties have not been developed i nto activi ty on this plane.

Of course where such developm ent has taken place the im age wouldbe vivified by a ray of the higher self of the person whom i t re

presented , and much benefi t m ight be derived by the devachaneefrom his i ntercourse wi th it .Before passing on to consider the higher levels of Devachan

i t wou ld be wel l perhaps to refer to the way i n which consciousness is recovered upon enteri ng the devachanic plane . On the

DEVACHAN . x6x

final separation of the m ind - body from the astral a period of

blank uncon sciousness supervenes— varying in len gth between verywide l im its— analogous to that which follows physical death . Theawakening from th is i nto active devachan ic consc iousness closelyresem b les what often occurs in wak ing from a night’s sleep . Just

as on first awaken ing in the m orning one som etim es passes througha period of i nten sely del ightful repose during which one is consciousof the sense of enjoym ent , though the m ind is as yet inact ive and

the body hard ly under control , so the enti ty awakening to consciousness on the devachan ic plane first passes through a more orless prolonged period of i ntense and gradual ly increasing bl iss ti l lhis fu l l activi ty of consciousness on that plane has been reached .

When first th is sense of wondrous joy dawns on him i t fi l ls

the entire field of his consciousness, but gradual ly as he awakens hefinds himself surrounded by a world of his own creation presentingthe features appropriate to the sub - plane to which he has beendrawn .

5m » S ub-plane.— The dom inant characteristic of this sub

d ivision appears to be an thropomorphic rel igious devotion . The

d istinction betw een such devotion and the rel igious feel ing whichfinds its expression on the second sub-

plane of the astral l ies i n the

fact that the form er is purely unselfish , and the man who feels i t istotal ly unconcerned as to what the resu l t of his devotion m ay be asregards himself

,while the latter is always aroused by the hope and

desire of gai ning som e advantage through it ; so that on the secondastral sub- plane such religious feeli ng as is there active invariablycon ta ins an elem ent of selfish bargai n ing, while the devotion whichraises a man to this sixth devachan ic sub-

plane is ent irely free fromany such tai nt . On the other hand th is phase of devotion

, whichconsists essential ly in the perpetual adoration of a personal dei ty ,m ust be carefu l ly d isti ngu ished from those stil l higher form s which

find thei r expression i n perform i ng som e definite work for the

dei ty’s sake . A few exam plesof the cases observed on this sub-

planewill

,however, show these d istinctions m ore clearly than any m ere

description can do .

A fairly large number of entities whose devachanic activi tieswork them selves ou t on this level are drawn from the orientalre ligions ; but only those are i ncluded who have the characteristic

1 62 LUCIFER .

of pure but unreasoning and unintel l igent devotion . Worsh ippersof Vishnu , both in his avatar of Krishna and otherwise

,as wel l as a

few worshippers of Shiva,are to be found here

,each wrapped up in

the self- woven cocoon of his own thoughts, alone with his own god,obl ivious of the rest of m ank ind , except in so far as h is afi

'

ections

m ay associate those whom he loved w i th him in his adorat ion .

Thus a V aishnavite was noticed wrapped in the ecstatic adoration of

the image of Vishnu to which he had made offerings durin g l ife .But som e of the m ost characteristic exam ples of th is plane are

to be found am ong wom en ,who i ndeed , i t m ay be remarked,form

a very large majori ty of its i nhabi tants. Am ong others a Hinduwoman was observed

,who had glorified her husband into a

d ivine be ing,and also thought of the chi ld Krishna as playing

wi th her own children , but whi le these latter were thoroughlyhuman the child Krishna was obviously the semblance of a

blue wooden image galvaniz ed i nto l ife . Krishna also,however

,

appeared in her Devachan under another form— that of an effem in ateyoung m an playing on a flute . Another woman

, who was a worshipper of Shiva, had som ehow confused the god wi th her husband

,

apparently look i ng upon the latter as a m anifestation of the form er ,so that the one seem ed to be constantly changing into the other .

Som e Buddhists also are found upon th is subd ivision,bu t appar

ently exclusively those who regard the Buddha rather as an objectof adoration than as a great teacher .

The Christian rel igion also contributes many of the inhabitantsof this plane . The unintel lectual devotion which is exempl ified onthe one hand by the i l l i terate R om an Cathol ic peasant

,and on the

other by the earnest.

and si ncere “sold ier ” of the Salvation Army,

seem s to produce a resul t very sim i lar to those already described,

for these people also are found wrapped up i n contem plation of theirideas of Christ or the Virgin Mary respectively . For instance an

I rish peasant was seen absorbed in adoration of the Virgin Mary,

whom he imaged as stand i ng on the m oon after the fashion of

Titian ’s Assumption,

”and hold ing out her hands and speak i ng to

him . A m edia val m onk was found in ecstatic contemplation of

Christ cruc ified , the in tensi ty of his im agination be i ng such as to

reproduce the stigmata i n hisown body,and the blood dropp ing from

the wounds of the figure of his Christ . Another man seemed to

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1 64 LUCIFER .

improbable that in his next b irth he should fal l in to any of thegrosser si ns, or be drawn away from his devotional aspirations i ntoa m ere worldly l ife of avarice, ambi tion or d issipation . Neverthe

less,a survey of th is sub-

plane d istinctly emphasi z es the necessi tyof fol lowi ng St . Peter’s adv ice

,Add to your fai th virtue

,and to

vi rtue knowledge .”

s t‘k Sub-plana— The chief characteristic of this sub- d ivision

m ay be defined as devotion expressing i tself in active work . TheChristian on this plane

,for example, instead of m erely adorin g

his Saviour,wou ld think of himself as going out into the world

to work for him . I t is especiallv the plan e for the work ing out

of great schem es and designs unreal iz ed on earth— of greatorganiz ations i nspired by rel igious devotion , and usual ly hav ing fortheir object som e philanthropic purpose . I t m ust be borne i nm ind

,however

,that ever as we rise higher greater complexity and

variety is introduced , so that though we m ay sti l l be able to give adefin ite characteristic as on the whole dom inating the plane

,we

shal l yet be more and m ore l iable to find variations and except ionsthat do not so readi ly range them selves under the general head i ng

.

A typical case, although som ewhat above the average,was that

of a m an who was found worki ng out a grand schem e for the

am el ioration of the cond i tion of the lower classes. While a deeplyrel i gious man him self he had fel t that the first step necessary indeal i ng w i th the poor :was to improve their physical cond i tion and

the plan which he was nowwork ing out with triumphant success and

lov i ng atten tion to every detai l was one which had often crossed hism i nd whi le on earth

,though he had been qu i te unable there to take

any steps towards its real i z ation . His idea had been that,if

possessed of enorm ous weal th , he wou ld buy up and get into h isown hands the whole of one of the smal ler trades— one i n which

perhaps three or four large firm s only were now engaged ; and hethought that by so doi ng he could effect very large sav ings by doingaway wi th com peti tive advert isi ng and other wastefu l form s of traderivalry

,and thus be able

,whi le supplying goods to the publ ic at the

sam e price as now,to paym uch better wages to his workm en . I t

was part of the scheme to buy a plot of land and erect upon itcottages for his workmen

,each surrounded by its l i ttle garden ; an d

after a certai n number of years’ service, each workm an was to

newscas ts. 1 65

acquire a share i n the profits of the business which would be sufficien t to provide for him in his old age. By work ing out this systemthe devachanee had hoped to show to the world that there was an

em inen tly practical side to Ch ristiani ty , and also to win the sou ls ofhis m en to his own fai th out of grati tude for the material benefitsthey had received .

Another not d issim i lar case was that of an Ind ian pri nce whoseideal on earth had been R am a

, on'

whose example he had tried tom odel his l ife and methods of governm ent . Natural ly down hereall sorts of untoward acc idents occurred , and many of his schem es

fa i led , but i n Devachan everything went wel l,and the greatest

possible resu l t fol lowed every one of h iswell - m eant efl'

orts— Rama of

course advising and d irecting his work , and rece iving perpetua ladora tion from all his devoted subjects.

A curious and rather touching instance of personal rel igiouswork was that of a woman who had been a nun

,belongi ng to

one not of the contemplative but the working orders. She hadeviden tly based her l ife upon the text Inasm uch as ye have doneit unto one of the least of these my brethren , ye have done i t untom e,

"an d now i n

.

Devachan she was sti l l carrying ou t to the fu llestextent the i nj unctions of her lord , and was constantly occup ied i nheal ing the sick

,i n feed ing the hungry

,and cloth ing and helping

the poor— the pecu liarity of the case being that each of those to whomshe had m in istered at once changed in to the appearance of the

Christ, whom she then worshipped wi th fervent devotion .

An instructive case was that of two sisters,both of whom had

been inten sely religious one of them had been a crippled inval id,

and the other had spent a long li fe i n tend ing her . On earth theyhad often discussed and planned what rel igious and phi lanthropicwork they wou ld carry ou t if they were able

,and now each is the

most prom i nent figure i n the other’s Devachan,the cripple be ing

well and strong,while each thinks of the other as joi ning her in

carrying out the unreal iz ed wishes of her earth - l ife ; and i t was

noticed that in this case the image of each sister in the other’sDevach an was at least to som e ex ten t vivified and real .

On this plane also the h igher type of si ncere and devotedm issionary activi ty finds expression . Of course the ord inaryignorant fanatic never reaches th is level

,but a few of the noblest

1 66 w omen .

cases, such as Livi ngstone, m igh t be found here engaged in thecongenial occupation of converting m u lti tudes of people to the par

ticular rel igion they advocated . One such case which cam e undernotice was that of a Mohamm edan who imagi ned him self as work

ing m ost z ealously at the con version of the world and its govern

m ent accord in g to the m ost approved principles of the fai th of

Islam .

I t appears that under certain cond i tions artistic capaci ty m ay

also bring its votaries to th is sub- plane . B ut here a careful distinction m ust be drawn . The artist or m usician whose only object isthe selfish one of personal fame

, or who allows himself to bei nfluen ced by feel ings of professional jealousy, of course generatesno forces which wi l l bri ng him to the devachan ic plane at all.On the other hand that grandest type of art whose d isc iples regardi t as a m ighty power entrusted to them for the spiri tual elevation oftheir fel lows wi ll express i tself in even higher regions than th is. B ut

between these two extrem es those devotees of art who fol low i t forits own sake or regard i t as an offeri ng to their dei ty

,never think ing

of its effect on their fel lows, m ay in som e cases find their appro

priate Devachan on th is sub-

plane . As an example of this m ay be

m entioned a m usician of a very rel igious temperament who regardedhis composi tions simply as offer ings to Christ— composi tions wh ichthem selves were very fine

,and produced a magnificent arrangem ent

of sound and colour i n the m atter of that subd ivision . The resu ltof th is would certai nly be to give him i ncreased devotion and

increased m usical capaci ty in his next birth ; but wi thou t the sti ll

wider aspiration to help humanity this k ind of Devachan m i ghtrepeat i tself alm ost indefinitely . Indeed , glanci ng back at the three

planes with which we have just been deal i ng it wil l be noticed thatthey are i n all cases concerned w i th the worki ng out of devotion to

personal i ties— ei ther to one’s fam i ly and friends or to a personalde i ty— rather than the wider devotion to humanity for its own

sake which finds its expression on the next sub- plane .C . W . LEADBEATER .

T0 be con tin ued.)

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1 68 LUCIFER .

A new branch has been formed at MotiharifB eugal, wi th BabuK rishnadan Mukerj i as Presiden t .

AUSTRALASIAN SECTION .

Miss L ilian Edger, M .A the Presiden t of the Auckland Bran ch ,

has recen tlymade arrangemen ts bywh ich she will be able to devotealmost the whole of her time to work in con nection wi th the SocietyMiss Edger is already well known throughout the Section , havingdoneextensive lecturing work in m any parts of New Zealand . She has

recen tly completed a tour through the southern districts of the colony.

The An nual Conven tion of the Section was held in Melbourn e onApril 3 rd and 4th .

DEATH OF MR . JUDGE.

Mr. W. Q. Judge died at New York on Saturday,March z rst . The

body was cremated on Monday, March 23 rd , at the Fresh Pond

crem atorium .

REVIEWS .

THE UPANISHADS .

Translated in to English , with a Preamble and Argumen ts, byG. R . S .

Mead ,B .A M .R .A .S and Jagadisha Chandra Chattopfidyfiya .

V olume I . [Theosoph ical Publish ing Society. Price in papercovers 6d . , in buckram rs. 6d . ]

IT is not too m uch to say that no books have ever been wr i ttenwh ich con tain doctrines of greater importance to m ankind than the

Upan ishads. No one knows their author, no one knows their date ,

and thus theywell m erit their ti tle of Rahasya, the secret or the mystery.

Less ancien t certain ly than the hym ns of the R ig V eda, they m av yet

well take rank among the oldest books in the world , and the teach ingwh ich they con tain has for thousands of years been the national ph ilosophy of the peoples of India . Wi th the help of their mystical doctrinethe ancien t H indu was led to d iscover the infin ite h idden in the fi n i te,

the true beh ind the semblance of the senses, the self beh ind the ego,

and the indestructible iden ti ty of his own true self with the Suprem e

Self ; and surely such knowledge is of no less importance to us to- day.

Indeed , Professor Max Miiller, one of our greatest living Sanskri tists,has written of them I do not hesitate to say that there are rays of

REVIEWS . 1 69

light in the Upan ishads wh ich will th row new light even to day uponsom e of the problem s nearest to our own hearts. And how closelythe ideas of som e of the latest modern ph i losophers approach those proclaimed in the Upan ishads m ay be seen by the following quotationsfrom Dr. Ca ird . who writes i n his Phi/amply! of Religion I t is just inth is renunciation of self that I truly gain myself ; for wh ilst in onesense we give up self to live the un iversal and absolute life of reason ,

yet tha t to wh ich we thus surrender ourselves is in reali ty our

t ruer self. And again : The knowledge and love of God is the

g iving up of all though ts and feelings that belong to me as a m ere ind ividual self, and the iden tification of my though ts and being with thatwhich is above me, yet in me— the un iversal or absolute self, wh ich isnot m ine or yours, but in wh ich all intel ligen t beings alike find the

reali z ation and perfection of their nature (p .

Members of the Theosoph ical Society at any rate should not needto be told of the advan tage— nay, even the necessi ty—of studying thesewonderfu l old orien tal scriptures, and there must be m any, both in theranks of the Society and outside it, who wi ll cord ially welcome the

publication of a tran slation at once so accurate and so characteristic asthis at a price wh ich is literally wi th in the reach of all. Accurate— because the greatest care has been taken to secure the most scrupulousfidelity to the original, and wherever the English idiom has necessitatedthe use of even a single word which is not represen ted in the Sanskri t .that word is carefully enclosed in square brackets characteristicbecause a remarkably successful attempt has been made to reproduceas closely as is possible in a foreign language not only the spiri t butthe swing and style of the originalSanskrit . Thevery shape and mannerof printing of the book follows the Orien tal rather than the Englishtrad ition for though the volume is of about the shape and siz e of thewell known Pseudonym Library,” the l ines run along thepage insteadof across i t. precisely as they do in Indian m anuscripts, and even the

tiny side - headings are given on each page in exactly the Indian fashion .

Considering the difficulty of so novel a task , and the extreme care re

quired to secure accuracy in the transl iteration of the Sanskrit words,the fact that scarcely an error is to be found throughou t thebook reflectsthe greatest credi t on the prin ters .

TheTranslatorshave given us an explanatory preamble or prefacewhich con tains m uch valuable in form ation— among other th ings a tableof the states and powers of the universe and man as conceived in the

Upanishads, wh ich will give thegreatest assistance to the unaccustom edreader in the comprehension of th is in tricate system . V ery usefu l also

1 70 woman .

is the concise argumen t or epitome of its con ten ts wh ich precedeseach of the six Upan ishads wh ich are con tained in th is volume. Atthe beginn ing of each of these is in troduced the Peace Chan t appro

priate to the V eda to wh ich it belongs— the man tra, that is, wh ich isalways sung in India before the reading of any portion of these sacredscriptures. So far as is known th is is the first time that any of thesequain t Peace Chan ts have been rendered into English .

The con ten ts of th is first volume are the Isha,K ena, K atha,Prashna,

Mundaka, and Mandfikya Upan ishads, and assuredly all who read i twill look forward eagerly to the issue of the remainder of the series.

Where all is so good i t would be invidious to particulariz e, yet one may

perhaps ven ture to say that no more effective rendering of the beautifu lstoryof Nachiketas has ever been put before the public . To give some

idea of the vigour and lilt of the translation , th is short review shallclose wi th two quotations taken at random from difl

'

eren t parts of the

bookWhat no word can reveal, what revealeth the word, that know

thou as Brahman indeed , not th is wh ich they worsh ip below.

What none th inks with the m ind , [but] what th inks- out them ind ,

that know thou as Brahman indeed, not th is wh ich theyworsh ipbelow (p .

Who then is the prey of un reason , unm indful [and] ever impure,to that goal such a man never reacheth he goeth to births and todeaths

B ut the man who is subject to reason , [and] m indful [and] constan tly pure, he unto that goal truly reacheth , from wh ich he is bornnot again (p .

C . W. L.

THE STORY OF ATLANTIS.

ByW. Scott - Elliot . [Theosoph ical Publish ing Society : 1 896. Price

3 3 . 6d . net . ]The first appearanceof the in teresting in formation gathered together

b) Mr. Scott Elliot on th is importan t subject, comes to us in the shape of

Transactions of tire L ondon L odge, No. 29, wi th the ti tle Atlantis, 9.Geograph ical, Historical , and Ethnological Sketch .

” Appended to theTransaction are four large coloured m aps indicative of the variations ofthe land - distribution on the earth ’

s surface owing to the great cataclysm s wh ich overwhelmed theAtlan tean root - race. These are respec

tively en titled No. I . , Atlan tis in its Prim e,”or the world about one

m illion years ago, during m any previous ages, and up to the catastrophe

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1 72 w omen .

will be exceed ingly grateful to Mr . Scott - Elliot for putting in to shape

the researches of his more gifted colleagues who have got at th e

records at fi rst hand .

As, however, the Transaction is to be offered to a wider circle inbook - form , we should have liked to see a fuller statemen t of the

nature of the researches wh ich were m ade, that is to say, a paragraphor two on trained clairvoyance and its possibili ties, for we expect th atthe complete stranger to psych ical research will fear for his sen ses

when plunging, without any in troduction , in to so strange a subject .For ourselves, we have read th e treatise wi th the closest atten tion

and in terest, and onlv regret that it is not longer, for there is still, weare in form ed , a quan tity of unused m aterial already acquired by the

investigators.

One sm allpoin t , wi th wh ich we are more competen t to deal, m ay, in

conclusion , be noted for alteration in a subsequen t edition . Mr. Sco ttElliot will find , we believe, that Plato gave no nam e for the large

island and arch ipelago beyond the Pillars of Hercules. The nam e

Poseidon is”is found first of all in one of the letters to the writer of

Esoteric B uddhism , but not as given by Plato. Solon , we are told

turned the Egyptian or original names in to Greek accord ing to a

method of nomenclature known to the priests, and translated the n am e

of the deity of the Atlan tic island by the Greek equ ivalen t Poseidon .

Hence Poseidon is was a veryhappy selection by thewriter of the letteras a designation , but i t does not occur in eicher the text of the Tz'me us

or Crz'

tz'

as Of Plato .

A hasty glance at a forward copy of the bound volume in forms us

that it is in troduced to the reader by a Preface from the able pen Of

Mr . Sin nett, who, no doubt, disposes of the objection of our an tepen

ultimate paragraph .

G . R . S . M .

TRANSACTIONS OF THE SCOTT ISH LODGE, V OI I I I Nos. 4, 5 , 6, 7 .

THESE four numbers consist Of th ree short papers by the Presiden tof the Lodge and one long one— ou the “ Mythology or the An c ien tEgyptians — wh ich run s through them all, and, indeed , takes up the

m ajor part of the space in each . Of the three papers by the Presiden t ,the first deals with “ The Tatwas on Four Planes,” the second w ith“ Herm etic Ph ilosophy as the Reconciler Of Science and Religion ,

and the th ird with The In terpretation of the Story of the Deluge on

Four Planes.

”In reference to the first of these I m ust take serious

exception towhat seems to m e the m isuse of Sanskri t term s. There is

REVIEWS . 1 73

no plane wh ich in any H indu system is called " Ananda, nor any

termed V igfifina ei ther. The wri ter seems to have had in m ind then ames of the five K oshas of the V edan tic system , via , AnandamayaK osha, V ignanamaya K osha, etc and to have imagin ed that each of

these was a veh icle of consciousness operating on planes called

Ananda, V ignana, and so on . This of course is not the case, and one

n ever finds anyHindu th inker speaking of an Ananda plane"

and

so the fan ci ful in terpretation of the commun ing of Gautama Buddhawith Ananda as mean ing h is commun ingwith his higher self, is en tirelyout of court . As regards the ph ilosophy of the Tattvas in general, onwh ich this paper rests, i t has so far proved o

impossible to affi liate i t withth e realities of nature on th is and other planes without resort ing tothe most extreme reification of concepts, with wh ich indeed this paperteems.

The second paper is a fairly neat restatemen t of fam iliar ideas,

wh ich neither adds to our knowledge nor throws any special ligh t uponthe numerous d iffi cul ties with wh ich the subject bristles. The th ird isa clever example of that artificial method of in terpreting mythology

which finds so many followers at the presen t day. I t would seemtherefore that many people m ust find help, satisfaction or com fort inth is kind of thought ; but as i t does not appeal to me, I can only

vsay

that th is essay seems on the whole a tolerably in telligen t example of itsk ind, and may be read with interest by those whose tastes run in thatd irection .

The long paper on Egyptian Mythology which fills up most of

these numbers is an able and learned production . B ut the reviewerm ust protest against the absence of any ind ication of the authori tiesrelied upon for m any of the statemen ts, and especially the absence of

all in formation as to the mean ing of the quotation marks so lavish lyemployed .

At the conclusion of No . 7 (wh ich has on ly reached us in proof)stands yet another short paper dealing wi th Norse- Egyptian Mythology .

From a remark in an earlier number th is would seem to be from the

pen of the Presiden t . I t is more in teresting than those alreadymen tioned , and in several ways suggestive ; but far more preparatorywork needs to be done before the comparative study of mythology can

yield really reliable and useful results.

B . K .

(Co/ Ms of ”to above books may be ordered from ttw Theosop/z{cal

M iss/ling Sw ift), 7 , U n iv Strcct,A de/pi n, IV .C . )

THEOSOPH ICAL

AND

MYSTIC PUBL ICATIONS .

THE THEOSOPH IST (Adyar).

Vol. XVI I , No. 6 :— Colonel Olcott inth is ch apter of Old D iary Leaves con

t innes the accoun ts of lectures and of

inciden ts connected with thepropaganda,som e of wh ich are am using. In one case

two orthodox H indus, father and son ,

wished to join the society secretly, and

were surprised to m eet each other in the

room of the branch . M iss Arundale’

s

art icle on Psych ism and Spirituality

of Yoga ph ilosophy. The paper on Z oro

astrianism is con tinued and is followed

by an extract from the Iliadras Illail, and

an in troduction to an account of the Sib

Narayani sect. Dr. H iibbe Schleidencon tributes a brief descript ion of the

new photography. Ananda Laharicon tains an elaborate account of som e

yoga practices wh ich do not appear very

in telligible to western readers.

THE VAHAN (L ondon).V ol. V, NO. 9 :

— I n a second answer

LE LOTUS B LEU (Paris).Vol. V I I , No. I —The new volume

Opens w ith an ed itorial address to the

readers. The first port ion of a transla

t ion of The Secret Doctrine appears—a

work wh ich will probably occupy a con

siderable t im e

Pascalcon tributes some reflectionson thestrange experimen tsan accoun t of wh ich

has appeared recently in L e L otus B lew.

The translation of Tire Astral Plane is

is concluded, con tain ing a short accoun tcontinued, as are the letters 0“ Material

Ism and Theosophy.

in com pleting. Dr.

THE PATH (New York).

V ol. X,No. 1 2 — “ TheScreen of Tim e

announces a change in the nam e of the

m agaz ine, wh ich will appear next mon thas Theosophy.

"The letters to Dr.

Hartmann conclude th is mon th , the last

letters being of interest mainly owing to

the v ivid p icture given of the disturb

auces of that t ime.

“ The Art of beingBrotherly”

is a short article byM r. Har'

grove and is followed by one on Deva

to the quest ion respecting passages bear chan , by Bandusia Wakefield, Wh iCh

ing on reincarnation to be found in the expounds the general ideas 0“ the sub

writings of Synesius and Origen , som e j ect m a readable manner.

passages of interest are quoted from

Origen ’s works. C . W . L . in reply to a

question on Kam aloka gives m uch MERCURY (San Francisco).valuable in formation as to the sub-

planes V ol. I I , NO. 7 — “ The Rationale ofor d iv isions, and the cond ition of the Hypnot ism and Mesmerism is con“ dead .

”The other questions relate to eluded, the last section containing a

dream s, the sacredness of numbers, summary of the paper. Following thishered ityand spiritual progress. is an article on

“ Will” by M . A. W.

Beh ind the Veil” contains no psychic

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I 76

RAYS OF L IGHT (Colombo).

V ol. I , No. I — Th is is a very sm all

m agaz ine started in connect ion with theMuse us School. The first n um ber

con tains short papers on“ Hygiene, "

The Case against CompulsoryVaccinat ion ,

” “ Sudden Death and Prem atu re

Burial, En tering the Path and

Theosophy.

JOURNAL OF THE MAHA- BODH ISOCIETY (Calcutta).

V ol. IV , No . l ! — The art icles in th isnumber are on

“ Buddh ism in Ind ia,

and “ The Founder of Buddh ism ,

”con

sisting m ainly of a report of a lecture by

Professor Rhys Davids. Brief notes and

extracts on various subjects con nected

with B uddh ism , correspondence and the

Buddha-Gays tem ple case. fi ll up the

issue.

IS IS (L ondon).V ol. I , No. 3

- M uch the most interesting paper in th is num ber is In DeeperDream land, by Dr. Anderson , wh ichcon tains several storiesof typical dream s.

The “ Letters on Occultism ”are cecen

tric in style and in m atter, and leave

m uch opportun ity for exercise of the“ in tu ition .

”The art icle on “ Cagliostro,

One of the Three"

is accompan ied by a

portrait wh ich is not calculated to in

crease general respect for the subject ofthe paper. The verses at the end of the

m agaz ine are above the average.

THE IR ISH THEOSOPH IS'

I‘

(Dublin).

V ol. IV , No. 6 TheEnchan tm en t of

Cuchullain is concluded, and the last

chapter is accompan ied by the usual

poetry. A short paper on Cycles and

The Secret Doctrine.

"

follows, and ai

tempts to fi nd analogies in m an and in

nature. The num ber concludes w ith an

eccentric dialog ue on propaganda.

PACIF IC THEOSOPH IST (San

From -ism ).

V ol. V I , No . 8 — The first art icle is onthe sixth sen se, and the value of the

speculations m ay be judged from the

statem en t that in tu ition is the sixth sense

Following th is is a paper on“ The Pairs

of Opposites,” wh ich is said to be a study

from the B lmgat'ad Gild. and a short

art icle on heredi ty .

Women ‘

s Printing Society, L imited ,

’66,Whiteowl: Street.W.C.

LOTUS B L I THEN (Leipz ig).No. 42 :

— Opens with a translat ion of

a port ion of The Virgin of the \Vorld,

”

followed by the first part of a though tfulessay on

“ K ar ma.

“ Jehovah ,

”and

“ Naz areth are treated of in “ Frag

m en ts from the Mysteries,” wh ich are

certainly not from the Mysteriestechnicallv so called .

OTHER PUBL ICATIONS .

L udz hosc Posm icrtna , a Polish transla

tion of D’

Assier‘

s PosthumousHuman ityThe :llctaphysicat xllagaz im

'

, with art icleson

“ Psychology as a Science,” “ Sym

pathet ic Vibrat ion ih Nervous Attraet ion ”

and other subjects : zllodcm Astro

logy, with som e forcible editorial rem arkson the m ass of believers in astrology

Alan , thc J l astcr of his I his/thy, an I nd ianpam phlet con tain ing a lectu re by M rs.

Besan t ; Thc 7 71cosophical Paw m , T[M

Sccn and the L'

nscch , with an art icle on

Theosophy and Geology Thc Astro

logical Alagaz ifl e, the Indian jou rn aldealing with astrology A

'

otes and

Qucrics L a Ra w/acid”, With letters and

art icles on sp iritualist ic subjects ; TheAlas/cm World, full of protests again stthe act ion of the Ch rist ians in con nec

nectiou with Arm en ia ; 7 he Hansci

Z asshi, a Japanese Buddh ist m agaz ine,prin ted in the vernacular ; The Pras

nattam B ook Notes The Safl m drga

B odh z'

m‘

The L amp The Theosoph icalForum .

VOL . XV I I I . MAY 1 5, 1 896. No . 1 05.

L U C I FER .

ON TH E WATCH - TOWER .

TAKING up once m ore the ed i torial pen , after m onths of

absence from England , I give greeting to the readers of LUCIF‘ER ,

so many of whom are friends as wel l as readers. I t is a curious bu ta real tie which b i nds together a wri ter and his readers, and th is isespecial ly the case where a wri ter conducts a magaz in e connecteddefini tely wi th som e deep and far- reaching m ovement . A commonaim unites all whose in terest i n the m ovemen t is real

,and the

magaz ine represents i t on the physical plane . I t becom es a m emberof the fam i ly c ircle

,and its regular contribu tors take on the aspect

of personal friends, so that when the wheel of l ife brings wri ter andreader together they m eet as old acquaintances i nstead of as

strangers.

0

Q QThe karm ic tie set up is one of m uch interest ; what is the

nature of the tie between an author and the vast and scattered con

gregation that he addresses from the pu lpi t of the press He

influences their m inds, introduces to them fresh thoughts, perhaps

changes the whole current of their l ives. I t seems that this con

tact on the m ental plane does not of necessi ty set up an ind ividual

t ie, but that nature contracts a k ind of col lective debt towards theauthor

,which debt is duly repaid to h im ,

but not necessarily by any

particular person who m ay i n the past have benefi ted from his

teach ing . If he has helped m any he receives m uch help ; if he hasinjured and obscured the thought of others the harm done reacts on

his own m i nd in this or i n som e fu ture l i fe. The m i l ls gri nd slowly

but they grind exactly , and wholesom e bread or poisoned comesbu t: to the sower of the seed .

1 78 LUCIFER .

Pasteurism is insid iously work ing its way i n India,the

Central Comm i ttee, accord ing to the I ndian .M z'

rror,havin g

i n hand at Lahore R s. at Bom bay R s. an d

i n Bengal R s. Up to the present time the worstcrime of m odern science

,v iv isection

,has not penetrated in to

I nd ia,but i t is hoped that Pasteur Insti tutes wi ll lead to the com

plete vivisector’s laboratory . The cul ture of poison germs and

their experim ental i nj ection into animals is a form of researchwhich

,identical in princ iple wi th v ivisection , does not at first sigh t

shock people to the sam e extent as the del iberate carvi ng up, burni ng and teari ng of l iving animals. The inj ecting syri nge fi l ledwi th venom causes no m ore pain , i t is argued , than the prick of a

need le,and the subsequent slow torture of the poisoned anim als is

left out of account . B ut Pasteurism is v iv isection in a m od ifiedform

,and though the sufferings caused by it are sm al l com pared

w i th the horrors of the torture- trough,they are wrought under the

sway of that evi l pri nciple that we m ay rightly seek to escape the

penalty of our own m isdoings by infl icting pain on others weakerthan ourselves. The bond between m an and his an imal cousi nshas always been clearly recogn i z ed i n India, and the presence of theOne Life in the hearts of all beings— not of m an only— has been a

fundam ental doctrine in Ind ian phi losophy . Mineral,vegetable,

an im al,m an

,all pulsate by the sam e Life

,and those to whom th is

truth is a real i ty can never carelessly destroy anything or del iberately torture a being that can feel pain . Hen ce the axiom

,Harm

lessness is the highest law,

”and the ideal held up of bein g the

friend of every creature .” Repeated conquests by rougher and

harsher races have hardened the old tenderness, and the al ienationof sympathy between m en and the brutes which is so m arked a

feature in ci ty l ife has led to street cruel ties to horses and cattle suchas d isgrace the ci ties of Europe. B u t even yet the an im als wan derfreely in friend ly fashion in m any of the towns and in the countryd istricts, pushing enqu iring noses i nto shops, no m an m ak in g themafraid . Worn - out creatures pass their last days peacefu l ly , and if aEuropean suggests the idea of slaying a beast because i t can nolonger labour

,he is regarded wi th shocked surprise . Y et in th is

land an attem pt is being m ade,and threatens to be successfu l , to

in troduce vivisection under the shield of western science,and i t has

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1 80 women .

of th is generation in to the region of theosophic study and sym pathyis exact knowledge of somefhing beyond the physical plane. I t isam az ing how absolutely wi thout the m inutest fragm ent of suchknowledge the scien tific world stands at the present day, and howlud icrously the whole body of natural conjecture that ought to grow

out of a bel ief i n imm ortal i ty and a spiri tual governm en t of theearth is ignored when learned men in scientfic lecture room s say

what they real ly m ean .

The utterances that have special ly suggested these remarks

were put forward som e l i ttle tim e ago at the R oyal Insti tu tionby Dr. Burdon Sanderson , who lectured there wi th

“ Ludwig andVital ism as his text . Ludwig was a great Germ an physiologist ,and Vital ism as defined by Dr. Sanderson is that doctrin e according to which some German physiologists have been i ncl i ned torecogni z e that beyond the m echan ical and chem ical phenom enaat work i n the human body

,there m aybe som ething else playi ng an

obscure but i nfluen tial part in the econom y of the whole m achinewhich they denom inate v ital force. AsDr. Sanderson represents them atter

,th is heretical bel ief was l i ttle m ore than the survival of a

supersti tion , and has been dropping out of notice duri ng the last

fifty years,but there has recently been a recrudescence of the

idea under the desi gnation neo- v i talism .

” The exponents of this

doctri ne bowed to the m aterial ism of the age by recogni z i ng thatif the word force were used to m ean som eth ing which manifestedi tself by m easurable efl

'

ects,there was no in d ication that any force

excepting those recogni z ed by the physicist was i n operation in the

organ ism . B ut they argued that som e processes of l ife,at first

regarded as en tirely chem ical or physical , d id not con form so pre

cisely as they were expected to do to chem ical and physical laws.

The process special ly instanced is the formation of lym ph , and toquote the Times report of the lecture the neo - v i tal ists answered thequestion how such a case as this was to be met

“with the word

‘cel l ’ or ‘

protoplasm’— l iv in g individuls

,which being placed at

the i nlets of the system of drainage let in less or m ore,in obed ience

not to physical laws but to vi tal ones,to i nternal laws which were

spec ial to them selves.

”The authorsof this idea have certain ly

,from

the theosophic po in t of v iew ,got no great d istance on their jou rn ey

towards a comprehension of the human organism,bu t they are to

or: THE wares - rowan . 1 8 x

be con gratu lated on their progress for what i t is worth . Dr. BurdonSanderson on the oth er hand is not to be congratu lated on the dis

posi tion which renders him stol id ly opposed even to that m i nuteconcession in the d i rection of an enlarged wisdom .

“ I bel ieve i ncorn and rice,

”says the old satirical verse,

“ not i n v irtue or i nvice .

” I bel ieve i n chem istry and physics, Dr. Sanderson seem s to

say— not i n man as anything better than a bund le of fibres and

m olecu les played upon by external pressures. True progress wasto be accompl ished by fai thful adherence to the pri nciples that havegovern ed physiology duri ng the last fifty years, by patient attentionto the m achin ery of the animal body . The practical purposetowards which physiology strove “ wou ld not be gained unti l bybetter knowledge the same sort of control had been acquired overthe processes of the l iving animal body that the exact sc iences hadalready given those who knew how to profit by the ir teaching overthe forces of the inorganic world .

"How soon

,one wonders

,wil l

this del icious phrase sound as grotesque in the heari ng of men of

science general ly as i t does already for those who have been ableto profi t by the teaching of Theosophy to the extent of getti ng controlnot m erely over the bod i ly organism i n question

,bu t over a host of

forces wi th which i t is entangled , although they l ie for the mostpart i n realm s of nature where the wri ts of chem istry and physicswi l l never be enabled to run . The elite of the London scientificworld was gathered as usual on Friday evenings at the R oyal Insti

tution to applaud the highly i nstructed , orthodox professor whoaddressed th em . Very few

,we may feel sure , wi l l have been

t roubled wi th anysuspicion that Dr. Burdon Sanderson was pro

poun d ing v iews which could not fai l to be fairly com ic i n theira bsurd i ty, not only to the graduates i n occu l t science, bu t to thelarge num ber of students sti l l i n the “ ou ter court who knowe nough to know that knowledge is possible.

Q0 0

Prof. R . L . Garn er , an African explorer, in travel l ing up theC on go, made a stay at Matad i , the capi tal of the Congo Free State,and saw there a slave

,stated to be a typical man of his tribe

,whom

he describes as“ the m ost singu lar spec im en of the human race

that he had ever seen . He was strik ingly l ike a gori lla, says Mr .

Garn er, and certainly, accord ing to the description given , he was

1 82 LUC IFER .

strik ingly like an ancient Lemurian . His body was long i n proportion to his l imbs

,the legs comparatively short , the arm s lon g .

“ The forehead was low and reced ing,the frontal bone bei ng pro

m inent in the centre, and m uch depressed at the sides. H is eyes

were overhung w i th enorm ous ridges and heavy eyebrows,abov e

which was a deep depression , and the low forehead was traversedby three or four deep l ines or wrinkles alm ost resem bl ing folds ofthe sk in .

” The eyes were placed obl iquely in the head , the j awsmassive

,the chin reced i ng, the m uz z le projecting

,the legs m u ch

curved,the hands large

,the feet “ imm ensely large and turn ed

i nwards. If the description be com pared wi th that given of a

L em urian in The L unar P itris, pp . 1 9, 20, m any noteworthy poi nts

of sim i lari ty wi l l be observed , as the“ roll of flesh which repre

sented a forehead,the long arm s

,the legs that cou ld not be

straightened,the enormous hands and feet

,the project i ng

heels,the protrud ing jaws. The tribe to which M r. Garner’s m an

belonged l ives i n the far i nterior of A frica, and its m em bers are sa id

to be cannibals,and to be strong and fierce ; th is particular m an

showed a ferocious temper on the sl ightest provocation,and was

exceed i ngly strong. I t would be interesting to know if anyLem u rianoffshoot found refuge in Cen tral Africa, and remained there com

paratively unm ixed to the presen t day, as a stand ing specim en of

Third Race hum anity , to appear in due tim e and justify theaccuracy of occu l t descriptions.

t

1 it

Now and then a piece of belated bigotry com es l im p ing alon g,

l ike a theological R ip V anWinkle, and astonishes the modern worldby m um bl ing som e of the alm ost forgotten form ulae about orthodoxy . One of our mem bers in Honolu lu sends us an extract fromthe R eport of the Societyfor the P ropagatzbn of the Gospel in Foreign

Parts,con tain ing a letter from B ishop Alfred Willis, of Honolu lu ,

dated February,1 895 ; the B ishop wri tes

A far m ore serious matter,wh ich threatens to destroy the

fai th of som e,is the stealthy in road of Theosophy, the advances of

which are all the m ore dangerous on account of the claim that ism ade

,that i t is not opposed to Christian i ty, and that one m ay re

m ain a good Christian while espousing its teachings. A weal thywidow

,of Hawai ian birth

,is usi ng her in fluence to make herself a

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1 84 LUC IFER .

when presented in their exoteric form s, conceal truths at on ce pro

found and i nspiring when they are rescued from the wrappingsfolded aroun d them by ignorance and m isconception . The Hon olulu B ranch wi l l do good serv ice if i t can place i n the hands of

those who are groping in the“ ecl ipse of fai th the torch of r igh t

knowledge of superphysical real i ties. Atheism wi l l then becom eim possible, for as the spiri tual side of the un iverse is unvei led

,from

the S uprem e LOGOS to the lowl iest m in istran t l ife,God w i l l

becom e“ al l in all,

”and the worlds but words of His self

reveal i ng .

White Lotus Dayhas becom e qu i te an insti tution all over theTheosophical world , and its fifth celebration at the B lavatsky Lodgewas held on the even ing of May8th . The platform was a ban k ofexquisite white flowers sen t by friends

,som e com i ng from as far

afield as Nice . The read ings were from the L ight of A sia and the

Voice of the S ilen ce,and brief speeches, m arked by a happy ton e of

confidence in the perm anence of H . P . B .

’s work and i n her con

tin ned in terest in the Soc iety,were del ivered . At the close of the

m eeting a friend ly conversation was held , largely made up of rem in iscences of her last incarnation . The fol lowing expression of feel i ng,

sent by a corresponden t, w i l l be shared by m any

I never look at H . P . B . but I lose sight of the i nstrum ent inthe thought of the hidden powers who gu ided her pen . For surelyno unaided m ind could have evolved that m ountai n of knowledge

,

The Secret Doctrine,which seem s to m e to be a m arvel lous cyclo

paedia of occul t wisdom and philosophy relati ng to the cosmos an d

m an,and at the same tim e to be on ly a sm all sam ple of the

unkn own,i n fact just a vei led glim pse of the vast invisible real i ty,

a m ere ou tl ine of a grand picture to fi ll in the details of which w i l lrequ ire etern i ty .

THE L IVES OF THE L ATER PL ATONISTS .

INTRODUCT ION .

IF i t is true that w isdom is gai ned by experience,and that the

accum ulated experience of the past is the heirloom of the present ,then , perhaps, no period of the world

’

s known history is a richer m i neof experience for us tod ay than the first six centuries of the presentera

, and no school of th inkers m ore usefu l for our present needsthan the group of brilliant intel lects which carried on the Platonictradition from the th ird to the sixth century, A .D . In m any respec ts

they had the sam e problems i n rel i gion and philosophy to solvewhich agai n confront us i n the closing years of the nineteenthcen tury . True, the problems are more i ntensified and accentuatedto- day

,because l ife is m ore rapid , the world - area more widespread ,

and the i nter- communication of peoples and nations easier by athousandfold . Nevertheless

,the problems are fundam ental ly the

same, and, therefore, the views of the Later Platonists on philosophy,religion and psychology should be of first importance to the carefulstuden t of such subjects i n our own day . And though it is truethat their researches i n experimental physics were as noth ing com

pared to the brilliant d iscoveries of modern tim es, nevertheless,som e of their physical theories, based on psychic research , may stil l

prove of value as a contribution to general knowledge .In these pages, however, I do not intend to deal wi th the

teach ings of the School i n any but a cursory m anner,and as inci

den tal to the lives of the ph ilosophers them selves ;myefl'

ort wi l l be

rather to put before the reader a num ber of biographical stud ieswhich may i nduce him to enqu ire further into the m atter. Let usfirst have before us a m ind - pictu re of our P latonic sages, and realiz e

1 86 LUCIFER .

that they were m en and wom en of l ike nature wi th ourselves,occupied in the sam e struggle, in terested in the sam e problem s

,and

then we shal l be less prepared than is usual ly the case to d ism iss

an tiqu i ty and its m ost d istingu ished exponentswith a scarce toleran t

shrug of the shoulders.

My inform ation wi ll be drawn , for the m ost part , frombiographies wri tten by m em bers of the School , but all references tooriginal docum en ts and more recen t authori ties wi l l be excludedfrom the text for the sake of clearn ess, and given at the end in the

form of a b ibl iography, which wi l l be of serv ice to the studen twho wishes to pursue the subject at greater length .

Though the l ives of several of our phi losophers have been deal twi th as in troductory to the exposi tion of their teachings by a num berof wri ters

,there is no book which attempts the biographical history

of the whole School and even the separate l ives of the LaterPlatonists have not as yet been al together intel l igently treated inmodern tim es because of the prevail i ng ignorance of the veryelem ents of psychic science .

I t w il l,therefore

,be the writer’s task and pleasure to elucidate,

to some extent,the m ystical side of the subject

,for no one but at

best a trained mystic, or at least one who has a si ncere sym pathywi th the best in m ystic ism

,can real ly understand the aspirations and

efforts of the Later P latonists.

In order,also

,to lead the reader gradually to a com prehension

of the m ain factors which produced the maelstrom of thought andrel igious and phi losophical con troversv out of which the Platonicrev ival arose, i t wi ll be n ecessary first of all to run briefly over thenam es of the Schools of Alexandria which for so m any years wasthe centre of the i ntellectual activi ty of the Greek and R om anworlds. And as we are engaged upon the biographical side of thesubject rather than upon the history of the evolution of thought

,

we wi l l fi rst present the reader wi th a rough sketch and m i nd -

pictureof the once great capi tal of the P tolem ies ; for though most of our

phi losophers had their chairs elsewhere, they nearly all spent som etim e in the great ci ty ; and one or other of their number

,though

not always the m ost d istinguished,carried on thework of the lecture

room there, un ti l w i th Proclus the mai n centre was transferred toAthens.

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1 88 Lucrrsa .

The island on which we are stand ing is joi ned to the m ai nland by a huge mole almost a m i le long, wi th two water- wayscutting it

,spanned wi th bridges, and defended wi th towers. This

m ole helps to form the great harbour on our ri ght , and the sm allerand less safe harbour on our left. There is also a th ird huge dock ,

or basi n,i n the north - west quarter of the ci ty , closed also by a

bridge .These two m ai n thoroughfares d ivide Alexandria i nto four

quarters,which together wi th the first suburb of the c i ty were

ori gi nal ly cal led by the first five letters of the alphabet . The greatquarter on our left is

,however

,m ore general ly known as the

B ruchion,perhaps from the palace Ptolem y Soter set aside to form

the nucleus of the great l ibrary . I t is the Greek quarter,the m ost

fashionable,and arch i tectural ly very m agn ificent . There you see

the vast m ausoleum of Alexander the Great, conta in ing the goldencoflin i n which the body of the world - conquering hero has been

preserved for hundreds of years. There,too

,are the splend id tom bs

of the Ptolem i es, who ru led Egyp t from the t im e of the d ivision ofAlexander’s empire ti l l the latter part of the fi rst century a c. whenthe Romans wrested the k i ngdom from Cleopatra . Observe nextthe great temple of Poseidon , god of the sea, a favouri te dei ty of thesai lor popu lace . There, too, is the Museum ,

the centre of the

university, w i th al l its lecture rooms and hal ls,not the ori ginal

Museum of the Ptolem ies, bu t a later bu i ld ing. Baths, too, you see

everywhere , thousands of them , magnificent bui ld ings where theluxurious Alexandrians spend so m uch of the ir tim e .On the ri ght is the Egyptian quarter

,the north - western

,

cal led Rhacotis, a very old nam e dating back to a time whenAlexandria d id not exist, and an old Egyptian burg, cal led Ragadonah , occupied its si te . The d ifference i n the style of architectureat once strikes you , for i t is for the most part i n the m ore som breEgyptian style ; and that great bu i ld ing you see i n the eastern partof the quarter is the far- fam ed Serapeum ; i t is not so m uch a

single bu i ld ing as a group of bu i ld ings, the temple of course be i ngthe chief of them . It is a fort - l ike place

,wi th plai n heavy wal ls

,

older than the Greek bu i ld i ngs, gloomy and severe and su i ted tothe Egyptian character ; i t is the centre of the heathen ” schools,that is to say, the barbarian or non - Greek lecture hal ls. You wil l

1 90 Luctrsk .

dangerous fanatics. M ixed with them are people i n black , ecclesi

astics, deacons and ofl‘icers of the Christian churches.

Down by the harbours, however, we shal l com e across m anyother types

,d iffi cu l t to d isting uish for the m ost part because of the

i nterblend ing and m ixture . Thousands of them com e and go onthe smal l ships which crowd the harbours i n fleets. Many are

ak in to the on ce great nation of the H i tti tes ; Phcenician andCarthaginian sailor - folk in num bers, and traders from far m ored istan t ports.

Jews everywhere and those aki n to Jews, i n all the trad ing

parts som e resem bl ing Afghans ; ascetics, too, from Syria, Essenes,perchance, or Therapeu tae, paying great attention to cleanl iness.

Also a few tall golden - haired people, Goths and Teutons, extrem elycontem ptuous of the rest , whom thev regard as an eflerrrirrate crowd

,

big,tal l

,strong, rough fel lows. A few Persians also and m ore

d istant Orientals.

Perhaps, however, you are m ore interested i n the Christian

populace, a m ost m ixed crowd w i thout and w i thin . The c i tyecclesiastics are busied more w i th pol i tics than wi th rel igion ; therest of the fai thfu l can be d iv ided into two classes ofl

'

ering widelyd ifferent presen tments of Christian i ty .

On the one hand the lowest classes and monks,bigoted and

i gnorant,contemptuous of all education , i n rel igion the prototype

of m oder n evangelical sects and salvation arm ies,

” devoted to thecult of the martyrs, thirsting for the blood of the Jews, and wi ld tooverthrow every statue and raz e every temple to the ground ; on theother hand

,a set of refined d ispu tants, philosophical theologians

and Gnostics,argu ing always, eager to enter the l ists wi th the Pagan

philosophers, spend ing their l ives i n publ ic d iscussions, while thecrowds who com e to hear them are m ostly ind ifferent to the right

or wrong of the m atter, and applaud every debating poi nt wi th contemptuous impartiali ty, enjoying the wrangle from the point of v iewof a refined scepticism .

THE L IBRARY .

B ut we m ust hasten on wi th our task and complete our sketchof the c i ty wi th a brief reference to two of its m ost fam ous institutions

,the Library and Museum . Even if most of us have had no

1 92 LUCIFER .

isms, orators, sophists, doctors, m ed ical phi losophers, historians, etc.

Ptolem y I I . (Philadelphus) comm issioned every capta in of a vesselto bring him MSS .

,forwhich he paid so royal ly that m any forgeries

were speed i ly pu t on the m arket . Attalus and Eum enes, k ings ofPergam us, i n north - west Asia Minor

,establ ished a rival library in

their capi tal , and prosecuted the search for books wi th such ardourthat the l ibrary of Aristotle , bequeathed to Theophrastusand han dedon to Neleus of Scepsis, had to be buried to escape the hands of

their rapac ious col lectors,onlv to find its way, however, to Alexan

dria at last . Philadelphus accord ingly issued an order againstthe exportation of papyrus from Egypt, and thus the rival col lectorsof Pergam us had to be content w i th vel lum hence some say,

pergamene, parchem in , parchment . The comm erce of MSS . was

carried on throughout all Greece,R hodes and Athens be ing the

chief marts.

Thus Alexandria becam e possessed of the m ost ancien t MSS .

of Hom er and Hesiod and the cycl ic poets ; of Plato and Aristotle,

of E schylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and m any other treasures.

Moreover,large num bers of translators were employed to turn

the books of other nations into Greek . Som e of the sacred books ofthe E thiopians, Ind ians, Persians, E lam i tes, Babylonians, Chaldzeans

,R omans, t n icians

,and Syrians were translated

,and the

septuagin t version of the Hebrew b ible was added to the num ber,

not without m iracle , if we are to bel ieve the legend recounted byJosephus.

Even by the tim e of Ptolem y I I I . (Euergetes) the B ruchioncould not conta in all the books

,and a fresh nucleus was establ ished

in the bu i ld ings of the Serapeum,on the other side of the ci ty

,but

not i n the temple i tself w i th its four hundred p il lars,of all of

which Pompey’s P i l lar alone remains to us.

What a wealth of books i n so short a tim e ! Even in the times

of the first three P tolem ies,we read of rol ls or volumes.

What then m ust have been the num ber in later years Som e say

they exceeded a m i l l ion rolls and papyri . Let us,however

,rem em

ber that a book ” or rol l ” was general ly not a volum e as with us,

bu t rather the chapter of a work . We read of men writ ing six

thousand books ” The rol ls had to be com paratively sm al l , for thesake of convenience, and a work usually had as m any rolls as it

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1 94 LUCIFER .

assembly were left free to prosecu te the ir researches and studies

untrammel led and unham pered . In theirranks :were i nnumerable

poets, historians, geom etric ians, mathematic ians, astronom ers,

translators,cri tics

,comm en tators

, physic ians, professors of naturalsc ience, phi lologists, grammarians, archaeologists, i n brief, savants ofall sorts laying the first foundations of those researches whichhave once m ore in our own t im e, after the lapse of centuries,claim ed the attention of the world . True

,the Museum of Alexan

dria m ade bu t faltering steps where we to - daystride on wi th suchassurance ; bu t the spi ri t and method was the sam e

,feeble com pared

on our strength , but the sam e spi ri t now made strong by pal ingenesis.

Very l ike was the tem per then , iu the last three centuries beforethe modern era, to the temper that has marked the last th reecenturies of our own time. Rel igion had lost its hold on the

educated ; scepticism and“sc ien ce” and m isunderstood Aristotel ian

philosophy were alone worthy of a m an of gen ius. There wereemanc ipated wom en too

,

“ d ialectical daughters, com mon

enough in those latter days of Greece.

Had not,thought these schoolm en

,the ir great founder,

Alexander,conquered the pol i tical world by followi ng the advice of

his master Aristotle ? They,also

,would fol low the tea ching of the

fam ous Stagiri te , who had m apped out heaven and earth and al lthings there in

,and soon they too wou ld conquer what else of the

world there was to be conquered,both natural and i ntel lectual . I t

seem ed so probable then , so simple and logical . I t seems to be

probable even now to som e m inds !So they set to work wi th their commenting, and cri tic i z in g,

their philologiz ing, their grammar,and accentuat ion

,their cate

goriz ing and catalogu ing . They set to work to m easure things;bei ng pupils of Eucl id , they attempted to m easure the d istan ceof the sun from the earth

,and Eratosthenes

,by copp er arm i l la ,

or

circles for determ in ing the equ inox,calcu lated the ob l iqu i ty of the

ecl iptic, and by further researches calculated the circum ference of

the earth he also mapped ou t the world from all the books of trave land earth - knowledge in the great Library . In m echan ics, Arch im edes solved the m ysteries of the lever and hydrostatic pressurewhich are the basis of our m odern hydrostatics and statics.

THE L IVES OF THE LATER PLATON ISTS . 1 95

H ipparchus too thought out a theoryof the heavens, upside downin fact , but correct enough to calculate ecl ipses and the rest

, and

this three hundred years later, under the Antonines, was revampedby a certa i n Ptolemy, a comm entator m erely and not an inventor

,

the patent now stand ing in his nam e . H ipparchus was also thefather of plane and spherical trigonometry .

But enough has already been sa id to give us an idea of the

temper of the times, and i t would be too long to dwel l on the longl ist of famous nam es i n other departments, encyclopredists and

grammarians l ike Cal l imachus and Aristophanes ; poets such as

Theocritus.

Thuswi th the destruction of the bu i ld i ng in the fire of Caesar'sflee t and wi th the Roman conquest the first Museum came to an end .

I t is true that a new Museum was established in the reign of

Claud ius (4 1 -

50 but i t was a mere shadow of its former self,n o tr ue home of the muses, but the oflicial aud i torium of the wearisome wri tings of an emperor- scribbler . Claud ius had wri tten inGreek

,magi} inepte yuan; ineleg an t”

, as Suetonius remarks,eight

books of a history of Carthage, and twenty books of a h istory of

Etruria . He wou ld,therefore, establ ish a Museum and have his

prec ious wri tings read to sycophant professordom once a year atleast . Thus passed away the glory of that i ncarnation of scholarship and sc ien ce ; i t was a sou l less thing at best

, mark ing a periodof unbel ief and scepticism , and desti ned to pass away when onceman woke agai n to the fact that he was a sou l .

Tun Seuoons or rm »: Sopn rs'rs.

And what of the schools of so- cal led phi losophy duri ng th is

period ? They,too

,were barren enough . The old sages of Greece

were no more . Pythagoras, Socrates, P lato and Aristotle hadpassed from the sight of mortals. The men who fol lowed themwere for the most part word - spl i tters and phrase - weavers. Dialecticarguers of the Megaran school , Eristics or wranglers, Pyrrhonists ordoubters, Cyrena ics who bel ieved in the senses alone as the only

avenues of knowledge, pessim ists and annihilation ists, a host of

later Sceptics, Cynics, Epicureans, Academ ics, Peripatetics, and

S toics. Epicureans who sought to l ive com fortably,S toics who

,i n

1 96 LUCIFER .

opposi tion to P lato’s doctrine of soc ial virtues,asserted the solitary

d ignity of human ind ividual ism .

After the three great reigns of the first P tolem ies,Alexandria

fel l m orally together wi th its ru lers ; for one hundred and eightyyears sophists wrangled

,pedants fought over accents and readings

w ith the true octizcm grammaticzcm ,

” ti ll C leopatra,like Helen

,

betrayed her country to the R om ans, and Egypt becam e a tribu taryprovince . So far there had been no philosophy in the propersense of the word ; that d id not enter into the curricu lum of the

Museum .

THE DAWN - LAND .

H i therto Alexandria had had no phi losophy of her own,but

now she is desti ned to be the crucible i n which phi losophic thoughtof every k ind wi l l be fused together, and not only phi losophy, butm ore important sti l l rel igio - philosophy and theosophy of every k indwi ll be poured into the m el ting pot, and m any strange system s and

a few th ings adm irably good and true wil l be m ou lded out of them atter cast i nto th is seeth ing cruc ible . So far the Grecian gen iushas only thought of a iri ng its own m ethods and v iews before theeast . Into Egypt, Syria, Persia, i nto Ind ia even , i t has flitted and

sunned i tself. I t has taken m any a year to convi nce Greek com

placency that the period of world - genius is not bounded on one

hand by Hom er and on the other by Aristotle . S lowly butremorselessly i t is borne i n upon Hel len ic i ngenu ity that there isan antiqu i ty i n the world beside which i t is a m ere panam a .

The Greek m ay desp ise the Orientals and cal l them m ere “ barbar”

or Barbarians,because they are strangers to the Attic tongue

,but

the Barbarian is to laugh last and laugh best after all, for he has acareful ly guarded heirloom of w isdom ,

which he has not yet qu i teforgotten . The Greeks have had the trad i tion

,too

,bu t have now

forgotten it ; they have replaced Orpheus byHom er, and Pythagorasand the real P lato by Aristotle . Their m ysteries are now masonicand no longer real

,except for the very very few.

And if the Greek desp ised the Barbarian , the Barbarian ,i n

his turn,thought but l ittle of the Greek .

“You Greeks are butchildren 0 Solon , sa id the w ise priest of Sa

’

r’

s to the Attic lawgiver . You Greeks m isunderstand and change the sacred m yths

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1 98 LUCIFER .

were are so far shrouded in impenetrable obscuri ty ; what the real

h istory of its founder was is con fessed ly unknown to al l but— the

uneducated .

This m uch,however

,is certain

,that a new key - note was struck

for the tun ing up of the new i nstr um ent . I t is always a dangerousthing to general iz e too freely

,and pai nt the past i n too stari ng

splashes of colour, for in hum an affairs we find noth ing unm ixed ;good was m ixed wi th evi l i n the old m ethod

,and ev i l wi th good in

the new. The new m ethod was to throw open to all men a small

portion of the sacred mysteries and secret teachings of the few .

The new rel igion itself professed to throw open“ everything and

m any bel ieved that i t had revealed all that was revealable . That wasbecause they were as yet children . So bright was the l ight to themthat they perforce bel ieved i t came d irectly from theGod of al l gods,or rather from God alone , for they wou ld have no m ore of godsthe gods were straightway transmuted i nto dev i ls. The m anyhad begun to play wi th psychic and spiri tual forces, let loose from themysteries

,and the “

m any went mad for a tim e,and has not yet

regai ned its sanity .

Let us dwel l on this intensely interesting phenom enon for a fewm om ents.

I t is true that i n the Roman Empire, which had just reducedthe world ” to its sway, and thus pol itical ly un i ted so m an y stream s

of an c ient c ivil iz ation and barbarism into one ocean,th ings were in

a very parlons state,m oral ly and social ly . The anc ien t order was

begin ning to draw to an end . Pol i tical freedom and i ndependen cewere of the past , but in tellectual and rel i gious tolerance were sti ll

guaranteed , for so far the anc ient world knew not the m ean ing ofin tolerance .States were pol i tical ly subord inated to the control of the

Caesars, but the rel igious in sti tu tions of such states,on wh ich their

very l ives and pol i ties depended , were left in absolute freedom .

Nevertheless the spiri t of real i ty had long left the ancient insti tu tions,

they were sti l l m aintai ned as part and parcel of statecraft, and as

necessary for the people, who m ust have a cul t,and festivals

,and

rel igions shows,then as now ; but few took the m atter real ly seri

ously. For the educated there was philosophy, and the shadow of

the ancient mysteries,

THE L IVES or run L ATER PLATON ISTS . 1 99

people, not for the unedu

forgotten their duties,and using their .

for self- aggrand i z em ent , had now almost entirely forthey once had known . I t is an old

,old story . The

corrupt , the anc ient state enslaved . There

partly right , partly wrong, as usual good andst evi l and good .

the mysteries are free and open to all— who are

morals and v irtues are absolutely essential pret these alone .

at there is One God— not Jehovah .

at there are m any gods— not to be worshipped .

at philosophy alone cannot solve the problem— but

al l men may be saved— but not rather the poorthe ignorant than the learned .

no m iddle ground i n protestan tism i n th ings rel igions;opposi te pole . Therefore, we are to have for the newi ntolerance , a glorification of i gn orance

,a wholesale

on . A soc ial upheaval , fol lowed by a pol i tical triumph .

however, is acqu ired definitely , a new lease of l ife for

good to bel ieve wi th al l one’s heart after so much disood to m ake vi rtue param ount as the first all

a knowledge of God . I t was good to set aside thend love the th ings of the sou l i t was good to

l i fe once m ore i nto the heart of men .

t have been if m ore temperate counselshad prevai led ,

fact is that one race was dying and another bei ngof the past crowded i nto the old brain

,bu t

rem em ber . As one decayed the otherna presented during theost i ntricate and amaz i ng11 impressing i tself on the

200 LUCIFER .

the Jewish trad i tion in its crudest form . It would,however, be

too long to go further i nto the matter and show why the Jews themselves

,wi th the exception of a very few,

d id not accept the new

rel igion,and why the Christians based themselves on the Jewish

trad i tion .

I t is enough to remark , that the Jewish popu lace looked for aleader to restore their pol i tical fortunes and physical wel l - being,while the first Christians, being al l Jews, so interwove their trad i tionwi th Judaism ,

that i t subsequently cou ld not be d isentangled without entire destruction .

And though the bel iefs of the Jewish and Christian popu lacewere wide apart, and both the antipodes of those of the Pagan pcpulace

,nevertheless the learned am ong the Rabbis and the best of the

Christian theologians show many po i nts of sim i lari ty,and both the

latter,i n som e th ings, are in close contact with the v iews of our

philosophers. The m ost fam ous schools of the Rabbis and of theCh ristian theologians, m oreover, are at A lexandria, and so we will

conclude our i ntroductory chapter with a few remarks on these

Jewish and Christian Schools.

G . R . S . MEAD .

(To be continued .)

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CHRIST IAN ITY AND 1Ts Taacm xcs . 203

that onea warm er love to the Author of its be i ng

,and

feebler and weaker regard , that sou l (onima) regardus said ,

‘No one shal l take my l ife (am'

mam) fromfrom the begin ning of the creation

,and afterwards

,

i nd issolubly in Him , as bei ng the Wisdom andnd the Tru th and the true Light

, and rece ivi ng

passi ng into His l ight and splendour,was made

pre - em inent degree one spi ri t, accord ing to thethose who ought to im itate i t

,that ‘he

is one spi ri t . ’ This substance of a sou l,

between God and the flesh— it be ingf God to i nterm ingle wi th a body wi th

t— the God - man is born,as we have

the interm ed iary to whose nature i t wasbody . B ut nei ther

,on the other hand

,

ure of that soul , as a rational existence,as stated above, as i nto the Word , and

the Tru th,i t had already whol ly entered . And

ly is i t also cal led , along wi th the flesh which itSon of God

,and the Power of God

,the Ch rist

,

of God,either because i t was whol ly in the

because i t rece ived the Son of God whol ly i nto

i

ge is to be found the supposed heretical v iew of

of the human or rational sou l of Jesus,but the

between the Logos and the man is qu i te withinorthodoxy .

Celsum,Book I I .

,chap . ix .

, he defends the Christianagai nst the attack of Celsus

,who asks how i t is

God cou ld be del ivered up to punishm ent .that even we do not suppose the body ofobject of sight and perception , to havesayHis body Nay, not even His soul

,

y sou l is exceed ing sorrowful , even untoto the Jewish manner of speaki ng,

‘ I amfore me there was no God

be He

204 t.rim ezR .

who employs the soul and body of the prophet as an instrument ;and as, accord ing to the Greeks, he who says

“ ‘ I know both the number of the sand and the m easu res of

And I understand a dumb man,and hear him who does not

speak,

’

is considered to be a god when speaki ng, and making himselfheard through the Pyth ian priestess ; so, accord ing to our view ,

i t was the Logos God,and Son of the God of all things, who

Spake in Jesus these words,‘ I am the way, and the tru th , and the

l ife ’ ; and these,‘ I am the door ’ ; and these ,

‘ I am the l ivingbread that cam e down from heaven and other expressions sim i larto these . And that the Gospels do not consider Him who

in Jesus said these words,

‘ I am the way, and the tru th and

the l ife,

’ to have been of so circumscribed a nature as tohave an existence nowhere ou t of the soul and body of Jesus

, is

eviden t both from many considerations, and from a few i nstances ofthe fol low ing kind , which we shal l quote .” Origen then quotes

701 m i . 26 ; Afatthcw xvi i i . 20; xxvii i . 20. And we quote thesepassages

,m ak ing no d istinction between the Son of God and

Jesus. For the sou l and body of Jesus form ed,after the econ om y

(ozxovopta), one bei ng wi th the Logos of God . Now if,accord ing to

Pau l's teaching,‘he that is jo ined un to the Lord is one spiri t,

’

everyone who understands what bei ng joined to the Lord is,and

who has been actual ly joined to Him,is one spiri t wi th the L ord ;

how should not that bei ng be one i n a far greater and more d ivi nedegree

,which was once uni ted wi th the L ogos of God ?”

On the same general l ines is the following passage from BookV I . , chap . xlvi i .

“ Nor is i t at all wonderfu l if we m ai ntai n that the sou l ofJesus is made one wi th so great a Son of God through the highestunion with Him , bei ng no longer i n a state of separation fromHim . For the sacred language of Holy Scripture knows of otherth ings also

,which , al though

‘dual i n their own nature,are con

sidered to be , and real ly are,‘one

’ i n respect to one another. I t issaid of husband and w ife,

‘ they are no longer twai n,bu t one flesh ’

;

and of the perfect man , and of him who is joi ned to the true Lord,

Word , and Wisdom and Tru th,that he who is joi ned to the L ord

CHR ISTIANITY AND ITS TEACH INGS .

is one spiri t .‘ And if he who is ‘joined to the Lord is one sp iri t

,

’

who has been joined to the Lord , the Very Word , and Wisdom andTruth , and R ighteousness, i n a more intim ate union

,or even in a

manner at all approaching to i t, than the sou l of Jesus And if thisbe so, then the soul of Jesus and God the Word— the first- born of

every creature— are no longer two [bu t one] .

In chap . xvi i . of the next book , Origen condem ns the idea tha tit was Christ the Son of God who d ied 011 the cross.

And Jesus H imsel f, who knew perfectly that one who was todie m ust be a man

,said to His accusers

,But now ye seek to k i l l

me, a man that hath spoken unto you the truth which I heard ofGod,

’ and if i n that man as He appeared among men there wassomething d ivi ne , namely, the only begotten Son of God

,the first

born of all creation , one who said of H imself, ‘ I am the truth,

’ ‘ Iam the l ife ,

’ ‘ I am the door,’ ‘ I am the way, I am the l iving

bread wh ich cam e down from heaven ,’

of th is Being and His naturewe m ust j udge and reason in a wayqu i te d ifferent from that inwhich we judge of the man who was seen in Jesus Christ . Accordlagly, you w ill find no Christian , however simple he may be, andhowever l i ttle versed i n cri tical stud ies, who wou ld say that He who

died was ‘the tru th ,

’ ‘ the l ife ,’ the way

,

’ ‘ the l iving bread wh ichcame down from heaven ,

’ ‘ the resurrection ,’for i t was He who

appeared to us i n the form of the man Jesus, who taught us, saying,

‘ I am the resu rrection .

’ There is no one amongst us,I say, so

extravagant as to affirm the L ife d ied,’ ‘ the R esurrection d ied .

’

In the fol lowi ng chapter he conti nues thus“ That which is pred icted by the prophets is worthy of God

,

that He who is the brightness and express image of the d ivi nenature

,should com e i nto the world wi th the whol ly hum an sou l

which was to animate the body of Jesus, to sow the seed of His

word . He was to be m i t i ndeed , but not in such a way as

to confine therein all the rays of His glory and we are not to suppose that the l ight of Him who rs God the Word Is shed forth m noother way than in this.

”

There are stil l o ther senses in which Christ was regardedamong the early believers, and may still be regarded .

From one po int of v iew he is the type of the perfect man,the

ideal to wh ich the ord inary man is to reach . I t was the aim of the

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CHR ISTIAN ITY AND ITS Tsacnm os. 207

poi nted ou t by him ,is Jesus

,with whom agrees the statem en t ,

‘

the Word became flesh ,’and that corresponds to the word ’

of

Plato . Plato term s the th ird ‘ image,

’ but we, who apply the term‘ image ’ to som ething d ifferent , would say with greater precisionthat the mark of the wounds which is made i n the soul bv the wordis the Christ , which is each one of us, and this mark is impressed byChrist the Word , and whether Christ the wisdom which is in thoseof us who are perfect correspond to the ‘ fourth ’

elem ent— knowledge— wi l l becom e known to him who has the capac i ty to ascertain it. ”

This passage unm istakably points to a definitely m ystical i nter

pretation of the Christ idea . There is a Christ which is i n eachone

,the m ark i n fact of human ity , and there is also the ful l recep

tion of the Ch rist , as“ the wisdom which is i n those of us who are

perfect .In the classification at present used i n Theosophical l i terature ,

the Christ, from this and from other passages, wou ld seem to be theA tm a or divi ne spiri t which has not descended in to the lower planes,bu t remains

,so to speak , overshadowing the ind iv idual

,be ing at

the sam e tim e the real source of his being. Not ind iv idual iz ed i nthe ord inary man

,i t en ters fu lly only i nto those who are perfect .”

I t is possible that Ori gen in the use of th is term ind icated a m uchless lofty stage of developm en t, but at the sam e time his use of the

term “

perfect denoted a very high level , as we can see from otherpassages

,and not the mere entering into the body of the Church and

becom ing one of the faithfu l,accord i ng to its employm en t by many

other wri ters.

In conclud ing this series of articles i t may be as wel l to referbriefly to the poi nts that have been brought forward . In the first

place i t is clear that i n the early Church the idea of a secret teaching

,not m ade known to the ord inary bel iever and not wri tten in

anyaccessible scripture,but given by Jesus to h is nearest disc iples,

was widely held . In connection wi th this we have also some hintsof a school with in the ord inary Church conta ining only a chosenfew, to whom the private teachings of Jesus were transm i tted .

The Church itself was not a mere aggregate of people,bu t was i n

its ideal form an organ ic whole,and its d ivisions and hierarchies

were not simply for the sake of governm ent,but were symbols of

LUCIFER .

th ings belonging to higher worlds. The B ible, again , was regardedby the m ore i nstructed am ong the early Christians not as a fetishto be worshipped , but as a book wh ich requ ired i nterpretation . I twas a book which contai ned , in the form of stories or of history

,

m uch instruction which had to be extracted from i t by study andknowledge

,and not m erely by fai th , and i t was not to be bel ieved

l i terally,as its surface m ean ing was often absurd and ev identl y

false.

The evidence to be obtained from the earl ier wri ti ngs,that is,

the wri tings dating before the Nicene Counc i l,respecting th e

doctrine of the pre- existence of the soul and reincarnation is som ewhat scanty . What references there are

,however

,show clearly

that any broad statement as to reincarnation havi ng been a doctr i new idely held i n the Church is inaccurate

,to say the least . There

ared istinct ind ications ofa bel ief in the existence of the hum an sou l

before bod i ly b irth , which bel ief m ay possibly have been he ld bya considerable section of the Church at one tim e

,but further than

th is we cannot go and that rein carnation m ay have existed i n the

prim i tive group of bel ievers,and have been taught by Jesus is not ,

I think,im possible , judging from som e few verses i n the New

Testam ent,but if th is be the case

,the teaching was soon forgotten .

While i t is im possible for any rel igion to go back to the pastfor its strength , or to model i tself upon som e form long d iscarded

,

i t cannot be den ied that there were m anv poin ts i n the Christiani tyof those early tim es which were m ore “

advanced ” and m ore“m odern than the orthodox Church of recent tim es. There

was a freedom,wh ich

,un til a few years ago, had been stifled

,

cen tury after cen tury load ing its accum ulat ion of dogma uponthe back of the ancien t faith

,til l the refuse of the cen turies

has hidden the original foundation . The fu ture wi l l certai nly c learaway the accum ulations, and i t rem ains sti l l to be seen whetheranything wi l l be saved on which to bu i ld a m od ified fai th . Meanwhile

,som e

,at least, of the ideas of the early Christian wri ters m ay

poin t the way to a conception of the national rel i gion, wh ich w ill

be m ore in accordance w i th reason and w i th sp iri tual i nsight thanthe dogmas wi th which we have been so long fam i l iar .

A . M . GLASS .

AN IMAL REINCARNATION .

As Theosophical teaching upon the subject of an imal reincarnation is

,so far as I can gather, not only vague and i ncomplete bu t

is also in some instances apparently inconsistent , I w ish to placecertai n aspec ts of i t before the readers of LUCIFER for their consideration . In so doi ng I would have i t understood that th is articleis put forth in order to el ici t the opi nions of m ore enl ightenedstudents rather than to prom ulgate myown ,

and is, therefore, written

in a tentative,and by no m eans i n a d idactic sp iri t .

I think i t wel l here to insert the defin ition of reincarnationgiven by Mrs. Besant i n her manual entitled R eincarn ation . Onp . I I she says : “

R eincarnation and m etempsychosis arewords which denote a theory of existence

,accord ing to which a

form of visible matter is i nhabi ted by a more ethereal pri nciple whichou tlives its physical encasement and, on the death of the latter, passeson imm ediately, or after an interval , to dwell i n some other fram e .”

The subject is not only i nterestin g bu t instructive . I t i nvolvesthe question— is there any persistent principle that reincarnatesas the

“ ind ividual ” (if I may use the term ) of the animal,or is the

developm en t i n the k i ngdom en bloc,and not i n the i nd ividual

en ti ties com posi ng that k ingdom ? Now the great teaching onth is

,as on m ost other questions, is to be sought i n T1“ Secret

Doc/n ine,bu t 771 5 Secret Doctrine is m ainly confined to cosmogony

and to human developmen t— cycl ic , rac ial and i nd iv idual— in th isthe fourth round ; the pre - human and anim al progression is bu tli ttle deal t w ith . I m ust confess that what little is sa id on thissubject is i n the mai n against ind iv idual reincarn ation in theanim al world general ly , al though it is apparently adm i tted woodthe domesticated anim als ; even th is adm ission

, partial though itbe , is im portant for my purpose, as i t establ ishes the existence ofa pri nc iple in the an imal beari ng a close analogy to the “ germsoul " in man (so luc idly explai ned by Mrs . Besant) at the tim e of

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AN IMAL REINCARNATION .

evolved , although the enti ties i nhabi ti ng those forms d iffered i nnothi ng from the animal entities of lower physical types ? May i t

not be that th is restriction is due main ly to man’s arrogantassumption of his own superiori ty, rather than to his wi l l i ngness toconcede to his lower brethren a posi tion so near his ownI am aware that th is v iew appears qu i te i nconsistent wi th the

m ajority of Theosophical teachings, and I qu i te see the many

d iffi cu lties that are i nvolved i n trying to reconc i le the few isolatedread ings which support my posi tion wi th this majori ty . But ifthere be not in the animal a persistent ind ividual i ty or entity that

for its own teaching, then why should the animal

and m isery,often

,for the greater part of its life This

ot i n the atomsor molecu les,but

,as in man

,in the body

We are taught that out of su ffering we obtain expe

er ; is th is not to obtai n w i th the animal ,e benefi t ? As i t is the animal and not thea would give the an imal and not the atom s

avoid the question of animals

by saying that they do not suffer so m uchfor i nstance

,says that an animal wi th a

wi ll l ie down and eat the grass around i t,bu t so wi l l a

broken limb eat his food , if he be hungry and the foodI do not hold th is to be a satisfactory statemen t

,or

nless the animal has i n a previous l ifeor unless i t is to benefit by i t in the future

,i t is

end the law of Karma

both wild and dom esticated animals exhibi tamounting to devotion ,

all to be lost to the enti ty,or is i t simply

“ m an ’s use

be narrowed down to th is : Is progressiveal k ingdom a development of the k i ngdom

gdom If the latter be true,he animal enti ty ?rom inen t Theoso

I advocate.

LUCIFER .

as she was then one of the ed i tors Animals do not suffer so

keenly as human be ings, and do not remember suffering,un less

rem i nded , etc . Anim als again are alm ost imm ed iatelyreincarnated in higher anim al organisms. Suffering

,moreover, is

the cause of knowledge, so that the incarnating en ti ty gains experience

,al though the organism is tortured to death .

”

Now here i t wi l l be noted that the words are an imals [nottheir atoms] are alm ost imm ed iately reincarnated again

,she

speaks of an incarnating enti ty .

” These passages seem to me to

i nd icate that H . P . B . herself accepted the doctrine of an imal reincarnation , and that she does not confine the qual ity to dom esticated

anim als only .

In Tkeosofl z z'

m l vol . i i i . , No . 7, i n an article en titledHave Animals Souls ? ” p . 5 , et. seq . , H . P . B . says : The soul of

an anim al is also cal led neplzes/z . I t is by developm ent that the

soul becom es sf z'

rz'

t,both bei ng the lower and the higher run gs of

one and the sam e ladder whose basis is the universal soul or

spiri t .”

The fol lowing statem en t wi l l startle som e The irrational

soul of a dog or a frog d ivine and immortal as our own souls are

they are sure to exclaim out so they are.

”

On p . 7 she says :“ Christians l im i t i t to man

,to the ex

elusion of an imals. The students of the Secret Doctri ne explaini t by the successive renovation and perfection of form s on the scale

of objective and subjective being, and in a long series of evolution

ary transformations from an im al to man and upward .

”

011 p . 8 she adds : “ E i ther both [the brute and the man] areendowed by nature wi th soul

, or ne i ther the one nor theother is so endowed .

”

Much m ore, d id space perm i t , m ight be quoted from th is article,bu t I w i l l rather comm end i t to my readers, add i ng only the fol lowi ng : The an imal is endowed w ith intel l igence

,and once th is is

settled , we have but to repeat Thomas Aqu inas’ definition of intelligence the prerogative of m an ’s immortal soul ’— to see that thesam e is due to the animal (p . I

“ The two sou ls ’are identical

in m an and beast ” (p . Animals are creatures as eternal as

we ourselves (p .

The Va‘

lum of Septem ber, 1 895 , p . 6 (I th ink the author is M r .

AN IMAL RE INCARNATION .

Mead), Tire Vi lma of February rst,1 896, ThePrasanottara, Vol . V .

,

No. 56, i n an article enti tled“ The P i lgrimage of the Soul

,

” are al lm ore or less vague and undefined on this subject , but apparentlyind icate that the writers are Open to conv iction from ei ther side .That what is cal led the germ of Manas is enfolded in Kama

is adm itted . Mrs. Besant uses this germ theory with great force asan illustration

,and '

as such i t is m ost apt and adm irable,bu t i t

m ust not be forced farther than an i l lustration or turned i nto anidenti ty , as if so i t seem s to me i t wou ld be fau l ty when takenin connection wi th the statem ent that Manas would leave been evolved

after ages of time without the i ntervention of the Manasaputra .

Then Mrs. Besan t in Tlze Self and its Shea/11.9,p . 56, says :

“ Thereis no possibi l i ty of growth unless from outside som e new force shal larise .In Tire B r

'

rtb and E volution of the Soul she says : But you donot get in the wi ld anim al m uch of what you m ay cal l ideal creation

that is,you have not here present m uch of what we know as

m ind . the qualities which technical ly are cal led perceptionand recol lection .

” Now when the words “ not m uch are used,I

contend that the word “some ” is impl ied or adm i tted— ia

,that

some amount of “ m ind ,”and not only the germ of m ind , is by her

adm i tted to be existent i n the wild an imal .

In LUCIFER for Decem ber, 1 895, pp . 3 10, 3 1 1 ,Mrs. Besant acceptsthe position I have taken from TIre Secret Doctrine that afterimmense periods of time Manas wou ld have evolved i n the senseless

shel lsof human ity wi thou t the advent of the Manasaputra ; ifso, thesesenseless shel ls m ust have had rei ncarnat ion ,”and if sowhy shou ldnot the animals also undergo i t as they are of l ike nature save as totheir forms ?

Mrs. Besant says : “ The great m ajori ty of the human racewere not left to evolve by the m ere force of the lower

natu re wh ich in the course of unnum bered years wouldhave evolved i ntell igence, and wou ld have brought about i ntellectualdevelopm ent even had They not com e .”

Then on pp . 3 1 7 and 3 1 8 :“ Sti l l m ore strongly do these

principles apply to the evolu tion of the animal kingdom,and

(Th is is said of a plan t af ter sex has arisen : but there are m any plants inWh ich a new individual arises from a spore

—A. B. )

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21 6 LUCIFER .

del icate,colourless film ofsubtle matter is the body that lasts through

the whole of the hum an evolution , the thread on wh ich all the livesare strung, the re- i ncarnatin g Sfi tratma, the thread - self.” I t is

the receptacle of allwhich is i n accordance w i th the L aw,of every

attribute wh ich is noble and harm onious, and therefore enduring.

I t is that which m arks the growth of m an,the stage of evolu tion to

which he has attained . Every great and noble thought,every pure

and lofty em otion , is carried up and worked i nto his substan ce.

Let 1 1s take the l ife of an ordinary man and try to see how

m uch of that l ife wi l l pass upwards for the bu i ld ing of the causalbody

,and let us imagine i t pictorial ly as a del icate film i t is to be

strengthened , to be made beautiful wi th colour,m ade active wi th

life,m ade rad ian t and glorious, increasing in si z e as the man grows

and developes. At a low stage of evolution he is not show in g m uchm ental qual i ty , bu t rather he is m anifesting m uch passion , m uch.

appeti te . He feels sensations and seeks them ; they are the things

to which he turns. I t is as though this inner l ife of the man put:

forth a l i ttle of the del icate m atter of which it is composed , andround that the m ind - body gathers ; and the m ind - body puts forth.

i nto the astral world , and there com es i nto contact with the astral

body,and becom es connected w i th i t, so that a bridge is formed

along which anything capable of passi ng can pass. The man sendhis thoughts downwards by th is bridge i nto the world of sensationsof passions, of anim al l ife

,and the thoughts i nterm i ngle w i th al

these anim al passions and em otions ; thus the m i nd - body becomentangled wi th the astral body

,and they adhere to each other and

are d ifficul t to separate when the tim e of death com es. B ut if th

man,duri ng the l ife which he is spend ing in these lower regions, has

an unselfish thought, a thought of service to someone he loves, andm akes som e sacrifice in order to do service to his friend , he has thenset up someth ing that is able to endure

,som eth ing that is able to

l ive,something that has i n it the nature of the higher world ; that

can pass upwards to the causal body and be worked in to its sub

stance,making i t m ore beautiful

,giv ing i t

,perhaps

,its first touch

of i ntensi ty of colour ; perhaps all through the m an ’s life there wi l lonly be a few of these things that are able to endure

,to serve as

food for the growth of the real man . So the growth is very slow,

for all the rest of his l ife does not aid i t ; al l his evi l tendencies, born

MAN AND H IS Booms. 21 7

of i gnorance and fed by exercise , have their germs drawn inwardand thrown into latency as the astral body which gave them home

and form is d issipated i n the astral world ; they are drawn inwardinto the m ind - body and lie latent there , lack ing material forexpression in the devachan ic world when the m i nd - bodv i n its turn

perishes, they are drawn into the causal body, and there stil l l ielatent

,as i n suspended animation . They are thrown outwards as

the Ego, returning to earth - l ife,reaches the astral world , reappeari ng

there as ev il tendencies brought over from the past . Thus the causalbody m ight be spoken of as the storehouse of evi l as wel l as good ,being al l that remains of the man after the lower vehicles are d issipated

,bu t the good is worked into its texture and aids its growth ,

while the evi l , wi th the exception noted below,rem ains as germ .

B ut the evi l which a man works i n l ife , when he puts i nto itsexecu tion his thought

,does more i nj ury to the causal body than

merely to lie latent in i t , as the germ of future sin and sorrow . I t isnot only that the ev i l does not help the growth of the true m an

,but

where i t is subt le and persistent i t drags away, if the expression

may be perm i tted , someth ing of the ind iv idual himself. If v icebe persistent

,if evi l be continual ly followed

,the m ind - body becom es

so en tangled with the astral that after death it cannot free i tselfentirely , and some of its very substance is torn away from i t , andwhen the astral d issipates th is goes back to the m ind - stu ff of them ind - world and is lost to the i nd ividual ; in th is way, if we th inkaga i n of our image of a film , or bubble , i t maybe to some exten tthi nned by vicious l iv i ng— not only delayed in its progress, bu tsom eth ing wrought upon it which m akes i t more d iffi cul t to bui ldi nto . It is as though the film were i n some wayaffected as to capacity of growth , steril ised or atrophied to som e extent . Beyond this,i n ord inary cases, the harm wrought to the causal body doesnot go .

But where the Ego has become strong both in intel lect andwill wi thout at the same time increasing in unselfishness and love,where -it contracts i tself round its own separated cen tre instead of

expand ing as i t grows,bu i lding a wal l of selfishness around i t and

using its develop ing powers for the “ I ” instead of for the al l ; i nsu ch cases arises the possibi l i ty al luded to in so m any of the worldsc riptures

,of more dangerous and i ngrai ned evil , of the Ego setti ng

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MAN AND H IS BOD IES . 21 9

Everyth ing that is good,on the other

the law,is taken on by it

,carried for

eam ofevolut ion,of that “ not ourselves

therefore i t can never perish ,es not only the hope of man buthowever slow the growth

,i t is

long the way, i t has its end ing . The i nd ividualf is evolvi ng, and cannot now be u tterly destroyed

by our fol ly we maym ake the growth slower than i tthe less everyth ing we contribu te to i t, however l i ttle ,ever, and is our possession for al l the ages that l ie i n

one step further, but i nregion so lofty that i t is wel l - nigh beyond ourmagination . For the causal body i tself is nothe “ Spi ritua l Ego ” is not Manas

,bu t Manas

i n Buddhi . This is the culm i nation of theend of the revolu tion on the wheel of births

which we have been deal ingthat of Turiya

,the plane of

iousness is the spiri tual body,bl iss

,and into th is Yogis can

taste the eternal bl iss of that glorious world,and

ir own consc iousness the underlying unity,which

to them a fact of experience and no longer onlybel ief. We may read of a tim e that comes to thehas grown in love, wisdom and power, and whenugh a great gateway, m ark ing a d isti nct stage in hisis the gateway of Initiation , and the man led through

me i n to the spiri tual body,and

the unity which underl ies al l the d iversity of the

(I all its separateness, which underl ies the separateplane and even of the devachanic region . Whenand the man

,clothed i n the spiri tual body

,

then finds for the first tim e in his experiencengs only to the three lower worlds that he is

Manuals iv. and v.

LUCI I’ER .

one with all others, and that , wi thou t losing self- consciousn ess, hisconsc iousness can expand to embrace the consc iousness of others ,can become veri ly and indeed one with them . There is the unityafter which man is always yearning, the unity he has felt as

tr ue and has vainly tried to real i z e on lower planes ; there i t isreal iz ed beyond his loftiest dream ings, and al l hmnanitv is found tobe one wi th his i nnerm ost Self.

(cl) Temporary B odies—We cannot leave out of our review of

man ’s bod ies certai n other vehicles that are tem porary, and may becal led artificial , i n thei r character . When a man begins to pass out

of the physical body he mayuse the astral , but so long as he isfunctioning in that he is l im i ted to the astral world . I t is possib le ,however, for him to use the m ind - body— that of the Lower Manasi n order to pass i nto the devachan ic reg10n , and i n this he can a lsoran ge the astral and physical planes wi thout let or hindrance . The

body thus used is often cal led the Mayavi t a, or body of il lusion ,

and i t is the m i nd - body re- arranged , so to speak , for separateactivity . The man fashions his m ind - body into the l ikeness of

h im self, shapes i t i nto his own image and l ikeness,and is then i n

this temporary and artificial body free to traverse the three planesat wi l l and rise superior to the ord inary lim i tations of man . I t isthis artificial bodv that is often spoken of i n Theosophical books, i nwhich a person can travel from land to land , passi ng also into th eworld of m i nd , learn ing there new tru ths, gatheri ng new experi

ence , a nd bri ngi ng back to the waking consciousness the treasuresthus col lec ted . The advantage of usin g this higher body is that i tis not subj ect to deception and glam our on the astral plane as is theastral bodv . The untrai ned astral senses often m islead , and muchexperience is needed ere their reports can be trusted

,but this

temporari ly form ed m ind - body is not subject to such deception s ; i tsees wi th a true vision , it hears wi th a true heari ng ; no astra lglam our can overpower, no astral i l lusion can dece ive ; thereforeth is body is preferablv used by those trai ned for such journ eyings

,

made when it is wanted , let go again when the purpose for whichi t was made is served . Thus i t is that the student often learn slesson s that otherwise could not reach him , and receives instructions from which he would otherw ise be entirely shu t off.

O ther te mporary bodies have been called by the nam e of

MAN AND HIS 8001 125 .

Mayavi t pa, bu t i t seems better to restric t the term to the onej ust described . A m an mayappear at a d istance in a body whichis real ly a thought- form more than a vehicle of consc iousness,thought clothed i n the elem ental essence of the astral plane .These bod ies are , as a rule , m erely vehicles of some part icularthought , some special vol ition , and ou tside this show no con sciousn ess. They need only be m entioned i n passi ng .

(a) Tbe Human tun a—We are now i n a position to understandwhat the human aura , i n its fu l lest sense , really is. I t is the man

h imse lf, m anifest at once on the four planes of consc iousness, andaccording to its development is his power of functioning on eachit is the aggregate of his bod ies, of his vehicles of consc iousness ;i n a phrase , i t is the form - aspect of the man . I t is thus that weshould regard i t , and not as a m ere ri ng or cloud surround i ng him .

Most gloriousof all is the spiri tual body, visible i n Initiates, throughwhich plays the l ivi ng fitm ic fire ; th is is the manifestation of theman on the buddhic plane. Then com es the causal body

, h is mani

festa tion i n the highest devachan ic world , on the art‘

tpa levels of theplane of m i nd , where the i nd iv idual has his home. Next the

mind - body, belonging to the lower devachanic planes, and theastral , etheric and dense bod ies i n succession , each formed of the

matter of its own region , and expressing the man as he is in each .

When the student looks at the hum an be ing, he sees al l these bod iesmaking up the man ,

showing themselves separately by v irtue of

their d ifferent grades of matter , and thus mark ing the stage of

development at which the man has arrived . As the higher vision

is developed ,‘

the student sees each of these bod ies i n its fu l l activ i ty .

The physical body is visible as a k ind of dense crystall i z ation in thecentre of the other bod ies, the others per meating it and extend ingbeyond its periphery, the physical being the smal lest . The astralcomes next , show ing the state of the kam ic nature that form s so

great a part of the ord inary man , fu l l of his passions, lower appet i tesand em otions, d i fferi ng in fineness, in colour, as the man is m oreor less pure—very dense i n the grosser types, finer i n the m ore

refined , finest of all if the man be far advanced i n his evolution .

Then the m i nd - body, poorly developed i n the majori ty but beautifu l

in many, very various in colouring accord ing to the m ental and

moral type . Then the causal , scarcely v isible i n most,visible on ly

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MAN AND m s aom ss. 223

region after region , as they develope the corresponding°

vehicles of

consciousness. Our aura shows just what we are ; we add to i t as

we grow i n the true l ife , we purify i t as we l ive noble and cleanlylives

,we weave into i t h igher and higher quali ties.

Is i t possible that any philosophy of l ife should be m ore fu l l ofhope

, m ore fu l l of strength , more fu l l of joy than this Look ingover the world of men w i th the physical eye only

,we see i t degraded ,

miserable,apparently hopeless, as i n truth i t is to the eye of flesh .

But that sam e world of men appears to us i n qu i te ano ther aspectwhen seen by the higher vision . We see i ndeed the sorrow and

the m isery , we see i ndeed the degradation and the shame ; but wekn ow that they are transient , that they are temporary, that theybelong to the childhood of the race and that the race wi l l outgrowthem . Looking at the lowest and vi lest

,at the m ost degraded and

most bru tal,we can yet see their d iv ine possibil ities, we can yet

real iz e what they shal l be i n the years to com e . That is the mes

sage of hope brought by Theosophy to the western world,the

m essage of universal redemption from ignorance,and therefore of

universal emanc ipation from m isery— not in dream but i n real i ty,

not i n hope but i n certai nty . Everyone who i n his own l ife isshowi ng the growth

,is,as i t were

,a fresh real iz ation and enforce

m en t of the m essage everywhere the first- fru i ts are appeari ng, andthe whole world shal l one day be ripe for the harvest, and shal laccompl ish the purpose for which the LOGOS gave i t birth .

IV .— THE MAN .

We have now to turn to the consideration of the man himself,no longer studying the vehicles of consciousness bu t the action of

the consciousness on them,no longer look ing at the bodies

'

but atthe en ti ty who functions i n them . By “ the m an

” I m ean thatcon tinu i ng ind ividual who passes from l ife to l ife

,who com es in to

bodies and again leaves them ,over and over again

,who developes

slowly in the course of ages, who grows by the gatheri ng and bythe assim i lation of experience, and who exists on that highermanasic or devachanic plane referred to i n the last chapter . Thisman is to be the subject of our study, functioning on the threeplanes wi th which we are now fam i l iar— the physical , the astral andthe men tal.

LUCIFER .

Man begins his experien ces by developing self- consc iousness on

the physical plane ; i t is here that appearswhat we cal l the wakin gconsciousness,

” the consciousness wi th wh ich we are all fam iliar,which works through the brain and nervous system

,by which we

reason in the ord inary way, carrying on all logical processes, by

which we rem em ber past even ts of the current incarnation,and

exerc ise judgm ent i n the affairs of l ife. All that we recogn iz e as

our m ental facul ties is the ou tcom e of the m an’s work through

the preced i ng stages of his pi lgr im age , and his self- consciousn esshere becom es m ore and m ore v ivid , m ore and m ore active

,m ore

and m ore al ive,we m ay say, as the i nd ividual developes, as the

m an progresses l ife after l ife.

If we study a very undeveloped m an ,we find his self- consc ious

m ental activi ty to be poor i n qual i ty and l im i ted i n quanti ty . He

is worki ng in the physical body through the gross and ethericbrains ; action is continually going on , so far as the whole nervoussystem is concern ed , v isible and i nvisible, but the action is of a verv

clum sy kind . There is in i t very l i ttle d iscrim i nation , very l i ttledel icacy of m en tal touch . There is som e m ental activ i ty

,but i t is of

a very infanti le or chi ld ish kind . I t is occupied with very small

th ings ; i t is am used by very triv ial occurrences ; the th i ngs thatattract its atten tion are things of a petty character ; i t is i nterestedi n passing objects : i t l ikes to sit at a window and look out at a busystreet

,watching people and vehicles go by

,m aking rem arlts

x

oh“

them,overwhelm ed wi th am usem ent if a wel l - dressed person tum bles

into a puddle or is bad ly splashed by a passi ng cab . I t has not

m uch in itself to occupy its attention ,and therefore i t is always

rushing ou twards i n order to feel that i t is alive ; i t is one of thechief characteristics of this low stage of m ental evolution that them an worki ng at the physical and etheric bod ies and bringing themin to order as vehicles of consc iousness

,is always seeing v iolen t

sensations ; he needs to m ake sure that he is feel ing and to learn tod istingu ish things by receivi ng from them strong and v iv id sensations i t is a qu i te necessary stage of progress, though an elem en taryone

,and w i thout th is he would continual ly be becom ing confused,

confused between the processes w i thin his vehicle and wi thou t it ;he m ust learn the alphabet of the self and the not - self, by d istin

guishing between the objects causing impacts and the sensation ;\ 3

MAN AND m s son tss. 225

be tween the stim u lus and the feel ing . Thestage maybe seen gathered at street - corners,t a wal l , and i ndu lging occasional ly in a few

and i n cackl ing ou tbursts of empty laughter .brai ns finds that they are receiv ingfrom passi ng objects

,and that the

ons and others l ike them are very sl ight .are m ore l ike a heap of pebbles than a wel l

the way i n which the physical and etheric brain sbecome vehicles of consc iousness, we have to run back to the early

e Aham kara, or I - ness,”a stage that may be

e lower animals around us. Vibrations caused by the

external objects are set up i n the brain,transm itted

the astral body , and felt°

bv the consciousness as

before there is any l inki ng of these sensations tothat caused them ,

th is l i nking be ing a definite m en talperception . When perception begins the consciousnesshe physical and etheric bra i ns as a vehicle for i tself

,by

which i t knowingly gathers knowledge of the externalhis stage is long past i n our humani ty

,of course

,bu t its

may be seen when the consc iousness takes up a

ng to rebirth the chi ld begins to take notice,”

say, that is, to relate a sensation arisi ng in its own

to an impression made upon its new sheath,or

external object , and thus to notice ” the obj ect,to

a time the perception of an obj ec t is not necessary inthe pictu re of that obj ect may be present to the consc ioust finds i tself able to recal l the appearance of an objectnot contacted by any sense ; such a m em oried percep

a m ental im age, and these make up theness gathers from the outside world . Onand the first stage of this activi ty is the

inaryto“ reasoning ” upon them .

the ideas wi th each other, andthem from thesimul taneous o r

after tim e . I n

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MAN AND m s Booms. 227

one thing to another is a d isti nct m ark of growth in the man

h imself, for i t shews that he is add i ng something of his own to thei nformation contributed from outside . This work ing on the

collected materials has an eflect on the physical vehicle i tself.When the mind l i nks two perceptions together, i t also sets up— as i t

is causi ng correspond i ng v ibrations i n the brai n— a l ink between thesets of vibrations from which the perceptions arose . For as them ind - body is thrown i nto activi ty , i t acts on the astral body and th isagain on the etheric and dense bod ies, and the nervousm atter of thelatter vibrates under the impulses sent through ; th is action shews

i tself as electrical d ischarges, and m agnetic cu rren ts play betweenmolecu les and groups of m olecu les, causi ng i ntricate i nter - relations.

These leave what we m ay call a nervous track , a track along whichanother curren t wi l l r un more easi ly than i t can run , say, athwart it,and ifa group of molecules that were concerned i n a vibration shou ldbe agai n m ade ac tive by the consc iousness repeating the idea thatwas impressed upon them , the d istu rbance there set up read i ly runsalong the track form ed be tween i t and another group by a previouslink i ng

,and calls that other group i n to activi ty, and i t sen ds up to

the m i nd a v ibration which , after the regu lar transformations,

presen ts i tse lf as an associated idea . Hence the great importance ofassociat ion , this action of the brai n bei ng sometim es exceed inglytroublesome

, as when some fool ish or lud icrous idea has been l inkedwi th a serious or a sacred one . The consciousness cal ls up the sacredidea in order to dwel l upon it , and suddenly

,qu i te wi thou t its

consen t , the grinning face of the i n trud ing idea, sent up by them echanical action of the brain , thrusts i tself through the doorway ofthe sanctuary and defiles i t . Wise m en payatten tion to association ,and are carefu l how they speak of the m ost sacred th ings

,lest som e

foolish and ign orant person shou ld m ake a connecting link betweenthe holy and the si l ly or the coarse , a l ink which afterwards wouldbe l ikely to repeat i tself i n the consciousness. Usefu l is the preceptof the great Jewish Teacher :

“ G ive not that which is holy to thedogs, neither cast ye your pearls before sw i ne.

Another mark of progress appears when a m an begins toregulate his conduct by conclusions arrived at wi th in , instead of byimpu lses received from wi thout . He is then acting from his own

store of accumu lated experiences, rem em beri ng past happeni ngs,

LUCIFER .

compari ng resu l ts obtained by d ifferent lines of action in thepast ,and decid ing by these as to the l i ne of action he wi l l adopt i n the

present . He is beginning to forecast, to foresee, to j udge of the

future by the past, to reason ahead by rem embering what has alreadyoccurred

,and as a m an does this there is a d istinct growth of him as

man . He maysti l l be confined to function ing in his physical bra in s,he may sti ll be i nactive ou tside them

,but he is becom i ng a

developing consciousness which is beginn ing to behave as an

i nd ividual,to choose its own road i nstead of drift i ng wi th c i rcum

stances, or bei ng forced along a particular l i ne of action by som e

pressure from wi thout . The growth of the m an shews itself i n th isdefinite way, and he developes more and m ore of what is ca l ledcharacter

,m ore and m ore of w il l - power .

Strong- w i l led and weak - wi l led persons are d istingu ished by

their d ifferen ce i n th is respect . The weak - w i l led m an is movedfrom outside, by outer attractions and repu lsions, whi le the stron gwil led man is m oved from inside, and continual ly m asters c ircumstan ces by brin ging to bear upon them appropriate forces

,gu ided

by his store of accum ulated experiences. This store,which the

m an has in m any l ives gathered and accum ulated,becomes m ore

and m ore avai lable as the physical brain s become m ore trai ned and

refined,and therefore m ore receptive : the store is i n the m an

,but

he can only use as m uch of i t as he can impress on the physicalconsciousness. The man h im self has the m em ory an d does the

reasoning ; the m an himself judges, chooses, decides ; but he has todo all th is through his physical and etheric brains he m ust workand act by wayof the physical body , of the nervous m echanism ,

and

of the etheric organ ism therewi th connected . As the brain becom esm ore impressible, as he improves its material and brings i t m oreunder his control, he is able to use i t for better expression of him self.

How then shal l we, the l iv ing men,try to train our veh ic les

of consciousness, in order that they m av serve as better instrum ents ? We are not now study ing the physrcal developm ent of thevehicle

,bu t its train ing by the consciousness that uses i t as an in

strum ent of thought . The m an dec ides that i n order to make m ore

useful this vehicle of his, to the im provem en t of wh ich physica l l y

he has already d irected his atten tion , he m ust train i t to answer

prom ptly and consecutively to the im pu lses he transm i ts to it ; in

MAN AND m s Booms. 229

order that the brain may respond consecutively , he wi l l h imselfth ink consecu tively

,and so send ing to the brai n sequential impulses

he wi l l accustom i t to work sequential ly by l inked groups of molecules, i nstead of by haphaz ard and un related v ibrations. The m an

i nitiates, the bra in only im itates, and unconnected careless think i ngsets up the habi t i n the brai n of form ing unconnected vibratory

groups. The trai n ing has two stages : the man , determ in ing thathe wi ll th ink consecut ively, tra i ns his m ental body to l ink thoughtto thought and not to al ight anywhere in a casual wav ; and then ,by th inki ng thus, he tra ins the brai n which vibrates m answer toh is thought . In this way the physical organism— the nervous and

the etheric system s— get i nto the hab i t of work ing in a system aticway , and when their owner wants them they respond promptly andi n an orderly fashion , when he requ ires them they are ready to hishand . Between such a trained vehicle of consciousness and onethat is untra ined

,there is the k i nd of d ifference that there is between

the tools of a careless workman , who leaves them d irty and blunt ,unfi t for use, and those of the man who makes his tools ready

,

sharpens them and cleans them,so that when they are wanted

they are ready to his hand and he can at once use them for thework dem and ing his atten tion . Thus shou ld the physical veh iclebe readv always to answer to the cal l of the m ind .

ANN IE BESANT .

(T0 be' row /uda i.)

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shrism. 23 1

the name,one th ing seems tolerably clear, nam ely , that though

the name was Mahomm edan , the th ing i tself was not of Mahomm e

dan growth at al l,and if we would trace its beginnings, we m ust

look far back , ages before the birth of the great prophet of Arabia .

There has been m uch difl'

erence of opin ion among students of

Shfism in the West as to whence were drawn thei r phi losophy andth eir m etaphysical conceptions, som e hold ing that Sfifism was m orei ndebted to the Greek than to any other source

,and that i t was

real ly an outgrowth of the Platonic and Neoplatonic schools ; som ethat Christian Gnostic i nfluence is mai nly recogni z able, and othersagai n

,as for example, Palm er, from whose adm irable l i ttle book

treating of the Sfifistic Theosophy of the Persians I shal l have toquote

,rather i ncl i ne to the bel ief that i t is i n real i ty a developm ent

of the primmval rel igion of the Aryan race .

I t does not seem to me possible to decide the exact channel ofi nfluen ce which is responsible for Sufi thought ; as a m atter of factthe various Silfi wri ters appear to d iffer very widely i n many of

their conceptions, and whi le one seem s to reflect the ChristianGnostic i nfluence, another seem s to lean m ore d irectly towards theNeoplatonic school

,and a thi rd to be m ore i ndebted to the m eta

physical and phi losophic system s of Ind ian thought . In any caseI th ink we shal l not be far wrong if we adopt Palm er

’s view,

andrecogni ze that the underlying spi ri t of Sfi fism received its impu lsefrom the “ prim eval rel igion of the Aryan race

,

”as i t wi l l then

be brought into close relationship also with Gnosticism and Neo

platonism , both of wh ich seem to be closely related to the sam eparen t stem . From the conditions of the t im es

,geographical ly and

oth erwise , there is every reason to suppose that mystical thought andm ystical ph ilosophies, both from Europe and from Ind ia, cam e intotouch wi th S t

‘

ifism,and i n al l probabi l i ty exercised som e i nfluence

and left som e m ark upon it.Persia m ay be regarded as the hom e of the system ,

as i t is i n

Persian so i l that i t seem s to have flourished most v igorously,and i t is

to Persian wri ters we m ust turn if we wish to gai n any insight intoSufi thought . Now St‘tfi is a nam e which , although possibly original ly used i n a m ore l im i ted sense

,has now com e to be used to cover

al l the sects wh ich,wi thin the l im i t of the Mahomm edan fai th

,

profess to fol low the mystical interpretation of the scriptures, and

23 2 LUCIFER .

which , i n so far as they do so,are opposed to the m ore popular an d

consequently orthodox v iew of th ings. As we can very eas i lyim agine. these sects difl

'

er very widely in the details of the v iews

they profess, and in the presen t day i n Persia the term is very

loosely used, so that those who profess freethought i n m at ters

rel igious,or hold v iews at variance wi th orthodoxy

,are th us

described .

In all parts of the Mahommedan world are to be found ord ersof fakirs and dervishes

,many of which are the debased rem n an ts of

m ovem ents wh ich seem to have had their origi n in the purer form s

of this m ystic ism , and Sufism in one form or another has been a

very considerable factor i n Mahomm edanism,from its rise in the

seven th century of our era to the present day. I t wi l l thereforebe read i ly understood that the subject is one which covers a

very wide field , and which em braces many d ifferent types of

mystic ism .

Of what was understood by Sufism in its earl iest days there isvery l i ttle record

,bu t i t would seem that the main teachings of the

earl iest of its exposi tors were, first,the real i ty of the inn er l ife and

the com parative unimportance of outward Observances ; second , thenecessi ty of an exclusive love of God ; and

,third

,the desirabi l ity of

ascetic pract ices, wi th the v iew of dom inating the lower nature and

of procuring what were cal led the states of ecstasy , duri ng which thesou l contemplated the Suprem e Being face to face. In other words,Sufism in its ori gin wou ld seem to have been m ore a ru le of l ifethan a philosophical system . But as tim e went on

, philosophicand metaphysical ideas gathered around i t un ti l the system

gained its ful lest development abou t the th irteenth and fourteenthcenturies. It is in this period that the greater num ber of the m oreelaborate treatises on Siifism were com posed , those which m ay be

regarded as touching the high - water m ark of the system,and wh ich

have ever sin ce served as authori ties for its fol lowers.

One of the m ost noted of these is the Persian poem entitledGuls/mn - z

'

- m z,which means “ The Mystic R ose Garden

,

”wr i tten

by Sa’d nu din Mahm ud Shabistan ,

in the year 1 3 1 7 A .D .

or 7 1 7 years after the fl ight of the prophet to Med ina. Anoth ervery celebrated work is the .Ma maz rz

'

,which deals wi th the m ysti

cism of the Sftfis, and was com posed by Jalél ud din Muhamm ed

susisn . 23 3

n early a cen tury earl ier— it has been described as the B ible of Persia.

Another very i nteresting source of i nformation respecting the Sitfismof a later period is the Dabble" ,

a treatise on the various rel i gionsprevai l ing in the seventeenth century which the au thor had an ‘

Oppor

tunity of i nvest igating . There is some doubt as to the identity of

the author, but i t seem s fairly certai n that he was one Moshan Faniby nam e, who seems himself to have belonged to the sect . Theseare the sources on which I shal l pri ncipal ly draw i n endeavouri ngto present som e idea of what was understood by Sitfism at a time

when it was i n its prim e .There is one th ing that is almost certain to create considerable

prejud ice at first sight in the m inds of Western students o f

m ysticism who turn to these wri ters,nam ely

,the constant recur

rence of such term s as wine,taverns

,drunkenness

,l ips, tresses,

k isses, and m uch more i n the sam e strai n throughou t the works of

the Sufi mystics. There have been those i ndeed who have m aintained that these wri ters when speak ing of such things usedthem i n their obvious and ord inary m eaning , and that so far frombeing gu ides to the spiri tual l ife

,these poem s are noth ing m ore

than the erotic and bacchanal ian effusions of material istic andsensuous Orien tals ; nay, even among their own countrymen therehave been those who have taken them l i teral ly

,but i t seem s almost

i ncred ible that such a view can be seriously entertained against allthe Sfifi wri ters, for all

,or nearly all

, make use of these terms.

Agai n we have authors like Mahm ud i n the Guls/zan - r'

- ras ex

plicitlydenying the outer m eaning and setti ng forth the inner,as

i n the fol low ing, where the question is asked :“What m eans the

m ystic by these expressions of his ? What does he i nd icate by ‘eye ’

and ‘lip’? What seeks he by ‘cheek

,

’ ‘curl,

’ ‘down,

’

The poet goes on to explai n that When these words are heard bythe sensual ear, at first they denote objects of sense . Howcan the m ysteries beheld i n ecstatic vision be i nterpreted by spokenwords When m ystics treat of these m ysteries they i nterpret themby types .

”(Gubkcm- i- m a

,Whinfield‘

s Translation, p .

Again ,Jalalud din R um i says,“ They [the Sitfis] profess eager

desire,but wi th no carnal afl

'

ection , and ci rculate the cup, bu t nom aterial goblet

,since al l things are sp iri tual

,al l is m ystery w i th in

mystery.

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susism. 23 5

Whether the em ploym en t of so sensual a symbology,however

suggestive, to typify spiri tual veri ties is wise,is a very open ques

tion,as i t seems by no m eans unlikel y to lead to grave abuses, and

resu l t very possibly in a debased form of m ystic ism . The question,

i n any case, opens up a very wide field for d iscussion on which .at

presen t, I do not propose to enter .The modem thus treats of the nature of Dei ty : The Un i

versal Bei ng [in the conception of the Sufi] , is distinct from any

in tel lectual and exterior existence , i nasmuch as every ind ividualfrom among the i ntel lectual and exterior be ings belongs to someclass of beings ; but the Universal Being is not subord inate to thecond i tion ofanyth ing ; He is absolute and sovere ign , and not general ,not partial , not spec ial , not common— for I t is by i tself One and nota mu ltiple.

" Attribu tes and names belong to the man ifested Dei ty,

bu t behind th is degree l ies “ the R eal Be ing,under cond i tion of no

substance whatever ; this degree is cal led the ‘degree of unity ’

and all nam es and attribu tes are (as i t were) consumed by thisdegree

.which is expressed as the‘ real i ty of real i ties.

’ This Rea lBeing manifests i n all existences, and under the cond i tion of ‘

a

th ing and no thing ’ is the form of the Universe .” That is to say,

that imm ed iately on the unm anifest One becom i ng manifested,

this element of dual i ty appears, the form less assumes form ,l im i ted

by “ the pa irs of opposi tes here described as entity and non - enti ty .

“ The first attribute of th is Suprem e which em erged i nto m anifestation from within was Intel l igence , and i n this degree all thefixed real i ties ’

were under i ntellectual form s. Here the “ fixedreal i ties seem to m ean the “ eternal ideals or prototypes

,

” thearchetypal universe , recal l i ng the Neoplatonic and Gnostic system s.

The nam es of God are, they say,of th ree k inds. F irst,the name

of the unmanifested ; such as the absolute,the pure holy root

or essence of substance . Second , the nam e of the manifested ; suchas excel l ing in attributes, l iv ing, acting, creator, the m ercifu l .But the th ird and last name is the greatest, nam ely,

“ the concea led- the mysterious.

”

This seems fairly to correspond to the ideaswhich are associatedwith the conceptions of the Dei ty in the threefold manifestation as

the first,second

,and th ird Logos.

Turning to the Gals/mus l i n: the fol lowing passage is of

23 6 w oman .

i nterest and worthy of rem embrance , as i t lays special stress on the

fact that,far as the m ind and reason can take us i n fol lowing our

“

speculations as to the nature of the Dei ty, there are l im i ts beyondwhich they cannot pass, and beyond which it is vain to attem pt tospeak in term s of the i ntel lect .

To th ink on the mercies is the condit ion of your path .

B u t to th ink on the essence of the Truth is grievous sin ,

Th inking on the essence of the Truth is vain ,

Know it is im possible to demonstrate the man ifest . (p .

As Lahij i in his comm entary explains, knowledge of God isgained by i llum ination and i ntu i tion , and dem onstration of u ltim atefacts of consciousness is impossible .The Guls/zan - zlm z thus conti nues“ S ince hisworks are manifested from his essence

,his essen ce is

not m anifested from his work .

”

Though the Angels stand hard by the th rone

They reach not the station , I am with God .

”

L ike as h is ligh t utterly burns up the Angels,So it burn s up reason from head to foot.

Reason’s ligh t applied to the very L igh t of ligh ts

Is as the eye of the head applied to the sun

The eye is darkened so that it cannot see it.

Th is blackness, if you knew it, is the ligh t of very Being,

In the land of darkness is the well- spring of life.

I f you desire to behold the eye of the sun

Y ou m ust m ake use of another body.

You m ay look on the brillian t sun in the water,Since its brigh tness shows less brigh tly therein .

Not-being is the m irror of Absolute Being

Therein is reflected the sh in ing of the Truth .

The U n ity is exposed to v iew in th is pluralityL ike as when you coun t one to becom e m anv .

With regard to the purpose of creation , as giv ing a h int as to

the “why

”which lies at the back of all manifestation

, we find

constant reference bei ng m ade by these Sufis to the traditioncurrent am ong Mahomm edans

,which runs as fol lows

“David inqu ired , saying, 0 Lord , whyhast thou created m an

SUFiSM . 23 7

kind ? God sa id , I was a hidden treasure, and I desired to becom eknown , and I created the world i n order to be known .

”

The concept ion , therefore, is that the purpose of creationis the evolution , or the bu i ld i ng up , of self- conscious centres or

be ings, and that in man l ies the germ and the fu l l potentiali ty,though latent, of becom ing a knower of the Self.With regard to man himself, the correspondence between man

and the universe , or, as i t is somet im es cal led , between man,the

m icrocosm ,and the universe , the macrocosm ,

is m uch insisted on .

“Not- bei ng is the m i rror, the world the reflection , and man

is as the reflected eye of the Unseen Person . You are that reflectedeye

,and He the l ight of the eye . In that eye His eye sees his own

eye . The world is a man,and man is a world . There is no clearer

explanation than th is. When you look well into the root of thematter He is at once seer, see i ng eye , and th ing seen (p .

In the .Ma mam’

(p. 226)we find the fol lowi ng prayer addressedto the De i ty :

“ Wri te on,O sk i lful fair- wri ter ! impri nting every moment in

Not - being the fair forms of the world of ideas,to confound al l

thought !”

Of the universe i tself i t is said (Galshan - i- m a,p . 1 7)

I fyou take one atom link from its place

The en t ire un iverse falls to ru in .

The whole in a d i z zywh irl, and yet no single partPlacing foot beyond the lim it of cont ingency.

The nom inal being holding each one in bondage,

Each is in despair at its part iculariz at ion from the whole.

You m ay sayeach is ever travelling and yet restrained .

Each is ever being unclothed and clothed upon ,

Each is always in motion . yet ever at res t,

Never beginn ing and never end ing.

Each ever cogn i z an t of h is own essence, and for that cause

Ever pressing h is way towards the throne on h igh .

Beneath the veil of each atom is h iddenThe heart - ravish ing beauty of the Beloved

’

s face.

The beauty and truth of this description wi l l,I think

,be

appreciated by students of Theosophy .

The indestructibi l ity of substance is referred to i n the Dams/an,

as followsThe substan ce of anything cannot be caused to vanish into

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LETTER TO THE AMERICAN SECTION .

27 , LEINSTER GARDENS ,LONDON , W.

DEAR MR . FUL LERTON ,— If I had been able to take part i n the

proceed i ngs of the Chicago Convention of the American Section of

the Theosophical Soc iety I should have been chiefly anxious to cal lthe atten tion of your friends to certai n broad princ iples of Theoso

phical thinking wi th which , as I am to my great regret unable tovisit you this year

,I now propose to deal i n wri ting .

Theosophy , d i fferi ng in th is respect from other systems of

eth ical , philosophical , or theological teaching, aims at an exactcomprehension of the laws which actually as a matter of fact regulate the spi ri tual evolution of Man . Anyone whose m i nd is attunedto the m ethods of Nature wi l l feel sure that

,however subtle and

obscure those laws may be , the growth of the interior facu l ties ofMan must proceed on some systematic plan . We may assume that

before anyone touches the confines of Theosophical thinki ng he hasarrived at the conviction that the soul is an enti ty of wh ich the physical personal i ty is an expression for the tim e being . Such enti ties,around us in great number, are obviously at very d ifferent stages ofgrowth . I t wou ld be chi ld ish to imagine the ultim ate possibi l i tiesof progress to have been already reached i n any given case . Everyaspi ring th inker m ust yearn to grasp the principles accord ing towhich further progress is possible. The ardour of hisown aspiration

persuades him that somehow there m ust be a wayof stimu lating theevolutionary tendencies wh ich have brought him to the po in t atwhich he stands. He is on the alert to seiz e any clue that may

prom ise to lead him to the l ight of knowledge. Without a clue,even

,he may d im ly feel that a good li fe of doing to others as he

would be done by m ust be conducive to the d ivine plan , whatever itis, which provides for sp iritual exaltation ; but he thirsts for a m ore

LUC IFER .

exact appreciation of the m ethods by which that result is to be

accompl ished , for a clear v iew of the road to be travel led,of the

goals to be attained , of the tasks he is requ ired to perform ,if such

there may be , i n order that he may have the satisfaction of becom

ing a helpful , useful m ember of the vast fam i ly of humanity towhichhe belongs.

Theosophical teaching, indeed , in som e of its aspects m ay be

prod igiously helpful to people who have by no m eans reached the

state of m i nd j ust described , for to those who are sadly wanderingi n the darkest uncertai nty concerning the first fundam en tal notion

that the human soul is an entity at all, apart from its physical man i

festation ,our system of m ental cul ture may afford the first secure

footing from which further progress may be possible ; but for the

m om ent I want to dwell on what seem to me the importan t prin

ciples of Theosophical teaching as i t affects those who are already

possessed wi th a lofty conception of human nature and desti nies, butare outside the area of exact knowledge concerning the laws an d

cond i tions that determ ine its further expansion .

To them ,i t seem s to me i n the first i nstance, the great message

of Theosophy m ay be thought of as addressed . We m ust not allowthe scrupu lously non - dog matic character of the m essage to blind us

to the idea that,if i t is anything at all

,i t is i n its first broad ou tlin es

a m essage from those who know to those who as yet do not know,

how m atters stand as regards the veri table science of sp iri tualNature. It is a statem ent pu t forward on no authori ty that the

person to whom i t is addressed can possibly recogni z e i n the fi rstinstance, and to begin wi th , claims atten tion on its own in trinsicm eri ts alone . Has i t a prima

‘

fad e aspect of cred ibi l i ty ? I f so,it

is worth exam ining in detai l .What are the m ai n features of the statement ?

That the evolution of the sou l (that sou l i tself having beenevolved by such and such processes i n the past) is carried on by

m eans of successive physical m anifestationson such and such a p lan .

That the law of the conservation of energy holds good on the

moral as wel l as on the physical plane, and that Karma,the work

i ng of cause and effect on higher planes, determ i nes the condition sof these successive manifestations.

That back to the God l ike level of consciousness and be ing ou t

L s’

r'rsx

'

to AMER ICAN sec t ion . 241

of which the system to which we belong emerged , the progress of

the new i nd iv idual i ties tha t have been evolved by the working of

spiri t in m atter during the l ife of that system need suffer no check .

That there are no l im i ts to the degree of exaltation each such ind ividuality, each such imperishable Ego, may eventually attai n .

That far beyond us on the pathway lead i ng to those immeasur

able heights stand the E lder Brethren of humanity,those who have

earl iest fathomed and conform ed themselves to the d ivi ne purposeof the system ; that some of those amongst ord inary humani ty haveconscious touch w i th them ; that the laws which regulate advancealon g the path they have travel led are not d isgu ised or secret butare— so and so— in tel l igible for all who feel impel led to study them ,

a feeling which has been suffocated of late centu ries in the Westernworld to a great extent by the concentration of effort on m aterialcivil iz ation .

Each of these grea t heads of the Theosophical message has beenundergoi ng enormous expansion duri ng the last doz en or fifteenyears

,and so m any wi l l ing and wel l - m eaning workers have thrown

themselves duri ng that period into the task of expand ing them essage that som e of its deta i ls have been entangled but such entan glem ents are of l i ttle mom ent as regards people who hold on tofundam en tal pri nciples. For them , as regards detai ls, i ntel lectualvigour w i l l be stim u lated by the necessi ty at every turn of check ingspecific i tem s of esoteric doctri ne by the criteria of reason ; byweighing the value of test imony if the matter relates to some question that can only be determ ined by the exercise of transcendentalfaculties ; by com paring each new bi t of teaching they may receive

wi th the whole structure bu i l t up i n their m inds and observing howi t will fit ; by keeping their spi ri tual em otions, if the expression may

be tolerated,on thei r guard aga inst vague sonorous phrases that

convey no defini te meaning. They can scarcely be prej ud iced to

any ser ious extent by confl icts of statem ent among Theosophic

writers on subjec ts that easi ly awa i t exact determ i nation at a later

stage of progress, if they keep i n touch with the wel l - understoodlaws which ac tual ly govern that progress.

My own attempt to present those laws i n a simple,lucid and

i ntel l igible shape,is em bod ied i n the Transt of Me L ondon

L odge called“ The Path of Initiation . In m ore glowing or

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LETTER To an nmcan sacrxox . 243

vation in himself of an interior cond i t ion that maymake him notunworthy of such companionship, towards whatever work i n theservice of the d ivi ne schem e at large he shal l find ready for him totake up when those levels are reached , then he wil l be sh ieldedth roughout his course by a motive which wi l l be qu ite sufl

'

iciently

exal ted to ensure the securi ty of his advance . If lower motivesplay any part i n the feel ings which anim ate a studen t of Occul t ism

,

if he relates the objects of his pursu i t i n any way to the world lyl ife

,there is grave peri l in his way, danger lest even the good

elem ent in his complex motive should i tself be played upon byinim ical powers, and , supposi ng him to be psychical ly endowed , lestfalse beacons should be held out to him .

With these reservations the course of the Theosophical studentseems to me simple en ough , even in Am ericawhere unhappi ly therehas been a greater degree of internal d isturbance wi thin the Soc ietythan has been wi tnessed elsewhere. I need hard ly say that for

m yself, myestimate of the extent to which d ifferent lodges, sections,

organ iz ations with i n the Theosophical movem ent reflect accuratelythe ideas of our E lder Brethren is not determ i ned by my estimateof any personal i ties assoc iated at d ifferent tim es and places with theleadership of the movement . I t ought to be real iz ed by everyoneseriously engaged i n the movem ent, that if our fundam ental posi tionis a true one , there m ust be man y persons am ong us by this timewho have made sufficient progress along the path to be trustworthywi tnesses of the truth . Any one person may be entangled i n m islead ing relationships ou the astral plane ; several persons concurren tly i n a posi tion to exercise consc iousness on that and higherplanes

,and beari ng harmon ious testim ony from d ifferent po i nts of

view, maybe rel ied upon , when confirm ing teaching i tself i n harm ony w i th reason . As tim e goes on the Theosophical body wi ll bestrengthened by the heal thy and natural developm ent of the higherfaculties of other d isc iples i n turn . Having m eanwh ile abundantreason to be qu i te sure that the sym pathetic regard of the greatMaster from whom myown teaching has been derived is continuously d irected towards the organi z ation of wh ich my own Lodge isa part

,I am m ore than content to do my best for the spread of Theo

sophical ideas with the machinery of that organi z ation wi thou tstopping to enqu ire what may be the m erits or shortcom ings of any

244 worm-m .

other organi z ation , i n whatever external forms other workersendeavour to express their anxiety to promote true sp iritual progress— which can only have one goal if i t is true . I have no doubt theywi ll conduce to the comm on purpose in so far as their m otives aresimple, unworldly, and devoted to beautiful ideals ; but at al l even ts,i n addressing our friends and fellow- theosophists at Chicago

,I may

be enti tled to give them the assurance that in mv unhesi tating con

viction thev have made no m istake i n remain ing attached to the old

organi z ation , not because this or that nam e is associated w i th it bu tbecause i t is the organi z ation through which to all i ntents and pur

poses,the whole Theosoph ic message in its breadth and am p l i tude

has been poured forth for the benefit of our generation , and becausei t has becom e and is becom ing through the developm ent of som e

among its m embers a better and better channel for the transm issionof m ore detai led knowledge . The work that has been done duringthe last twelve m onths for the expansion and ampl ification of that

knowledge, in the London Lodge and by means of the publ icat ionsissued by the Theosophical Publ ishing Soc iety in connection withthe European Section ,

affords abundant evidence to this effect . We

are in possession now of such floods of teach ing and i nformation,

tend ing in every d irection to strengthen and fortify our first broadconceptions of spiri tual Nature, that no one who has kept abreastof our progress can anymore relapse from Theosophical en l ightenment than the m odern scientist cou ld relapse from the views of

physical Nature he has reached , back into those which preva iled inthe dark ages of ignorance and supersti tion . Theosophical studv

has thus becom e for all who take proper advantage of its opportun ities so imm easurably m ore interesting than personal questions

affecting the Soc iety’s organ i z ation , that we may surely hope to seethese fall m ore and more out of notice as tim e goes on .

As is i nvolved in what I have said , i t seems to me a p i ty thatTheosophical students i n any part of the

“

world should feel i tnecessary to pursue theirstudyunder d ifferent flags, but the im portan tth ing is that they should pursue their study . Just as certainl y as o ne

sun i l lum inates the system,those who make real in terior progress

on the l i nes I have i nd icated above m ust com e u ltimately in torelationship wi th the one great advance guard of humanity led bythose I call our E lder Brethren . But m eanwhile the only way each

LETTER 10 AMER ICAN SECT ION . 245

person in turn can dec ide i ntell igently how to d irect his earl ier footsteps is by mak i ng h imself fairly m aster of the teachings emanatingfrom the various fountains of Theosophic l i terature , some of themflowing j ust now wi th such remarkable activity . None of these

,

anymore than any one fountai n of i nspiration in the past , should bethought of as exclusively entitled to respect . Any claim on the

part of anyone wri ter to m onopol i z e the wisdom of the Adepts isi ntrinsically absurd . This m ust always flow to the world throughmany channels

,and any given student m ust be i ndeed sure of the

absolute puri ty of any one such channel before he can afford to disregard all others. So

,if I may venture to offer any d irect counsels

to friends and fellow- students i n America,myconcluding suggestion

m ust point to the propriety of m ak ing each considerable group of

Theosophical st udents a vortex of all cu rrent exposi tions ofspiri tualscien ce which seem to have any prima

‘

faa'

e claim to authen tic inspiration ,

i n order that the m em bers of such group m ay be enabledto exam i ne and compare the various expositions wi thout favour orprej ud ice

,hold i ng fast resolu tely to that which is good

,from what

ever source it emanates, and so bui ld ing up i n their own m inds a

con ception of sp iritual Nature wh ich shal l be i n all respects logicaland coherent

,which shal l never be regarded as beyond the reach of

readjustm ent and extension , but which shal l as regards its generalstructure be trustworthy en ough to l ive by and to d ie by , and tocl imb by towards loftier spiri tual knowledge and developm entthrough successive l ives to come .

In cord ial friendship and sympathy, yours sincerely ,A . P . S INNET’

I‘

.

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LETTERS TO A CATHOL IC PR IEST . 247

that the God they made and worshipped , with whatever good resul tfor themselves, is not (hard though the saying may be) one whichwe, at our present stage of moral feel i ng, can fal l down before , wi thout doing violence to the deepest aspirations and the noblest feel i ngsof our hearts. I t needs onlv to go through the articles of yourcreed wi th unprej ud iced eyes, to see that He is not good enough

,

j ust enough,noble enough , to satisfy souls to whom the centuries

which have passed have already given gl impses ofsom ething beyondthe highest ideal of earl ier times. I t m ight have been d ifferen t hadnot the good and holy soulswho fram ed that creed been hamperedby the supposed necessi ty of bringing into their schem e of d ivinelove and wisdom , al l the j ealousy and cruel ty of the Jehovah of theJew ish scriptures. Had they not fal len into that one fatal error mypresen t task m ight never have been needed . As i t is, one m ustspeak , however reluctantly .

From this po int of view i t wi l l be seen that the personal m attersof your reply, such as that I am too sensi tive

,too imaginative

,that

I have not taken a fair case,that the world is not so bad after al l

,

and so forth , m ay be set aside , as th ings for whose d iscussion life isnot long enough . I wi l l i ngly grant you that in look ing at such a

gu tter- child as I pictured to you , i t is hard no! to imagine that , forsom e reason or other, God must have been angry wi th him ,

evenbefore his bi rth ; bu t let us, for a mom ent , exam i ne the explanation

you ofl'

er. You say that six thousand years ago the first man andwoman ate an apple from a tree which God Alm ighty had forb iddenthem , and that for th is reason God hates all their posteri ty and wi l lcontinue to do so as long as the world lasts ! Now,

even if this wereso,i t would not i n any way clear up my difficulty

— the enor mous{aq ua/171 1's of b irth . If we have all sinned i n Adam

,

"we surely

should all be equally punished for i t . But putti ng this aside, only

stop to ask yourse lf this one question : Is this a God or a Devi lwhich I am setting up for worship ? Yon saywe were made i n theimage ofGod but have lost it . May we not fairly congratu late ourselves that , our very worst , ourmost im placable and cruel hatred doesnot i n any way approach sud : an ideal And if we ask, as we wel l

may, where is the j ustia'

of this conti nual creation,generation after

generation , of new sou ls to bear th is burden of God ’s hatred for the

sin of Adam , so that , as your own theologians say, the eating of

248 LUCIFER .

that apple has been a greater m isfortune for m ank ind than all the

evi l which has afflicted i t ever si nce, you answer that God is infi

n i te,and therefore

,any d isobed ien ce to Him is an in fin ite crime,

deserv ing all possible pun ishm ent to infinity Good heavens ! Sucha doctri ne m ight be professed by the trem bl i ng courtiers of a cruel

but om nipoten t lunatic l ike Nero or Hel iogabalus ; i t m igh t bepossible to a Lou is the Fourteenth brought up from i nfancy to feel

himself a god am ongst worshipping courtiers ; but to say such a

thing of an all- wise , all- good Dei ty ! The hab i t of perpetual

repeti tion of a form of words blunts our perceptions ; m illion s of

good,holy

,wel l - m eaning people do say th is of their God and think

no harm but only let us open our m inds to perceive what it really

is we are saying,and can you

— dare you— assert that anyon e out of

a lunatic asylum could bel ieve this of his God, or that any one couldbe mad enough to be able to [one a God of such inconceivablecr uel ty ? No

,if th is be R evelation ,

let us go back to Idolatry ;

the lowest savage never im agined a fetish so utterly unworthyofour reverence . If “ the gods of the n ations are but idols,

”at least

they are not JehovahDo you improve matters by tel l ing me how easy it is to lift off

th is terrible burden of God ’s wrath— that all that is needfu l is thatsom e one shou ld pour water on the child ’s head and mu tter som edoz en words

,and all is set right ? Not so ; all you do is to add to

the i nconceivable cruel ty a sti l l less conceivable l ightness of m ind

(no other word w il l express i t ) the very last qual i ty we cou ld th inkof attribu ti ng to a God . For your fundam ental posi tion is that Godhas reaso n to be angry wi th the chi ld (no m atter that your bestattempts cannot d iscover any reason you can explain to us), and can

i t be im agined that words said and water poured over an un consciouschild can al ter that unknown reaso n for His anger ? And if you say

that i t is a symbol ical action,i nvented by a lovi ng God as

, so to

speak, an excuse for the forgiveness He is longing to gran t , l ike thespri nkl i ng of blood on the Jewish door- posts i n Egypt when the

Angel of Death was to pass by , I m ust regretful ly rem i nd you thaton your own v iew four thousand years passed wi thout i t , and that

the vast maj ori ty of mank ind have never yet known of it, and n ever

wi ll . If th is be indeed love,i t can only be that of a Being lim ited

in power, ruled bysomething like the old fate above and beyond

LETTERS To A CATHOL IC PR IEST. 249

Him ; d id an Alm igh ty , al l - wise God wish that all m en should besaved , saved they m ust .have been— al l freewi l l notwithstand ing .

So self- evident is all th is that Protestan ts have practical lythrown over bel ief i n original sin and i n baptism also treating thelatter as a m ere form of adm ission to the external Christian comm u

n ityand cand id ly confessing that they do not understand what goodit actual ly does. But to do th is involves a freedom i n treating theu nm istakable words of the B ible which takes such persons out of

the category of B ible Christians (to use a favouri te ph rase) al to

gether ; and i n what I am saying,I am only deal i ng wi th those

who, l ike yourself, honestly profess and desire to find truth i n everyword of the B ible, as i t stands. And when

,i n my next letter, I

com e to speak of the Atonement , I th ink i t wil l appear that i t ish ard to treat these m ore “ enl ightened Protestants (to use thei rfavourite expression), as Christians, i n any reasonable sense of the

The m ere fact , however, that so m any who set great value onthe ir profession ofChristian ity (whatever its actual worth may be),have found i t practical ly impossible to accept the doc tri nes I havebeen d iscussi ng, notwi thstand i ng the plai n words in which theCh rist ian Revelation teaches them ,

is,i t seems to m e, of i tse lf

suflicien t j ustification for the query w i th which I ended my lastletter

,whether any R evelation , however supported by ev idence or

authori ty,could be enough to establ ish such a doctrine ; and I m ay

pass on to the main purport of your reply— your coun teq uestion,

what have I to ofl’er instead You judge rightly that I shou ld neverd ream of destroying

,unless I had som ething to take the place of

the ru i n . As long as I had noth ing, I kept si lence. I shou ld have

regarded myself as the m urderer of a sou l had I said a word whichm ight have broken the i l lusion of a fel low being sti l l able to findh appiness i n what was to me a bound less waste , dark and empty . Butn ow thingsarechanged , I [raresomethi ng to say,

though i t is entirelyou tside mypresent purpose to enter i nto anyargum ent or to set

forth evidence in support of it ; that has been abundantly done byo thers. I only wish here to set the two views side by side , and to askwhich of the two is the one which m ost satisfies your own sense of

what is reasonable,what is desirable ; which is the one you would

hon estly and tru ly w ish to bel ieve, if you had your choice ?

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LETTERS To A CATHOL IC PR IEST . 25 1

sin ce noth ing short of th is hard experience could break the evilhabits which have by slow degrees drawn i t aside from the straight

road and darkened its light, its share of that “ Light that l ightens

every man that cometh into the world And wi th th is i ntel l i giblev iew of its past and present com es the true hope for the future . I tis a very old and true remark that no hum an being, however low he

may have fal len ,is utterly wi thout some good feeli ng and far higher

up the scale, we each of us know many a sou l whose frequent fallsth rough human weakness are con ti nual ly accom panied by heartfel t

,

though va in desires to obtai n strength to stand . Are all these longings to end simply in add ing bi tterness to their eternal condemn ation

,

as is the Christian v iew ? Ah , not so ; for us. i n the golden wordsofKrishna i n the B hagaw d Gitri, No sou l which holds one rightdesire, goeth the road of loss.

” Not one such longing is there whichwill not manifest i tself i n the next earth ly life as new power— powerto do better ; and to hearten us i n the struggle, l ife after l ife, to riseabove our foes

,we have the precious consolation of the Voice of tire

S ilence :“ And if he fal ls

,e’en then he does not fal l i n vai n ; the

en em ies he slew in the last battle w i l l not return to l ife i n the nex tb i rth that will be his.

”

I think i t can hard ly be denied that (setti ng aside all questionof authority) such a v iew of the waywe come i nto existence i n th isi ncarnation is more agreeable to our in tel l igence and to our m oralsen se than the one which Christiani ty gives, and that it furnishes afair answer to your question ,

“What have you wi th which toreplace the Christian doctri ne ?” And from this follows a conclusion, in practice more im portant than i t looks at first sight

,that

th is bei ng so,the burden of proof, as a lawyer would say, l ies on

your side,not on ours. I m ean this : that i t is not enough for you

to put the first object ion which comes i nto your head,and pass on

your way ; i t is your busi ness to prove to us that your view, which

rm so immora l and improbable, is i n fact right and reasonable ,an d fai ling strict proof of th is we go on our way

,tak ing no further

notice of you . I t is,as things now stand

,Ch rist ian ity which is on

its trial , not what you would cal l heresy .

In my next letter I wi l l consider the answer which m ust havebeen

’

on you r l ips all the tim e you have been read ing th is.

“God

so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son .

252 LUCIFER .

I t is impossible to avoid this ; glad ly as I would have spared m yselfthe pai n of saying

,and you that of hearing, things which (express

them as del icately and tenderly as I can) m ust hurt not on ly yourfeel ings

,but those of almost everyone for whose feel i ngs I have any

care or- respect at al l . Bu t the doctrine of the Atonemen t— the

Precious Blood— the Sacrifice of the Son of God for man’s sin

,

is indeed the “article whereby the Church stands or fal ls — the

c i tadel,the last entrenchm ent of its defenders. You you rself know

well enough,and can bear wi tness for me, that for years back i t has

been myown refuge . In the m idst of all my rel igious d ifficu l t iesI have firm ly held and fai thful ly preached th is, which seem ed tome to be the on ly certainty in the world , the one rock left to cli ngto i n the general shipwreck

,that Jesus Christ came i nto th e world

,

and suffered and d ied, purely to m anifest the love His Father had

for us. It is a lovely dream ; inspiri ng, com forting, entire ly suffi

cient for the holy souls who fil l the soli tude of the Cloister,or for

the spiri tual gu idance of the good , innocent, simple creatu res whoform the m ass of those who weekly cluster round the pastor

's

confessional,

“ their consciences ful l of harm less l i ttle n oth ings,l ike their pockets or their workbags,

" to quote an apt saying of

N . Hawthorne’s. Is i t l ikely that I , of al l m en,wou ld wanton ly

say a word,breathe a sound which cou ld wake up a sou l wh ich

enjoys i t sti l l - I,who tremble, even to this day, at the rem em

brance of the agony of terror of blank darkness which fel l on myown sou l as I found i t van ishing, spi te of my m ost desperate struggles to hold i t to my heart sti l l , and fel t m yself stretching longingempty arm s in to the vast desolation all aroun d

,

“w i thout God and

wi thout hope in the world .

B ut,in truth

,there is no fear of disturbi ng the fai th of these

good , sim ple souls. There is no fear that the hearts which thethought of the love of God am fil l completely w i l l ever th ink of

anything else. My duty l ies wi th those hungry,unsatisfi ed souls,

my fel lows,whose w ider cul ture and deeper i ntu i tion have carried

them through all th is into the darkness beyond ; my m essage tothem ,

the old one that the darkness m ust be endured and maybe

conquered ; that before us,the “ forlorn hope ” of the advancing

tide of humanity, already begins to rise the dawn of a new and

glorious day. It is wi th this feel ing that I shal l take courage in

THEOSOPH ICA L ES .

my next to try to make i t clear that the worst mode of showi ng

reverence to the august figure of Christ cruc ified is to attem pt to

stay the tide at His feet , and that if we i ndeed succeed i n doing so

t hen in truth “ is Christ cruc ified i n vain .

"

Bel ieve me, yours very si ncerely,ARTHUR A . Wer. I.s .

THEOSOPH ICAL ACTIVITIES .

IND IAN SECTION .

Immed iately before her departure from India. Mrs. Besan t spen tseveral days at Bombay and Surat . At the latter place she gave two

p ublic lectu res to large and en thusiastic aud iences, d istributed the

p ri z es at the gi rls’

school. wh ich is m ain tained and m anaged by our

local Branch under the energetic and devoted gu idance of Babu Now

tam ram U . Trivedi , and spen t m any hou rs in conversation wi th the

m embers. arfswering their questions and removing their difficulties.

B esides these. meetings of the Branch were held . at which Mrs. Besan tadd ressed the members on poin ts of special importance in connect ionw ith their work and studies. The adm irable Spirit of harmony and

m utual affection wh ich characteri z es the Surat Branch rendered Mrs.

B es an t’s visit there an especially pleasan t one, in Spite of the heavyd em ands upon her time and strength .

At Bombay three public lectures were given . in wh ich the subjectso f “ Education , the “ Justification of Occult Teach ing by WesternScience, and Spiri tual Life in the World were dealt wi th . Mrs.

B esan t also delivered four lectures at each morn ing to the BombayBran ch , in which she gave a systematic exposition of the "

Law of

Sacrifice.

" These morn ing lectures were followed by a couple of hours’

conversation , in wh ich she replied to any question s put before her. I I I

add i tion to the above. she received visitors during the afternoons, and

several other small meetings were also held . Thus our Bombaym em bers had an exceed ingly useful and helpful few days, the eflects of

which ought to show ere long in the progress of the Branch .

Some changes have proved necessary in the offi ce staff of the

Sect ion at Headquarters, the carrying out of wh ich will . it is hoped .

considerably add to both the eflicieucy and the smoothness of the workof the Sect ion . The Join t General Secretary , Babu Upendra NathBasu, has laboured unwearyingly to get m atters in to order, and his

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THEOSOPH ICA L ACTIV ITIES . 255

B ranch, and its flourish ing cond ition shows how much one or two

earnest and devoted members like N . P . Subraman ia Iyer and the

late A . K rishnaswamy Iyer can do for the cause ofTheosophy by theirexample and gu idance. B . K .

EUROPEAN SECTION .

The ten th quarterly conference of the North of England Federationof the Theosoph ical Society was held on Saturday, Apri l asth . at

Harrogate, Mrs. Besan t presiding, and Mr . Leadbeater, the Assistan tSecretary of the Section , being presen t . The reports from the varioustown s showed growing activi ty and some in crease of in terest on the

part of the general public . In the even ing Mrs. Besan t spoke on The

Work of the T. S and on Sunday she delivered two lectures, whichwere well attended . On the following Sunday Mr. Leadbeater lecturedto a good aud ien ce, and he also lectured to the Lodge on May wt

and sth .

Mrs. Besant arrived in London early on Sundaymorning, Apri l1 9th , having had a good passage from India. The first lecture of the

series of th irteen , to be delivered in the smallQueen's Hall on Sunday

evenings, was given on May 3 rd to a good aud ience . Mrs. Besantalso delivered two lectures at the Blavatsky Lodge on Apri l 3 othand May 7th , on

“ Liberation by Action , the hall being, as usualon such occasions, qui te full. On April 9th Mr. Mead lectu redon the Upanishads, while the question of Mind occupied the Lodgeon April 1 6th and a3 rd , Mr . Leadbeater on the 1 6th describing the

Developmen t of Consc iousness,”

and Mr. K eightley on the a3 rd

tracin g the Growth of Mind .

" We go to press too soon to record thedelivery on May 1 sth of a lecture by Mr. Sinnett that prom ises to befull of in terest, on Alch emy and the Alchem ists. The last Thursdayin Maywillbe devoted to a study of “ The Platon ic Discipline

” by Mr.Mead . The Lodge kept Wh ite Lotus Day for the fifth time, and the

anniversary readings and address were delivered in an atmosphereheavy wi th the fragrance of the blossoms that told of the love and

gratitude in wh ich the memory of H . P . B . is kept.Mrs. Besan t visi ts Paris on June and ,

and will deliver two publiclectures as well as bold other meetings. She will go to Amsterdamand the Hague a li ttle later.

AMERI CAN SECTION .

The following brief notes on the Report of the Gen eral Secretaryof the American Section T. S . will be of in terest to our readers :

In eloquen t words Mr. Fullerton first depicts the darker side of the

prwen t Theosoph ical situation in America. He neither conceals nor

256 LUCIFER .

attempts to weaken its shadows ; they are dark enough as we all know .

B ut over against th is dark and sadden ing background som e more

cheering facts stand out the brigh ter for the con trast . First , an d above

all, comes the strengthen ing in moral fibre and fearless honesty, wh ichis already perceptible throughout the Society. And then even in the

h istory of the past year in America not a li ttle may be found that isboth cheering in the presen t and encouraging for the future.

The American Section now consists of fifteen Bran ches, several ofthose ex isting in the same neighbourhood having consolidated . The

number of newly adm itted members is as great as we could expect ,

though naturally sorely shrunken as compared with the years wh ich

preceded our late troubles.

The Section owes its li terary organ , Alercury,to the generosity of

Mr. W. J . Walters, of San Francisco, who also acts as its ed itor ; i t h asm ain tained a h igh level of in terest and ability th roughout the year .

I t had been in tended to con tinue the issue of Tbe Tlzeosophical Forum ,

but that was found im possible, owing both to wan t of m ean s an d even

more to the inability of Mr. Fullerton , who from the very outset h adbeen the most regular and reliable of its con tributors, to do m uchwriting. Th is gap was in part filled by the General Secretary of the

European Section , who generously con tributed a suflicien t num ber of

Vd/zans to furn ish one copy to each m ember at large and one copy to

each Branch .

The report concludes with som e earnest and eloquen t words, fromwh ich we extract the following

“What is to be the fu ture of the Am erican Section ? Exactly whatour strength and our energy combine to make it . Every reason for

work exists just as vi tally as it did in 1 894 , and even our num ber of

Branches is larger than in 1 886, n ine years before the sch ism .Theo

soph ic tru th remain s as heretofore, Theosoph ic motive is as poten t ,Theosoph ic duty has not changed , Theosoph ic help is as assured .

”

AUSTRAL ASIAN SECTION .

The top ics of ch ief in terest at headquarters are the approach in gConven tion , wh ich will be held in Melbourne on the 3 rd and 4th of

April, and the rumoured establishm en t of a new terri torial Sec tion of

the Theosoph ical Society in New Zealand . The latter developm en t isdue almost wholly to the energy of the Coun tess Wach tmeister, an dwill have been much favoured by the large m easure of success wh ichhas attended her on her tour through the South and North I sland s .

In con sequence of her lectures and her personal influence the m em ber

sh ip in New Zealand has increased , and in terest in Theosoph ical

Tnuosoen ICA I. ACT IV IT iRs. 257

teach ings has been aug men ted . Exceptionally large audiences havelistened to her exposi tion of the theories and practical applications ofTheosophy in some of the towns.

Many inconve niences attended the adm in istration of the New Z ea

land Branches, from a distance which , reckoned by time, is almost as

great as that separating London from New Y ork . and the step contem

plated wi ll probably meet with unqualified approval in all d irectionsat any rate. throughout Australasia. I t is thought that the arrangements m ay be so far hastened that the Melbourne Conven tion mav

have an opportun i ty of congratulating the new Section on its form a

tion . and ofwish ing i t an honourable and successful career.Of business to be brought before the Conven tion , that relating to

the Report of the Comm ittee of Revision of the Constitution of the

Th eosoph ical Society ranks first . Wi thout ven turing to forecast theresult of the del iberations of the delegates, i t may be remarked thatthere is a feel ing, in some quarters, against auv alteration in the wording of the Objects of the Society .

The General Secretary has returned to Headquarters. after a

mon th's visit to Melbour ne. On Sunday , March i6th , in spite of a

heavy thunderstorm and an Oppressive damp heat, a large audience of

members and strangers attended and accorded him a hearty welcome.

H is address was listened to wi th close attention , and eviden tly createda deep impression . In Melbourn e Mr . Staples del ivered a number ofaddresses , the most successful series being, perhaps, that given on foursuccessive Saturday even ings at Mrs. Parker's drawing- room in SouthY arra .

The Northern Branches, with the exception of Brisbane, wh ich isflourish ing. are a li ttle languid . probably in consequence of the summerheats. The General Secretary proposes to visit them . and also, if

possible, some new districts as soon as the cooler season sets in . In

South Australia the work goes on stead ily . At Adelaide, the place of

Mrs. Pickett. the late secretary , has been supplied by Miss K . Castle,

who has long been a member taking active and practical in terest inthe movement .

In Sydney we are looking for the return of Mr. H . A . Wilson . who

has been accompanying the Countess in her New Zealand tour, duringwh ich he has made m any fi rm friends and done much excellen tserv ice . His aid at Headquarters wi l l set the General Secretary freefor new and wider work among the Branches and Centres.

On the whole the prospects of the movemen t in these colon ies hasnever looked brigh ter or more prom ising. S .

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In the same chapter the phenomen a of hypnotism are exam ined ,

an d are attributed to the action of the ether, the man being comparedto a magnet in the old fam il iar fashion . The evidence of the Spiri tsas to the natureof their bod ies is given; @ing, accord ing to the author,to uphold the view that they live in the ether as we do in the world of“ matter .

Elaborating h is theory as he proceeds, the wri ter d iscusses the

nature of man . and arrives at the d ivision in to body , soul and spirit .The following titles of chapters summariz e his views : “ Body, theMean s of Action Soul— the form ing Power Spiri t— the d irecting Will. The soul is the force which organ i z es the body : to thespiri t are due all morality and eth ics. The book concludes wi th a

chapter on social questions, wh ich seems a li ttle out of place.

Though some of the views may not be part icularly fresh . and othersnot very correct, the book is well worth reading, and the style of

wri ting is very much superior to that found in most books of liken ature .

A . M . G.

RRCRNT BUDDH ISM .

THE last number of TIn:j ournalof Me B uddlzisl Tex ! Societyof I ndiacontains little of real in terest . We notice, however, that the educationof the second son of the Maharajah ofS ikkim has been entrusted to Mr.Sharat ChandraDfis, the learned secretary of the Society . This is the

fi rst Tibetan prince to learn English and Hindustani , and perchan cethe innovation augurs a break ing down of barriers. The secretary, inexhibiting a picture of the planes of existence accord ing to TibetanB uddh ism , described the presiding Lord in words which strikinglyrem ind us of the “ Silen t Watcher referred to in perhaps the m ostbeautiful passage in H . P . B lavatsky

’

s Secret Doctrine. Mr. SharatChandra Das says

At the top of the ring stands the great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, also called Mahfi Karugika, the merciful— one who, havingacq uired all kinds of moral perfection , can en ter in to the supreme stateo f beati tude, ix . , ofNirvana, at any time he likes ; but out of pi ty forthe m isery of all l iving beings in this world , he has taken the solem n

vow of not en tering into Nirvana til l he has safely conducted the lastunhappy being to it .

He holds in his righ t hand the pot of nectar symbolical of ablessed immortal l ife. and in his left hand the forbidden fruit ’ typifying celestial enjoymen t .

LUCIFER .

A Jataka tale is given from one of the books of the K abgyur, whichstarts soberly enough but ends in hopeless bathos or worse. The

question is what distin ct causes lead to the d istin ct karm a of creatureswhy is one poor, another rich ; one handsome, another ugly ; on e

strong, another weak , etc . The fiftv - th ree answers are for the most

part m an ifestly absurd and th row in occasionally such insan i ties as :

Those who cut the bristles of hogs in the previous birth have got

yellow hair in th is. The whole th ing is the inven tion of m on kishignoran ce and supersti tion , its m ain characteristic being that of silli

ness. The Buddh ism of Tibet is very m ixed indeed , and among the

m aterials we so far possess, i t takes long search ing before anyth ing of

value can be discovered .

In the last number of the j ournal of Me Royal Asia /if Society ,

Professor Rhys Dav ids, working at the other pole of the subject, re

marks (p .

“ The expression ,

‘

en tering in to Nirvana’

is on ly a

very old Anglo- Indian blunder, dating from the tim e when the first

writers on Buddh ism , saturated with modern Western ideas, took for

gran ted that N irvana m ust be some state beyond the grave. B ut u n i

versal Indian usage of the time, whether in Pfili books by Buddh istau thors or in San skrit books by both Buddh ists and Hindus

, con fin es

the con notation of the word exclusively to the state of m ind of a liv in gJivanm ukta or Arabat .

”

Quite so ; but what is a“state of m ind

Phrase for phrase we are no better off than before. Forwe can en terin to ”

a state of m ind ; and not on ly en ter in to but com e ou t of it .

Further, if the state ofN i rvana is attain able wh ile still in body,i t can n ot

be an n ih ilation . And lastly , if N irvana is a state of m ind , the presen ceor absence of the physical body, that is to say

“ life ”or

“ death as

ordin arily understood . can m ake no difference to the obtainer of th atstate, and it is, therefore, as m uch beyond the grave as on th is side of

i t , un less, of course, we are to believe that the learned Professor holdsthe v iew that the N irvani

’

s“m ind ”

on the d issolution of the physical

body, goes also in to the void , so that the whole of Buddh ism is a huge

joke and on ly ph ilologically serious.

G. R . S . M .

THE SYSTEM TO WH ICH wE BELONG.

[By A . P . Sinnett . [Transactions of the London Lodge T . S No . 3 0 .

Theosoph ical Publish ing Society, 7 , Duke Street, W.C . m ]

TH IS studyof our solar system as awhole in the ligh t ofTheosophyform s Mr . Sinnett

’

s latest con tribution to our store of knowledge .

REV IEWS .

H itherto, wh ile we have had m uch defin ite in formation with regard to

the planetary chain to wh ich our earth belongs, we have had noth ingmore than a few rather indefin ite h in ts as to its relation to the solarsvstem .as a whole, and even less in regard to the way in wh ich thatsystem i tself is con stituted . The presen t essay fills th is gap in a fairlycomplete and very satisfactory man ner, and con tain s a qu ite unusual

wealth of en tirely new in formation , wh ich will be full of the deepestin terest for all close studen ts of Theosophy. The reader m ust be re

ferred to the pamphlet i tself for details ; but I cannot resist callingspecial atten tion to the very suggestive ligh t thrown upon the problemof the in ter- relation of the n umbers seven and ten in our system by the

facts here made public for the first time ; and also to the m agn ificen tdescription with which the essay closes, depicting the final consumm a

tion , the ultimate outcome of this tremendous undertaking.

B . K .

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THEOSOPH ICAL AND MYSTI C PUBL ICATIONS .

the sixteen th century. and com pares the Reinca rnation . Maxims taken from Epicpreseu t one with them . The conclud ing tetus conclude the number.

ar ticle is on R ichard Wagner‘

s Music A°

Dramas,”by Basil Cramp, who tells us

that the composer was a“conscious

occultist.

LOTUS aL tiTHEN (L eipz ig).

No. 43—The fi rst paper is a continua

tion of a series, ent itled “ Karma and

the remainder are also con tinuationsof the more or less free paraphrases of

the ancien t Egyp tian doctrines and

mysteries comm en ced by the Editor inthe last number. The conclusion is an

appeal to the readers to give their assist.an ce, before the catastrophe wh ichreliable, astrological calculations ”

prom ise us for April n th , 1898, andwhich

is to furn ish not only great geologicalconvulsions, but a Revolut ion compared

with wh ich the horrors of the French

Revolution were but ch ild’s play.

W. B .

THEOSOPH IA (Amsterdam ).

V ol. IV , No. 48 t- Opeuswith an art icleby

“ Afra ”on capital pun ishment. The

translations are all con tinued .

SOPH IA (Madrid).

V ol. IV . No. 4 —The first th ree articlesare translations of The Astral Plane,K am a, and

“ Dreams, " allof wh ich are

con tinued . Following th ese is “ Astroo

logy”by

“ Helios, " who d ivides the

study accord ing to Tbc Tbeosophical

Glossary. The present chapter gives a

description of the “ houses,"

and the

properties and qualifi es attribu ted to

ANTAHKARANA (Barcelona).

Vol. I I I , No. 28 z—Opens wi th the com

tin uation of the translation of “ The

E lixir of Life. ” which is followed by thecon clusion of the eleven th and beginn ing JOURNAL on THE MAHA - BODH Iof the M elfth chapters of the B bagavad SOCIETYcan. and Snowden Ward’s K arma and V ol. IV ,

No. la z—Th is issue is largely

TEOSOF ISK TIDS K R IFT.

March , 1896 z—Contains the anniversary

speech by the Gen . Sec . , Dr. l ander,

preceded byCount Wach tm eister’spaperon Med i tation and Though t,

"and fol

lowed by Dr. Wells’ “ Mahat a and

Sain ts in Swed ish garb . There is also

an art icle byM . F. N Do Theosoph istsdisapprove of Prayer ? " and one byEllen

Bergm an“On Intuition .

"

The number

concludes with Berghend'

s poem“The

Mother to her Ch ild .

"

THEOSOPHY IN AUSTRA L IA(Stdfl ey).

V ol. I , No. u z—The editor’anotes deal

with some of the experiments in the“new photography,

"and with “ Satan

ism .

"The ch ief art icle, What is

Theosophy?" is a brief sketch of a

h istorical nature, concluding wi th an

outline of one or twoTheosoph ical ideas,and con tain ing some doubtful state

men ts. The questions and answers deal

with the loss of the soul, Manas, an d the

weigh t wh ich should be given to the

objections of paren ts and friends regarding th e studyof Theosophy.

THE THEOSOPH ICAL TH INKER(Madras).

Vol. IV , Nos. m ay—These numbers

contain an in teresting sketch of the

modern Hindu dram a, an article on

“ Pleasure and Pain ,

"treated from the

modern scien tifi c standpoin t, and “ Is

Flesh - Eating byCh ristian s morally Defensible Besides these con tinuedart icles some smaller papers on B rahms,“ T he Path of Fire, " and Krishna are

published.

LUC IFER

occupied by the struggles of the B ud Among the reprin ted articles are

“ The

dh ista for their righ ts in Bengal, the Secret of Coun t St. Germ ain , translated

on ly paper not dealing with th is subject from L e L otus film .

“ The Law of Sacri

being a short extract from the 1'

dcina fice,”by M rs. Besan t , and “ Som e Notes

I'

arga .

on Kundalin i from The Theosophist.

V ol. V I I . Nos. 5 - 8 — An art icle on L ight ; The Agnostic j ournal ; NotesBuddh ism in its Con tras t wi th Ch ris and Queries. cramm ed. as usual, with

tian ity, as viewed by Sir Mon ier odd tit - bits of in form at ion ; Food , Hom e

William s.

”is extracted trom The 0pm and Garden, an Am erican vegetarian

t'

ourt.criticising theorien talist’

s opin ions. journal. just open ing a new series ; R ays

Traces of Buddh ism in Norway,

"is a of L ight, the little Sinhalese paper t e

paper based upon a book of that name, cen tly started, con tain ing art icles on

endeavouring to prove that Buddh ist ic crem ation and h ygiene ; [Hobo/{Sine ( t

ideas penetrated in to the Scand inavian Oa '

ultisma, byM . Ernest Bosc, apamph let

legends.

“ The Story of the Great con sisting ch iefly of a reply to an article

Pauper, an inciden t in the li fe of B uddha, in a provincial journ al attacking occul

Karm a and other short art icles com tism and iden tifying it with “ Satan

plete the num bers.ism

”; The [Metaphysical Magaz ine, a

som ewhat heavy n um ber, with art icleson spiritual forces, psycho- therapeutics,

THF. ARYA BALA BODH INl ando

in volutton and evolution , and som e

ston es of psych ic experiences ; The

V OL 1 1 , NO .s— Con tains a num ber Of Sanmdrjga B od/tin t ; 7 he Hansri Z asshi.

short stories. The Cu rse of I’ariksh it the Japanese m on thly Buddh ist journ alis an old Ind ian story of a K ing who in The Theosophical Forum The Sea : and

sn lted a B rahm ana ;“ Two Brothers con Unseen , with n um erous short papers

sists of a h igh ly im probable d ialogue be on sp iritualistic and m ystic subjects ;tween two schoolboys, in one of whom we b

’ooh 7 7“ L amp. consist ing en

recogn i z e the fam iliar good boyof StI IIday tirely of notes on news, Sunday School

school days. The art icles include one lessons and m agaz ines : The First Ann ualon

“ The Caste System . a reprin t from Report of the Associat ion for the Stu dyThe Vegetarian ,

“ H indu Religious Ideas of the Jewish Religion , an Associationin the West .

"

and " The Transm igration founded in March , 1894, at Poona ; The

of Soul. Fifth An nual Report of the Human i

tarian League ; So- Called Sport. a publication oi the Hum an i tarian L eague, contain ing essays on hun ting, shooting and

coursing, and Spurio us Sports B ill, a

letter from the Comm i ttee of the League ;V ol. V, No. 8 :— The Rontgen rays are The Astrologica l zllag

'

az inc, with m ost of

penetrat ing everywhere and have now the articles con t inued ; This World an d

reached The'

1 hmsophir wh ich the an Australian spiritualist icopens with a short paper upon them . jou rnal : Thc'l ’rashnottara : Ourselves.

THE THEOSOPH IC GL EANER(1 30m bay).

Women'

s Prin ting Socm y, L im ited . 66. Whitcoml: Street,W.C.

VOL . XV I I I . j UNE 1 5, 1 896. No . 1 06.

L U C I FER .

ON TH E WATCH - TOWER .

READERS of LUC IFER wi l l rejoice to see an article under theloved and fam i l iar nam e of H . P . B lavatsky . In the course of

p reparing the th ird volum e of The Secret Doctrine for the press, afew m anuscripts were found m ixed wi th it that form no part of thework i tself

,and these wi l l be publ ished i n her old m agaz ine . Next

m onth the article from her pen wi l l be a cri ticism of the l ine takenby Hargrave Jennings and others touching the phal l ic elem en t i nreligious, and wil l be entitled

,

“ Christianity,Buddhism and

Phal l icism .

”

0Q Q

On ly five years have passed since she left her body,but if she

glanced for a few m om ents at her English hom e her heart wouldbe gladdened at the signs of steady progress that are v isible onevery side . One of the m ost marked of these is the unpreceden tedsale of our l i terature , and i n order to m eet the publ ic dem and m oreread i ly the Theosoph ical Publ ishing Society is m ovi ng this m onthfrom its somewhat obscure quarters in Duke Street i nto one of them ost important thoroughfares i n London—a step that wi l l bri ng ourli terature dai ly under the eyes of thousands who may never haveh eard of i t before . The prem ises lately occupied by a bank on the

ground floor of 26, Charing C ross, immed iately below the Londonoffi ces of the diam /tester Guardian ,

have been taken by the T . P . S .,

and wi l l be opened for busi ness on June 24th . N0 m ore central

posi tion cou ld possibly be found , and not onlv wi l l Theosophicalbooks be brought to the notice of the Londoners who throng thethoroughfare on their dai ly business, bu t the shop l ies j ust in the

track of the countless countrycousins who com e to L ondon to

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us was WATCH 267

has now reached San Francisco , and is lecturing to crowded aud i

ences . The Am erican Section wi l l soon feel the benefi t of herwarm enthusiasm and steady devotion to Theosophy . She is go ingto settle at Chicago for awhile, giv ing herself whol ly to the helping

of the Section , and sober people wi l l rejoice at the impulse thusgiven to the sane presentment of Theosophical truths. During the

summer she wi l l take a m uch needed rest , and she desires LUC IFERto mention that all letters for her shou ld be addressed to G . P . O.

,

San Francisco , Cal if. , whence they wi l l be forwarded to her,

wherever she m aybe. Her non - return to Europe this summer wil lcause widespread d isappo i ntment

,but i t is true that America has

the greatest need and therefore the greatest claim .

0O C

In New Zealand , the latest born of the Sections,the General

Secretary is a woman— the first time that that offi ce has been held byone of the fem in ine sex . Miss L i l ian Edger, the lady who has beench osen for this important oflice, is the most d istingu ished woman in

New Zealand , she wi th her sister be i ng the first of their sex who

there took Universi ty degrees. S i nce she identified herself w ith

the Theosophical m ovem ent, she, with M r . and Mrs. Draffi u, has

been the centre of its l ife i n New Zealand,and her devotion to its

work has been rewarded with w idespread success. Her lecturesand art icles have attracted respectful atten tion

,and the Section has

done wisely in placi ng her at its head .

0Q Q

We regret to’

place on record the death of Mme. B lavatsky’s

dearly loved sister, Mme. Jelihovsky, whose pen has so often beenused i n defence of Mme. B lavatsky both in R ussia and France .

Her posi tion in the Russian world of letterswas such tha t she cou ldofi en do the greatest serv ice to her famous relative, and she m orethan once stepped in at a cri tical m om ent to turn aside some m al ig

n ant shaft of slander by her knowledge of fam i ly history and herrelations w i th Russian soc iety . From time to tim e also she wou ldplace her wel l - trai ned pen at the service of the Theosophical m agaz i nes

,and al though rem aining an orthodox member of the C reek

Church , her lean ings towards m ystic ism made her cord ially friend lyto Theosophical ideas.

LUC IFER .

The problem of rel igious education is troubl i ng Ind ia as it

troubles England , for the Ind ians— a profound ly rel igious peopleare beginning to see that their young men lose touch of their

several ancestral fai ths and drift i nto a quasi - scien tific m aterial ism,

as they pass through their col lege trai ning, developing their faculties ou western lines and leav ing entirely on one side all rel igiousstudy . The Engl ish Governm ent is necessari ly neutral i n rel igiousm atters

,rul ing as i t does a population hold i ng various fai ths ; it

can on ly lay down a curriculum of secu lar learning and recogn iz edegrees obtai ned solely by such pursu i t . Under these circum stancesthe d ifferent rel i gious comm uni ties are find ing i t necessary to

bestir them selves,each on behalf of its own you th

,and som e

col leges have been founded in which studen ts are prepared for theuniversi ty exam i nations

,but are at the sam e tim e trained i n

rel igious knowledge and in the practice of rel igious duties. Up tothe present tim e the H indus have confined their efforts to theestabl ishm ent of schools for boys

,and here and there for girls

,at

which they rece ive elem en tary education ,fitting them to pass the

ord inary school exam i nations,and i n wh ich the children are also

given rel igious and m oral instruction . Even these are few and far

between,and are whol ly i nadequate to the needs of the popu lation .

The Theosophical Society has tried to partly fil l the gap by start i ngH i ndu Boys’ Assoc iations

,i n which pand i ts give som e rel igious and

moral teaching from the H indu Scriptures and instruct the boys i ntheir rel igious duties. But these are again lam entably few com

pared wi th the teem i ng you thful population . At last, however, adefini te schem e has been set on foot to provide a school and col legeeducation hand - in - hand wi th rel igious and m oral trai n ing .

l

Q Q

A prospectus has been issued for the establ ishm ent of a CentralModel H i ndu College at Benares, and after explain ing the needthat exists for the m uch wider spread of col lege education , i tgoes on

Allwho are acquain ted with the present system of education know well thatthe most desirable kind of intellectual and moral train ing is not imparted in the

existing institutions, and that the influence they exert upon their studen ts is not

of the right kind . The proposed college will be affiliated to the Allahabad

Un iversity and will con form to the curriculum laid down byit, and will ultimately

ON THE WATCH~TOWER .

be a seat of un iversal learn ing—a place of true L iberal Education , where

students will be made tobreathe the clear and pure atmosphere of thought . B ut

in addition to this it will supply what is most urgently needed , a defin itelyreligious and moral train ing, and it will be an institution where particularattention will be paid to the formation of character, where the ancient Aryanvirtues of reverence. self- reliance, freedom , moderation , calm ness, equi tableness.

justice and courtesywillbe instilled in to the hearts of the studen ts.

While the college will seek as its professors tried and experienced men wi thhigh Un iversityhonours, it will also look formen who have at heart the religiousand moral character of the studen ts, and will treat them as sons to be watched

over and guided , not as strangers who attend a course of lectures as a matter of

business. Moreover an attempt will be made to wed the occiden tal sc iences and

learning to the orien tal. The education given up to date has signally failed to

produce the sort of men req uired by the country, to do the work and to fulfil

the aims expected of it by the state. That the coun trywhich , in ancien t times,produced the most learned men and the greatest th inkers the world has ever

seen , has not been able to produce even one such man with half a cen tury‘

s

modern education . shows that there m ust be someth ing wrong either in the

ma tter or manner of the presen t system of education . These defects the H induCollege willtry to remove .

Alreadya gentleman in B ombayhas consulted one of the promoters of this

scheme, statinghis wish to give a lac of rupees towards the foundation of a H induCollege and school in his own town ; he is w illing. and indeed desirous, thatBenares shall load the way, feeling, as we feel, that B enares, as a most ancien t

sea t of H indu learn ing, is the fitting leader of an enterprise destined to give to

India a system of education which shallbe per meated by the ideals of her sublime religon , shall preserve her sons from materialism wh ile giving them the

education demanded by the t imes, and shall train them in to pious Aryangentlem en while enabling them to hold their own with western culture. It will

be regret table if a movement destined to such loftyach ievement should start in a

commercial centre instead of in a city known the world over as the centre of

H indu religious learn ing, and the Comm ittee mentions the above fact because

the generous donor cannot be expected to stand back for long in order to give theprecedence to Benares that his H indu heart desires.

The appeal is signed by som e of the lead i ng c itiz ens of Benares ,

and our readers wil l be glad to know that several of these are

mem bers of the Theosophical Soc iety, and that the Bombay gentle‘

man m entioned is one of our oldest m embers. Before leav ingB enares, I cal led on the Maharaja of Benares— whose predecessorgave his fam i ly m otto to the Theosophical Society— to ask his helpfor the Col lege , and he prom ised som e land for its si te . I t is honedthat many weal thy men w i l l come forward to contribute the large

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on rm : WATCH - TOWER . 27 1

ah a / rm ,a sm all marsupial

,and adds another l ink to the chain of

eviden ce wh ich wi l l ultimatelyhaul up from the ocean of the pastthe long - buried continent

,so derided when asserted byTheosophists.

He wri tes

This little, apparently insignifican t , mouse- like creature turns out to be an

an imal of extreme interest , for it affords strong eviden ce that what we now know

as South America and Australia must have been connected , and the Atlan tic at

least bridged bydry land , if even an An tarctic continen t may not have existed , of

which South America and Australia are divergen t and diverse outgrowths.

Later, we shal l have more d iscr im ination,and both Lemuria

and Atlan tis wi l l find fu l l recogn i t ion .

0Q Q

The humble earth - worm a lso wri ggles to the surface to bear histestimony to the t ime when Lemuria was above water, and thefol lowing note upon his proceed ings from Mr . Keightleyw i l l be readwi th interestThe question of the much greater extension of the Antarctic

continen t, known to Theosoph ists as Lemuria , has been aga i nunder d iscussion in the sc ientific journals, some add i tional ev idenceof very substantial importance having been brought to: l ightof late . A paragraph on the subjec t wi l l be found on p . 298 of theMay number of Natural from wh ich the fol lowi ng facts

are extracted .

Som e new evidence i n favour of the former existence of a vast

L em urian continent in the sou thern hem isphere has been furnishedby a study of the earthworms of that hem isphere . These animals,as all wi l l recognize, are, general lyspeak ing

,entirelywedded to the

so i l ; theyare impatient of sea water , and possess but few fac i l i tiesfor assisted m igration

,such as seed - bearing plants obta in from

b i rds,and other low forms of l ife find i n logs and so forth , which

are drifted often to great d istances by the oceanic currents. Hencethe d istribution of earthwor ms is special ly valuable as a help i ndeterm in ing the probabi l i ties of earl ier laud connection . I t is astrik ing fact that there is the closest sim i lar i ty between the earthworms of Patagonia, New Z ealand and such of the interveningislands as have been explored . This fact as regards the Patagonian

earthwor ms wi l l have a special significance for such Theosoph ical

272 LUCIFER .

studen ts as have stud ied wi th care the maps which accompany theStory of A lla/d is and recall that Patagonia is there coloured as a

surv iving remnant of the Lemurian continent .I t appears from the papers contain i ng descriptions of the earth

worms of the “ Antarctic area by Michaelsen , Rose and Beddard ,

that the bulk of the i nd igenous ol i gochaetous inhab i tants of theseregions of the world are members of the genera Am n ffwdrz

'

lus and

Ill z'

crosco/cx . Indeed i n Patagonia and the Fau lkland Islands n o

other spec ies at al l have been met with . In New Z ealandthere are only two earthworms which are not ei ther of one of thesetwo genera or of one of the three genera

,Od or/mains

,Dez

'

nodn'

lus, and

Plagz’

or/zwfa,closely al l ied to South Georgia, K er

guelen ,Marion Island and MacQuarie Island also possess two or

three spec ies of the genera -1m nf}zodrz'

lus but only six spec ies of

Am n f/zodrz'

lus and someth ing l ike the same number of xll z'

crosrolex

exist ou tside of th is area . The iceberg theory of m igration m igh tbe cal led i n

,perhaps

,to explai n the phenomenon ; but it offers

great d iffi cu lties. Bu t even if the manyperi ls and acc idents to whichth is method of m igration is exposed shou ld he escaped

,this can

happen but seldom ; and such rare occurrences wou ld surely hard lyaccount for the close sim ilari ty of the earthworm faunas that hasbeen referred to . I f the extension of the land he denied , som e

explanation is much wanted for these facts.

SPIRITS OF VARIOUS K INDS .

B Y H . P . B L avx'

rsxv .

YEARS have been devoted by the wri ter to the study of thosei nv isible bei ngs— conscious

,sem i - conscious

,and entirely senseless

— cal led by a num ber of names in every country under the sun,and

known under the generic name of “ sp irits.

” The nom enclatureappl ied to these denizens of spheres, good or bad , in the RomanCathol ic Church alone

,is end less. The Greek K yriology of the ir

symbol ic names is a study. Open any account of creation in thefi rst Purana that comes to hand

,and see the variety of appel lations

bestowed upon these d iv ine and sem i - d iv ine creatures— the productof the two k i nds of creation (Mahattattva and Bhuta— the prim aryand the secondary), al l evolved from the body of Brahma . TheCrdhvasrota ‘ alone

,of the third creation

,embrace a variety of

bei ngs wi th characteristics and id iosyncrasies suffic ient for a l ifestudy.

The same is true of the Egyptian , Chaldaean , Greek , Phoenician

,or any other account . The hosts of these creatures are

numberless. The old Pagans,however

,and especial ly the Neo

Platon ists of Alexandria,knew what theybel ieved , and discrim in

ated between the orders. None regarded them from such a sectarianstandpoi nt as do the Christian Churches. They deal t w ith themfar more wisely, on the contrary, as theymade a better and a greaterd i scrim ination between the natures of these bei ngs than d id theFathers of the Church , accord ing to whose pol icy all the angelsthat were not recogn ized as the attendants upon the JewishJehovah were pronounced devi ls.

We find the effects of th is bel ief, afterwards erected in to adogma

,asserting themselves now in the Karma of the manym i l l ions

f'

rdhvasrota, the Gods so called because the bare sigh t of alim en t standsto them in place of eating,

“ for theren

is satisfaction from the m ere behohling of

ambrosia,"says a comm entator on the I ”In" : l

’un i/m .

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“sprarrs

”or

‘

vaarous xrxns. 275

wi th more attention than formerly. Her humble opi nion as regardsthe work is that one m ay search for months and never find thel ine of dem arcation between the “

spiri ts of the Seance - room andthe sylphs and und i nes of the French satire . There is a sinisterri ng in the merry qu ips and j ests of its wri ter who

,whi le

po inting the finger of rid icu le at that in wh ich he bel ieved,had

probably a presen timent of his own speedy Karma i n the shape ofassassination .

’ The way he i ntroduces the Comte de Gabalis isworthy of im i tation— by unbel ievers

I was astonished one Remarkable Daywhen I saw a mancome i n of a most exal ted m ien : who

,saluting me gravely, sa id to

me i n the French Ton gue,but in accent of a Fore igner : ‘Adore

,

my Son adore the most glorious and great God of the Sages ; andlet not thyself be puft up wi th Pride , that he sends to thee one ofthe Children ofWisdom , to consti tu te thee a Fel low of their Soc ietyand make thee a partaker of the wonders of his Omnipotency.

’ ”‘l'

There is only one answer to make to those who, tak ing advantage of such works, laugh at Occul tism . Servitissimo

” gives i th imself i n his own chafiing way in his introductory Letter to myLord ,

” i n the above - named work .

“ I would have persuaded him (the author) to have changedthe whole Frame of his work

,

" he wri tes : for th is Drol l ing way ofcarrying i t thus on does not to me seem proper to his Subject .These mysteries of the Cabal are serious Matters which many of myFriends do seriously study. the which are certainly mostdangerous to j est with .

”[1 77 m salt} rs! saf z

'

m txl]They are

“ dangerous, most undeniably. But since h istorybegan to record though ts and facts

,one- half of humanity has ever

been sneering at the other hal f and rid icul ing its most cherishedbel iefs. This, however, cannot change a fact into a fiction , nor cani t destroythe sylphs, und i nes and gnomes, if there are any in Nature .

For i n league with salamanders the latter are more l ikely to destroythe unbel ievers and damage insurance compan ies, notwi thstand ing

The work was published in Paris in 3 670, and in 1675 the author was cr uel lym urdered on h is way to Lyons from Languedoc, h is native coun try .

t Sub-Alum na , or Mr EIem u/an’

cs 0 (he Cuba/a :“ being the h istory of

spirits ; reprin ted from the text of the Abbe e Vil lars, Physio-Astro-Mvstic, whereinit is asserted that there are in existence on earth rational creatures besides man .

(Robert H . Fryer, Bath , P. 19.

276 w oman .

that these bel ieve sti l l less i n revengeful salamanders than i n firesproduced by acc ident and chance .

Theosophists bel ieve 1 11 spiri ts no less than do Spiri tual ists, butto them they are as d issim i lar in their variety as are the featheredtribes of the a ir . There are blood th irsty hawks and vamp ire - bats

among these,as there are doves and nightingales. They bel ieve in

angels,for m any have seen them

B y the sick one’

s pil low.

Whosewas the soft tone and the soundless tread ?

Where sm itten hearts were drooping like the willow,

Thev stood between the living and the dead .

But these were not the three - fold material izations of the modernmed ium . And if our doctri nes were al l tor n to pieces by thedrol leries of a de V i l lars that wou ld not and cou ld not interfere

wi th the claim of the Occu l t ists that their teachings are historical andsc ientific facts

,whatever the garb i n which they are presented to t h e

profane . S ince the first k ings began re ign ing “bythe grace of God ,

”

countless buffoons appoin ted to amuse majesties and highnesses havepassed away; and most of these graceless i nd iv iduals had morew isdom at the bottom of their humps and at the ir fingers’ ends thanall their royal masters put together had i n their brainless pates.

They alone had the inestimable priv i lege of speak ing truths at thecourts

,and truths have always been laughed at .

This is a d igression,but such works as that of the Com te de

Gabalis have to be qu ietly explained and the ir true character shown ,

lest they should be m ade to serve as a sledge - hamm er to pu lverizethose works which do not assume a humorous tone i n speak ing ofmysterious, if not al together sacred th ings

,and which say what

they have to say i n d irect language . And i t is most positiv elyma inta ined that there are m ore truths u ttered in the wi tty rail leriesand gasconades of that satire— which is fu l l of occul t and actualfacts— than most people

,and Spiri tual ists especial ly, would care to

learn . One single fact instanced and shown to exist now,at the

present m oment,am ong the Spiri tual ists

,wi l l be suffic ien t to prove

that we are right .I t has been often sa id that white magic d iffers very l ittle from

the practices of sorcery except in its effects and resul ts, good and

bad motives bein g everyth ing. The prel im inary ru les and con

“swans

"OF VAR IOUS nm os. 277

ditions for entrance to Soc ieties of Adepts are also identical in manypoints, both for those of the R ight and theLeft Path . ThusGabalis

says to the author : “ The Sages wi l l never adm i t you i nto theirSociety if you do not renounce from th is verypresent a Thing whichcannot stand i n Competition wi th Wisdom . You must renounce allCarnal Commerce with women (p .

This is a sine qua’

non w i th all would - be mystics— Rosicruciansor Yogis, Europeans or Asiatics but it is also one wi th the Dugpasand Jadoos of B hi

‘

itan and India,as with the Voodoos and Nagals

of New Orleans and Mexico— wi th an add itional clause to i t,how

ever,in the stat utes of the latter, and this is to have carnal

commerce wi th male and female dj inns, elementals or demons— cal lthem bywhatever names you pleased

“

I am mak i ng known noth ing to you bu t the pri nc iples of theancient Cabal,

” explains de Gabalis to his pupi l . And he informshim that the elementals (whom he cal ls elementaries, the inhabi tantsof the four elements, namely, the sylphs, und ines, salamanders and

gnomes) l ive many ages, bu t that their souls are not immortal

(1) - 29)In respect of E ternity they must finally

resolve i nto noth ing . Our Fathers,the ph ilosophers,

”

goes on the m i- disan t Rosicruc ian,

“speaki ng to God Face to

Face, complai ned to h im of the unhappiness of these People [theE lem entals] , and God , whose mercy is wi thou t bounds, revealed tothem that i t was not impossible to find ou t a Remedy for th is Evi l .He i nspired them that by the same means as man

,by the All iance

which be contracted wi th God ,has been made Partaker of the

Divinity, the Sylphs, the Gnomes, the Nymphs, and the Salamanders, by the al l iance which they m ight contract wi th man ,m ight be made partakers of Immortal ity. So a she- nymph , or asylphide , becomes Immortal and capable of the B lessi ng to wh ich

’ We speak here of the wel l- known ancient statutes in the sorcery of the .ksiaticsand in the demonolo of Europe. The witch had to renounce her husband : the

wiz ard his marital rig 1 ts over h is legitim ate hum an wife ; as the Du a renounces

to th is day com merce with l ivin women , and as the New Orleans oo doo doeswhen employed in the exm fseof

'

spowers Every Kabalist knows th is.

f The Jewish Kabalist of Poland, when bent on reven calls the female spirit ofNergal to h is help and to in fuse in to h im power ; the ussulm an sorcerer cal ls a

ferru le djini ; a Russian K aldoon a deceased witch (vedyma); the Chinese m alefactor has a fem ale houen in h is house at his command ; the above in tercourse issaid to give magic powers and a supernal force.

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“sprar

'

rs”os vantons am p s. 279

kissing and touching the visi tors at séauce- rooms—al l of wh ich factsh ave been proved as wel l as the existence of these visi tors themselves—why should not those same spiri ts perform matrimonialduties as wel l

Bu t who are these spiri ts, and what is their natu re ? Shal l webe told that the spirits of Mme . de Sevigne or of Delphine

,two

celebrated French au thoresses, one of whom we abstain from nam ingout of regard to her surv iv ing relatives, were the actual “ spiri tsof those two deceased lad ies ? That the latter fel t a spiri tualaflinity

" for an id iotic,old , and slovenly Canad ian m ed ium ,

andthus become his happy wi fe ,

"

as he boasts publ icly, the resu l t ofthe union bei ng a number of “

spiri tual ch ildren ? And who isthe astral husband of a wel l - known ladymed ium whom the wri terknows persona l ly? Let the reader get every information he canabout th is last development of “

spi ritual i ntercourse .

‘ Let himth ink seriously over this, and then read the Com te de Gabalis

’

work, espec ially the Append ix to i t ; and then he perchance wi l l

be better able to appreciate the fu l l grav ity of the supposed chaff i nthe work i n quest ion , and to understand the value of the ra i l lery i ni t . He wi l l then see clearly the ghastlyconnection there is betweenthe fanns, satyrs, and i ncubi of S t . Hieronymus, the sylphs and

nymphs of the Comte de Gabalis, the“elemen taries of the

Kabal ists, and al l these poetical , spi ri tual L ill ies” of the Harris

Communi ty,” the astral Napoleons ” and the other departed Don

j uans from the“ Summer- Land ,

” the “spiri tual affi nities from

beyond the grave of the modern world of med iums.

Bu t al l th is sti l l leaves open the question . Who are the spiritsFor where doctors d isagree there must be room for doubt . Andbesides such om inous facts as that spi ri ts are d iv ided in their views

upon rei ncarna tion , j ust as Spiri tual ists and Spiri tists are,“ Every

m an is not a proper champion for th e truth nor fit to take up the

gauntlet i n the cause of veri ty, says S ir T . Browne . Au em inent

The an swergiven (p. 1 3 3 )by an al le devil to St. An thony, res ting the

corporeity of the incubi and succubae woul do as wel l now. perhaps he blessedS t. An thony having inquired who he was, the litt le dwarf of the woods answere d“ I am a m ortal and one of the inhabitants of the Wilder ness whom the gen tileworld un der its varie ddelusions worsh ips under the nam es of Fauna, Sat rs, and

Incubi,"

or“spirits of the dead,

"

m igh t have added th is elemen tal . th e ve iclc of

some elem en tary. This is a narrative of St. H ieronym us, who fullv believed in it :and so do we, with certain amendm en ts.

LUC IFER.

man of science,Mr . W. C rookes, gave once a verywise defin ition of

Truth,byshowi ng how necessary i t is to draw a d istinction between

truth and accuracy . A person m ay be very tru thfu l , he observedthat is to sav m av be fi l led w i th the desire both to rece ive tru thand to teach it , bu t un less that person have great natura l powers ofobservation or have been trai ned by sc ientific study of some k i nd toobserve

,note

,compare , and report accurately and i n detai l

,he w i l l

not be able to give a trustworthy, accurate,and therefore tr ue

account of h is experiences. His i ntentions m ay be honest, bu t i f hehave a spark of enthusiasm he w i ll be always apt to proceed togeneral i z ations wh ich m ay be both false and dangerous. In short ,as another em i nent m an of sc ience

,S ir John Herschel] puts i t

The grand— and indeed the only character— of tru th is its capability of enduri ng the test of universal experience and com i ng unchanged out of every possible form of fair d iscussion .

”

Now the question is not what ei ther Spiri tual ists or Theoso

phists th ink personal ly of the nature of spiri ts and the ir degree oftruthfulness but what the universal experience ,

”demanded byS irJohn Herschel]

,savs. Spiri tual ism is a philosophy (if i t be one at

all,which so far we deny)of bu t yesterday; Occul tism and the ph i lo

sophy of the East, whether true absolutely or relatively, are teachings com ing to us from an immense antiqu i ty. And si nce bothin the wri tings and trad i tions of the East

,and in the numberless

fragm ents and manuscripts left to us by the neo- platonic Theoso

phists, and so on ad we find the same identica l testim onyas to the extremely various and often dangerous nature of all th esegeni i

,demons, gods,

” lares and elem en taries,

”now al l confused

into one heap under the name of spiri ts,

”we cannot fai l to recog

nize herein something enduri ng the test of universal experienceand “ com ing unchanged out of every possible form

” of observationand d iscussion .

Theosophists give only the product of an experience hoarywi th age ; Spiri tual ists hold to their own views born some fortyyears ago, and based on their unfl inching enthusiasm and emotionalism . But let any impartial , fair - m inded witness to the doi ngs ofthe “

spiri ts in America,one that is nei ther a Theosophist nor a

Sp iri tual ist, be asked :“What maybe the d ifference between the

vamp ire - bride from whom Apol lonius of Tyana is sa id to have

del ivered a young friend of his, whom the nightly succuba was

slowly ki l l ing, and the spiri t - wives and husbands of our own daySurely none , wou ld be the correct answer . Those who do notshudder at this hideous revival of med iaeval demonology and wi tchcraft may, at any rate , understand the reason why of all the numerous enem ies of Theosophy none are so bi tter and so implacable assome of the Spiri tual ists of the Protestant and of the Spi ri tists ofRoman Cathol ic countries.

Alum inum lwrremium z'

nfnrmc rm'

lume n ademfl um is the

fittest epithet to be appl ied to m ost of the Lill ies and Joes of

the Sp iri t -World .

" Bu t we do not mean at all— fol lowi ng in this

the example of one- sided Spiri tual ists who are determ ined to bel ievein no other “

spi ri ts than those of the “ dear departed ones— tomai ntai n that

,save nature - spi ri ts or elementals, shel ls, and

“ godsand geni i , there are no spi ri ts from the i nvisible realms, or no real lyholy and grand spiri ts, who communicate wi th mortals. For thatis not so. What the Occu ltists and Kabbal ists have said al l along

,

and what the Theosophists now repeat,is that holySpiri ts wi l l not

visi t prom iscuous Seance - rooms,nor wil l they i ntermarryw i th l ivi ng

men and women .

Bel ief i n the existence of the i nvisible— but too often presentvisitants from better and worse worlds than our own is too deeplyrooted i n men ’s hearts to be torn out easi ly by the cold hand ofei ther materialism or sc ience . Charges of supersti tion

,coupled

w ith rid icule , have at best but served to breed add i tional hypocrisyand social cant am ong the better classes. For there are few m en

,

if any,at the bottom of whose sou ls bel ief i n superhuman and

supersensuous creatures does not l ie latent,to awaken into existence

at the fi rst opportuni ty. No n eed to repeat the long string of namesof em i nent and sc ientific converts to the phenomena of Spiri tual ismand to the creed i tse lf

,since for manyyears the catalogue has been

publ ished weekly by some spiri tual istic papers. Many are the menof sc iencewho

,hav ing abandoned wi th their nursery-

pinafores be l iefin k i ngs of elves and i n fairy queens, and who would blush at be ingaccused of bel iev i ng in wi tchcraft

,have fal len v ictims to the wi les

of “ j oes,” Da isies,

"and other spooks and controls.

"

And once they have crossed the Rubicon they fear rid icu le nolonger . These sc ientists defend as desperately the rea l ity of mate

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SPI R ITS or V AR IOUS KINDS . 23 3

proc laim the One to be an infinite abstraction,an absolute Some

th ing, wh ich utterly transcends the conception of the finite.

Surelysuch a creed is more phi losoph ical than the religion whosetheology, procla im ing God i n one place as a mysterious and anincom prehensible Be ing, shows h im at the same time so humanand so petty a God as to concern himself w i th the breeches of hischosen people' whi le neglect ing to say anyth ing defin i te about theimmortal i ty of their sou ls or the ir surv ival after deathThus bel ief in a host and hosts of sp iri tual Enti ties dwel l ing

on various planes and higher spheres i n the universe,i n consc ious

intra - cosm ic Beings, i n fact , is logical and reasonable , wh ile be l iefi n an extra - cosm ic God is an absurd i ty. And i f Jehovah— whowas so j ealous about his Jews and commanded that they shouldhave no other God save h imsel f- m was generous enough to bestowM oses upon Pharaoh as the Egyptian monarch

’s Deityd

’ whyshou ldnot Pagans be allowed the choice of the ir own Gods ? When oncewe bel ieve in the existence and surv ival of our Egos

, we may alsobel ieve i n Dhyan Chohans. As Hare has i t : Man is a fixed bei ng.made up of a spi ri tual and of a fleshly body; the Angels are puresp i ri ts, here i n nearer to God , only that they are created and fin ite i nall respects, whereas God is i nfinite and uncreated .

”

And if God is the latter, then God is not a Be ing,bu t an

i ncorporea l Pri nciple not to be blasphemously anthropomorph ized .

The Angels,or the Dhyan Chohans, are the

“ Liv i ng Ones thatPrinciple

,the Self- Existent,

” the eternal , and al l - pervad ing Causeof all causes, is only the abstract noumenon of the River ofLife,

” whose ever - rol l ing waves create angels and men al ike,

the former be ing simply“ men of a superior k i nd

,

”as Young

t houghtThe masses of mank i nd are thus wel l justified i n bel iev ing in

a plural i ty of Gods ; nor is i t by cal l ing them sp iri ts, angels, andde mons that Ch ristians are less polytheistic than are their paganbreth ren . The twenty or thirty m il l ions of the now- existingSpiri tual ists and Spiri tists m i n ister to their dead as j ealously as

And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness. from

th e loins even un to the th ighs theyshal l reach "

(d r uids xxviii. Go d a linend raper and a tailor !

1’ “ I have made thee a God to Ph araoh (15.l V " . I )

LUCIFER .

the modern Ch inamen and the H indus m i nister to their Houen ,

‘

Bhuts,and Pisachas ; the Pagans, however, onlykeep them q uiet

from post - mortem m ischief. On the other hand , we have dem on

strated ful ly in the Proem to the Secret Doctrine that the worsh ip of

angels and spiri ts bythe Roman Cathol ics and the Christians of the

Oriental Churches, represen t ing several hundred m i llions of m en,

women and children , who worship arm ies of Sa i nts besides— is as

idolatrous as any idol - worsh ip in Ind ia and China . The only

d ifference one can see is that the Pagans are sincere i n call ing the irrel igion polythe ism ,

whereas the Churches— in company w i ththe Protestant Spiri tual ists, whether consc iously or otherw ise— pu t

a mask on the irs by claim i ng for i t the title of a monotheistic

Church .

There is a philosophy i n deal ing with the question of spirits inInd ian “ idolatry

” that is conspicuously absent from the Westernde fin itions of them . The Devas are , so to say, the embodiedpowers of states of matter, more refined than those w i th wh ichwe are fam iliard

’ In the Vedas the Gods are mentioned as being

eleven in number, where each one of the eleven stands as the te

presentative of the class to which he belongs. Each of these classes

agai n is subd iv ided i nto three , thusyield i ng the th irty three classes ofprim aryGods, common al ike to the H i ndu and Buddhistic systems;as m ay be seen on reference to Beale

’s Catm a of Cfitness B udd /ram .

Each one of these thirty- three , subd iv ided aga in , adm i ts of fu rtherd ivision almost indefinitely l ike the substantial monads of Leibn itz ;a fact which is expressed by the number of the Gods be ing givenby the Hindus as th irty- three crores (3 3 x The kev

to the esoteric significance of these Gods wou ld enable m odern

physical sc ience, and chem istry especial ly, to achieve a p rogressthat they m ay not otherwise reach in a thousand years to com e, asevery God has a d irect connection wi th , and a representative i n , its

The Houeu in China is “the second soul . or human vitalitv , the principle

wh ich an im ates the ghost, " as explained by the m issionaries from'

Ch ina—simplythe astral . The I Iouen , however, is as distinct from the Ancestors "

as th’

eBhuts are from the l’itris in India.

t See .Sa‘

ret Doctrine, Appendix n . Book 1 1 .“ Go ds, Monads, and Atom s.

I See Chinese. B urmese, and Siam ese Mythologies.

“smurfs or vanrovs xm ns. 285

bod i ly fabric , so to say, in invisible atoms and visible molecu les

physi cal and chem ical particles.

‘

Although these Gods are sa id to be superior to men in some

respects,” i t must not be concluded that the latent potenc ies of th e

h uman Sp iri t are at al l inferior to those of the Devas. Theirfacul ti es are more expanded than those of ord inaryman , bu t theconclusion of the ir evolution prescr ibes a l im i t to the ir expansionto wh ich the human Spi ri t is not subjected . This fact has beenwell svmboliz ed in the Ataladb/idm ta by the si ngle - handed v ictory ofA rjuna

,under the name of Nara (man), over the whole host of

Devas and Devayonis (the lower E lementals). And we find referen ce to the same power i n man i n the 8 1 3 18

,for St . Pau l d isti nctly

says to his aud ience Know ye not that we shal l judge angels ?

(I . Cor . v . and speaks of the astral body of man (the soma psychikon) and the spiri tual body (soma pneum atikon), wh ich

“ hath notflesh and bones,

" but has sti l l an ethereal form . An Adept,by

putti ng h imsel f under a special course of trai n ing and i n itiation,

may atta i n the status of a Deva, but by such a course he is debarredfrom further progress along the true path . (See

“ E l ixir of Lifei n Five Years of Tbmsophy. ) The story of Nahusa gives a gl impseof the truth as known to the Initiates.

A description of the orders of be i ngs cal led Devas— whosevariety is so great that it cou ld not be attempted here— is given insome occul t treatises. There are high Devas and lower ones

,higher

e lementals and those far below man and even the an imals. But al lthese have been or w i l l be men , and the former wi l l agai n be rebornon higher planets and i n other Manvantaras. One th ing mayhow

ever be mentioned . The Pitris (or our“ lunar ancestors and the

communication of mortals wi th them,are several times mention ed

by Spi ritual ists as an argument that H indus do bel ieve in , and evenworship , “

spiri ts.

” This is a great m istake . I t is not the Pitrisi ndividual ly that were ever consul ted

,bu t the ir stored wisdom col

lectively, that wisdom be ing shown mystical ly and al legorical ly onthe bright side of the moon . A few words m ay perhaps serve as

valuable hints to Occu l tists and students.

What the Brahmanas i nvoke are not the “ sp iri ts” of the de

See again Gods. Mounds, and Atom s,

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“smarts

"or vamous m os. 287

Pitris is at its lowest ebb— crystall izes some of the satan ic energy ofh is predecessors i n ev il , and turns i t to his own vile uses ; wh ile theB rahmana

,on the other hand

, pursuesa corresponding bu t benevolen tcourse wi th the energy bequeathed to h im by the Pitris.

This is the true Spiri tual ism ,of which the heart and sou l have

been entirely m issed by the modern Spi ri tual ists. When the dayof the fu l l revelation comes i t wi l l be seen that the so- called “

super

stition s” of Brahmanism

,and of the anc ient Pagans i n general ,

were merely natural and psychical sc iences, ve i led from the pro faneeyes of the i gnoran t mu l ti tudes, for fear of desecration and abuse ,by al legorical and symbol ical d isgu ises that modern sc ience hasfa i led to penetrate .

I t fol lows from the forego i ng that no Theosoph ist,whether

Gentile or Ch ristian , de ist or pantheist, has ever bel ieved i n orh elped to spread degrad ing superstitions anymore than has anyo ther philosoph ical or sc ientific soc iety. I f some Theosoph istsm ost of them i ndeed— openlyconfess their bel ief i n Dhyan Chohans

(d isembod ied men from other preced ing Manvantaras), i n Pitris

(our real,genu i ne ancestors), and i n the hosts of other spi ri ts

m undane , sub- mundane,and supra - mundane— they do no worse

th an the whole Ch ristian world d id , does, and wi l l do . In th is theyare far more honourable than those who hide that bel ief and keep i tsub roso

’

. The on ly d ifference between the spir i ts of other so

cieties, sects and bod ies,and ours l ies i n their names and i n

dogmatic assertions w ith regard to the ir natures. In those whomthe m il l ions of Sp iri tual ists cal l the “

sp iri ts of the dead,

" and inwhom the Roman Church sees the dev i ls of the host of Satan

,we

see nei ther . We cal l them Dhyan Chohans, .Devas, Pi tris, E lementa ls, high and low,

and know them as the Gods ”of the Genti lesimperfect at times

,never whol ly so. Each order has its name, its

place , its functions assigned to i t i n Nature, and each host is thecomplement and crown of its own part icu lar sphere, as man is the

complement and crown of his own globes ; hence al l are a nat uraland logical necessi ty in Kosmos.

THE LIVES OF THE LATER PLATONISTS .

(Con /[m id from f .

JEWISH AND CHR IST IAN SCHOOLS .

THE Jews, ever since the foundation of the c i ty, had been animportant element in the l ife of Alexandria . Though the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures had been effected in thereign of PtolemyPhiladelphus, i t does not seem to have attractedthe atten tion of the Greek savants ; Jewish ideas at Alexandria wereconfined to Jews

,and natural ly so

,for th is most exclusive and

intolerant sect of rel igion ists kept their ideas to themselves and

guarded them j ealouslyfrom the Genti les. Nevertheless,the Jew ish

schools at Alexandria were so esteemed by their nation throughou tthe east

,that the Alexandrian Rabbis were known as the Light

of Israel,and continued to be the centre of Jewish though t and

learn i ng for several centuries. Here i t was that Jews perfectedtheir theories of rel igion and worked ou t what they had glean ed ofkabal istic lore from the Chaldzeans and Babylonians.

Several of the Hebrew doctors,however

,were stu den ts of

Grec ian thought and l i terature , and are therefore known as H e l lenists. Theyalso wrote i n Greek

,and i t was chiefly through the i r

works that the Grec ian world derived its i nformation of th i ngsJewish .

Aristobu lus,whose date is unknown

,prior to the dawn of the

present era , had endeavoured to mai nta in that the Peripatetic ph i losophywas derived from Moses— a wi ld theorythat was subseq uen tlydeveloped and expanded to a lud icrous extent by even such en l ightened Church fathers as Clemens and Origen . I t was the fore run nerof the stil l m ore fantastic theory, patented by Justin , that thewisdom of antiqu i ty, wherever found , was a

“ plagiarism by an t ic ipation

,

” executed by that interesti ng figment, the Devi l , in order tospi te the new rel igion . This pi tifu l insan ity has been fai th fu l ly

THE LIV ES OF THE LATER PLATON ISTS .

reproduced,from the origi nal hereditarv taint, i n fanatical C hristian

apologists down to our own times.

Philo (c irca B .C . 25— AJ ) . however, is the most renowned of

the Hel lenists. He was a great adm i rer of Plato, and his workbrings out many sim i lari ties between Rabbi nical rel igious thoughtand Greek philosophy; especial ly is he serviceable for traci ng theh istory of the Logos- idea

,which is of i nterest to Christians because

of the first chapter of the fourth Gospe l .Josephus (A .O. 3 7 the famous historian

,also wrote i n

lreek,and so i ntroduced his nation to the Hel lenic world .

Here,therefore

,we have the d irect po i nts of contact between

Greek and Jew ish thought . W'

e have alreadv remarked howCh ristianityhad entirelyentangled i tsel f wi th the popular Jewishtrad i tion of rel igion , a trad i tion that was i nnocent of al l ph ilosophyor kabal istic mystic ism . There was

,however

,a time of great

struggle and doubt even in the Ch ristian camp i n these earlycenturies. The Gentiles who were adm itted i nto the new fai thsoon grew rest ive aga inst the imposi tion of the ri te of c ircumcision ,

wh ich the earl iest apostles i nsisted upon , and so the firstheresy arose , and the Church of Jerusalem wh ich rema i nedessential ly Jewish in al l th ings, speed i ly resolved i tself i nto anarrow sec t , even for those who took Juda ism as the only forerunner of the new fai th . As t ime went on , however, and e i thermen of greater education jo ined the i r ranks

,or i n the i r propa

ganda they were forced to study themselves to meet the object ions of educated opponents, wider and more l iberal v iews ob ta i nedamong a number of the Ch ristians, and the other great rel igioustrad it ions and ph ilosophies contacted the new stream . All suchv iews, however, were looked upon wi th great suspic ion by the“ orthodox ,

” or rather that view which final ly became orthodox .

And so,as time wen t on , the great Gnostic doctors and the ir views

were gradual ly expel led from Christianity, and anathematized and

condemned wi th even more vi r ulence than was meted out to thePagan ph ilosophers . Even the very moderate l iberal ism of Clemensand Ori gen was regarded as a grave danger

,and wi th the triumph

of narrow orthodoxy, and the condemnation of learning, Origenh imself was at last anathematized .

Nevertheless , i t was the Alexandrian school of Christian philo

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who have sometimes been referred to as.fore

Of the one we know noth ing, and the other,th respect by Plotinus and his d isc iples, was

ed as a d istinct teacher of their own School . Neverdeas of Numenius strongly influenced several of ourfor Porphyry and Amelins were both his pupils beforethe d isc iples of Plotinus, and one of the great obj ects

ing uished Syrian was to prove the f undamental identityrines of the Brahmans

,Magi

,Jews and Egyptians.

AMMONIUS , THE PORTER .

i n the first place,d isti nctly remember that the

stud ies at Alexandria was not due to the proMuseum . No insti tution was more ind i fferent tofamous establ ishment ; Aristotle , when it at al l turned

its attention to phi losophy, was its god . Nevertheless i t was in thelecture - room s of that same Museum that Ammon ius taught thesubl ime philosophy of the P latonic trad i tion , and not on ly w ithsuccess, bu t with greater success than any ph ilosopher had ever previonsly enjoyed i n Egypt

’s capi tal .

Ammonius was a native of Alexandria, the child of Christ ianparents. I f you had wished to find h im i n h is early years, youwould not have bent your steps to the Museum or Library, but tothe docks. There you wou ld have found him engaged i n one of

the roughest tasks of unsk il led labour— a docker, load ing and unload ing ships, a mere sack - carrier . B ut Ammonius Saccas, or

Saccophorus, the sack - porter, had a bright soul and bril l iant intellect wi thin h im wh ich must out . We have seen how the lect urerooms of Alexandria were free to women as wel l as men , and nowwe learn that theywere free to the poor as well as the rich ; theywere open even to the docker .

AMMON IUS, THE CHR IST IAN .

Abou t th is time there seems to have been more intercoursethan at any other, between the schools of the philosophers and theChr ist ian school at Alexandria ; the great war between the two

part ies had not yet broken out , and Ch ristian Gnostics, and such

men as Pan taen us and Clemens, the chiefs of the Catechetical School ,were versed in phi losoph ical stud ies, and v isi ted the phi losoph ical

292 LUC IFER .

schools of the c i ty. ( )f the l ife of Ammonius nnfortunatelv we

have no detai ls how long he remained a Christian we do not know,

bu t i t is probable that his Christianitywas an accident of b irth,rather than at any time a matter of conviction

,for h is teachings

were al together based on the older ph ilosophical trad i tion .

AMMON I I ’S,THE PH I LOSOPHER .

I t must have been that the sou l of Ammon ius, the porter, hat'

already i n i t memories of h igher things, wh ich needed only tL

contact of philosophy to blossom forth into a tree of knowledge, fb .

we soon find h im a teacher instead of a pup i l,and one of sue 1 1

remarkable i nsight,that he introduced an apparently new metho d

of philosophy. He combi ned the deductive method of P lato wi t hthe i nductive method of Aristotle

,and completed the trin itywi t h

the add ition of the practice of myst ic contem plation . For he foundthat all three m ust be com b ined in the search for “ the true t

H IS OI 'TER AN !) INNER TEACH ING .

There seems to be l i ttle doubt that i t was the mystic elementin his teaching wh ich induced him to fol low the example of Pythagoras and Plato , i n the conviction that certai n verities could beimparted onlv after prelim inarv studv and trai n ing . He

,therefore,

div ided his instruction into outer and inner tenets,and his pupils

were bound by an oath of si lence to keep the latter i nstructionssecret . Ammon ius is, moreover , said to have comm itted n othingto wri ting

,all his instructions be ing del ivered oral ly. I t wou ld ,

therefore,be impossible, even if i t were i ncluded i n our presen t task,

to give any certain outl i ne of his svstem . True we m igh t searchthe works of Plotinus to d iscover the teaching of his master , but wem i ght as wel l expect to find the real Socrates in the pages Of Platoas to find the real Amm on ius i n the En neads of Plotinus.

This much we know,that the basis of his outer method was the

reconc i l iation of Plato and Aristotle on all real ly fundam entalpoints and yet the method of Ammon ius was someth ing more thana mere eclecticism , the u l tim ate appeal was before the bar of thespiritual i ntel l igence

,the highest possible reason , pur ified by con

tem plation and spiri tual exerc ise . As to his i nner teach in g, weknow definitely that part of i t had to do wi th instruct ions on the

THE L IV ES OF THE LATER PL ATON ISTS . 293

nature of intel l igences other than men , and of the h igher naturepowers. I t was doubtless because of his occu l t kn owledge, and hisd irect in tu i tion obta ined through that means which Plotinus cal lsecstasy, and which the ancient seers of the Upan ishads name yoga ,or union

,that Ammon ius was known among his pup i ls as the

God - taught .

Two FRAGMENTS OF H IS TEACH INGS .

And though,as we have already remarked , there is l ittle known

of his teach ings except inferential ly, nevertheless i t may be of

interest to set down here two fragments preserved to us byNemesius,

a Platonic philosopher of the latter end of the fourth century,who

asserts that they are the opinions of Ammonius.

The first fragment argues for the immaterial nature of the soulas follows : Bod ies being natural lysubject to change

,are subject

both to d issolution and infin ite d iv ision universal ly. As noth ingi n them , then , remains immu table, there is need of someth ing togather and compact them together, and, as i t were, b ind and holdthem th is [principle] we cal l sou l . ’ I f

,further

,the soul is a body

of any k ind whatever, composed of even the most subtle particles,what is that wh ich holds i t , i n its turn , together ? For i t has beenshown that every bodyhas need of someth ing to hold i t together— and th is to infinity unti l we meet wi th an incorporeal something .

The second fragment treats of the nature of the union of thesou l and the body, which i t explains in the fol lowing manner“ The nature of i ntel l igibles [spi ri tual en tities] is to unite themselves w i th those that can rece ive them

,i n the man ner of th ings

that blen d i nto one another , and though uni ted remai n pure anduncorrupted

,j ust as things that are laid alongside one another . In

the case of bod ies union brings abou t an entire change of the bod iesuni ted , for i t chan ges them into other bod ies ; as, for instance , theelemen ts into compound bod ies, food into blood , blood i nto fleshand the other parts of the body. Whereas i n the case. of in telligibles there is union , but no change fol lows ; for i t is contrary tothe nature of the i ntel l i gible to undergo a change of essence : i tei ther wi thdraws or passes i nto non . existence.

’ Bu t i t does notsud

'

er change,nor even does i t pass into non - existence ; for [in the

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THE L IVES or THE LATER PLATON ISTS . 295

however, that Ori gen wrote a treatise Demons,and this leads

us to conj ecture that the i nner teaching of Ammon ius had to dowi th a theory of the occul t powers of nature, and that he exacted apledge of secresy from his pupi ls because be deemed the publ ic discussion of such subjec ts to be fraught w i th great danger for theuni nstructed , as lead i ng to bl i nd credu l i ty and supersti t ion . I twas no doubt in order to correct the m ischief done byOrigen thatPlot i nus publ ished his adm irable lectures on the philosophical sideof the system . Origen also wrote a treatise entitled TM l tlwPoet aloneis K ing,

and Proclus c i tes him several t imes i n his Commentary onthe Tz

'

marus, as among other th ings explai n ing the Atlantic h istoryas a myth si gnifying the battle between good and evi l da mons.

Of the rest of the numerous pup ils of Ammonius there arepreserved the names of a certa i n Antonius, of whom we knownoth ing ; of a certain Olympius of Alexandria, to whom we shal lhave to refer in the l i fe of Plotinus ; and also of Heraclas

, patriarchof Alexandria

,23 3

- 249, who i n Chr istian theologywas a d isc ipleof Ori gen

,and succeeded him i n the Catechetical School . But the

most famous and loyal pup i l of the d istingu ished founder of socal led Neoplatonism was unquestionably P loti nus . In fact thetemper of modern thought which scowls at al l mystic ism ,

and the

rat ional ism which detests everyth ing occul t, regard Plotinus as

far and away the most brill iant thinker of the School . We shal l ,therefore , dwel l on his l ife at greater length , basing ourselvesalmost entirelyon Porphyry

"s biography of his master .

PLOTINUS .

(205

SOME PECL'

L I AR ITIES OF CHARACTER .

Plotinus was a native of Lycopol is, a c i ty of the Theba id ,known now as Syout, Siout, or Sivouth , the most important c i tyofUpper Egypt . During his l ife, however, he cou ld not be persuadedto d isclose e i ther the names of his parents or of his natal place, or theday of his bi rth . He seems to have been of the same m i nd as the

Ind ian yogin who, when asked his name, repl ied,“ There is no

name,no form and when agai n pressed as to his age and home

returned the further enigmat ical response,

“ No time , no place .

”

296 L I'

CIFE'

R .

Plotinus,moreover, wou ld not reveal his birthday, because he was

stronglyOpposed to keeping up such anniversar ies, though , i ndeed ,he helped to solemnize the natal day of Plato, who had been thushonoured for hundreds of years, and whose birthdaywas kept evergreen as long as the Platonic School existed . Thus Porphyry

’s first

words are that P lotinus seemed to be “ ashamed of be i ng in abody.

" Moreover,when pressed to sit for his portrai t he refused,

wi th the characteristic rejo i nder Is i t not enough to have to putup with the image with wh ich nature has surrounded us

,without

subm i tting to the image of an image,wi th the con ce i t of leav i ng

behind a more lasti ng idol for posteri ty, as though , forsooth , a finething to gaze at ? ”

For,as he explains in his Enneads (V I . v i i . i t is the acts of

the sou l which fash ion the animal man ; and of the body also theymake an image resembl i ng the latter

,as much as the bodyis capable

of resembl ing it,j ust as a pa i nter makes an image of the body.

The sou l then produces the lower man,possessing the form of a

man,his mental powers

,manners

,d isposi tion

,and facul ties

,bu t in

an imperfect fash ion,for this is not the higher man

,the intel lectual

or spi ritual man , the m an of which Pla to speaks,who r ules the

sou l,which in its turn uses the bodv as an instrument .So his pupi ls resorted to a ruse . They persuaded Carterius, the

best pai nter of the t ime , to frequent the ph ilosopher‘

s lectures, and

so from memory and assisted bv the ir adv ice an excellent portrai twas obtai ned .

He was also strongly opposed to the med ical remed ies of thetimes

,especially such concoctions as contai ned i ngred ients derived

from wi ld animals or reptiles,for, he said

,he d id not approve of

tak i ng into the bodv the flesh of even domesticated animals.

In fact Plotinus was not only a ri gid abstai ner from flesh , but heoften abstai ned even from bread , forgetting the most fr ugal ofmeals i n the profound concentration of his m ind on spiri tual th ings.

EDUCATION .

As Plotinus was very uncommun icative concerning his earlyl ife we know but few details of i nterest . A most curious story,

however , is related of his earlyyears ; not ti l l the age of eight, whenalreadv at school , was he en tirelv weaned from his nurse . Most

TH E LIV ES OI"

THE LATER PLATON ISTS .

probably his early manhood was en tirely spent in the pursu i t ofl iberal studies, for he is sa id to have been wel l acquain ted withgeometry, arithmetic , mechanics, optics and music , al though histastes did not l ie espec ial ly in that d irection . I t was not

,however

,

unti l the age of twenty- eight that he became real ly absorbed i n

ph ilosophy, and attended the lecture - rooms of al l the most famousteachers i n Alexandria ; but in vain , nowhere cou ld he find the

instruction he sought . P lotinus was not to be satisfied wi th thephi losophiz i ng of the schools. He was almost i n despa ir

, when onefine day a friend told him of Ammon ius

,and he immed iately set ofl

'

with his companion to the sage ’s lecture - room . Scarce was thelecture over , when he cried ou t to his friend :

“ This is the man Iwas seek ing .

” He accord i ngly attached h imself to Ammonius andbecame his most devoted pupi l ; for eleven years he prosecuted hisstud ies with unwearied zest , and became so interested i n the greatproblems of philosophy, and espec ial ly i n the w isdom of the Orient,that be determ i ned to accompany the ex pedi tion of the youngEmperor Gord ian against the Persians, so that he m ight have a firsthand acquai ntance wi th the phi losophy of the Magi and Ind iansages. But the young and beloved Emperor , who had he l ivedm ight have been a patron of learning, was treacherously murderedin Mesopotamia (March , and Plotinus, barely escap i ng wi th hislife

,fled to Antioch . Short ly afterwards he made his way to

Rome, be ing then in his fortieth year.

I’ LOTI NUS As AN AUTHOR .

Although Herenn ius and Origen had broken their oath ofsilence

,Plotinus for ten years comm i tted noth ing to wri ting ; he

conten ted himself wi th mak ing the i nstruct ions of Ammon ius thebasis of his oral lectures. I t was not until his fift ieth year that hebegan to wri te,

so that we have the resul ts of his matured j udgmentand not t he enthusiastic specu lations of you th . Plotinus al togethercomposed fifty- four essays, wh ich were ed i ted by Porphyry, and

divided i nto six sets of nine treatises each,and hence called

Enneads.

The style of Plotinus is ex ceed inglydiflicult owing to its conciseness. Moreover

,be ing an Egyptian , his Greek was not always

correct ; he m ispronounced words, and would say, for i nstance ,

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THE LIVES OF THE LATER pLATom srs. 299

beloved and profound ly trusted byal l who knew him . Many peopleof rank and weal th on the ir death - beds comm i tted the ir chi ldrenand all their property to the guard ianship of the ph i losopher, sothat his house was fi l led wi th children and young people whom he

educated wi th the greatest care and paternal sol ic itude,and saw

that the ir properties were carefu l ly and honestlymanaged by theappo i nted agents . He was

,moreover, so wi nn ing and courteous

,

and tactful , that though he resided i n Rome for twenty- six years,and acted as arbi trator i n manyd isputes, he had not a si ngle enemyamong its ci tizens. I t was, no doubt , his large and happy household of pupils and wards wh ich persuaded h im to en tertai n the ideaof found ing a philosoph ical commun i tywhich should at last rea l izethe dream of Plato i n TIn : Rl zk— a model state . Gal l ienus

,the

Emperor (260- 268) and his wife, Salonina, both honoured andesteemed him he therefore ventured to beg from his imperialfriends the restoration of a ru ined c i ty in Campania ; i t was to be

govern ed accord i ng to the laws of P lato, and ca l led Platonopolis,and he and his friends and pup i ls were to be the first c i tizens. Bu ti t was not to be ; for some cause or other, presumably po l itical , theplan fel l through , and perhaps luck i ly so

, for the fate of Pythagorasand his community at Crotona long years before m ight have beenrepeated .

H IS INNER L IFE.

Of the real inner l ife of Plotinus, unfortunately, we know nodetai ls. Though he had a thorough contempt for al l so- ca l led magicarts and practices, he was a devoted student of the higher mysticrealms

,and unwearied in the practice of sp iri tual contemplation .

Thus, he is said,by means of a certa in wak i ng v ision , which was

both in ternal and external at the same time (ix 1 73 9 cip W e‘

v n

{anew 06m ), to have seen many subl ime spectacles which noteven those who fol lowed the ph ilosoph ic l ife cou ld easi lybehold .

For contemplat ion (p t'

a) can easi ly rise superior to ord inaryfacu lty, but to reach the he ight of d ivi ne knowledge (M a M ),and see as the gods see

,is given bu t to the few . I t is further

related that to th is i l lum i nated sage (3 am W 2), fol lowi ng thepath sketched out by Plato in The B anquet, and unrem i tti nglysinki ng his mind wi th in unto the first cause beyond al l , the dei ty

3 0 0 LUCIEER .

became manifest— “the God

,that hath no form

,nor even idea

,

beyond the m i nd , the foundation of the spiri tual universe (6

6 p rj re popgbilv pa}rc'

fl vu idea l! fxwv, I'

nrip 83 vof'v, xai mi v n) vmrrdv i8pvp c'

vog).

In other words he became uni ted w i th the d iv ine Logos.

Porphyry te l ls us that during the six years he was w ith his master,th is supreme union was reached by P lotinus no less than fourtim es; i t is, therefore, to be presumed that the sage also consc iouslyenjoyed the n irvan ic state on other occasions when Porphyrywasnot at Rome .

Such be ing the case , i t is bu t natural to read that , on th e onehand P lot inus was far removed from the supersti tions of popu lardevot ion

,and d ispensedwi th the ceremonies of the cu l t of the gods

wh ile on the other hand he was not onlywel l acquai nted wi th the i rreal nature , but was also possessed of many spiri tual powers and

facu lt ies.

Thus when i nvi ted to assist in the ceremon ies of the new

moon,be summed up his atti tude wi th regard to the popu lar

de i ties i n the pregnant and brave response,“ They must com e to

me,not I to them .

H 1 5 OCCULT POWER .

His sp iri tual power was also so great that i t served him as a

protection against all adverse influences. Thus we are told tha tOlym pius, who had been for a short time a pup i l of Am m on ius

,

conceived a great j ealousy of his more gifted fel low- stu dent .Olympius had p icked up some knowledge of th e magic arts

, and

endeavoured to i nj ure Plotinus by drawing down upon h im the ev i l“ i nfluence of the stars.

”

(The term used— a’

ur rpo Boxed— is alsoemployed for the phenomena of sun - stroke and moon - stroke . )

I t is,however

,a law of psychic sc ience

,that an evi l force

d irected agai nst a pure sou l is v iolently repel led and retu r nsto the sender . And Plotinus was not only pure in sou l ,but was also protected by an enorm ously powerfu l sp iritual force which he had qu ickened and energized by h is

spiri tual exerc ises. The consequence was that Olympius fell in tothe pi t wh ich he had d igged wi th his own hands

,and Plotinus per

ceiving the attempt , remarked that tlie bodv of Olym pius“was

THE L IV ES OF THE LATER PLATON ISTS . 3 O I

shrunk up l ike a col lapsed bag. all his l imbs being squeez ed

together . "

On another occasion a certai n Egyptian priest who was visitingRome

,i nvited Plotinus to assist at a magical ceremony, i n wh ich

he would cause to appear what he cal led the fam i l iar daemon " ofthe philosopher . The i nvocation was performed i n the temple ofIsis, the only pure place the Egyptian cou ld find i n Rome ; theform that appeared , however , was not that of a daemon but of agod .

Let us pause for an instant to see whether there may not besometh ing more i n the matter than at first sight appears probable ;for we are wr iting for mystics and students of occul tism

, as wel l asfor those who are merely i nterested i n philosophy i n the modernsen se of the term , and are contemptuous of al l outside the physicalsenses. In the first place

,Porphyry, who relates the inc iden t, was

renowned for his truth fu lness and moral i ty, and the keenness of hisi ntel lect , so that whatever the mani festation may have been , i t waspresumably a genu ine psychic phenomen on . The chief poi nt of .

interest , however, is not so much the phenomenon,for i t is evident

that such men as Ploti nus and Porphyry paid but l i ttle attention tothe operations of ceremonial magic , but rather the meaning thatwas attached by them to the terms fam i l iar daemon and godin this connection . In order to arrive at some solution of thematter we shou ld— bearing in m ind the daemon of Socrates whichd issuaded him from imprudent action

,though it d id not in itiate

action («id dam per-

a . uporps‘

wa 82m'wor c), i n this beari ng a strong ana

logy to the idea of“ consc ience — turn to the exposi tion of the

vi rtues as given by Porphyry i n his We shal l not,

however, go further i nto the matter i n this place than to state thattheywere of four k inds : ( I ) the pol i tical or soc ial (dpcm loroiz r oAm '

x03 ) (2) the purificatory (m flapn m l dpm i); (3 ) the contemplative orspiri tual (dptfl ti 7 7’e Ipvxfys t'otp

‘zs in pym'ttms) ; (4) the ideal (dpr‘rai wrapa

8¢mm m a2). The practice of the first resu l ted i n the v irtuous man ;of the second in the angel ic man

,or good daemon of the th ird

in the god of the fourth in the father of the gods. That isis to say, the first purified the bodyand rendered the man a goodci tizen and a worthy member of soc iety ; the second purified thesoul , or psyéliic body ; the third the spiri tual body ; and the fourth

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THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE .

I DOUBT whether anymore important subject can come beforethe m ind of a Theosophical student than that suggested by the relation between Theosophy and the spiri t of the age . In th e newi nterpretation which modern research has given to history, we findthat the complete change worked i n thought, manner of l i fe, ideals,hopes, efforts, rel iances, plans, antic ipat ions, bel iefs, is not due tomere evolution after the d i latory methods we see i n Nature

,nor yet

to some one stupendous conquest in the realm of knowledge whichs uddenly shattered old conceptions and cleared the ground for new

,

bu t rather to the steadygrowth of a ce rta i n mental tone— not alwaysclearly traceable to cause, not invariable in its qual i ty, not in al lcases uni form i n its action , yet surely advanc i ng in v igour andclearness and aggressiveness. Four hundred years ago that tone ,except in sporad ic instances wh ich were crushed as soon as not iced

,

was exactly the reverse . Then the age was qu iet,doc i le

,unreason

ing, humble to oppression . Long centur ies of ecclesiastical dom ination had pressed the l ife out of i nqu iry; investigation was fet tered ,thought was dumb . The Church had prescribed the l im i ts wi th inwh ich opin ion was to crawl , and outside of them a daring venturerwas warned off bythe certa intyof death to his bodyand the threat ofunend ing torment to his soul . The physical earth was only to bestud ied as m ight seem good to priests who claimed to know bothth is world and the next, but were profoundly ignorant of both .

Business,commerce, international relations, lIome life— all were

regu lated by artificial r ules elaborated from a system of casu istrybased on doubtfu l documents

,forged decretals and usurped preroga

tives. Superstition in everyform clouded the i ntel lect and paralyzedthe wi l l . The air was th ick wi th ma l icious demons eager to woundand debase humanity; charms and tal ismans and i ncantations

hard ly seemed able to cope with the d iabol ical agencies darkening

all social l i fe . Everywhere settled down a consciousness of gloom

3 04 LUCIFER .

and apathy ; the m edizeval heart and m ind were po isoned w ithbel iefs which infected every hour of the twenty- four . The age wasone long nightmare

,fi lled wi th h ideous creations of d isordered

fancy, morbid w i th fears and gobl ins and spel ls, all concurring tothrottle reason and palsy endeavour . I t seemed as if superst i tionhad been granted omn ipotence and b idden to subvert every rationalconception or hope .

Rel ief came at last . I t came through the revival of the ration

aliz ing spirit . Various causes contributed to that revival . Old

classical books had once more come to l ight , and the ir free andsparkl ing thought was l ike water to the parched palates of m ed iaevalreaders. The taste spread as i t was gratified

,and then im i tat ion of

such works natural ly fol lowed . Moreover,the long ages of dark

ness and stupor had wearied even the subm issiveness of the time .

A deep yawn seemed to pervade whole nations, that final expressionof departing somnolence before the i nfluen ce of daybreak qu i terouses the system to active l ife . Then

,too

,i t m ay be that some

occu lt law exists bywhich permanent stupefaction is impossible, an

era of such drawi ng inev i tably to its close and a new one bri ngingv i tal i ty as anti thesis. Pol i tical cond i tions

,rel igions pri nc iples,

conscientious and intel lectual forces added the ir quota . As all

these various v ibrations were imparted to the m ind of the age, i tbegan to qu iver

,to awake

,to assert i tself. Instead of weekly

accept ing whatever assertion was handed i t, it— feebly at fi rst , but

gradual ly wi th assurance— undertook to question and i nspect .Reason came into play. The deplorable state of th ings secular andecclesiastical awakened doubt as to the ir inheren t excel lence ; doubtled to enqu iry, and enqu iry to d isgust . S tead i ly d iscontent spread .

Of course the most intel l igent felt i t i n greatest measure,bu t the

impulse was all through the land,and everywhere the approaching

dawn wakened up the h igh and the low,the learned and the base .

Hum an m i nd and human wi l l,long repressed bu t not extinct, had

thri l led to the touch of even a d istant l ight .In the great reversal which cam e to the spirit of the age, one

significant fact is noticeable. For a long time the method ofreasoning

,taught in the schools and enjoined by the Church , was

deduct ive . Certain prem ises were assum ed , and from them couse

quences were drawn . These prem ises were not to be questioned ,

THE SPIR IT OF THF. AGE . 3 05

bu t had to be accepted as fixed facts,the cond i t ions to al l subse

quen t thought . Questioning was va in , even sacrilegious. Bu twhen doubt infected the awakening m ind , there came suspic ion thatno such assumed prem ises cou ld be legitimate . Why shou ld anyth ing be wi thdrawn from investigation i f i nvestigation could notdamage i t ? Then , too , partly in consequence of fresh read i ng inthe works of antiqu i ty, the very process of reason ing was discred i ted . It was seen that truth was to be reached not by tak i ngfor granted pri nc iples, but by exam i n ing into facts. Laws were notto be postulated , but to be ascertained . Thus the system of thoughtwas revolutionized . The earth and h istory and man began to beinvesti gated and st ud ied ; deta i ls were accumulated , righ t modes ofclassification arr ived at , resu l ts du ly formulated and laws perceived .

The inductive method d isplaced the deductive,and sc ience had at

last a basis i n fact rather than in specu lation . The influence of thisone change upon secu lar and rel igious thought is incompu table : i treversed al l the sanctified process of trad i tion and threw wholel ibraries into the waste - bin .

Of course the new spiri t was not at once shared byal l contem

porary m inds, nor d id i t immed iately transform the whole ofEurope . Revolutions i n thought cannot be i nstantaneous. Bu tt he i nfluence , when once manifest , spread wi th del igh tfu l rapid i ty.

Here and there some em inent personage exempl ified and proclaimedi t , and yet more remarkable was the si lent l ife wi th which it perm eated commun ities unti l some casual ty brought i t to the surface

a nd showed how d iffused was its i nner strength . Reform was“ in

t he ai r,"

as we say. And when such movements actual ly d iscloset h emselves, they do not st0p unti l soc iety is transformed .

The spi ri t of the age was one of reason as contrasted wi tht rad i t ion , conservatism , doc i l i ty, subm ission , artificialitv. I t ins ist ed that everyth ing should justifyits existence byitsown meri tsthat its claim to posit ion shou ld arise from its i nherent excel lence .

Of no consequence was i t that a preced i ng age or a standard bookor a revered name held to an idea ; the real question was whetherthe idea was true. As to facts the test was i n demonstration ; as toopin ions, thei r con form i ty to reason and the moral sense . I f

demonstration was impossible , or if i t d isclosed the reverse of what

was claimed , f urther assertion was absurd ; if sound reason and

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'rna SPI R IT or

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rna A08 . 3 07

rel igious feel ing, worked surely so far as they had force, and a

glorious resul t i n purgation of corrupt doctri ne and i n the l iberation offree thought changed the face of the time .

Sc ience and l i terature, c ivi l government and domestic relationswere i nvaded byth is same spiri t of the age. One after anotherthe ir postulates and methods were inspected and subjected to therationa l izing pri nciple . One after another theywere forced to yieldto reform . Publ ic sentiment had become su ffused w i th a doubledevotion to l ibertyand to truth , and contraryestabl ishments, alreadyhoneycombed wi th dry

- rot,cou ld not w i thstand its continued

pressure . Perfection , i t is true , was not achieved : i t is not yet ; butthe right pri nc iple was at work , and right must triumph so far as i tis al lowed to act . Sc ience unde r the new impulse turned frombarren specu lation: to d irect study of nature , and at once there beganreal d iscovery. Literature changed from vague d issertation on

imaginings to portrayal of facts i n the worlds of art, society, theemotions. C ivi l government rece ived treatment as a practical lyregulative system rather than an affair of Divi ne right and k inglyprerogative supported by the Church . Domestic relations lostimportance as sacramental impositions on a visionary humani ty,on ly to rega in i t as obviously natural arrangements i n a soc ialorgan ism . And the i nd ividual recovered , however partial ly, hisrights— ri ghts to thought and speech and act his motives, as fromi n terior i llum i nation instead of exter ior command : his responsibility d irec t to God .

Such was the spi ri t of the age as i t feeblymanifested i tsel f i nth e dawn i ng of l ight upon the med iaeval darkness

,and as, i n stead ily

increasing strength , i t has swept down through intervening centuries. I t is so apparent tod ay i n al l lands save those of backwardc ivil ization that no question of its character exists. I t is the spi ri tof human l iberty, of resolute search for tru th

,of resistance to al l

wh ich fetters mind or thought , of sternness to supersti tion , assumpt ion

,dogmatism i n any form . To i t we owe the abol ition of slavery,

physical and i ntel lectual ; the clearing the a ir of the dem ons w i thwhich witchcraft had peopled i t ; the ban ishment from human l ifeof the thousand imaginary terrors that made existen ce a dai lytortu re the restoration of peace and sunl ight and calm the estab

lishment of rat ional processes i n thought and legislation ; del iver

LUCIFER

ance from tyranny in Church and State ; whatever security to life

and property is yet enjoyed ; the beneficent in fluences of commerce

and travel and i nternational com i ty the freedom of personal actiongiven to each ind ividual

,and of voluntary assoc iations in societies

and fraternities. If we wish an i l lustration of what never wouldhave come to pass but for this heal th fu l spirit, we m ay find it in the

fact that Theosophists can freely organize for study and work , and

freely meet for exposi tion of Theosophical ideas. Three hun dred

years ago such meetings wou ld have been suppressed by the civ i l

power and the people imprisoned and perhaps execu ted ; one

hundred years ago publ ic opi nion wou ld have ostraci z ed every

participant, and very l ikely prosecutions for blasphemywou ld havebeen i nsti tuted now theycome togetherwi th no fear of m agistratesor soc ial od ium , as free to utter the ir con v ictions as are the sturdiestof old- time preachers. Certai nly if anybodyhas reason to bless thespiri t of the age, i t is the Theosophist .Of course there has never been any popu lar movement wh ich

conta i ned no germ of error or abuse . Humanity as i t advancesfrom he ight to height stumbles over the obstac les pecu l iar to eachslope

,and the very zeal of its on - rush somet imes hurries i t into

excesses. When reaction aga inst med ie val supersti tion cam e,i t

was natural that everyth ing wh ich savoured of old fol l ies shou ld besuspected . One extreme begat the other . Theretofore all l ife anddutywere mapped by reference to an outside world , a world fan tastical ly conce ived and peopled , not in anyway germane to th is orrationally related to i t . When once this was seen

,there came

impatience at the thought of the super- physical , and men veeredround to the conception of our earth as sufficient in i tself

,at all

events the onlyone as to which there was assurance . In time thespiri tual was decried

,the tim id shrugging their shoulders and the

bold jeeri ng outright . A material istic v iew of th ings spread,i nsen

sibility to devout feel ing no longer be ing the mark of a mere

physicist , but becom ing frequent among the populace . And to- day

there is a general and lamentable du l ness to spi ri tua l im press ions,not only because the Church sti l l al l ies i tself to most ideas whichwider i ntel l igence reprobates

,but because the sceptical tem per has

become too dom i nant,i t bei ng supposed the proper hab i tual atti

tude to al l fact rather than the atti tude before cla ims in themselves

'rua smm

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suspicious. I f this is sad , i t is at least expl icable and i f i t is real ,i t is not wi thou t a prospect of be ing in time corrected .

For,in truth , so v ital is a sense of the unseen , so ingrained and

permanent that conception of the supersensual which the Supreme

has placed wi th in the heart of humani ty, that nei ther logic , uor

fai th , nor aspiration can long rema i n content with the shel l of theun iverse . The cry of the human is for the d ivi ne : men wi l l everbu i ld an al tar to the “ Unknown God " if no other is perce ived .

And so we see th is daya rev ival of old conviction— finer, less gross,more subl imated and just , but no less real than that which swayed

the med iaeval theologians and braced the Puri tan as wi th iron . I tis a heal th fu l sign , th is upturning to the Source of all ; and theywho understand human nature and see what h istory means may

wel l rejoice as they note sign s of renewed interest in the eternal ,of assurance that l ife sign ifies more than food and ra iment and

in rel i gion , i n the th irst for knowledge of God andspiri t of the age sti l l re ig ns. I t wi l l not tolerate that

fantastic , that which rests upon the z'

psf dz'

xil

authori ty, that which v iolates probabi l i ty andthat which involves artificialityor i nj ust ice or caprice.

5 stil l to reason and to the moral sense . That whichfirm est and finest instincts of the human soul cannottranscript of the world wi thout , si nce both have theirthe same source and must actual ly har monize whenMonstrous theologies and fanc ifu l cosmogonies and

s of terrestrial order or spi ri tual progress are juste active consc ience of the nineteenth centu ry as

consc ience of the sixteenth ; nay, more so,for

at not only probabi l i ty, but the conviction accu

hundred years of successfu l victories overThere is less danger now than ever before

and he who supposes that an enl ightto embrace what even a darkened one

us to the touch of logic and the lessons of

true, you wi l l say, bu t what has i t to domyj udg ment, that there is perhaps

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'rus smxrr or Tm : AGE. 3 ”

man and duty, bu t truth too as to the nature of l ife and the qual ityof the realms around us and the character of the hereafter .

Questions nnsatisfactorily answered h itherto are repeating themselves wi th greater earnestness, al l the more so because sharpenedintel l igence sees that there must be numberless facts of surpassinginterest as yet unsuspec ted by theologians and physic ists. Men .

thoughtfu l m en ,good men , wish to know what all th is universe

means, how i t was generated , whither i t is tend ing . Terrestrial

problems appeal to them the ever- present spectacle of imperfectionand sorrow demands explanat ion , and wi th it a remedy. Theremust be some key to the anomal ies of l i fe, some med icament for thecure of lmmau m isery and sin . This is not a passing fancy i t is a

great , earnest, passionate ou tcry for l ight and truth , sterner— and

yet more hopefu l— because m i nd and conscience have been l iberatedby the sp iri t of the age .

And yet th is spiri t,so eager after fact

,so perc ipient of the

existence of a world above this material earth,so certai n of a super

sensual sphere and of a d ivi ne purpose i n and through man,w i l l

not accept a solu tion unverified by the h igher reason . Nothingthat is fanc ifu l , irrational , improbable wi l l meet the case. Therewou ld have been no object i n revol t if doctrines as objectionable as the old were to rece ive credence now . The new unfoldmen t, whatever i t be , must j ustify i tself before that same tribunal ofreason and the moral sense wh ich conv icted its predecessor, mustprove its cred ibi l ity, its reasonableness, its actual i ty, its worth . I tm ay be ingen ious

,but ingenu i ty is not meri t ; i t may be plausible,

bu t plausibi l i ty is not demonstration it mayproffer high authori ty,but authori ty is not proof. Novel ty need not be an objection , fort here must always be a first time for the appearance of a truth and

even stran geness is not fatal,for many of the most universal ly

accep ted veri ties were once as strange as anyth ing can be now ;

bu t contrad iction or absurdity, artificiality, i nj ustice or pe ttinesswou ld condemn it at once . A sp iritual ph ilosophymust commendi tsel f to the judgment of the heart , or i t wil l promptlybe d ism issedto the l imbo of discarded faiths.

This, then , is the state of the publ ic m ind when Theosophyappears with its teaching . The i nstant demand is for its creden

tials. Rightly so, for i t is real lya compe titor wi th other systems,

3 1 2 L l'

CIFER .

and if i t is to supersede them , i t can do so onlyas be ing better andfurnishing larger ev idence. I t at once produces its doctri nes of allbe ing an emanation from Div in i ty, of Karma, and of Reincarn ation,stati ng the reasons for them and the ir proofs, and i t further adduces

the great fact of the Masters,wi th all the beari ngs thereof

,and with

the evidential im portance wh ich the Masters have as i l lustrations ofevolut ion and as wi tnesses to Theosophy. There is everyth i ng inthese several doctri nes to accord wi th antecedent probab i l i ty, and theirj ustice and reasonableness commend them promptlyto cand id in telligence. One great factor in the ir success is that conv ict ion strengt henas exam ination proceeds. Diffi cul ty after d ifficu l tywhich conven

tional systems shirk or treat as hopeless is satisfactori ly explained.

Compl ication after compl ication vanishes,break after break is filled

up . The whole of human life acqu ires meaning,rational ity,

d i gnity. Its enigmas cease to perplex,for they are solved . Moral

purpose gains vigour, moral endeavour assurance , m oral demandcontent . Nor is the support fanc ifu l . The strictest exactions ofright logic are met . There is nothing to conceal

,evade

,or refuse .

Common sense appears al l through . I t is certain ly reasonable tosuppose that all l ife has a d iv i ne origin ; that no one short careeron earth can accompl ish much in the evolution of a perfected man ,and that therefore manymust be suppl ied to do what a si ngle onecannot ; that men are to reap what they sow and onlywhat theysow ; and that, i f there are higher evolutionary degrees i n humanitythat what we see

,there shou ld be m anifestations of them

,together

with such impartation of their better knowledge as we at our stagecan d igest . So probable are these supposi tions that many thoughtful m i nds accept them at once upon mere statement, and so cogentare the arguments susta in ing them that many others accept themupon hearing their proof. Their harmonyw i th the spiri t of the ageensures the ir u l timate triumph .

ALEX ANDER FU L LERTON .

7 b 121 °

3 1 4 w oman .

swel ls ; to a lecture, he sees the speaker’s thoughts i n colour andform

,and so gai ns a much more complete representation of his

thoughts than is possible to one who hears only the spoken words.

For the thoughts that issue i n symbols, as words, go out also as

coloured and musica l forms, and clothed in astral matter impressthemselves on the astral bodv . Where the consc iousness is fu l lyawake i n that body, i t receives and registers the whole of theseadd i tional impressions, and many persons wi l l find , if they closelyexam i ne themselves, that they do catch from a speaker a good dealmore than the mere words convey, even though theymay not havebeen aware of i t at the time when theywere l isten ing . Manywi l lfind in the ir memorymore than the speaker uttered ; sometimes ak i nd of suggestion continu i ng the thought, as though someth ingrose up round the words and made them mean more than theymeant to the ear. Th is experience shews that the astral veh icle isdevelopi ng

,and as the man pays attention to his think ing and nu

consc iously uses the astral body, i t grows and becomes m ore andmore organized .

The“ unconsc iousness of people during sleep is due e i ther to

the undevelopmen t of the astral body, or to the absence of connect

ing conscious l inks between i t and the physical brai n . A m an uses

his astral body duri ng his wak ing consc iousness,send i ng m ind

currents through the astral to the physical brai n ; bu t when thephysical brain is not in active use— the brain through which the manis i n the habi t of receiv ing impressions from wi thout— he is l ikeDavid i n the armour which he had not proved he is not so receptive to im pressions com i ng to him through the astral body only, tothe independent use of which he is not yet accustomed . Further

,

he m av learn to use i t independently on the astral plane , and yetnot know that he has been using it when he returns to the physical— another stage in the slow progress of the man— and he thusbegins to employ i t in its own world , before he can make connections between that world and the world below . Lastly, he makesthose connections

,and then he passes i n ful l consc iousness from the

use of one vehicle to the use of the other, and is free of the astralworld . He has definitely enlarged the area of his wak i ng consciousness to include the astral plane, and while i n the physical body hisastral senses are entirely at his service ; he m ay be said to be l iv i ng

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3 1 6 LUCIFER .

sciously in his th ird vehicle , or m ind - body, traces out al l he doesin i t

,and experiences its powers and its l im i tations. Of necessi ty,

also,he learns to d istingu ish between this vehicle he uses and

h imself ; then he feels the i llusory character of the personal“ I

,

the I of the m ind - body and not of the man,and he consc iously

identifies himself wi th the ind iv idual i ty that resides i n that h igherbody, the causal , which dwel ls on the loft ier mental sub - planes

,

those of the arfipa world . He finds that he,the m an

,can w ithdraw

himsel f from the m ind - body, can leave i t beh ind , and rising higher

yet remai n h imself then he knows that the many l ives are in veritybut one l ife

,and that he , the l iv ing man

,remains himself through

til l .And now as to the l inks— the l inks between these d ifferent

bod ies. They exist at fi rst wi thout com ing into the consc iousnessof the man . They are there, otherwise he cou ld not pass from the

plane of the m ind to that of the body, bu t he is not consc ious ofthe ir existence , and they are not actively vivified . Theyare almostl ike what are cal led in the physical body rud imentary organs.

Every student of biology knows that r ud imentary organs are of twok i nds : one ki nd affords traces of the stages through wh ich thebody has passed in evolu tion , while the other gives hin ts of the li nesof future growth . These organs exist but they do not function ;their activi ty in the physical body is ei ther of the past or of thefuture

,dead or unborn . The l inks wh ich I venture by analogy to

cal l rud imentary organs of the second k i nd , connect the dense andetheric bod ies wi th the astral

,the astral w i th the m ind - body, the

m i nd - bodywi th the causal . Theyexist, but theyhave to be broughtinto activ ity; that is, they have to be developed , and l ike the irphysical types, they can only be developed byuse. The l ife currentflows through them

,the m ind current flows through them

,and thus

they are kept al ive and nourished ; but they are only gradual lybrought into function ing activ i tyas the m an fixes his attention onthem and bri ngs his w i l l to bear on their development . The actionof the w i ll begin s to vivify these rud imentary l inks, and step bystep, very slowly perhaps, they begin to function ; the man begi nsto use them for the passage of his consc iousness from veh icle tovehicle .

In the physical body there are nervous centres, l i ttle groups of

MAN AND HIS BODIES . 3 1 7

h impacts from w i thou t and impulses from thehese centres. If one of these is out of orderces arise and physical consc iousness is dis

ous centres in the astral body,but in the

r ud imentaryand do not function . These1 and the astral bod ies

,between the

astral and the m i nd - bod ies, and as evolution proceeds they arevivified by the wi ll , sett i ng free and g uid ing the “

serpent - fire ”

cal led Kundal ini in Ind ian books. The preparatory stage for thed irect action that l iberates Kundal ini is the tra i n ing and purifyi ngof the vehic les

,for if th is be not thoroughlyaccompl ished the fire is

a destructive instead of a v iv ifying energy. That is why I have laidso much stress on purification and urge i t as a necessaryprel im inaryfor al l true Yoga .

When a man has rendered himself fit to safelyrece ive assistancein the vivifyi ng of these l inks, such assistance comes to h im as a

matter of course from Those who are ever seeki ng opportun ities toaid the earnest and unselfish asp irant . Then , one day, the man findshimself sl ipping out of the physical bodywhile he is w ide awake ,and wi thout any break i n consc iousness he d iscovers h imself to befree . When th is has occurred a few times the passage from vehicleto vehicle becomes fam i l iar and easy. When the astral body leavesthe physical i n sleep there is a brief per iod of unconsc iousness, andeven when the man is functioning actively on the astral plane, hefails to bridge over that unconsc iousness on his return . Uncon

sc ious as he leaves the body, he wi l l probably be unconsc ious as here- enters i t ; there may be ful l and vivid consc iousness on the astral

complete blank may be al l that represents i t in theBut when the man leaves the body in wak i ng con

ng developed the l inks between the veh icles i ntoty,he has bridged the gul f ; for h im i t is a g ulf nosciousness passes swi ftly from one plane to theim self as the same man on both .

physical brai n is tra ined to answer to the v ibrations from the m i nd - body, the more is the bridging of the gu l f

night faci l i tated . The brai n becomes more andinstrument of the man

,carrying on its activ i ties

l ike a well - broken horse

3 1 8 LUCIFER .

answeri ng to the l ightest touch of hand or knee . The astral worldl ies open to the man who has thus unified the two lower vehicles ofconsciousness

,and it belongs to him w i th al l its possibi l it ies

,wi th

al l its w ider powers,its greater opportunities of doing serv ice and of

rendering help . Then comes the joy of carrying a id to sufferers

who are unconscious of the agent though they feel the rel ief, ofpouri ng balm i nto wounds that then seem to heal of themselves

,of

l ifting burdens that become m iracu lously l ight to the achingshoulders on which theypressed so heavi ly.

More than this is needed to bridge over the gu lf between l ifeand l ife ; to carry memory through day and night unbrokenlymerely means that the astral body is functioning perfectly and thatthe l inks between it and the physical are i n fu l l work i ng order . I f

a man is to bridge over the gu lf between l ife and l ife,he must do

verymuch more than act in fu l l consc iousness in the astral body,and more than act consc iously in the m i nd - body; for the m i nd - bodyis composed of the materials of the lower levels of the manasicworld

,and reincarnation does not take place from them . The

m i nd - bodyd isintegrates i n due course, l ike the astral and physicalveh icles

,and cannot carryanyth ing across. The whole question on

wh ich m emory of past l ives turns is th is : Can the man or can henot function on the h igher planes of the manasic world i n hiscausal body? I t is the causal body that passes from l ife to l i fe ; i tis in the causal body that everyth ing is stored ; i t is i n the causalbody that all experience remai ns, for i nto i t the consc iousness isdrawn up, and from its plane is the descent m ade i nto t e- b i rth .

L et us fol low the stages of the l ife out of the physical world , andsee how far the swayof K ing Death extends. The man draws h imself away from the dense part of the physical body; i t drops off h im ,

goes to p ieces, and is restored to the physical world ; noth ingremains i n wh ich the magnetic l i nk of memory can inhere . He

is then i n the etheric part of the physical body, but in thecourse of a few hours he shakes that off

,and i t is resolved i nto

its elements. No memory then connected wi th the etheric bra inwi l l help him to bridge the gulf. He passes on in to the astralworld

,remaining there ti l l he sim i larly shakes off his astral body,

and leaves i t behind as he had left the physical ; the“ astral

corpse,” i n its turn , d isintegrates, restores its materials to the astral

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3 20 LUCIFER .

out from the causal body can only grow after its k ind , attrac ti ng toi tself the grade of matter that belongs to it , arranging that mat teri n its characteristic form ,

so that i t produces the repl ica of thequal i ty the man made in the past . As he comes i nto the astra lworld

,the germs are thrown ou t that belong to that world , and they

draw round themselves su i table astral m aterials and elemen talessences. Thus reappear the appetites, emotions and passions

belonging to the desire - body,or astral body, of the m an , reform ed

i n th is fash ion on his arrival on the astral plane . If then con

sciousness of past l ives is to remain,carried through al l these

processes and al l these worlds, it m ust exist in fu ll activ i ty on thathigh plane of causes, the plane of the causal body. People do not

remember the ir past l ives because they are not yet conscious in thecausal body as a veh icle ; i t has not developed functional act iv i ty ofits own . I t is there

,the essence of their life

,thei r real I

,

” thatfrom which all proceeds

,but i t does not yet actively function ; i t is

not yet self- consc ious, though unconsc iously active, and un ti l it isself- consc ious

,fu l ly self- consc ious

,the memory cannot pass from

plan e to plane and therefore from l ife to l ife . As the man advan ces,

flashes of consc iousness break forth that i l lum i ne fragm ents of the

past, but these flashes need to change to a steady l ight ere any con

secutive memory can arise .

I t m ay be asked Is i t possible to encourage the recurren ce ofsuch flashes ? is i t possible for people to hasten this gradua l ly

growi ng activi tyof consciousness on the h igher planes The lowerm an m ay labour to th is end , if he has patience and courage ; hemay try to l ive more and more i n the permanent sel f

,to

wi thdraw thought and energymore and more , so far as i nterest isconcerned

,from the trivial i ties and impermanences of ord i nary l ife .

I do not m ean that a man shou ld become dreamy, abstracted andwanderi ng

,a most ineffic ient member of the home and of soc iety ;

on the contrary,every claim that the world has on h im wi l l be dis

charged,and d ischarged the m ore perfectly because of the grea tn ess

of the m an who is doing i t ; he cannot do th ings as clumsily and

imperfectly as the less developed m an may do them ,for to him du ty

is duty, and as long as anyone or anything has a claim upon h im thedebt must be paid to the uttermost farthing ; every dutyw i l l befulfil led as perfectlyas he can fulfi l i t , w i th his best facu l t ies, h is

MAN AND m s BODIES . 3 2:

best attention . But his interest wi l l not be i n these th ings,his

thoughts w i l l not be bound to the ir resul ts ; the i nstant that theduty is performed and he is released , his thought w il l fly back tothe permanent l i fe

,wi l l rise to the higher levelwi th upward - strivi ng

energy, and he will begi n to l ive there and to rate at the ir true

worthlessness the trivial i ties of the world ly l ife . As he stead i lydoesthis, and seeks to train himself to.high and abstract th ink ing, hewill begi n to viv ify the higher l inks i n consc iousness and begin tobri ng into th is lower l ife the consc iousness that is h imself.A man is one and the same man on whatever plane he may be

fu nction ing, and his triumph is when he functions on al l the fivep lanes i n unbroken consc iousness. Those whom we cal l the

M asters, the“ Men made perfect

,

” function in the ir wak ing consciousness not only on the three lower planes, but on the fourthpl ane—that plane of unityspoken of i n the Aldndzz

‘

mpam'

shad as

the Turiya , and on that yet above i t , the plane of Nirvana . Inthem evolution is completed

,th is cycle has been trodden to its

c lose , and what they are i n time all shal l be who are cl imbi ngslowly upwards. This is the unification of consc iousness ; theveh icles rema i n for use, bu t no longer are able to imprison , and them an uses anyone of his bod ies accord ing to the work that he hasto do .

In this way matter, time and space are conquered,and their

barriers cease to exist for the unified man . He has found i n cl imbi ng upwards that theyare less and less barriers in each stage . Evenon the astral plane matter is much less of a d iv ision than i t is downhere, separating h im from his brothers far less efl

'

ectually. Travell i ng in the astral bodyis so swift that space and time may be said tobe practical ly conquered , for al though the man knows he is passingth rough space i t is passed through so rapid ly that its power tod ivide friend from friend is lost . Even that first conquest set atnought physical d istance . When he rose to the mental world hefound another power his he thought of a place : he was there hethought of a friend : the friend was before h im . Even on the th irdp lane consc iousness transcends the barriers of matter

,space

,and

t ime, and is presen t anywhere at w i ll . All th ings that are seen areseen at once, the moment attention is turned to them ; al l that isheard is heard at a si ngle impression ; space, matter and time, as

3 22 LUCIFER .

known i n the lower worlds,have d isappeared , sequence no longer

exists i n the “ eternal now.

”As he rises yet higher, barriersw i thin

consc iousness also fal l away, and he knows himself to be one w i thother consciousnesses

,other l iving th ings; he can th ink as they th ink ,

feel as they feel , know as they know . He can make their l im i tat ions his for the moment

,in order that he m ay understand exactly

how they are think i ng, and yet have his own consc iousness. He

can use his own greater knowledge for the helpi ng of the narrowerand more restricted thought

,identifying h imself wi th i t in order

gently to enlarge its bounds. He takes on al together new functionsin nature when he is no longer d ivided from others, but real izes theSelf that is one in al l and sends down his energies from the plane ofunity. Wi th regard even to the lower animals he is able to feelhow the world exists to them

,so that he can give exactly the help

they need , and can supply the aid after wh ich they are bl indlygroping. Hence his conquest is not for himself but for al l , and hew ins wider powers only to place them at the serv ice of al llower i n the scale of evolution than himself ; i n this way hebecomes self- conscious i n all the world for this he learned to thri l lresponsive to every cry of pain , to everythrob of joy or sorrow . Allis reached

,all is gai ned

,and the Master is the m an

“who has

noth ing more to learn . By th is we mean not that al l possibleknowledge is at any given moment w i th in his consc iousness, bu tthat so far as th is stage of evolution is concerned there is noth ingthat to him is vei led

,nothing of which he does not become fu l ly

conscious when he turns his attention to i t ; wi th in this c ircle ofevolution of everyth ing that l ives— and all things l ive— there isnoth ing he cannot understand and therefore noth ing that he cannot help .

That is the u l timate triumph of m an . All that I have spokenof wou ld be worthless

,trivial

,were i t gained for the narrow self we

recognize as self down here ; al l the steps,my reader, to which I

have been trying to win you wou ld not be worth the tak ing d id theyset you at last on an isolated pinnacle , apart from all the si nn i ng

,

sufferi ng selves,i nstead of lead ing you to the heart of th ings, where

they and you are one . The consc iousness of the Master stretchesi tself out in any d irection in which he sends i t

,assim i lates i tself

wi th anypo int to wh ich he d irects i t, knows anyth ing which he

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DEVACHAN .

Con tinuedfrom p.

THE DISEMBODIED .

Four/11 Sub-plana— So varied are the activ i ties of this

,the highest

of the ri‘Ipa levels, that it is diflicult to group them under a singlecharacteristic . Perhaps theym ight best be arranged i nto four maind iv isions— unselfish pursu i t of spiri tual knowledge, high phi losoph icor sc ientific thought, l iteraryor artistic ab i l ity exerc ised for unselfishpurposes

,and serv ice for serv ice’s sake . The exact definition of

each of these classes wi l l be more read i ly comprehended whensom e examples of each have been given .

Natural ly i t is from those rel igions i n wh ich the necessi ty ofobtaining sp iri tual knowledge is recogn ized that most of the population of th is sub- plane is drawn . I t w i l l be remembered that onthe sixth sub-

plane we found many Buddh ists whose rel igion hadchiefly taken the form of devotion to the ir great leader as a personhere on the con trary we have those more i ntel l igent fol lowerswhose supreme aspirat ion was to sit at h is feet and learn— who

looked upon him i n the l igh t of a teacher rather than as a be ing tobe adored. Now in the ir Devachan th is highest wish is fu lfi l led ;they find them selves in very truth learning from the Buddha,and the image wh ich they have thus made of him is no mereempty form ,

bu t most assured ly has i n i t a ray which is real lypart of him self. They are therefore beyond doubt acqu iri ng freshknowledge and wider v iews and the effect upon the ir next li fe cannot but be of the most marked character . Theywi l l not, of course,remember any ind iv idual facts that theym ay have learnt (thoughwhen such facts are presented to their m inds in a subsequen t life .

theywi l l intu i tively recognize and feel the ir truth), bu t the resultof the teaching wi l l be to bu i ld into the ego a strong tendency to

take wider. broader, more reasonable v iews on all such subjects.

DEVACHAN . 3 25

Thus i t wi l l be seen that the Devachan enjoyed on th is higher subd iv ision very defini tely and unm istakably hastens the evolution ofthe ego

,and aga i n we recognize the advantage gained by those who

have in the i r Devachan the figures of real , l iv ing and powerfu lteachers.

A less developed type of th is form of i nstruction is found i n casesin which some real lygreat and spiri tual wri ter has become to a studenta l ivi ng personal i ty, and has taken on the aspect of a friend , form ing

part of the student’s mental l ife— an ideal figure i n his musings.

Such an one may enter i nto the pup i l‘

s Devachan,and by v irtue of

his own highly evolved ego may vivify the devachan ic image ofhimself, and further i l lum inate the teachings i n his own books,bri nging ou t of them the more hidden meanings.

Many of the fol lowers of the path of wisdom among theH i ndus find their Devachan upon this plane— that is, if thei r Gurushave been men possessing anyma! knowledge . A few of the moreadvanced among the Sufis and Parsis are also here

,and we sti l l

find some of the early Gnostics whose sp iri tual development wassuch as to earn for them a prolonged stay i n th is celestial region .

But except for this comparativelysmall number ofSfif'

is and Gnosticsne i ther Mohammedanism nor Ch ristianity seems to raise its followers to this level , though of course some who nom inal ly belongto these rel i gions may be carried on to th is sub- plane by thepresence i n the ir character of qual i ties wh ich do not depend uponthe teachings pecu l iar to thei r rel i gion .

In this region we also find earnest and devoted students ofOccultism who are not yet so far advanced as to have earned theri gh t and the power to forego their Devachan for the good of the

these was one who i n l ife had been personal lyf the i nvestigators— a Buddhist monk who hadtuden t of Theosophy, and had long cherishedone day privi leged to rece ive instruction d irectly

In his Devachan the Buddha was thewhi le the two Masters who have been most closelythe Th eosophical Society appeared also as his

und i ng and i l lustrating his teaching. All threewere very fu l ly v i tal ized and i nformed by the

at be i ngs whom they represented , and

3 26 LUCIFER .

the monk was therefore definitely rece iv i ng real teaching upon

occult subjects, the effect of wh ich wou ld almost certa i n ly be tobring him actual ly on to the Path of Initiation i n his next b irth .

Another i nstance from our ranks wh ich was encountered onthis level i llustrates the terrible effect of harbouri ng unfounded and

unchari table suspicions. I t was the case of an old,devoted and

self- sacrificing student who towards the end of her l ife had un fortunately fal len into an atti tude of qu i te unworthy and unj ustifiab led istrust of the motives of her old friend and teacher

, Madam eB lavatsky; and i t was sad to notice how th is feel i ng had shu t ou tto a considerable extent the higher influence and teach i ng wh ichshe m ight have enjoyed i n her Devachan . I t was no t that thei nfluence and teach ing was in any way w i thheld from h er, bu tthat her own mental atti tude rendered her to some exten t un recept ive of them . She was of course qu i te unconscious of th is

,and

seem ed to herself to be enjoying the fu l lest and most perfect communion wi th her Master, yet i t was obv ious that bu t for thisunfortunate sel f- l im i tation she wou ld have reaped far g

reateradvantage from her stay on this level.There are of course other Masters of w isdom besides those

connected wi th our own movement, and other schools of occu l t ismwork ing along the same general l ines as that to wh ich they belong,and many students attached to these are also to be found uponth is sub- plane .

Passing now to the next class,that of high phi losoph ic and

sc ientific thought, we find here many of those real th inkers whoseek insight and knowledge onlyfor the purpose of enl ightening andhelp ing the ir fel lows. I t wi l l of course be understood that it isimpossible to i nclude as students of ph i losophy men , ei ther i n theeast or the west, who waste the ir time in mere verbal argument andhair - spl i tting, a form of d iscussion which has its roots i n selfishnessand concei t

,and can therefore never help towards a real understand

i ng of the facts of the universe ; natural ly such fool ish superficialityas th is produces no resu lts that can work themselves ou t on thedevachan ic plane . As an instance of a true student noticed on thissub-

plane we m ay mention one of the later fol lowers of the neo

platonic system ,whose name has fortunatelybeen preserved to us

in the surv iv ing records of that period . He had striven all through

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3 28 LUCIFER .

upon th is plane ; they may also i n many cases be grasped by the

m i nds of artists sti l l in the flesh— may act as insp irat ions to them ,

and so be reproduced down here for the elevating and ennobli ng ofthat port ion of humanitywh ich is struggling am id the turm oil ofphysical l ife .

One touch ing and beau tifu l figure seen upon this plane wasthat of a boywho had been a chorister, and had d ied at the age offourteen . His whole sou l was fu l l of music and of boyish devotionto his art

,deeply coloured wi th the thought that by i t he was

expressing the rel igious longings of the m u lt i tude who crowdeda vast cathedral , and yet was at the same time pouri ng ou t to themcelest ial encouragem ent and i nsp iration . He had known l i ttleenough save for th is one great gift of song

,bu t he had used that

worthily, trying to be the voice of the people to heaven and of

heaven to the people,and ever longing to know more m usic and

render i t more worth i ly for the Church’s sake . In his Devachan

his wish was bearing fru i t,and over him was bend i ng a teacher

i n a form ev idently made by his m ind from the quain t angularfigure of a med iaeval S t . Cec i l ia i n a stained glass window,

and thisthought - image was vivified by a Deva , who through it taugh t h imgreater music than he had ever dreamed on earth .

Here also was one of earth ’s fai lures— for the tragedy of theearth - l ife leaves strange marks sometimes even in “ the heavenlyplaces.

” He was alone in Devachan ; i n the world where all

thoughts of loved ones sm i le upon man as friends,he was th ink

ing and wri ting in sol i tude . On earth he had striven to write a

great book,and for the sake of i t had refused to use his l iterary

power in mak ing mere sustenance from paltry hack - work ; bu tnone wou ld look at his book

,and he walked the streets despa i r i ng,

til l sorrow and starvation closed his eyes to earth . He had beenlonely all h is l ife— in his youth friend less and shut out from fam i lyt ies, and in his manhood able to work only in his own way, push ingaside hands that wou ld have led h im to a wider V iew of l ife’s possibilities than the earth ly parad ise wh ich he longed to make for al l .Now

,as he thought and wrote

,though there were none he had

loved as personal or ideal helpers who cou ld make part of his

devachan ic l ife,he saw stretch ing before h im the U top ia of wh ich he

had dreamed,for which he had tried to l ive

,and the vast thronging

DEVACHAN. 3 29

impersonal mu l titudes whom he had lon ged to serve ; and the joyof their joy surged back on him and made his sol itude a heaven .

When he is born aga i n to earth he wi l l surely return w i th power toachieve as wel l as to plan , and the devachanic vision w i l l bepartial lybod ied forth in happier terrene l ives.

Manywere found on th is plane who during their earth - stayhaddevoted themselves to helpi ng men because men needed helpingand theyfelt the tieofbrotherhood— who rendered service for services

’

sake rather than because they desired to please any particu lardei ty. They were engaged in work i ng ou t w i th ful l knowledgeand calm wisdom vast schemes of beneficence

,magnificent plans of

world - improvement , and at the same time they were maturi ngpowers wi th which to carry them out hereafter on the lower planeof physical l ife .

Tue AaI‘

JrA LEVELS .

We now pass from the four lower or rftpa levels of Devachan ,

on wh ich the personal ity functions, to the three h igher, or arfipa

levels,where the re incarnati ng ego has his home . Here

,so far

as he sees at al l,he sees clearly, for he has risen above the i l lusions

of personal i ty and the refracting med ium of the lower self, andthough his consc iousnessmaybe d im ,

dream ilyunobservant ,scarcelyawake

, yet his vision is at least true , however l im i ted . The conditions of consc iousness are so far away from al l w i th which we are

fam i l iar down here that no terms known to psychology are of anyuse bu t to m islead . This has been cal led the realm of the noumenali n contrast wi th the phenomenal , of the form less i n contrast wi ththe formed ; bu t i t is sti l l a world of man ifestat ion

,however real

when opposed to the unreal i ties of lower states,and i t sti l l has

forms,however rare in the ir materials and subtle i n the ir essence.

T/ u'

rd Sub-plana—This, the lowest of the arupa sub- planes,is

also by far the most popu lous of al l the regions wi th which we are

acqua inted,for here are present almost al l the sixty thousand

m i l l ions of egos who are said to be engaged i n the present humanevolution— al l , i n fact , except the comparativelysmal l number whoare capable of functioning on the second and first sub- planes. Eachego is represented by an ovoid form , the auric egg— at fi rst a merefilm

,colourless and almost invisible, of most tenuous consistency;

3 3 0 women .

but as the ego developes th is body begins to show a sh im meringir idescence l ike a soap - bubble , colours playing over its surface l ikethe changing hues made by sunl ight on the spray of a waterfal l .Composed of matter i nconce ivablyfine,del icate and ethereal , i n tenselyal ive and pu lsating wi th l iv ing fire, i t becomes as its evolu tion pro

ceeds a rad iant glob; of flashing colours, its high v ibrations send ingr ipples of changing hues over its surface— hues ofwh ich earth knowsnoth ing

,bri l l iant

,soft and lum inousbeyond the power of lan guage to

describe . Take the colours of an Egyptian sunset and add to themthe wonderfu l softness of an Engl ish sky at eventide— ra ise these

as high above themselves in l ight and translucency and splen dour

as they are above the colours given by the cakes of a ch i ld’s paint

box— and even then none who has not seen can image the beau ty ofthese rad ian t orbs wh ich flash into the field of the devachan ic sight

as i t is l ifted to the v ision of th is supernal world .

All these causal bod ies are fi l led wi th l ivi ng fire,drawn from a

h igher plane wi th which the globe appears to be connected by aqu iveri ng thread of i ntense l ight, v ivid ly recal l i ng to the m in d thewords of the Stanzas of Dz yan ,

“ the Spark hangs from the Flameby the finest thread of Fohat ;

” and as the ego grows and is ableto receive more and more from the i nexhaustible ocean of A tm aBuddhi wh ich pours down through the thread as channel

,the latter

expands and gives wider passage to the flood,ti l l on the next sub

plane i t m ight be imaged as a water- spout connecting earth andsky, and higher st il l as i tself a great globe through wh ich ru shesthe l iving spri ng unti l the causal body seems to mel t in to th ei npouring l ight . Once more the Stanza says i t for us Thethread between the Watcher and his shadow becomes more strongand rad iant w i th every change . The morn ing sunl ight has ch angedi nto noon - day glory. Th is is thy present Wheel , said the F lameto the Spark . Thou art myself, my image and my shadow . I haveclothed myself in thee, and thou art my vahan to the day, B e- w i thus

’

,when thou shal t rebecome myself and others, thyself and m e.

The egos who are connected wi th a physical body are d ist in

guishable from those enjoying the d isembod ied state by a d ifferencei n the types of vibrations set up on the surface of the globes

, an d i tis therefore easyto see at a glance whether an i nd iv idual is or is not inincarnation at the time . The immense majori ty, whether i n or out

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3 3 2 LUCIFER .

made and the d irection in wh ich it is go ing. In this way the mostadvanced egos of th is sub - plane develope to a po in t at which theyare engaged in studying the ir past , trac i ng out the causes set goi ngin i t

,and learning much from the retrospection , so that the impu lses

sent downwards become more clear and definite, and translate them

selves in the lower consc iousness as firm convictions and imperativei ntu i tions. I t is perhaps scarcelynecessary to repeat that the thoughtimages of the fi lm levels are not carried into the arfipa world ; if anego consc ious on this plane has been surrounded by the images of lessdeveloped i nd iv idual i t ies who were dear to h im on earth

,he comes

into contact wi th them in th is higher region as theyreal lyare , andwi llfind them irresponsive to h im here , they havi ng not yet developedthe ir consc iousness on the loftier plane . Th is is

,however

,a very

rare case , and even when it occurs the ego experiences no sense ofloss

,for th e t ies that are onlyof the personal i ty have no power over

him ; his true ties are with other ind iv idual i ties,and these endure

when the personal i ty van ishes, and on the ari‘

Ipa leve ls each egoknows his real k indred , sees them and is seen in his own nature,as the true immortal man that passes on from l ife to l ife

,wi th al l

the ties i ntact that are knit to his real be ing .

Second Sub-plana— From the densely- thronged region that wehave been considering we pass i nto a more th in ly- popu lated world

,

as out of a great c i ty into a peacefu l country- side ; for at thepresent stage of human evolu tion only a smal l m inori ty of ind ividuals have risen to this loftier level where even the leastadvanced is yet definitely sel f- consc ious

,and also consc ious of his

surround ings. Able at least to some extent to review the pastthrough which he has come

,the ego on th is level is aware of the

purpose and method of evolution heknows that he is engaged in awork of self- development

,and recognizes the stages of physical

and post - mortem l ife through which he passes in his lower veh icles.

The personal itywi th wh ich he is connected is seen by h im as partof h imself

,and he endeavours to gu ide i t, usi ng his knowledge of

the past as a store of experience from wh ich he formulates pri nciples Of conduct

,clear and imm u table convictions of righ t and

wrong. These he sends down into his lower m ind,superi ntend ing

and d irecting its activ i ties. Wh ile he continually fai ls i n the

earl ier part of his l ife on th is sub- plane to make the lower m ind

DEVACHAN . 3 3 3

understand logical ly the foundations of the princ iples he impresseson i t

,be yet very definitely succeeds i n mak ing the impression

,and

such abstract ideas as tru th,j ustice

,honour, law,

become unchallen ged and ru l ing conceptions i n the lower mental l i fe . There areru les of conduct enforced by soc ial

,national and rel igious sanctions

,

bywhich a man gu ides h imself i n dai ly l ife , and yet wh ich m ay be

swep t away bysome rush of temptation,some overmastering surge

of passion and desire ; but there are some th ings an evolved mancannot do

,th ings wh ich are aga i nst his very nature ; he cannot l ie,

or betray, or do a d ishonourable action . Into the inmost fibres of hisbe ing certain pri nc iples are wrought

,and to act aga inst them is an

impossibi l i ty, no matter what the strai n of c ircumstance or thetorrent of temptation ; these th ings are of the l i fe Of the ego .

Whi le , however, he thus succeeds i n gu id ing his lower veh icle,his

knowledge of i t and its do ings is not prec ise and clear. He sees

the lower planes but d im ly, understand ing the ir pri nciples ratherthan their deta i ls

,and part of his evolu tion on th is plane consists

of com ing more and more consc iously i nto d irect touch with thepersonal i tywhich so imperfectly represents him be low .

I t wi l l be understood from this that only such egos as are

del iberatelyaim i ng at spi ri tual growth l ive on this plane,and they

have i n consequence become largelyreceptive of influences from theplanes above them . The channel of communication grows andenlarges

,and a ful ler flood pours through . The thought under this

i nfluence takes on a si ngularly clear and pierc ing qual i ty,even i n

the less developed,and the effect of this i n the lower m i nd shows

i tsel f as a tendency to plI ilOSOphic and abstract thought . In themore highly evolved the vision is far reaching and ranges w i thc lear insight over the past, recogn iz ing the causes set up, theirwork ing out , and what rema ins sti ll unexhausted of the ir efl

'

ects.

Egos l iv i ng on th is plane have wide opportunities for growthwhen freed from the physical body, for here they may receivei nstructions from more advanced enti ties

,com ing into d irect touch

with their teachers. No longer by thought pictures, bu t by aflash ing luminousness impossible to describe

,the very essence of

the idea fl ies l ike a star from one ego to the other,its correlations

expressing themse lves as l ight waves pouri ng out from the centralstar, a nd need ingno separate enunciation . A thought there is l ike

3 3 4 LUCIFER .

a l ight placed in a room ; i t shows al l th ings round i t, bu t requ iresno words to describe them .

First Sub- jdana— This, the most glorious levelof the devachanicworld , has but few denizens from our human ity, for none bu t Mastersand Initiates dwel l on its hei ghts. Of the beauty of form andcolour and sound here

,no words can speak

,for mortal language has

no terms in wh ich those rad iant splendours m ay find expression .

Enough that theyarc,and that some of our race are weari ng them

,

the prom ise of what others shal l be , the fru i tion of which the seed

was sown on low l ier planes. These have accom pl ished the m z‘

inasic

evolution,and have unified self- consc iousness ; from the ir eyes the

i l lusion - ve i l of personal i ty has been l ifted , and they know and

real ize that theyare not the lower nature, but onlyuse i t as a veh icleof experience . I t may sti l l have power in the less evolved of themto shackle and to hamper, but they can never fal l into the b lunderof confusing it wi th themselves. From th is they are saved bycarryi ng the ir consciousness through unbroken , not only from day

to day but from l ife to l ife, and even where th is unbroken con sc iousness is not impressed perfectlyon the physical brain , the fac t of itscontinu i tyrem ains and dom inates all the thoughts. Past l ives seem

less to be looked back upon than to be present in consciousn ess,the

m an feel ing them as one l ife rather than as many.

From th is h ighest level of the arp a world come down m ost ofthe influences poured ou t bythe Masters

,as theywork for the evolu

tion of the human race,

acting on the ind iv idual ities of men,

shedd ing on them the inspiri ng energies wh ich stimulate sp iri tualgrowth

,which enl ighten the i ntel lect and purify the em otions.

Hence genius rece ives its i l lum i nation,and al l upward efforts find

their gu idance . As the sun - rays fal l everywhere from one centre,

and each body that rece ives them uses them after its nature, so fromthe E lder B rothers of the race fal l on al l egos the l ight and l ifewhich i t is their function to d ispense ; and each uses as much as i t canassim i late and thereby grows and evolves. Thus

,as everywhere

else , the highest glory of the devachan ic world is found i n the gloryof serv ice

,and they who have accompl ished the manasic evolu tion

are the fountains from which flows strength for those who st i l l are

cl im bin g .

C. W. LEADB EATER ,

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3 3 6 LUCIFER .

Each creature that goes before you has a soul ,And from that soul is bound a cord to you.

For that soul of each one is hidden in you.

In another place i n the M asnaw'

(p . 21 6) we read

First man appeared in the class of inorganic things,Next he passed therefrom into that of plants.

For years he lived as one of the plants,Remembering naught of his inorgan ic state so different ;

And when he passed from the vegetive to the animal state,He had no remembrance of his state as a plant .

Again , the Great Creator, as you know,

Drew man out of the animal in to the human state.

Thus man passed from one order of nature to another,

Til l he became wise and knowing and strong as he is now.

In order to escape from his present soul ful l of lustsHe must behold thousands of reasonable souls.

In another passage man and his origin and destiny are

graphical lydescribed (Gulsimn - zlm z , p . 3 3 )K now first how the perfect man is produced

From the time he is first engendered .

He is produced at first as inanimate matter,

Next by the added spirit he is made sen tient,

And acquires the motive powers from the Almighty.

Next he is m ade L ord of Wil l by the Truth .

In childhood Opens out perception of the worldAnd the temptations of the world act upon him .

Anger is born in him , and lust of the flesh,And from these spring avarice, gluttony, pride.

Evil dispositions come in to operation ,

He becomes worse than an an imal , a demon , a brute.

In his descen t this point is the very lowest,For it is the poin t directlyopposite to unity.

If he remains imprisoned in this snareHe goes astrayworse than the beasts.

B ut if from the spirit world there shines a lightFrom illumination or logical demonstration ,

Then his heart has fellowship with the light of the Truth ,

s FiSM . 3 3 7

And he turns back along the road which he came.

From that divine at traction or certain proofHe finds his way to assured faith .

He arises from the seven th hell of the wicked ,

He sets his face towards the seven th heaven of the righteousThen he is clothed with the qualityof repen tance.

From evil deeds he becomes pure,

L ike Idris the prophet . he is caught up to heaven .

When he obtains release from evil habits,He becomes thereby like Noah . a saviour of his own life .

And like the friend of God he acquires trust in God .

His will is joined with the pleasure of the Truth .

And like Moses he en ters the highest door.

He Obtains release from his Own knowledgeAnd like the prophet Jesus he becomes near to God .

He gives up his existence utterly to be plundered ,

And in the steps of the Most Pure he ascends.

B ut when his last poin t is joined to his firstThere is no en trance for angel or for prophet .

I t is when a man becomes clothed w i th the qual i ty of repentance

,when he defini telysets his face towards the source whence he

came,that he becom es a Sftfi i n tr uth , and i t is wi th his subse

q uent progress along the myst ic path unti l he reaches the supremegoal that their wri tings pri nc ipal lydeal . The

“ Sufi is l ikened to atravel ler who as he passes upward experiences various states of theheart wh ich are cal led stages i n the journey, and sometimes i nnson the road . The various stages are somewhat d ifferently describedby d ifferent wri ters, bu t the goal is always reun ion wi th

,or

absorption in to,God . The wri ter of the Guls/um - z

’

- ra: (p . 1 9) thusaddresses those who have not clothed themselves wi th repentance

How shall I tell the tale of states of heartTo you , 0 man , with head downcast and feet in the m ire ?

The world is yours, and yet you remain indigen t .Has man ever seen one so pitiable as you are

L ike captives you are confined to one spot ,B inding your feet with your own helpless hand .

The valian t of the world are rolling in carnage

You with head wrapped up . put not forth your foot .

3 3 8 LUCIFER .

If vou are a man . come forth and pass on .

press onwards on this road .

Till you hear the words, Verily. I am God .

Wi th regard to upward progress, or the return of the in d iv idual to the Dei ty, and the mystic path and its stages

,I cann ot do

better than note the classification given by Az iz bin Moham m edNafasi as rendered by Palm er i n his treatise on Oriental mystic ism .

“When a man possessi ng the necessary requ irements of ful lydeveloped reasoning powers turns to them for a resolut ion of hisdoubts and uncertainties concerning the real nature of the Godhead

,

he is cal led a Tabi t , a searcher after God , a neophyte . I f he man ifesta further incl ination to prosecute his enqu iry accord ing to theirsystem ,

he is called Murid,or onewho i ncl i nes

,a d isciple . P lacing

h im self then under the spiri tual instruction of some em i nent leaderof the sect

,he is fairly started upon his journey, and becom es a

Sal ik,or traveller, whose whole busi ness i n after - l ife is devotion

,

or the prosecution of his journey, to the end that he may u l tim atelyarrive at the knowledge of God .

”

I t is only now that he real lybegins to enter on the Path i tself,of which the fol low ing are the seven stages

I . The Stage ofWorship . Here he is i nstructed to scr ew God

as a first step towards a know/wig: of Him .

2. The Stage of Love . When in answer to his prayers the

Divi ne i nfluence or attraction has deve loped his i ncl i nation i n to th e

L ove of God, he is said to have reached this stage.

3 . The Stage of Seclusion . He is led to th is Stage by the

Div ine Love expel l i ng all world ly desi res from his heart .

4. The Stage of Knowledge . Occupyi ng himsel f h enceforward w i th contemplation and the i nvestigations of the m e ta

physical theories con cerning the nature , attributes and works oflod

,he reaches this stage .

5 . The Stage of Ecstasy. In this stage he obta i ns d i recti llum ination of the heart byGod .

6. The Stage of Truth . I II this stage the travel ler receives arevelation of the true nature of the Godhead .

7 . The Stage of Direct Union wi th God .

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3 40 LUCIFER .

has reached the fi rst stage , that of Bel ief. When he acts in obed ience to the Wi l l of God and apportions the night and day forearnest prayer, he has reached the stage of worsh ip— the secondstage . He reaches the th ird stage

,that of a Recluse

,when he has

expel led the love of th is world from his heart and occupies h imselfwith contemplation of the m ightywhole . When in add i tion to thishe learns the mysteries of nature, he reaches the fourth , and becomesOne who knows.

” He next attai ns to the fi fth,the Love of

God,

”and is cal led a Saint . When he is moreover gifted with

inspiration and power of work i ng m iracles he is at stage six,and is

a Prophet . When he is entrusted w i th the del ivery of God’s

message , he is cal led an Apostle,and th is is the seventh stage .

B eyond this are two more stages,the next be ing that of One

who has a m ission,

” meaning one who is entrusted wi th the inception of some sp iri tual movement

,and sti l l h igher is another stage

,

the final one— which is spoken of as the “ Seal .

O'rwav S . CU FFE .

To In:

THEOSOPH ICAL ACTIVITIES .

INDIAN SsCTION .

Ta tian is not very much news to note this month,for the hot

weather has taken hold in real earnest, so that both men and th ings areverydesirous of taking matters coo l ly. I t has been gratifying,

however,to fi nd that a considerable number of scattered members, who had beenregarded as having lapsed owing to non -

paymen t of dues, on beingpersonal ly notified of the fact have paid up and revived their activemem bership .

Pandit B hawan i Shankar has gone to his home on theWest Coast,after fin ishing a long and very usefu l winter

’

s work , spen t in visit ingthe B ranches in the Punjab, B ehar and Cen tral Provinces. He

has done good work everywhere, and his gen tle kindness haswon many

hearts. Our B rother Rai B . K . Lahiri has been for some time in

Calcu tta ,and the B ran ch has had the benefi t of his energyand devotion .

B esides other good work , he has re- organized the Y oung Men'

s AryanUnion . started long ago under T . S . auspices and on the same l ines,

and it now seem s l ikely to do much better work than heretofore.

Another new B ranch has been formed at Ca lcutta, which is

certainly none too smal l to ofi'

er ample scope for a fu l l hal f- dozen of

active and energetic organ izations.

B . K .

Cv os L am as .

Colonel Olcott arrived here from B ombay on May 3 rd , afteI

attending the wedding of the son of h is friend , H .H . Prince Harisinghj i

Rupsinghj i. On the 4th May the Presiden t visited the Musaeus

Schoo l and Orphanage, and seemed pleased with the work of Mrs.

Higgin s. The same day he was her guest at din ner . He left on themorning of the sth for Gal le,

and retu rns to Co lombo on the 8th . proceed ing on the 9th to Kandy, to make a tour in the Cen tral Provincetill the 1 9th ,

visiting the differen t educational station s. He leavesthis on the 24th by the Sagan /fen .

3 42 w on -‘

as .

Our Cen tre in connection with theHope Lodge, is working stead ilyto bring home to those around us the m ission of Theosophy. Ray: 0]

is a helpfu l medium for this object .The Muszeus School and Orphanage was re- opened on the 4th

after the usual hol idays. Mrs. Higgins hopes to build some additionalrooms this year, and thus en large the accommodation of the Institu tionlitt le by l ittle,

according to the scan ty means at her disposal .

EI'

ROPEAN SI-zc'rrox .

THE Six th An nual Conven tion of the Theosoph ical Society in

inrope (the European Section ) wil l be held in London on Satu rdayand Sunday, Ju ly the 4th and sth .

The morn ing m eetings, begin n ing at ten o’c lock , wil l be held in

the Cavendish Room s, Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, c lose to

Queen'

s Hal l . On Saturday afternoon there wil l be a Reception at

Headquarters at when the photographic group wil l be taken . I II

the even ing the public meeting wil l be held at Queen’

s (smal l) H al l ,Langham Place, at It has been fixed for the fi rst day, so as notto clash with Mrs. B esan t’s lecture at Queen

’

s Hal l , wh ich wil l be givenas usual at p .m . on Sunday.

B esides the routine agenda, the on ly business matter of im portance is the consideration of the report of the Committee of Revisionappoin ted by the last Conven tion .

The fol lowing is an extract from a circu lar recen t ly issued , the

members in the south—western part of England having decided toadopt an arrangement sim ilar to

"

the Northern Federation .

“ I t is

proposed to hold a South -Western Conven tion of the Theos'oph icalSociety at 48 , Queen

’

s Road , B ristol . on June 20th and 2 1 st, under the

presidencv of Mrs. Cooper- Oak ley. The objects of the Federationwil l be : ( I ) To establ ish a closer bond of un ion between the L odges,

Cen tres, and outlying Members in the South -Western district , byarranging for the exchange of papers, visits, etc . ; (2) To advance the

spread of Theosophic teaching by m utual suggestions and help .

“ All rep lies and enquiries to be addressed : The Secretary of the

Federation , Theosoph ical Society, 48 , Queen’

s Road, C lifton , B ristol.”

On Saturday, June 20th ,an in formal meeting will be held in the

afternoon , and in the even ing a general meeting to discuss the busin essof the Federation .

On June z xst a m eeting of the B ristol Lodge will take place in the

morn ing, and in the even ing an address wil l be given by Mrs. Oak ley,

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3 44 w omen .

and to resolutions ; in the even ing papers were read by the GeneralSecretary, M rs. B rain ard ; Mr. Wil lis, and Mrs. Sears. I t was decidedthat the next Conven tion shou ld be held on the second Sunday in

June, 1 897 .

AUSTRALASIAN SECTION .

We have just heard of the conclusion of an exceedingly successfu lConven tion of this Section in Melbourne. The various bran ches werewel l represen ted ,

and all the business was transacted speedily, effi

cien tly, and with very litt le difference of opin ion . The two d rafts of

am endm en ts to the T . S . Constitution , put for ward by the Eu ropeanand Indian Sections, were deal t with by a comm ittee whose reportwas unan imously adopted by theConven tion . The feel ing was stronglyagainst auv al teration in the wording of the objects of our Society, for

various cogen t reasons . A t the Conven tion m eeting steps were takento facil itate the drawing scien tific studen ts and workers in to Closertouch with each other and the movem en t , as wel l as to prom ote the

study of Theosophy especial ly in its scien tific aspects . The idea is a

good and m ost usefu l one, and shou ld bear worthy fruit sooner or later .A fu l l report of this Conven tion wil l come to hand in due course ; butwe cannot con clude this brief advance notice of the gathering withoutal luding to the spon taneous and m ost hearty tribute of than ks and

appreciation which paid unan imously to the General Secretary, M r.

Stap les, whom we hope ere long to see amongst us here, as he is com inghome on six mon ths’ leave.

3 45

REVIEWS .

'

I‘

II E Boox 0? THE SECRETS or ENocn .

Tran slated from the Slavonic byW. R . Morfi ll, M .A and edited , withIntroduction , Notes, and Indices, byR . H . Charles, M .A . [Oxford zThe C larendon Press.

STUDENTS of so- cal led apocryphal scriptures are wel l aware thatthe chances of recovery of many important documen ts, curren t priorto and in the early cen turies of Christian ity, depend almost en tirely ontheir translation into languages other than Hebrew. Greek, or Latincomprom isiug documents in these more general lyknown tongues beingmore easily discoverable for destruction by the orthodox . Thus wehave been able to recover some important so- cal led apocryphal andheretical gospels and scriptures, in Coptic , Syriac, and Ethiopic translations, and now the Slavonic has proved the means of preserving onemore important document of the kind . For more than years ithas been unknown save in Russia, and in Western Europe was notknown to exist even in Russia t il l I892. A Germ an review then statedthat there was a Slavon ic version of the wel l - known Ethiopic B ook of

Enoch . The researches of Messrs. Morfi ll and Charles. however. have

proved that this is not the case, but that they have l ighted on an in

dependent version of the Enochic writings, preserved in S lavonic formany centuries.

The find is an exceedingly valuable one, and those who have readthe Ethiopic Enoch and marked such passages as the thieves and

robbers incident . wil l eagerly peruse the S lavonic Enoch for furtherconfi rmation of the priority of a number of passages in the New Testamen t to the Christian era . Of course the editor. Mr. Charles, has totread very warily on such dangerous and controversial ground , butthough he leaves the drawing of deductions to others, he neverthelessstates h is facts .

He fairly es tabl ishes that the S lavonic translation comes from a

Greek copy; the penu l timate editor of the original document being a

3 46 LUCIFER .

Hel len istic Jew writing in Egypt, probably in A lexandria, and the

original docum en t being undoubted ly Hebrew.

The date of the Greek version cannot possib lybe later than 70 A . D

because the temple is referred to as stil l standing. The earliest dateis about 3 0 B .C . I t is quoted by name in the Testaments of Lev i,

Dan iel and Naphthali, Cir. I A .D . The portion s wh ich have a H ebrew

background are at latest pre- Christian .

The fol lowing are some of the m ost in teresting parallels between

our documen t and the documen ts of the New Testamen t .

S L AVON IC ENoc II .

B lessed is he who establishes peaceIlii. I I ).

I will swear by a single oath , neitherb } heaven , nor by earth ,

nor by am

o ther creatu re wh ich God m ade.

If there is no tr uth in m en , let themswear by a word , yea, yea, nay, nay (xlIx .

4By their a orks those who h ave wrough tthem are known (xlIi. I4).

B e of good cheer, be not afraid (I . 8 ;

xx . 2 ; xxi. 3 ,Th is place Paradise), 0 Enoch , Is

prepared for the righ teousan eternal inheritance (ix . I ).Expec ting noth ing in return (xln .

For in the world to come thereare m any m ansion s prepared for m en ,

good for good , evil for evIl (lx I .Do not worsh ip vain gods who did not

m ake h eaven and earth (ii.

Lordsh ips and principalities and powers(xx .

B lessed is he in whom is the tru th thathe m ay speak the tru th to h is neighbou r(xlii.

I comm anded that visible

th ings should com e out of in visible(xxv. I ).I will tell thee what th ings

I created from the non - existen t, and

what visible th ings from the invisible(xxiv .

Their faces shone like the sun (i.

Those who keep the keys and are

guardian s of the gates of hell (xlii. I ).

A great sea greater than the earth lv

sea (hi.Then the tim es shall perish , and there

shall be no year, etc. (lxv .

Let there be a tim e when

there is no com pu tation and no end ;neither years, nor m on ths, etc. (xxxii.

Jerusalem ,

NEw TESTAMENT.

B lessed are the peacem akers (I lla/M

Swear not at all : neither bythe heavennor by the earth nor by

but let you r speechhe

), Y ea, yea : Nav, nay (.llatlh . v . 3 4, 3 5,

3 7

V

By their fruits ye shall know them(I lla/Ill . vii.

die of good Cheer, be not afraid (. llatM .

x iv.

InherI t the kingdom prepared for youfrom the foundation of the world (. llallll.xxv .

)

Hopmg for noth ing again (L uke, vi.

3 5I II r

ayFather’s house are m any m an

sions 01 01 , xiv.

Y e should turn from these vain go dsun to the living God , who m ade theheaven and the earth (Ads, xiv. I5).Dom inions or principalities or powers

(Col. i. I6).Speak ye tru th each

neighbour (hp/I . iv .

one with h is

The worlds have been fram ed by theword of God, so that what is seen h athnot been m ade out of th ings wh ich doappear (Heb. xi.

His coun tenancewas as the su n sh inethi.

There was given to h im the key of the

pit of the abyss (Rev. ix . I ).A glassy sea (Rev. iv.

And the an rel swareth at there sha l be tim e no longer (Rax . 5,

The above are a portion of the paral lels with the New Testam en t

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3 48 LUCIFER .

IND IAN PAMPHLETS .

B y An n ie B esan t . (London : Theosoph ical Publish ing Socie ty. Price

2d . each . ]

FIVE ofMrs. B esan t’s Indian lectures havebeen issued by theT . P.S . ,

B en ares, and are over here on sale at the cen tral London house . They

are The U se of Evil, Ma Ie'ria[ism underm ined by Sa'

m a ’

, T[wP iigr im agc

qf t/u' Soul, 7 7mP late q/ Polilirs in Me L ife q/ a N a tion

, and E astern

Car/cs and ”Q'

s/em Classes. I II the fi rst, Evil is considered under four

heads : The Origin of Evil , The Relativity of Evil, The U se of Evil ,The Ending of Evil ,” and the subject is m ore fu l ly dealt with than in

any other Theosophical pam ph let . From the second m any usefulargum en ts m ay be cu l led to subm it to materialists. In the th ird , a

careful tracing is given of hum an evolution , while the fourth con sidersthe functions of the politician , the teacher and the th inker in the for mingof the national life. The fi fth exam ines the caste system of the Eastand the class system of theWest , taking both in their earlier and laterstages,

their use and their failure.

NEPHELE.

By FrancisW. Bourdillon . [L ondon George Redway. Price 2s. 6d. ]

TH IS is a gracefu l dreamy fancy,wrought out as a daintylove story.

A boy playing the organ at his schoo l chapel , p lays without h is willa strange unknown m elody,

and on its th ird repetition is conscious of

a presen ce sweet and fair beyond words. A youth at col lege lets h is

hand go its own way and draws an exquisite face, and as it sm iles at

him he recal ls and p lays again the melody of his school - days. Again

the sweet presen ce and a senseof comm union th rough the m usic , Closerand deeper than physical meeting cou ld bring. A meeting between

youth and m aiden at an even ing party,at which he supplies her lacking

accompan ist , and improvising together, he on piano and she on violin ,

the m elody again presen ts itself unbidden . B oth are con scious of a

strange in tim acy, but she is engaged to wed his friend . He weaves themelody in to a violin sonata,

and it is to be p layed at a London con cert .

By a fatal ity,he and she are drawn to p lay it, and at the c lose both

swoon . She dies, he recovers, and so the tale fi nds its end . A p rettyfancy, gracefu l ly told . The writer is evidently somewhat of a mystic,and says not un tru ly in his introduction :

“ As soon as m en cease to

believe in a th ing,it ceases— not to be— but to reveal itself to them .

"

THEOSOPH ICAL

MYSTIC PUBLICATIONS .

THE THEOSOPH IST (Adyar).

V ol. X V II , No . S z— There are several

th ings of considerable in terest in ColonelOlcott

’

s Old Diary L eaves.”the Orien

tal Series of which has now reached its

twen tieth chap ter. An accoun t is givenof the writing of “ The Elixir of L ife,

”

the well- known article republished in

F ive Yearsof Tbeosophy, and of its au thor,wh ich is hardly calcu lated to add to the

repu tation of that rem arkable production .

The appearance and disappearance of

Dam odar, and the trouble with h is fam ilyalso form part of the h istory given in

th is Ch apter. wh ich concludes with som e

particu lars respecting the B udd/1 1'

s! Calc

I II Theosophy and Sociology

M r. S . Stuart treats ofnationalKar ma in anin teresting m an ner. Th is is followed by

an article on one of the H indu sects, thatof Swam i Narayan , and a translation of

th e .J Imaprabod/m .S'

d lakas. A tran s

it m akes no difference to it whether thephysical is preserved or burn t . Th is is

followed by questions and answers on

spIrI tuality and m orality. the conditionof an an imal in sleep , the transm ission of

m inor qualities in reincarnation , the

subtle body, and the num ber of people

believing in reincarnation .

LE LOTUS B L EU (Paris).

V ol. V I , No. 3— The In troduction from

Tbe Secret Doctrine is com pleted in th isnum ber, following wh ich is an article byM . Gnym iot on the nature of m an ,

sketch ing h is evolution from the theoso

ph ie and the scien tific standpoin ts. M .

Dac u rites on the experim en ts conductedin l’aris by Colonel de Rochas, Dr. I )ariex ,

and others in con nection with the

m edium Eusapia l’aladino. I II the

V arié tés Occultes, " is con tained a storv

la ted work on Raja Yoga gIves som e of of an English curiosity hun ter and h is

the practices of concen tration taugh t byone or two of the schools. bu t noth ingverv fresh is m en tioned .

THE VAHAN (L ondon).

V ol. V,No. I I - The Enquirer deals

with several poin ts of in terest , am ong

th em being a question on th e ethericdouble, its separation from the den se

body, and its disin tegration . C . W. L . in

an swering states that it dissolves independen tly of, though generally at the

sam e time as, the physical body,so that

theft of a sacred vase from a tem ple .

A.

TI IE S I’H IN X (B runswick).

No. 1 z 3 z— Con tains an article by R .

Weber, inO. W. Holm es’

ph rase,“

ground

bait”for a forthcom ing book , in wh ich

he prom ises us“a rational system of

Astrology, purified from superstition ; "and tran slations of M rs. B esan t ’s lectu reon M ahatm as as Facts and Ideals,

”and

ofM . Collin s’ “ Green Leaves.

”I t con

eludes with an en thusiastic estim ate of

3 50 LUCIFER .

the editor’s character by the Erfurt ence. The prospect of Theosophy in

Institute ofGraphologyand Chiromancy. Australia appears to be brigh ter now

Of th is perhaps the best thing his friends than it has been for some time past . Thecan say is to wish him all the good for questions and answers relate to the

tune it prognosticates for h im . taking of the lives of noxious animals

and to propaganda work .

LOTUS B L IYTHEN (L eipz ig).

May, 1896 z— Opens with an article in

wh ich the editor com m en ts on the

Golden Sen tences of Pythagoras. The

series headed Kar ma is con tinued, as

also ex tracts from the Mysteries, thisnumber being ch ieflyoccupied with the

adm ission of the neophyte to the

Egyptian Mysteries and h is instructionas to the sacred svllable OM .

A. A. “2

SOPH IA

V ol. IV , I

'

o. 5 :—The translation of

Tbe Aslral Plane is con tinued, K arma,

and “ Dream s, being brough t to a con

elusion in this issue. These are followedby the first instalmen t of a Span ish ver

sion of Madam e B lavatsky’s article on

Theosophy and Jesu itism ,

”and an ori

ginal article on“ Spiritualism and Sci

ence.

” The latter consists main ly of a

criticism of the ( brrondanria dc’l Espiri

II'

smo am In ('

im ria . by I ). Felipe Sen

sillosa.

ANTAHK ARANA (B arcelona).

V ol. I I I , No . 29 The Elixir of L ifeis con tin ued . and the whole of the th irteenth chapter of Tim B ltagaz

'ad Gild is

is given , followed by“ Kar ma and Re

incar nation and m axim s from Epic

tetn s.

'

I‘

IIEOSOPIIY 1 s AUSTRALAS IA

V ol. I I, No. I — Con tains the usualbrief notes on poin ts of general in terest,the ch ief article being a retrospect of thepast year, the l ittle journal having justentered upon the second year of its exist

THE TH INKER (filad l.

V ol. IV , Nos. I4, Isz— Th is is the new

title of the week ly journal formerly

known as TimTileosopllic Thinker. This

does not, the editor in form s us, imply

any change of attitude with reference to

Theosophy, bu t the change has been

m ade to reach a wider public and avoid

prejudice. It m ay be doubted , however,

whether a less preten tious name wouldnot have been better. These numbers

con tain articleson Krish na, J nanam and

Yoga, pleasure and pain and other sub

jects, wh ich are, as usual, in teresting.

A.

THEOSOPH IA (Amsterdam ).

Vol. V, No. 1 — The new volume of

our Du tch m agaz ine appears with a

som ewhat astonish ing cover, having the

most elaborate col lection of sym bolswh ich cou ld conven ien tly be condensed

in to one page. It m igh t be suggeste dthat the colour, gold on a wh ite ground,shou ld be change d to one a lit tle less

trying to the eyes. The con ten ts of th isn um ber include a short greeting on the

beginn ing of a new year, an article on

“ The Letter and the Spirit ,” by Afra.

and the con tinued transla tion s and

papers on India and her Sacred L an

guage.

IS IS (L ondon ).

V ol. I , No. 5—The appearan ce of th is

m agaz ine has undergone a strikingchange, the colour being al tere d an d theprin ting greatlyim prove d. The con ten ts

are of m uch the same quality as those of

earlier issues, including “ Though ts on

Cen tres, " Mind and B rain ,

” “ Finding

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3 52 LUCIFER .

THE PAC IFIC THEOSOPH IST

V ol. V I , No. 9 z— This is the last num

ber wh ich will appear of th is m agaz ine.

as a notice has been received giving the

in form ation that its publication had beenstopped , owing. as the notice in th isissue states, to lack of support . The

open ing paper is en titled “ Two Souls

with in each B reast. dealing with the

h igher and the passion sides of hum an

nature, and is fol lowed bv an article on

The Aim of Life.

OI YRS Ii L V ES 1L ondon

V ol. I , Noi 6 : —'

I‘

he appearance of Our

selves has undergone a great change for

the better, the pri n ting being m uch im

proved . Articles on “ Y e are B rothers ”

and “ TheWis dom Religion ,

”and stories

fi l l the issue.

OTHF. R PU B L ICATIONS .

We have also received the fol lowingxllodem Astrology, con tain ing articles on“ The Theoretical B asis of Astrology,

”

tran sits and other astrological subjects ;TheHouse: Z asslzi, the j apanese B uddh

m aga'

l ine ; Am erican ( lrim lal 1 h”

\Vomen's Prin ting Society, L im ited , 66. \Vhitcomt Street ,W.C .

par/ment Paper fi e Fresno/lam

Halek : e d l is it all About a some

what pecu liar Australian pam phletgiving an accoun t of an apparen tly stillm ore peculiar book : L a Polm z a dd

I ’m siero. an Italian translation of part

of M rs. Besan t ’s K arma , produced in a

tasteful m anner ; Book .Voles The

Sonmarga Hod/rial This H’orld and

llw Nari, con tain ing am ong otherarticles one on Kam ra ; Red / not ify, an

essay from the “ Spirit world ,

"

purport

ing to be from j ames G. B laine, and typewri tten direc tly, withou t hum an agency:

the m ost in teresting feature is the publisher

’

s note at the end prom ising an

au tobiography of Madam e B lavatskywritten in the sam e m an ner. Says M r.

Wade, the publisher of this pam phlet, inh is best American , She com es to m e in

the flesh , and talks tom ejust as powerfulas she would have done in life. A ver

batim report wou ld be in teresting. The

Ald aphysiral Alag'

az ine, with articles on

Karm a, symbolism and other subjects ;Notes and Queries Theosophy, en tirelydevoted to discussion of recen t even ts ;The L amp Sad/aim: Chains/1 103 0, a

pamph let con tain ing a lecture deliveredbefore the Sanm arga Samaj of B ellarv °

The Saw and [lie ’nsa’n .

VOL . XV I I I . JULY rs, 1 896. No . 1 07.

L U C IFER .

ON THE WATCH - TOWER .

JULY opened favourably for the T heosoph ical Society. ThePresident - Founder arrived on the rst from Paris

,where he has been

en gaged i n work on behalf of the Parsis, i nterest ing some of theOrienta l ists there in defence of the antiqu i ty of the ir rel igion . I t isstrange that th is ancient fai th should be so l i ttle understood even byits professed fol lowers

,and here

,as so often elsewhere

,Theosophy

performs its special mission of a id ing a rel igion to defend i tself andto j ust ify its conti nued existence .

0Q 0

Ju ly4th and sth saw one of the bri ghtest and most harmoniousC onventions that have been h eld in London . The TheosophicalSociety in Europe— or as i t is shortly cal led , the European Section— held its sixth anniversary. On the evening of the 3 rd a receptionwas given to the delegates by the BlavatskyLodge at the EuropeanHeadquarters

,1 9, Avenue Road , where old friends greeted each

other and new friendsh ips were begun . From Glasgow i n the northto Brighton in the south , from Bristol i n the west to Margate i n theeast

,branches had sent up their messengers

,the large towns

embraced by the Northern Federa tion contributing a goodlyband .

The bri ght l ittle hal l resounded wi th the hum of conversation,and

the portrai t of H . P . B . gazed out over her dower- adorn ed cha ir onthe representatives of the Section she founded

,over whose first

m eet i ng she had presided .

O

O O

The first meeting, on the morn ing of the 4th ,was held at the

Cavendish Rooms, the President - Founder in the chair, and was

3 54 LUCIFER .

devoted entirely to busi ness. Addresses were read from the otherSections of the Soc iety, and during the Convention telegram s came

i n from Austral ia,South Africa, Am erica, and various parts of

Europe , rem ind ing the Section of the i nternational charac ter of th e

great organization to which it belongs. The chairman ’s address

was verywarm ly received , and then the Conven tion settled downto business ; i t received and applauded much the report of itsGeneral Secretary, re- elected al l its offi cers, and then appoin ted a

smal l Comm i ttee to consider the reports of the other Sect ions on

the proposed Rev ised Ru les,and to bring up a report on th e

morrow . Representatives of many lodges gave the views of th e i rmembers on the proposed changes

,and w i th some other busin ess

the meeting came to an end . After passi ng a hearty vote of than ksto Coun tess Wachtmeister for her work , resolut ions were proposed and passed of sympathy and friendsh ip to the AmericanSect ion (proposed by Mrs. Oakley, B lavatsky), the Scan d inavian Section (Dr . Nunn , Bournemouth), the Austral ian Sec

tion (Mr . Hodgson Sm i th , Harrogate), the New Z ealand Sect ion

(M r . Banbury, East London), the Ind ian Section (Mr . C . W. Leadbeater

,London), and the leaders of the Buddhist educational

movement in Ceylon , worki ng under the T . S . (Mr . Corbett ,Manchester).

fl

Q i

The Convention m et at Headquarters in the afternoon and was

du lyphotographed , and then betook i tself to Theosoph ical con versat ion , only i nterrupted by tea at 5 o

’clock . The General Meet in gwas held i n the small Queen

’s Hal l in the evening

,and was

addressed by the President - Founder, Mr . Mead , Mr . Keightley, an dmysel f.

fl

G l

B usi ness came to the front agai n on Sunday morning, in the

Cavend ish Rooms once m ore,and the report of the Comm i ttee on

the rules being brought up,i t was d iscussed wi th so much good

feel i ng and unity of purpose, as wel l as busi ness- l ike clearn ess,th at

at the end of two hours all the knotty poi nts had been disposed ofand the report of the Convent ion was ready to go before the Gen eralCounc i l . Mr . S innett, the V ice - President

,made a particularly luc id

and convi ncing speech on the real nature of the Brotherhood de

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3 56 Lucmsa .

H . P . B .

’

s occu l t posi tion does not need the aid of any med iumin order to communicate wi th friends.

t

0 0

Another poi nt of i nterest that i t is wel l to recall j ust now are

her statements regard i ng her own reincarnat ion . Over and overagai n she told those around her that her Master was arranging forher next incarnation , and that she was to take over the body of a

youth of Ind ian parentage . She used to rejoice in the fact thatshe wou ld not agai n have to i nhab i t a female form

,unsu i table as i t

was for her marked id iosyncrasies, cramp ing her energies in manywavs. I t is a knowledge of th is fact which has made many of usanxious to keep al ive i n western hearts the love and reverence forInd ia always i nculcated byH . P . B .

,and has made us Oppose the

vehement attacks on modern Ind ia that were publ ished a year ago inAmerica. “’

e know that H . P . B .

’

s statement as to her immed iatefuture m ay be rel ied on , and that she wi l l return among us i n duecourse as a modern I nd ian ; natural ly then we do not wish thatworker to be hindered

,when he comes

, by nat ional and rac ialj ealousies. L et us try to draw East and West together, so thateach m ay supply the defic ienc ies of the other, and never set the oneagainst the other as rival . B oth have evolved spec ial capac i tiesand apti tudes

,and these are complementary, not antagonistic .

i i

Mrs. B loomfield Moore wri tes that in his final report to the

Frankl i n Insti tute i n Philadelph ia on Mr . Keely’

s d iscoveries,

Professor Lascel les- Scott says“ From a lengthened personal

exam i nation of Mr . Keely'

s appl iances, I am d istinctly of opi n ionthat he has d iscovered a force h itherto absolutely unknown , an d

that he holds w ithin his grasp a driv ing power, or means of perform ing mechanical work , which m ight be cal led i l l im i table.

”

What remains doubtfu l is whether M r . Keely wi l l be al lowed to

d iscover any way of mak ing this power avai lable in hands otherthan h is own .

0 G

Mr . A . P . S innett sends the fol low ingThe progress of modern sc ience is con tinual ly bringing us

nearer to resul ts long foreshadowed by occu lt teaching . Some of

on r ns wares - rowan . 3 57

the latest achievements i n th is d irection are to be recognized i n thecur ious reactions attainable by the use of the new carbides

,them

selves the product of new chem ical resources prov ided bythe electricfurnace . This appl iance gives rise to a temperature never beforeatta ined by any art ificial process. We cannot measure the hightemperatures of incandescence w ith exacti tude

,but whatever

,in

thousands of degrees, may be the greatest heat developed by thecombustion of coal i n the best designed blast fu rnaces

,the oxy

hydrogen flame is at least a thousand degrees hotter, and i n thechem ical laboratoryw i ll fuse substances that resist the heat of anycoal furnace . The electric furnace i n turn— where the substanceto be treated is bathed in the electric arc— gives rise to a temperatureat least a thousand degrees higher than that of the oxy

- hydrogenflame . Wi th th is heat at his command M . Moissan and otherchem ists fol lowi ng in his footsteps, have found that carbon can beforced i nto chem ical un ion wi th var ious metals never before , oron ly to a very l im i ted extent , separable from thei r oxides. Themost remarkable of the products so obtained is calc ium carbide,destined perhaps to play a very important part in the economy ofhuman l ife

,by reason of its behaviour in contact w i th water. I t

decomposes water under cond i tions which yield acetylene gas, ahydro - carbon with many i nteresting properties never stud ied t i llthe other daybecause the gas has never hi therto been procurableexcept by c ircu i tous processes verydiflicult to carry out . Bu t thecarb ides of some other me tals are even more interesting

,though

perhaps less important industrially than calc ium carb ide . Magn esium carbide

,for i nstance

, yields other hydro - carbons besidesacetylen e i n the course of its reac tions w i th water

,and

some of these are of a k ind that have hitherto been re

garded as belonging to the organ ic series, for the product ion of which we have had , ti l l now,

to depend exclusivelyon the chem istry of Nature . It is unnecessaryhere to go i nto theexam i nation of formulze ,

but the upshot of the work done in thisdepartment—as set forth a few weeks ago in the course of lecturesby Prof. Dewar at the Royal Institution— is that we can now by

d irect synthesis of the raw inorganic e lements obtain,or indeed

actual ly manufactu re, organic substances which in comb i nationsamong themselves i n turn become the veh icles in which Nature

3 58 LUCIFER .

engenders Life . We may be sti l l a long way from being able

actual ly to m anufacture p rotoplasm , bu t we have set out along aroad pla in ly lead ing towards that consummation in the end . Andthat achievement was long ago foreshadowed i n some of the earl iestadept teachings given to the Theosophical Soc iety, as in reserve

for sc ience at a sti l l future date . A time would come , we weretold

,when the chem ists of a later race wou ld be occup ied not

merelyw i th the reactions of matter but wi th the generation of l ife .

Physical science has much to learn before that era w i l l dawn ,but i t

is “ on the path .

” Meanwh ile i t is i nteresting for occu l tism to

wa tch i t unconsc iously v ind icating the views of Nature th ey h avealreadybeen enabled to take, even though its lead i ng exponentshave not yet learn ed to ava i l themselves of those v iews in order tohasten their progress.

fl

O C

An interesting letter is sent to N'

afun ' byMr. Francis Gal ton .

He heads i t,“ A Curious Id iosyncrasy,

” and relates an accountgiven to himself byColonel M .

,a gen tleman who is made qu i te

i l l by seeing or hearing of anyacc ident to a finger- nai l . Co lonel M .

saysFrom my earliest remembrance, and still up to now, any sigh t of an in jured

nail in any person , even if a total stranger. or any injury, however sligh t , to one

of myown nails, causes me to break in to a deadly cold perspiration , with feelingof sick fain tness. B ut stil l further ; if I chance to hear anyone else narrating incasual conversation any inj uryof this particular sort to themselves or others, it

brings on me exact lyr the same feeling I have described above. So m uch is this

the case, that many years ago, when I was in the prime of life, at a large din nerparty, when one of the guests near m e persisten tly chanced to go on talkingm in utelyof some such litt le acciden tal injury that had befallen him , I turnedvery fain t , tried all I knew to shake it off, but could not , and presently slid righ tunder the table quite unconscious for the moment. This is the more singu larbecause on no other poin t am I in the least squeam ish . In old days I have seen

soldiers flogged before breakfast without its afl'

ecting me, though som e of the

rank and filewould be verym uch upset , and in cases of death , illness, or wounds,1 have never experienced , as an on looker, the sensations I have alluded to

above.

The only inc ident suggested as bear ing upon the pecu l iaritywas

“ that the mother of Colonel M . had p inched h er own

finger- nai l bad ly shortly before his birth ,

” and Mr . Gal ton te

marks :

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3 60 w omen .

At first blush there would seem to be reasons against believing that mag

netism could possiblybe a phenomenon of the same order as light and electricity.

It occasions no heat that the m ost delicate instrumen ts can detect ; it ough t not,therefore, to be a form of wave energy. B ut who can tel l Out of the m outhsof babes and sucklings maycome forth truth , and it maybe that the impressions

of sickly, abnorm al beings,

“sensitives, whose nerves are screwed to a higher

pitch than ours, are worth considering and investigating; that they have per~

ceptions unknown to us. The most difficu lt thing of all for human in telligenceto realiz e is its own lim itation s. It rejects as unnatural all that may be beyond

its ken ; and while ready enough to recogniz e that it has knowledge of many factsunknown to the lower animals, cannot adm it the analogy that there are doubtlessthings in heaven and earth beyond its own capacity also. Yet the course of

scien ce is one long triumph of the impossible. The Ri’

mtgen rayswere hopelesslyimpossible yesterday tod ay we are reading by their rays the innermost secretsof nature. Visible m agnetic rays are impossible to- day. To -morrow they maybecome a commonplace.

And to - morrow sensi tives maybe regarded as someth ing m orethan sickly abnormal bei ngs

,

”and i t m ay be adm itted that by

carefu l train ing senses h igher than the average may be developed .

D r . B araduc’s remarkable experiments

,on wh ich we hope to

say some th ing next month , w i l l scarcely yet be regarded as any

th i ng but impossible .

" The S tandard correspondent n a‘

ivelyremarks that if Dr . B arraduc’s statement had been made “ before

Dr . Rontgen had rendered h is d iscovery publ ic, very few peop lewou ld have been incl ined even to enqu ire i nto the m atter .” Thatis j ust the trouble ; people are hypnotized by trad ition and do not

enqu ire. However,the correspondent gives one case of th ough t

photographywhich m ay awaken thought

Dr. Istrate, when he was going to Campana, declared he would appear on a

photographic plate of his friend , M . Hasden , at B ucharest . On the 4th of

August , 1 893 , M . Hasden at B ucharest wen t to bed with a photographic p late at

his feet and another at his head . Dr . Istrate went to sleep at Campan a , at a

distance of about three hundred kilometres from B ucharest , but before c losinghis eyes he willed with all his m ight that his image should appear on the photo

graphic plate of his friend . According to Dr. B arraduc that marvel was aecom

plished . Journalists who have exam ined the photograph in question state thatit consists in a kind of lum inous spot on the photographic plate, in the m idst ofwhich can be traced the profi le of a man .

BUDDH ISM , CHRISTIANITY AND PHALLICISM .

B v H . P . BLAVATSKY .

WORKS byspecial ists and scholars have to be treated wi th acerta in respect

,due to sc ience. But such works as Payne Knight

’

s

On lhe lVorshz'

fi of Prz'

apus, and the Am im t Fai/hs, etc .,of Dr .

Inman,were merelythe precursorydrops of the shower of phal l ic ism

that burst upon the read ing publ ic i n the shape of General Forlong’s

R z'

r'm of Very soon laywriters followed the torrent , andHargrave Jennings

’ charm i ng volume,The Rosz

'

cm a'

am , was

superseded by his Phallfrz'

sm .

As an elaborate account of th is work— that hunts up sexualworship

,from the grossest forms of idolatry up to its most refined

and hidden symbol ism i n Christian ity— would better su i t a newspaper review than a journal l ike the present, i t becomes necessaryto state at once the reason it is noticed at al l . Were Theosophistsen t irely to i gn ore i t, Phallz

'

a'

sm' and such - l ike works would be usedsome dayagainst Theosophy. Mr . Hargrave Jennings’ last product ion was wri tten , i n every probabi l ity, to arrest its progress— errone

ously confounded as i t is bymanywi th Occu ltism , pure and simple ,and even wi th Buddhism i tse lf. Phallzkism appeared i n 1 884, j ustat a time when al l the French and Engl ish papers heralded thearr ival of a few Theosoph ists from Ind ia as the advent of Buddhismi n Christian Europe— the former in their usual flippan t way, thelatter w ith an energy that m ight have been worthy of a bettercause, and m ight have been more appropriately d irec ted against“sexual worsh ip at home , accord i ng to certa i n newspaper revelat ions. Whether rightly or wrongly, publ ic rumour attributes th ismystic

”production of M r . Hargrave Jennings

‘ to the advent ofTheosophy. However i t may be , and whosoever mayhave i nspired

Phallia’

sm , Celts/fa! and Tcries/rial. Heather: and Christian its connec tion:with the Rosicrucians and the Gnostics and its foundation in Buddh ism .

3 62 LUCIFER .

the author,his efforts were crowned wi th success on ly in one

d irection . Notwi thstand i ng that he procla ims h imsel f, modestlyenough

,

“ the fi rst introducer of the grand philosophical problem

of th is mysterious Buddh ism ,

” and pronounces h is work “nu

doubted ly n ew and original,

” declaring in the same breath that allthe “ prev ious great m en and profound th inkers [before h imself]labouring through the ages [i n th is d irection] have worked in vain

,

”

i t is easy to prove the author m istaken . His enthusiasm andself- laudation m aybe very si ncere

,and no doubt his labours were

“ enormous,

”as he says ; they have nevertheless led h im on an

entirely false track , when he asserts that“ These physiological contests [about the mysteries of animal

generation] induced i n the reflective wisdom of theearl iest th inkers

,laid the sublime foundations of the phal l ic worsh ip .

They led to v iolent sch isms in rel igion , and to Buddh ism .

”

Now i t is prec isely Buddhism which was the fi rst rel i gioussystem i n h istory that sprang up wi th the determ i nate object of

putting an end to al l the male Gods and to the degrad i ng idea of asexual personal Dei ty bei ng the generator of mank ind and theFather of men .

His book,the au thor assures us : Comprises w i thin the l im i t

of a modest octavo al l that can be known of the doctrines of theBuddhists

,Gnostics

,and Rosicrucians as connected wi th phal l ic ism .

”

In th is he errs again,and most profoundly, or— wh ich wou ld

be sti l l worse— he is tryi ng to m islead the reader by fi l l i ng himwi th d isgust for such “mysteries.

”H is work is new and or i gi na l ”

in so far as i t expla i ns wi th enthusiastic and reverential approvalthe strong phal l ic element in the B ible for

,as he says, Jehovah

undoubted ly signifies the un iversal male ,” and he cal ls Mary

Magdalen before her conversion the “ female S t . Michae l,

”as a

mystical antithesis and paradox . No one,tru ly, i n Christian coun

tr ies before him has ever had the moral courage to speak so open lyas he does of the phal l ic element wi th which the Christian Church

(the Roman Cathol ic) is honeycombed , and th is is the au thor‘schief desert and cred i t . Bu t all the m er i t of the boasted conc isenessand brev i ty of his

“ modest octavo d isappears on its becom in gthe undeniable and ev ident means of lead ing the reader astrayunder the most false impressions ; espec ial lyas veryfew,

if any, of

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3 64 LUCIFER .

transcendental phal l ic ism,

” for al l such words strung togetherbecome meaningless by annu ll ing each other . Paradoxicalindeed must be that construction which seeks to show the phallicelement in “ the tomb of the Redeemer

,

”and the yonic in Nirvana ,

besides find ing a Priapus i n the Word made Flesh ” or the LOGOS .

But such is the Priapoman ia of our century that even the mostardent professed Christians have to adm i t the element of phal l ic ismi n the ir dog mas

,lest they shou ld be twi tted wi th i t by thei r

opponents.

This is not meant as cri tic ism,bu t simplyas the defence of real,

tr ue magic,confined by the author of Phallz

'

a'

sm to the “ d ivi nemagic of generation .

” Phal l ic ideas,

” he says, are“ d iscovered to

be the foundation of all rel igionsIn this there is nothing new or original . S ince state rel i

gions came i nto existence,there was never an Init iate or ph ilosopher

,

a Master or d isciple,who was ignorant of i t . Nor is there any fresh

d iscovery i n the fact of Jehovah hav ing been worshipped by theJews under the shape of

“ phal l ic stones (unhewn)— of be ing,in

short , as much of a phal l ic God as any other Lingam ,which fact

has been no mystery from the days of Dupu is. That he was preem inently a male dei ty— a Priapus— is now proven absolutelyand

w ithout show of useless mysticism ,byRalston Ski nner of C inc innati ,

i n his wonderfu l ly clever and erud i te volume, The Sourre ofzl/casurcs

, publ ished some years ago, i n which he demonstrates thefact on mathematical grounds

,completely versed , as he seems to

be, i n kabal istic numerical calculations. What then makes theau thor of Phallz

'

a

'

sm say that in his book wi l l be found“ a more

com plete and more connected account than has hitherto appeared ofthe d ifferent forms of the pecu l iar veneration (not idolatry),general lydenom i nated the phal l ic worsh ip

”? N0 previous wr i terhas d isserted so fu l ly,

” he adds w i th modest reserve,

“ upon the

shades and var ieties of th is singu lar ritual,or traced up so completely

its mysterious blend ings wi th the ideas of the ph ilosophers as to

what l ies rem otely i n nature i n regard to the origin of the history of

the human race .

”

There is one thing real ly“ origi nal and new i n Phallia lrm

,

and i t is this whi le notic ing and underl in ing the most fi lthy ritesconnected w ith phal l ic worship among every

“ heathen nation,

aunnu tsn , cums’

rmm rv AND PHAL L ICISM . 3 65

those of the Christians are ideal ized , and a vei l of a most myst icfabric is th rown over them . At the same t ime the author acceptsand i nsists upon B ibl ical chronology. Thus he assign s to theChaldman Tower of Babel— “ that magnificent

,monster

,

‘upright,

’

defiant phal lus,

”as he puts it— an age “

soon after the Flood ”; and tothe Pyram ids a date not long after the foundation of the Egyptianmonarchy by Misraim , the son of Ham

, 2 1 88 B .C .

” The chronological views of the author of The Rosx

'

crzm'

am seem to have greatlychanged of late. There is a mystery about his book , d ifficu lt , yetnot whol ly impossible to fathom ,

wh ich may be summed up i n thewords of the Com te de Gasparin wi th regard to the works on Satanby the Marqu is de Mi rv i l le :

“ Everyth ing goes to show a workwhich is essential lyan act, and has the value of a col lective labour .

But th is is of no moment to the Theosophists. That which isof real importance is his m islead ing statement

,wh ich he supports

on Wil ford ’s authori ty ,that the legendarywar that began in Ind ia

and spread al l over the globe was caused bya d iversi ty of opi nionupon the relative “

superiori tyof the male or female emblem i nregard of the idolatrous magic worsh ip . These physiologicald isputes led to v iolent schisms i n rel i gion and even to bloodyand

devastati ng wars,which have whol lypassed out of the history

or have never been recorded i n h istory rema in ing onlyas

a tradi tion .

"

This is den ied po int - blank by in i tiated Brahmanas.

I f the above be given on Col . Wi lford ’s authori ty, then theauthor of Phallia

'

sm was not fortunate i n his selection . Thereader has only to turn to Max M tiller

’

s Sa'

m w of Religion to findth ere i n the deta i led history of Col . Wi lford becom ing— and veryhonest ly confessing to the fact— the vict im of Brahmanical mystifica tion with regard to the al leged presence of Shem

,Ham

,and

Japhet i n the Puranas. The true h istoryof the d ispersion and thecause of the great war are very wel l known to the i n it iatedBrahmanas

,only theywi ll not tel l i t, as i t wou ld go d irectlyagainst

them selves and their supremacyover those who bel ieve i n a personalGod and Gods. I t is qu i te true that the ori gin of every rel igionis based on the dua l powers

,male and fem ale

,of abstract Nature ,

bu t these i n their turn were the rad iations or emanations of thesexless

,infinite

,absolute Principle

,the onlyOne to be worsh ipped

3 66 LUCWER .

i n spiri t and not with ri tes ; whose immu table laws no words of

prayer or prop itiation can change , and whose sunny or shadowy,

beneficen t or m aleficent influence , grace or curse , under the formof Karma

,can be determ i ned onlyby,

the actions— not by the emptysuppl ications—of the devotee . This was the rel igion

, the OneFai th of the whole of prim i tive humanity, and was that of theSons of God ,

” the B ’ne E lohim of old . This fai th assured to its

fol lowers the fu l l possession of transcendental psych ic powers, ofthe tru ly d iv i ne magic . Later on

,when mank ind fel l

,i n the

natu ral course of its evolution “ into generation,

”tion

,i nto human

creation and procreation , and carrying down the subjective processofNature from the plane ofspiri tual i ty to that ofmatter—made i n itsselfish and animal adoration of self a God of the hum an organism ,

and worshipped self in this obj ective personal Dei ty, then wasblack magic i ni tiated . This magic or sorcery is based upon ,spri ngs from ,

and has the very l i fe and sou l of sel fish impulse andthus was gradual ly developed the idea of a personal God . Thefirst p illar of unhewn stone

,

” the first objective “sign and w itness

to the Lord ,” creative, generative , and the Father of man ,

” was

made to become the archetype and progenitor of the long series ofmale (vertical)and female (horizontal) Dei t ies, of pi l lars, and cones .

Anthropomorphism i n rel igion is the d irect generator of and stim u

lus to the exerc ise of black , left - hand magic . And i t was againmerely a feel ing of selfish national exclusiveness— not evenpatriotism— of pr ide and sel f- glorification over all other nations

,

that cou ld lead an Isaiah to see a d i fference be tween the one l iv i ngGod and the idols of the ne ighbouring nations. In the day of th egreat “ change ,

” Karma , whether cal led personal or imperson alProv idence , wi l l see no d ifference between those who set an al tar

(horizontal) to the Lord i n the m idst of the land of Egypt , and api l lar (vert ical ) at the border thereof (Is. xix . 1 9) and they

“ wh oseek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that havefam i l iar sp iri ts

,and to the wizards - for al l th is is human , hen ce

devilish black magic .

I t is then the latter magic,coupled wi th anthropomorph ic

worship , that caused the “ Great War and was the reason for the“ Great Flood ” of Atlantis ; for this reason also the In itiatesthose who had remai ned true to primeval Revelation— form ed

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THE LIVES OF THE LATER PLATONISTS .

PLOT INUS .

Con tinued from p.

H IS GENTLENESS AND MODES’

I‘

Y .

HE was exceed inglypatien t and gentle wi th his questioners, andd isplayed a remarkable v igour in his answers ; and weread of his be i ngclosely questioned by Porphyry for no less than three days on the

profound question of the mode of union of the sou l wi th the body,and of his patient solution of h is pup i l ’s doubts.

P lotinus was also exceed ingly modest , so that when his old

fel low- student Origen one day v isi ted his lecture - room,he at once

d ism issed the aud ience , saying that the desire of speak ingvan ished when the lecturer perce ived that he was to speak to thosewho already knew the subject .

”

H Is REFUTATION os Eaxoxm vs VIEWS .

Though P lotinus was not h imself much given to the interpre tation of mythology, and wrote no d istinct treatise on the subject

, he

nevertheless approved of work of this k ind . Porphyrywas especially devoted to such stud ies

,and on one occasion

,when the b irth

dayof Plato was being celebrated , rec ited a poem on the mean ingof the term “

sacred marriage as used bysuch masters of mythologyas Orpheus ; on which a sceptical visitor remarked that Porphyrymust be mad . But Plotinus turning to his friend and pu p i lexclaimed aloud : You have shown yourself both poet, philosopherand priest .”

P lotinus also sternly rebuked the sophist ical and l icentiouscasu istry of a certai n class of young profligates w i th a knack of

speak ing and wri ti ng,who then as now occasional lyobtruded them

selves on the publ ic notice ; and on the occasion when a certa in

THE LIVES OF THE LATER PLATONISTS . 3 69

Diophanes read an apology for the vic ious ideas of the drunkenAlc ib iades, a character in Tito B anquet of Plato, Ploti nus cou ldscarcelykeep his seat wh ile the speaker declaimed his th inly- ve i ledimmoral ities,doubtlessly imagining that he was beau ti fu l ly adorni ng the subject wi th the h ighest art .

” Several t imes d id the

p h ilosopher stand up as though to leave the room,and though he

r emai ned unti l Diophanes had finished , i t was only to bid Porphyryr efu te the casu istical harangue , and this he d id wi th completesuccess

,to the great del ight of his master .

Ploti nus,moreover, bei ng a sk i lfu l mathemat ic ian

,i nvestigated

the doctrines of the astrologers of the period , and frequently refutedmany of their views in his wri tings.

At that time,also

,there were many, both i n the ranks of the

Gnostic Ch ristians and elsewhere, who were“ heretics from the

ancient philosophy,” that is to say the Platonic trad i tion . The

leaders of the heresy were Adelphius and Aquilinus whomEunapius cal ls the schoolfel low of Porphyry; theybased themselves ou the writings of Alexander of Africa , Philocomns

,Demo

stratus and L ydns, together with certa in spurious revelations ofZ oroaster

,and the mystical wri tings of Zostrianus, Nicothens,

Allogenes, Mesus, and others ; their mai n contention be ing thatPlato had not penetrated the depth of the sp iri tual essence

,wi th

the assumption,of course

,that they had done so. Ploti nus fre

quen tly refuted their v iews i n his lectures, and also wrote a treatiseaga i nst them enti tled . lgoinst tire Gnostics.

Bu t the ma in refu tation of these “ revelat ions was left to hisd isciples Amelins and Porphyry, of whom the former wrote no lessthan forty books agai nst the book of Zostrianus

,and the latter

showed by elaborate arguments that the wri tings they c irculatedunder the name of Z oroaster were not the genu i ne doctri nes of thePersian sage , bu t recent fabrications of the heretics.

” This is an

in teresti ng piece of i nformation as au thenticating the “ orac les ”

preserved chiefly by Proclus. For if the so- cal led Chaldzean orZoroastrian Oracles quoted by Proc lus passed as genu ine amongthe later P latonists after the searching scru t iny of Porphyry, who

age,then they could not verywel l

ts as scholastic ism,to su i t its

3 70 LUC IFER .

Who these Gnostics were , however, is buried i n impenetrableobl iv ion . We know,

as we have alreadyremarked , from the wri t ingsof the Fathers, espec ial ly from the long treatise of H ippolytus, thatone of the Church ’s main contentions agai nst the Gnostics was thatthe ir wisdom ” was of Plato and not of God .

” Here we have aninteresting side - l ight thrown on Gnostic controversy, and find thePlaton ists in their turn rejecting Gnostic v iews as not of Plato .

”

The truth of the matter is that there were as many views of rel igio

philosophy in those days as there are sects of Christianity orBrahman ism i n our own . The name “ Gnost ic was of the loosestpossible signification ; heresy was triumphant

,and stab i l ity and

orthodoxy in things phi losophic and rel igious were unknown i nthose cataclysm ic days of bel ief and thought .

Tm : OPIN ION m s CONTEM PORAR IES .

Though Plotinus had no personal enem ies there were manywho looked upon him as a trifler i n philosophy, for he d isda ined a l lthe artifices of the sophist and del ivered his lectures as though he

were hold i ng a private conversation w ith his pup i ls. But the tru thof the matter is that they d id not understand the depth of the m an

,

for he d id not easi lyd isclose the syl logistic necessi ties which underlay his teaching, probably owing to his early trai n ing w i thAmmonius. Even Porphyrywas a long time before he was con

vinced,and real ly fathomed the teaching, and i t was Porphyry

who induced Plotinus to d isclose his system i n a more systematicmanner . The same op in ion was held by Longinus, whomPorphyry calls the

“ first cri tic of the age,concerning the wri tings

of Plotinus. At first he cou ld not understand them ,and wrote

agai nst some of the phi losopher’s v iews, bu t final ly he changed his

Opin ion completely, and compared the books of Ploti nus to themost excel len t works that had ever been produced .

Hrs DEPARTURE FROM L IFE .

Plot inus departed from th is l ife i n his sixty- sixth year, at thecountry seat of one of his old friends in Campania . For years hehad been suffering from the effects of the terrible plague which haddevastated the Roman world . Th is furious pesti lence wh ich lastedno less than fifteen years (250 as G ibbon says,

“ raged wi thout

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3 72 LUCIFER .

Genius, once man , but now,i nto the state m ore god

- like of

an angel passed , since thou has burst the bonds that shackle m an .

Wi th rapid strokes the waves of roar ing tumu lt thou hast o’

er

breasted,borne up by thy stout heart

,un to the shore of th e w ide

mantl ing heights far from the crowd of si nn ing men,to p lan t thy

feet upon the peaceful plai n of the pure soul,where sh ines God ’s

brightness,where His laws hold sway in al l their puri ty apart from

lawless sin .

Aye, even while on earth , when leap ing to escape the b i tterwaves of blood - fed l ife and al l its sicken ing wh irls

,

’m id b i l lows

and ’m id din un th i nkable, to thee there often from the blessed onesappeared a sign hard by. Oft when the glances of thy m in d incrooked paths desired to stray, wi th the i r swift power the death lessones raised them unto the spheres and plai n immorta l of the way

d irect,send i ng a frequent ray of glories for th i ne eyes to see, ou t

of the murky darkness.

Nor d id deep sleep we igh qu i te th ine eyel ids down , bu t rol l ingfrom th ine orbs the heavy cloud of gloom ,

wh ile tossed upon l ife’s

waves,thou d idst behold many fair sights that no one read i ly h ath

seen,e’en among those who unto wisdom ’

s womb have played the

m idwife .

“B ut now

,since thou hast struck thy tent, and left th e tom b

of thy angel ic sou l , thou hast alreadyjoi ned the band of ange l - m en,

breathing sweet zephyrs, where friendsh ip re ign s, and love so fa i rto see

,fu l l of pure bl iss

,and fed wi th streams d iv ine that flow from

God whence come the bonds of love,and gentle breeze

,and qu iet

sky; where dwell the brethren of the golden race of m igh tyJove,Minos and Rhadamanthus ; where ZEacus, the j ust ; where P lato,power d iv ine ; where too Pythagoras, most v irtuous sou l

,and all

who form the choir of death less love,and share the i r b irth w i th the

most blest of powers ; where heart for aye is glad w i th j oyfu l bl iss.

0 happy man , labours past number thou hast borne , and now’m id powers chaste thou tak

’st thy place arrayed w ith m ightylives.

”

In all of which the lead ing idea is that the bl iss of the philosopher w i l l consist of his commun ion w i th the great ones amongmen who had raised themselves to the ranks of the gods, inother words the great teachers of humanity, or Lodge of theMasters.

THE L IV ES OF THE LATER PLATON ISTS . 3 73

Tar-3 D ISC IPLES or PLOTrnus.

The most famous d isc iple of Plotinus was Porphyry, to whomwe shal l devote the next Life.

” Of the rest Amelins was the bestknown . He was a Tuscan by birth h is proper name be ingGen tilianus. He attached himsel f to P loti nus th ree years afterthe latter came to Rome

,and was therefore wi th h im no less than

twenty- four years. Amelins was the most laborious of all the pupi lsofPloti nus

,bu t he had not the gen iusor l iteraryabi l i ty of Porphyry.

He had originally stud ied under Lysimachus, the Sto ic , and underNumenius

,the Syrian , to whom reference has already been made .

I n fact he had comm i tted the whole of the teachings of Numeniusto memory. As al ready stated

,Amelins wrote a lengthy treatise

agai nst the “ revelation ” of Zostrianus ; he also wrote a book

entitled Concern ing Inc 0400 c betwccn ttw Twritings of Plotinus

and .Numenius, wh ich he ded icated to Porphyry. This task heundertook to refute the false accusation that Ploti nus plagiarizedfrom Numenius, and we shal l agree that no one was more competentto wri te such a treatise than Amelins

,who was so intimately

acqua inted wi th the teach ings of both these famous ph ilosophers.

He further composed a treatise On Ire/eligible: which removed thedoubts of Porphyry and converted h im to the v iews of Plotinus.

Am elinsmoreover wrote no less than one hundred books of notes onthe lectures of P lotinus

,and though these have been lost

,some frag

ments are to be recovered from Proclus, Stobzeus, Olym piodorus andDamascius

, and several of the Church fathers. After the death ofPloti nus, Amelins retired to Apamea

,i n Syria , where he adopted

Hostilius Hesychius as his he ir, and bequeathed to h im h is MSS .

But Plotinus had many other devoted d isc iples, and largenumbers were attracted to his lectures through the ir love of ph ilosophy. Of his immed iate c ircle we m ay mention the physic ianPau l i nus, presumably a Jew,

of Scythopol is, for merly cal led Bethsana or Bethshan

,who owi ng to h is erroneous notions was

humorously dubbed by Amelins “ Miccalus,the m idget

,

” thed im i nutive of the Greek mxpés. Eustochius, another physician ,by birth an Alexandrian , was also a devoted friend , and became agen u ine philosopher . I t was he who was wi th P lotinus in hislast moments

,and preserved the last words of his master . Ye t

another physic ian was numbered among the i ntimate d isc iples of

3 74 LUCIFER .

Ploti nus,an Arabian cal led Z ethus

,who was exceed in gly sk i lfu l i n

his art . He also devoted much time to pol i tics, but was fin al lyd issuaded from his pol it ical l ife by Plotinus, who loved him dearly,and often v isited him at his coun try seat six m i les from M in turnmi n C ampania. In fact i t was i n his house that Plotinus passedaway, but Zethus had already gone before him ,

and the house wasthen owned by Pirm us Castricius, whose l ife was one long devot ionto virtue

,who also greatly venerated Plotinus, and was the bosom

friend of Amelins and Porphyry. I t was to Castricus thatPorphyry ded icated his treatise On A bstinence from A nimal Food .

Castricius h imself also wrote a commentary on the Parmen ides ofP lato

,wh ich is lost . We may also men tion Zoticus, a cri t ic and a

poet ; as a cri tic he careful ly rev ised the volum inous ep ic of themythologist - poet Antimachus, the friend of Plato, wh om theAlexandrian gram rnarians considered as second only to Hom er,and as a poet he turned the Atlantic H istory i n Plato

’s Critias and

Timcens i nto gracefu l verse .

But not onlywere the pupi ls of P lotinus drawn from the ranksof art and sc ience ; among his aud i tors were a number of m en of

senatorial rank,of whom Marcel lus Orontius, Sabin illns and

Rogatianus became his d irect d isc iples. Rogatianus even abandonedhis riches

,d ism issed his servants

,resigned his publ ic offi ces

, and

ded icated h imself entirely to the philosoph ic l ife, and not only washe cured i n sou l , the philosopher being the physic ian of t he sou l ”

accord ing to Porphyry, bu t wasalso byhis philosophic habi t of l iv i ngcured of his physical a ilm ents which had previously cripp led h im .

And not only were men the d isc iples of P lotinus, bu t also anumber of women

,for as Taylor correctly says, many i l lustrious

lad ies “adorned the P latonic schools by the bri l l iancy of their

gen ius, and an uncommon v igour and profund i ty of thought .”

Thus we read of Gem i na,wi th whom our ph ilosopher m ade his

hom e in Rome, and of her daughter also cal led Gem i na,of

Am phiclea, who subsequently married Ariston,the son of

Jam blichus, and of Chione , who together wi th her chi ldren livedi n the house of the philosopher, and whose necklace was stolen as

narrated above .

B ut of all his d isc iples the most famous was Porphyry,the

Tyrian , of whom we shal l now treat at greater length .

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3 76 woman .

Hrs DISGUST WITH L IFE .

At the end of these six years, however, the subl im e ideasand transcendental i l lum inat ions of Plotinus, coupled perhapswi th his own in i tial want of success on so d iffi cu l t a path

,

fi l led Porphyry wi th such a d isgust for his bod i ly l im itation sthat he fool ishly resolved on starving himself to death .

Su ic ide i n those days was considered by many, espec iallyby the Stoics, as an honourable exit from l ife, by no means incompatible wi th that [zones/as which we may perhaps translate as theconduct of a gentleman .

”B ut P lotinus speed i ly d iv ined the

i ntention of his favouri te pupil , and proceeded to po i nt out h is

error, playi ng the part of the true phi losopher or physic ian of the

soul . The accounts are som ewhat confused ; e ither P lotin us sen tPorphyry immed iately away to S ic i ly for a thorough change of airand scene ; or Porphyry himself fled from Rome to a friend cal ledProbus

,who l ived near L ilybaeum ,

the westernmost poin t of S ic i ly.

Plotinus fol lowed h im ,and found h im lying on the ground as one

dead,and on ly wi th great d ifficu l ty recal led the sou l to th e body,

the sage subsequently elaborating his exhortations into his treat iseOn Providence.

Hrs LATER YEARS .

Som e e ighteen months or two years after th is event P lotin usd ied i n Campan ia

,Porphyry bei ng then about th irty- eight years old

and sti l l absen t in S ic i ly. Of the subsequent l ife of Porphyry weknow even less than of his prev ious years. We are told by h imself,however, that he l ived to a good old age, for i t was not unti l hissixty- eighth year that he enjoyed the D ivi ne Commun ion , thatsupreme union

,which was the consummat ion of philosophy. He

appears to have spent a considerable t ime in S ici ly, where he com

pleted the laborious task of ed iti ng the Enneads of P lot i n us, andwhere among many other works he wrote his fi fteen books enti tledAgainst t/ze Christi ans. On the death of Ploti nus he becam e therecognized head of the School

,and enjoyed a bril l iant repu tation .

Even before his departure to S ic i ly his fame had spread,bu t he

was then looked upon rather as the mouthpiece or satel l i te of hismaster, than as an independen t lum i nary of ph ilosophy. Subse

quently the real worth of the man became recognized , so that

THE L IVES OF THE LATER PLATONISTS . 3 77

when he returned to Rome and began to lecture,with wonderfu l

force and grace , the “ Senate and Roman people ” became hisdevoted adm irers, and subsequent generations, because of hislucid i ty and perspicu i ty, cal led h im by way of d isti nction ,

“the

philosopher .” I t was the custom to desi gnate the “ l i nks” of thegolden cha i n ” of philosophers

,as Damascius cal ls them , by dis

tinctive epi thets. Thus we read of th e wisdom - loving Pythagoras,the wise Socrates, the d ivi ne Plato , the i ngenious A ristotle , thegreat H ippocrates ; and among the later l inks” of the God - taughtAmmon ius

, the great Plotinus, the most d iscerning Longinus,the noble Amelins

,the wonderful Theodorus

,and the d iv in e

Jamblichus.

Porphyry seems a lso to have visi ted Carthage,which was

wi th i n easy d istance of L ilybaeum , bu t beyond the mere fact wekn ow nothing . After Plotinus’ death his old master LonginuswrotePorphyrymost pressing and afl

'

ectionate letters, urging him to returnto Syria and bri ng w i th h im the whole of the Plotin ian MSS .

, andfol low the example of his friend Amelins who was already atApamea . But Porphyry cou ld not be persuaded .

In 3 02, when already seventy years of age , he marriedMarcel la

,a Roman lady and the widow of a friend . The marriage

was purely Platonic as Porphyryd isti nctly states,his chief desire

bei ng to give her and her seven children a home , and to educatethem i n ph ilosophy. But ten months later he was called away onbusiness connected wi th “ the affai rs of the Greeks

,

”whatever that

may mean , and was absent some considerable t ime . I t was onth is occasion that he composed his famous L etter to M arcella

,

wh ich is one of the most charm i ng treatises on eth ics which haveever been written . Porphyry is said to have d ied at Rome, abou t

3 05 A .D .

Hrs GENERAL CHARACTER .

So much,or rather so l ittle , as to the outer fac ts of the l ife of one

of the most famous men of antiqu i ty; we shal l now add a few words

as to the general character and gen ius of the man . The d istin

guishing characteristic of Porphyrywas his devot ion to the eth ical

side of philosophy; i t was espec ial ly th is side which attracted himto Plotinus

,and which was the keyn ote of his stud ies. But the

3 78 w crrrsR .

eth ics of Porphyrywere far rem oved from mere sen timental i ty, or amawk ish goody- good iness ; theywere based on philosophy, basedon the most carefu l d ialectic , based on sc ientific facts

,at any rate

for those who w i ll extend sc ien ce i nto psych ic th ings. A manly,

upright view of l ife that looked al l men and al l gods stra ight in theface . But above all things Porphyry appl ied his eth ical teach ingsto the facts and deta ils of l ife . He was what is cal led “ practical

,

”

and th is characteristic is espec ial ly brought out i n his method ofphilosoph iz ing . Prev iously the philosophers of his Schoo l hadbeen given to obscuri ty, even the best of them . Plato d id but h i n tat many th ings ; Ammon ius, as we have seen

,had avowed ly two

d istinct methods; Ploti nuswas obscure , and but for Porphyrywou ldhave remai ned to a great extent unintel l i gible . But with Porphyrythe method changes. Whether or not th is change came abou t i n anatural way, or was a d istinctly conscious pol icy of the School , wedo not know ; we do know,

however, that w i th Porphyry the oldobscuri ty and ve i led hints gave place to a clearn ess of exposi tion ofthe most gratifying character . Thus he wrote On the Veiled

Doctrine of on Philosophers, or those doctri nes which had in

ten tionally been rendered obscure, and were as enig matical as themythology of the poets ; Porphyry i nterpreted th ese vei led sayin gsand threw a flood of l igh t on the matter . Although a man ofimmense erud ition , he d id not al low his learning to obscure h ismeani ng

,but was i n al l th ings clear and prec ise

,so that Eunapius

styles h im a Hermetic cha i n let down for the benefi t of mortals,

”

a rhetorical phrase based on the Homeric sim i le of the golden cha i nthat was fabled to support the world

,and qual ified by the ep ithet

Hermetic,significative of Hermes, the god of i nterpreta tion .

Thus we find that Porphyry not only devoted his energies towriting certai n books of “ In troductions and “ E lements ” whichwere absolu tely i nd ispensable for a clear understand i ng of ph i losophy, but also gave attention to the i nterpretation of myths ; not ,however, that he enunciated any set canon of i nterpretation

,for

the corrupt state of mythology must have baffled even so cleara m ind as that of Porphyry.

H IS OCCUL'I‘ L IFE .

Another subjec t to which our philosopher gave his attention

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3 80 LUCIFER .

for the ul timate goal , and judge of the universe by the l im i ted resul tach ieved .

I t may, perhaps, have been in despa ir of real izing so stupendousan achievement as the union ” preached by Plotinus, that Porphyryso fool ishly resolved on su ic ide . This much

,however

,is certa i n

,

that such a method of contemplation was far too d ifficu l t for eventrained ph ilosophers

,and Porphyry himself was final ly persuaded

that there were aids that could not l ightly be d ispensed w i th . I twas doubtless his famous pupi l , Jamblichus, who was ch ieflyinstr umental in changing his v iews

,and though he sti l l hesi tated on

manypo i nts, he seems to have recognized the efficacy of at l east theoracles.

”

G . R . S . M EAD .

To be co ntin ued . )

I n all the world there is not one s/rot even so large as a m ustard

seed rolzcrc lze lzas not surrendered Iris body for the sake of creatu res.

Then it suddenly seemed to me that th is was absolutely true . For

the Buddha of the deeper B uddhism is not Gautama , nor yet anyone Tathagata, but simply the d iv ine i n man . Chrysal ides of thei nfini te we all are ; each con ta ins a ghostly B uddha, and them il l ions are but one . All humanity is potential ly the Buddha - tocome

,dream ing through the ages of illusion ; and the teach er

’s

sm i le w i l l make beautifu l the world aga i n when selfishn ess sh al ld ie . Everynoble sacrifice brings nearer the hour of his awaken in g ;and who m ay justly doubt— rememberi ng the myriads of thecenturies of m an— that even now there does not rema i n on e p laceon earth where l ife has not been freely given for love or du ty.

lx’

ol'oro,byLafcad io Hearn , p . 21 9.

THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE .

(Concludedfrom p.

B UT Theosophyas a philosophy of body, sou l and sp iri t’

has a

much richer repertoire than these elementary truths. I t has muchto sayas to the primary formation of man , his correspondence wi ththe seven - fold Nature w i thou t h im , the processes and laws byand

under wh ich inner facul t ies are unfolded,the true regu lation of l i fe

,

the facts concerning death and post - mortem cond i tions. Someth ingis d isclosed of the wealth of vi tal i ty around us on unseen planes, andhow marvel louslyvaried are the existences wh ich are undetectableby our present facu lties. H ints are given

, sometimes i l lustrations,of what astonishing control over natural forces he may acqu ire whotra ins himself 011 right spiri tual l i nes. In fact

,analysis of the

un iverse is so vastlymore detai led than any otherwise at hand, andexposi tion of i t so much more cop ious than any elsewhere evenimagined

,that all presents a d ifferent outl ine and content and

qual i ty. Stil l,i t is qu i te i n accord wi th reason and the moral sense :

i t violates no inherent probabi l i ty, startles no true reverencetraverses no j ust assumption . Indeed

,no smal l part of i t seems

exactlywhat a far- see ing m i nd accepting the elements m ight haveconj ectured

,and even the part purely new has strongly presumptive

cred ibi l ity from its entire conform i ty to rat ional considerations. So

far from antagoniz ing the sp iri t of the age,i t i l lustrates i t .

Of course al l through even the more elementary, and i n a

greater degree through the more recond i te sections of Theosoph icaltru th

,there is always possibi l i ty of irrational presentation . Men do

not become clear- headed d iscrim inators and clearly- stating wri tersby becom ing Theosophists, for they carry wi th them i nto the ir newand rich er field of thought only such mental equ ipment as theyacqu ired i n the old . Theosophyhas no magic power to metamor

phose a mudd le - bra i ned th inker i nto a sk i l led logic ian,to furnish

,

3 82 LUCIFER .

off- hand,n icety of d istinction and accuracy of expression and pre

cision of argument , to secure agai nst hasty assumption or il l - j udgedi nference or extravagant statem ent . I t does not confer the cau tiousd iscrim i nation which veers off from propositions i nadequate lydemonstrated

,nor yet the sense of hum our which perce ives an

bsurdity and wou ld do anyth ing rather than repeat i t . In al l theserespects men arewhat theywere before becom ing Theosophists, andw il l be so until the finer traini ng of their new system changes the i rqual i ty as i t does their v iews. Meantime theym ay perpetrate m isconception , exaggeration , confusion , nonsense even ,

and thus com ei n col l ision wi th ord i nary human endowments, and i n particu larwith the sp iri t of the age.

Equal ly of course must this danger be augm en ted when any

m an,however good his general outfi t

,undertakes exposit ion of

Theosophical territorv beyond the two zones to wh ich reference hasbeen m ade . For here a doubtfu l peri l besets the expounder . In

the fi rst place,his men tal attitude is necessarilv hosti le to many of

the bel iefs which the temper of time, i n its ex treme manifestations,has evolved . The reaction agai nst superstition has reached incredulity, and as aga inst exaggerated doctri ne of the unseen hasreached material ism . Theosophy i n recal l i ng to a j ust and tem

perate v iew has therefore the character of a protest, and a protesteris very apt to suppose that his protest must be d irected agai nst al lexisting bel ief. He sees manyperversions and denials i n conven

tional doctri ne wh ich he clearly perce ives to be wrong, and, unlessof si ngularlyd ispassionate temper, is prone to th ink all conventionaldoctri ne wrong

,to be denounced in its total i ty and unsparingly

reversed . This,moreover

,i ncl ines him sympathetical lyto whatever

the age has renounced , and the very fact that a notion has beenoutgrown leads him to surm ise that it must be true . Thus oldd iscarded supersti tions and fol l ies have to him rather a presumption in the ir favour

,and he gently hand les such wi th a tenderness

ready for a welcome . He is shy of strong language agai nstmed iaeval ism

,and half bel ieves that i t was merely a too robust

exhibi tion of truth . This is all i n accordance wi th human nature,

though a human nature which better sensing of Theosophy wi l lcorrect .In the second place

,danger arises from nndiscrim inating rever

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3 84 LUCIFER .

of metaphysical phrases, half- understood and prov ing n othing, is

supposed suffi c ient to overthrow the instinctive bel ief of almost theentire human fam i ly; and a few catchwords, meaningless whenanalyzed , to express a substi tu te which has no adequacy, nocoherency, and no force . I shou ld say that there are other cases inthe exposi tion of planetary and human evolution as som et imes

depicted in our l i terature . Of course there must be mysteries and

compl ications i n such a subject, bu t there m ight at least be consis

tency. A nd yet there may be noticed a strange confusion of nam esand powers

,the same be i ngs hav ing hal f- a- dozen names, and these

names be ing appl ied aga i n to other be ings, and then the powerscomm ingl ing and the be i ngs changing places ti l l ord i nary brainsare bewi ldered . So too wi th ter ms. Can anybody get an in telligible idea of what is an atom if he reads Theosoph ical books ?

Has elementary ever been so defined that i t has a defin ite and

persistent meaning ? Can any normal reason get at what is m ean t

by sp iri t bei ng a substance and matter one pole of i t ? Take thesubject of after- death states. A good deal of what is sa id and

wri tten makes the dead a terror to the l iv ing and the l iv in g a

menace to the dead . For if the departed can infest and obsess and

uti l ize us,and if med iums can reach to and drag back the departed ,

death seems to have lost much of its potencyand al l of its d ign ity.

Certainly an age which has depopu lated the a ir of w i tches and

demons is not prepared to refi l l i t w i th spooks, and Theosophy w i l lincrease the number of its opponents if i t insists on resu rrectin gideas which made the Dark Ages darker, and which happ i lybecam edefunct when l ight arose . What about “ acc idental deaths Is

i t anywonder that protests were sounded aga inst some treatmen tswhich unconsc iouslyd isplayed both an arbi trary classificat ion andan unj ust doom ? Is a man necessari ly worse off i n the h ereafterbecause he entered i t through a stone’s fal l ing on his head thanthrough a stone’s form i ng in his heart ? And why shou ld amed ium have freer access to him in the one case than in the

other ?Take the matter of Karma. Force must of course work i tself

out . B ut are there no other forces to fray and exhaust i t ? Is an

insign ificant matter to which ne i ther actor nor v ictim gave a though tsoon after its occurrence , to persist unaffected by cen turies, and

THE smarr os rm : AGE . 3 85

return wi th und im i nished l ife i n later incarnations ? Is there nopower in nature to end trivial i ties and abol ish worthless pettinessesfor which nobody cares enough even to give them a tomb ? And

may not even Karma be too much a term There are mysteries i nnature not soluble at our present stage . Do we get rid of them bypronounc ing a word ? Why not franklysay that we are ignorant,and that no phrase is a universal explanat ionTake the matter of oriental l i terature . In a land so given to

spiri tual thought there must be much of profound i nterest to everyreal th inker . Bu t i n a land so given to al legory and fantasy and

child ish fable,there must be much also of trivial i ty and nonsense .

I f the various sacred books conta i ned only sober d issertations uponphilosophy and rel igion , a quotation wou ld have i nheren t we ight ;but when so much is unintel l igible babble wh ich amazes ratherthan edifies unpartisan readers, why treat the whole as final ? I f

East Ind ian scriptures are so accurate and priceless a transcript ofspi ri tual truth and motive

,why have they fa i led to preserve their

custod ians from l i tt len ess and narrowness,from social degradation

and superstit ions trifies and penrile devotion to forms and rou tinesand worthless ceremonies ? The West, i n its Cathol ic read iness fort ru th from any quarter, maywelcome such parts of the Upanishadsand the Puranas as throw l ight on specu lative questions

,bu t can

anyman suppose that i t wil l accept the col lection as a whole andi nvi te for i tsel f such a fu ture as is the present i n H i ndustan Theremay be as much fanatic ism over the Shastras as over the B ible

,

and 1mdiscrim inating panegyric w i l l revol t i n‘

one case as promptlyas in the other .Take the matter of the treatment given Christiani ty. From

the tone adopted bysome Theosoph ists one m ight suppose that thepurest character i n rel igious biography was an invention of themost corrup t wri ters, and that a rel igious system wh ich has elevatedthe lives and cheered the souls of m i l l ions was devised and upheldby schem ers, hypocri tes and Swi ndlers. There certa i nly have beenshocking atrocities perpetrated byChr istendom ,

as there are shocki ng doc trines still embalmed in its creed , but inab ility to see thegood which has been travestied and the inj unction s wh ich havebeen forgotten disqualifies for fa ir j udgment and reveals an ignor

ance of the true temper of Theosophy. I t will exc i te antipathy

3 86 Lucrssa.

from the spi ri t of the age , wh ich insists on fai r ness i n al l who claimto be j ud ic ial

,and wi l l not tolerate i n teachers an unteachable

d isposi tion .

And so one m ight take up case after case in the presentationof Theosophic topics, not as cynical ly observi ng human tendencyto extremes

,bu t as remonstrating against i l l - j udged hand l ing wh i ch

must prej ud ice the enl ightened and repel the ear nest . We hear ofomens and tal ismans and dreams, of obsessions, black magic , an dportents

,of devi ls and charms and incantat ions

,a whole medie va l

outfi t wh ich wou ld have del ighted the c i tizen of the fi fteenth centu rybu t wh ich is now four hundred years out of date . I t may be wel lto i nvestigate the germ of fact from which grew those monstrousimaginings

,but to accept al l as real i t ies wh ich may at any time

re- man ifest and shatter doubters is to imperi l a whole system ofphi losophy and degrade i ntel l igent thought . The spirit of the agewaves th is away ; if i t vouchsafes any other notice , that wi ll be aj eer.

Thus i t is that the spiri t of the age is a beacon - l ight to therational Theosophist . I do not say that he is to rej ect everythingwhich that spiri t finds unacceptable

,for i t wou ld be as unreason

able bl i ndly to fol low popular denials i n the nineteenth centuryas tofol low popu lar affi r mations i n the fifteenth . I do not saythat he is toshape his bel iefs after a pattern which must of necessi tybe narrowerthan his own , for that wou ld be to dwarf and mu ti late his ph ilosophy i n the very respects when the time needs i t most . Bu t I dosay that the genius of the age is a powerfu l factor i n the determ i nation of what systems shal l endure

,so powerfu l that no system

contravening its essential character can make headway. Nor ,

i ndeed,shou ld i t . For observe that th is essential character is not

i n the extrem es to which the general character sometimes pushes.

I t is not in denial of a supersensons sphere,nor i n wholesale

repud iation of al l convictions held in ages past,nor i n prescription

of everything j ust heard for the first time , nor i n contempt of everyfact not immed iately uti l izable i n pract ica l l ife . These are casual ,superfic ial , temporary abuses of a sound i nstinct . But rather is iti n a passionate devotion to l iberty of thought— that pr iceless boonga i ned through centuries of strife and ou tbreak ; in a fixed convic

tion that no dogma can be true wh ich ou trages reason and the

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3 88 L UCIFER .

to humani ty, truths which are competent to erad icate most of theev i l of l ife and to transform the face of soc iety. What a p ity tocancel the ir influence by proclaim ing along wi th them the exaggerations of half- trai ned thought or the supersti tions cast aside by an

age gone by. Why al ienate the intel l i gent and d ismay the devoutby foll ies wh ich every one sees to be such , save the stol id slave toa nam e or a book or a school ? One m ay wel l suspect onese l fto be wrong when a m ightym ass of the best op inion of the timeconfronts one

,and i n that suspic ion rests the germ of cure . Like

other mortals,the Theosoph ist is fall ible

,and his doctrinal posses

sions n eed cleansing and amendment . The genius of his systemd iscountenances obstinacy and spurs to self- correction

,and the

motive to propagand ism is in the beneficen t effects of Theosophy.

I t wou ld pain h im to v i tiate them by i ngred ients which may not betrue and must be d isastrous

,and

'

he wou ld rather suppress a notionthan repel a learner . He m ayd istrust h is own percept ions, he may

feel uncertaintyand perplexing doubt , he may not reach to harmonyof all considerations, bu t at least he has that which is at once acheck

,a stimu lus

,and a corrective— the spiri t of the nineteenth

century, the spiri t of the world at th is era of its progress, the sp ir it— the heal th fu l spiri t— of the age in which it was his karm ic privilege to be born .

AmsxAc a FULLERTON .

3 89

THE HELPING OF THE PEOPLE .

IN approaching the subject of the fol low i ng pages, I do so

with difiidence, even wi th unwi l l ingness, and for th is reason . Tomake a suggestion as to a course of action

,to hint

,however tenta

tively, at auv scheme for the fu ture, should arg ue knowledge . To

one who approaches a problem w i th no other facul ties than thoseof ord i nary observation and the methods of one used to deal ingalone wi th th ings physical and wi th the action of the lower m i nd ,the d ifficu l ties of mak i ng any suggestions at al l are very great .For one proceeds upon insuffi c ient data

,and v iews men and things

from wi thout . One perce ives but the phenomena of l ife,and the

forces beh ind these phenomena are hidden . Therefore such aperson goes clumsi ly to work with imperfect tools.

These few thoughts are less suggestions for action than anattempt to set forth a need . Twice i t has been sa id to me bypersonsw i thou t the l im i ts of the Theosophical Soc iety : Granting thatTheosophy be tr ue, granting that Theosoph ists hold the germ ofTr uth , yet th is system is not for the people . I t is not comprehensible by the i ll iterate .

”

I f this be so,then there is a flaw i n our ph ilosophy, and in

Div ine Wisdom there can surely be no flaw . I f we,as a body, have

no message for the poor,for the i gnorant

,for the people who are

enga ged in the struggle for dai ly bread , then we are placed at animmense d isadvantage i n comparison wi th the exponents of creedswh ich we bel ieve to be less perfect presentations of that u l timateTru th which must exist somewhere i n the universe .

What are the needs of “ the people ”? They need food andshel ter, cleanl iness and pure a ir . But they need more . They needleisure, they need time to real ize the fact that man is a th inker as

wel l as a labourer wi th his hands. And they need a rel igioussystem .

3 90 LUCIFER .

They need a personal God . No abstract ph ilosophy wi l l dothem the faintest mod icum of good I speak of the rank and file ofundeveloped souls, not of those whom Karm a has placed i n mered isadvantageous physical surround i ngs and whose spiri tual l ife isstrong .

Now i t appears to me that the present rel igious system has butvery l ittle power over the people . I t assists the sp ir i t of dense

,crass

material ism that prevai ls. The v ision of the Lord Jesus influencesthe m i nds of the few ; here in we see the va lue of the persona lelement in the Christian fa i th . Bu t the i l logical l im i tation of theperiod of “

signs and wonders ” and of angel ic and sa i ntly interven tion to one short period of Jewish h istory, does great harm .

The people need to be led to sp iritual th ings by common - sensereasoning and practical means.

The astound ing material ism of their thought is proved by

the ir atti tude i n the presence of death . The ir spiri tual teachersi nstr uct them that death is the punishment of sin . Hence theyregard i t as an ev il .

But the poorer classes in London do not,as a rule

,fear i t .

They are amaz i ngly cal lous and careless in the matter . They haveno notion whatsoever of the continuance of consc iousness orthought after death . The ir whole v iew of the question is the

bel ief that a few wanderi ng thoughts and a half- fol lowed prayer atthe last wi l l make i t al l right .” Their real vi tal interest l ies in thecoffi n and the number of coaches.

This is surely a crude m an ifestation of our universal egotism,

i n wh ich the pr imary consideration is to be the cen tral figure,arrogati ng an importance to which we are not enti tled . Theproblem wh ich appears to me to be of paramount importance isthis— how to combine the prevai l ing ideas w i th those which wehave at heart

,i n such a manner as to practically touch the l ives of

the people of England . When I make this statem ent,I mean of

paramount importance for those who are brought d irectly i n touchwi th these people

,and to whom h igher work is impossible .

I w i l l i llustrate the i nadequacy of the present system and alsothe d irection in which I seem to perce ive that help m ight l ie

,by an

anecdote .

Some time ago, a person who has imbibed in some measure

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3 92 w oman .

teach ing in sp iri tual matters Can we not take the New Testam en t

story wi th wh ich the people are fam i l iar,’

and teach the doctrineof Karma from the words As a man soweth , so shal l he reapThose words are ei ther ignored

,or construed into a th reat of

ghastly, irrat ional , and dev i l - governed hel l . Can we not, tak ing,

and not sweeping away, that personal worship of the Ch rist wh ichhelps many so m ighti ly, teach at once a more vi tal and reason ableand more spiri tual doctrine ?So byslow degrees

,if thiswork were recognized and organ ized ,

the horizon wou ld broaden and the people wou ld recogn i z e the

claims of all the world’s Teachers to our reverent love . We can nottake from them the fam i l iar words

,the fam i l iar fa i ths, the bel ief in

a personal God , but surely we may adapt these bel iefs to theirneeds

,and to the broader stream of l ight which we bel ieve ou rselves

to have perce ived .

This is an ignorant appeal . I t is avowed ly and consc iouslyignorant . I t is probably even more ignorant than I real iz e. The

fact that the need is so great , the ign orance so colossal,the m isery

and bl indness so terr ible and heart -wringing,must be the ex cuse .

Ivy HOOPER .

3 93

SfJF’

I‘

SM .

(Concluded from f».

BEFORE leavi ng the subject of the Path , the fol low in g ru lesto the neophyte

’s conduct , by Az iz - bi n - Mohammed Nafas

‘

i,are of

considerable interest .He says (Palmer

’s Orz

'

efl fal p . 1 4)

The only th ing that can conduct the travel ler safely to the sou lis the fel lowship of the wise : “ Prov ided he have the capac i ty— a

single day, nay, a single hour, i n the society of the w ise, tends moreto his improvement than years of self- d iscipl ine without i t ; i t ishowever

,possible to frequent the soc ietyof the wise , wi thout receiv

i ng any benefi t therefrom ,but th is must proceed ei ther from want

of capac i ty or want of wi l l .“ The fol lowing rules have been la id down by the Sftfis for the

conduct of the d isciple when in the presence of his teachers.

I . Hear, attend , bu t speak l i ttle .

“2. Never answer a question not addressed to you ,

bu t if asked,

answer promptly and concisely, never feel ing ashamed to say,‘ I

know not . ’

3 . Do not d ispute for d isputation’s sake .

4. Never boast before your elders.

5 . Never seek the highest place, nor ever accept i t if i t be

offered to you .

“ 6. Do not be over ceremonious, for th is wi l l compel yourelders to act in the same manner towards you ,

and give them needless annoyance .

7 . Observe i n al l cases the etiquette appropriate to the time ,place and persons present .

“ 8. In ind ifferent matters,that is

,matters involvi ng no breach

of dutyby the ir om ission or comm ission , conform to the practice

and wishes of thosewi th whom you are associating.

3 94 LUCIFER .

9. Do not m ake a practice of anything wh ich is not e i ther aduty or calcu lated to i ncrease the comfort of your assoc iates otherwise it wi l l become an idol to you and i t is i ncumbent on everyoneto break his idols and renounce his hab i ts.

”

These I th ink must strike us as,on the whole

,good common

sense ru les,wh ich perhaps we shou ld none of us be the worse for

beari ng in m ind . The same author makes some interesting remarksabout Renunciation

,and in regard to idolatry, he says

“ All m en have some idol which theyworship ; wi th one i t isweal th and d ign ity, wi th another over much prayer and fasting. I f

a man sit always upon his prayer - carpet his prayer - carpet becomeshis idol . Renunc iation shou ld not be of necessaries of l ife

,such as

food,clothing and dwel l ing - place— for wi thou t these he wou ld be

obl iged to rely on the a id of others, and this would beget avarice ,which is the mother of vice .

’

That a necessary step towards progress on the i nward mysticPath is the find ing of a Pir or sp iri tual D irector or Instructor isrepeated ly insisted on ,

and much stress is laid on the obed ience andreverence wh ich shou ld be rendered to such an one when found .

One passage from the Alasuam’

(p . 46) runs as fol lows :

Do thou seek rest in the shadow of the wise m an

That thou mayest escape thy fierce secret foes ;

Of all forms of service this is the fit test for thee .

Having chosen thyDirector, be submissive to him .

A friend is needed travel not the road alone,Take not thine own way through the desertWhoso travels this road alone,On lydoes so by aid of the m ight of holymen .

All rel igions are al ike worthy of honour, from the Sfif‘

i po i n t ofview, and al l their scriptures worthy of reverence and study; bu tthe outer form i n al l cases is a matter of i nd ifference

,i t is the inner

sp iri t which is of importance .

The fol lowi ng from the .Harnam’

(p . bears on this point

A voice came from God to Moses,

Why hast thou sent my servan t awayP

Thou hast come to draw men to union with meNot to drive them far from me.

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3 96 LUCIFER .

B ut in addition to reason man has a certain facultyWhereby he perceives hidden mysteries.

L ike fire in flin t and steelGod has placed this faculty in man

’

s mind and body

“'

hen that flin t and steel are struck togetherThe two worlds are il luminated by the flashFrom that col lision is this mysterymade clear ;Now you have heard it, go and attend to your Self.Your Self is a copymade in the im age of God ,

Seek in your Self allyou desire to know.

The whole tendencyof the Sftfi wri tings is to urge the trav el lernot to rest content depend ing on reason

,hearsay, specu lat ion an d

theoryalone, but to press forward and obtain face to face know l edge .

Ah look til l you see your own real final cause.

B urn up then . all this bodyofyours with discernmentRise to sight , to sight , to sight (Masnani, p .

K now real science is seeing the fire directly,

Not mere talk, in ferring the fire from the smoke.

Your scien tific proofs are offensive to the wise.

If there be given proofs, O son ,

Such proofs are the stafl of a blind man ,

Which prove on lv the blindness of the holder.

All vour outcry and pom pous claims and bustleOnlv say, I cannot see, hold me excused .

"

(P .

To those who demand proof of spiri tual veri t ies th e Illaszm r'z

'

savs (p . 1 07)

When you say to a thirstv man , Come quickly;This is water in the cup , take and drink it

Does the thirsty man say, This is a vain pretensionGo, remove yourself from me. O vain pretender,Or proceed to give proofs and evidence

That this is generic water, and concrete water thereofOr when a mother cries to her sucking babe,

Come , O son , I am thymother,”

Does the babe answer, 0 mother, show a proof

That I shal l find com fort from taking thymilk.

Al Garrali (born 1 058, d ied I 1 I 1 , A .D .)a Sftfi mystic, thus writesThe l ife of man passes through three degrees. The first or

surisn . 3 97

infantile state is that of pure sensation the second is that of understand i ng, and the third that of reason , where the i ntel lect perce ivesthe necessary tru ths ; bu t there is a fourth state beyond these three,in which man perceives the hidden th ings that have been , and thatwi l l be

,and the th ings that escape both the senses and the reason .

This state is Freedom .

”

The same wri ter has much to say about the Heart he wri tesKnow, 0 seeker after the d ivine mysteries, that the bodyis the

k i ngdom of the Heart,and that there are in the bodymany forces

in continu i ty w i th the heart .Know

,0 student of wisdom that the body which is the

k ingdom of the heart,resembles a great c i ty. The hand , the foot ,

the mouth and the other members resemble the people of varioustrades. Desire is a standard bearer ; anger is a superi ntendent ofthe ci ty, the heart is its sovere i gn and reason is the viz ier . Thesovereign needs the se rvice of al l the inhabi tants. When the heartis free from world ly lusts, from the an imosi t ies of soc iety, and fromd istractions by the senses, the v ision of God is possible . And th iscourse is adopted by the mystics. I t is also the path fol lowed bythe prophets.

The heart of man while i n thesp iri tual world knows its Makerand Creator ; i t m i ngles w i th the an gels and knows for what serv ice i t was created .

To whomsoever this revelation has been vouchsafed,if i t d irects

him to reform the world,to invi te the nations to return to God

,and

to a pecul iar wayof l ife , that person is cal led a prof /wt, and his wayof l ife is cal le d a law and that i nfluence wh ich proceeds from h imwhich transcendswhat is ord inary. is cal led a miracle. I f he has notbeen appointed to i nvi te nations

,but worships i n accordan ce wi th the

law of an other,he is cal led a Saint

,and that wh ich proceeds from

him ,which transcends what is ord inary, is cal led a mamfcslalrbu of

grace.

The knowledge of God,which is the occasion of the revelation

of tru th , cannot be acqu i red w i thout self- denia l and effort . Unlessa man has reached perfect ion and the rank of a Superior

,noth ing

w i l l be revealed to him,except in cases of special d iv ine grace and

merc ifu l providence, and th is occurs very rare ly.

The last quotation I w i l l make is from the wri tings of one

3 98 c msa .

of the most w idely known of all the poets of the Sfi f‘

i school

both in Persia and elsewhere , one to whom I have no t h ithertoreferred . I al lude to Hafiz of Sh iraz

,whose wri tings date from the

fourteenth century. I t is a quotation which,I think

, may fi tly

close the short series of extracts which I have made, expressin g,as

i t seems to do, the underlying motive of al l Sufi writings wh ichtreat of the Travel ler and the Way.

“ O thou who art devoid of knowledge,study ti l l thou art a

master of knowledge ; so long as thou art not a wayfarer, howshou ld’st thou be able to po int out the way?

In the school of tru th,i n the presence of the Masters of love

,

work un ceasingly, my son,that thou m ayest one day becom e a

Master .“ S leep and excess have held thee back from the exu l tation of

love ; wou ld’st thou atta i n love

,thou must deny thysel f food an d

slumber ." When the l ight of the love of God shal l descend on thy

heart and sou l,then thou wi l t become more glorious than is the

sun i n the sky.

“Wash thyself clean from the dross of the body, that thoumay

’st find the alchemy of love and be transformed into gold .

“ From head to foot the l ight of God wi l l enfold thee, when ,

l ike the bod i less,thou shal t be borne along the path of t he

glorified .

P lunge for one moment i nto the sea of God,and th in k n ot

that the waters of the seven seas w i l l wet a single feather .“ I f the countenance of God be the object of thy gaz e , no

doubt can remai n that thou art among those of clear vision .

“ Though the basis of thy existence shall be upheaved, have

no thought i n thy heart that thou art thyself made a ru in .

“ But if,Hafiz

,there be i n thym ind a w ish for w isdom ,

th ouwi l t have to become as dust at the door of those endowed w ithunderstand ing .

”

And herewi th myquotations from the wri tings of these mysticsof the Mohammedan fai th must come to an end . The ideas I haveattempted to i l lustrate from those wri ti ngs are very few,

an d I haveonly been able to outl ine even these few . I have endeavoured to

let the quotations as far as possible speak for themselves, and have

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FROM SOME CH INESE ALCHEMISTS .

[THE fol lowi ng extracts were made byH . P . Blavatsky,appa

ren tly as i l lustrative quotations i ntended to be used in some of her

work . They are so i nteresting that we print them from her n ote

book .— EDS .]

THE SECRET OF IMMORTAL ITY .

The body is the dwel l i ng - place of l ife ; the spiri ts are the

essence of l ife,and the sou l is the master of l ife . When the sp ir i ts

are exhausted the body becomes sick, when the sou l is i n repose thesp iri ts keep the ir place ; and when the sp irits are concentrated thesou l becomes i ndestructible . Those who seek the el ix ir mustim i tate the Ting Tang (the active and passive pri nc iples i n n atu re),and learn the harmony of numbers. Theymust govern the sou l andun i te the ir spiri t . I f the sou l is a char iot the spiri t are its horses.

When the sou l and sp iri t are properlyyoked together you are im

mortal .

THE POWER OF M I RACLES .

The clouds are a dragon,the wind a tiger . Mind is the m other

and matter the child . When the mother summons the ch i ld,w i l l

i t dare to d isobey? Those who would expel the sp irits Of ev i l m ust

(by the force of the ir m ind) summon the sp ir its of the five e lem en ts,

those who wou ld conquer serpents must Obtai n the influences of th efive planets. B y this means the Ting and T(mg,

the dual forces Ofnature, m av be control led

, winds and clouds collected , moun ta insand h il ls torn up by the roots, and rivers and seas made to sprin gup out of the ground . Sti l l the external manifestation of th ispower is not so good as the consc iousness Of its possessionw i thin .

The Adept is superior to hunger,cold

,sickness. He inha les

the fine essence of matter how can he be hungry? He is warm ed

PROM son s canvass 40 :

by the fire of his Own sou l ; how can he be cold ? His five v i talsare fed on the essence of the five elements ; how can he be sick

PAT IENCE ESSENTIA L '

I‘

O Succsss.

Would you seek the golden Tau , the el ixi r ? I t is not easy toObta in . The three powers, sun , moon , stars, seven times repea ttheir footsteps

,and the four seasons nine t imes complete the ir

c ircu i t . Tau must wash it whi te and burn i t red ; when one

draught w i ll give you ages and you wi l l be wafted beyondthe sphere of sublunary th ings.

L it - Z ia”.

THE NECEssrrv or A L IvINO TEACHER .

Every one seeks long life, but the secret is not easv tofind . I f you covet the prec ious th ings of Heaven you must rej ectthe treasures of the earth . You must k i nd le the fire that spri ngsfrom the water and evolve the Ting conta ined with in the Tang.

’

One word from a w ise master and you possess a draught of the

golden water .

THE CH IEF E L EMEN TS IN ALCHEMY .

All th ings ori ginate from the earth . I f you can , get at therad ical princ iple . The sp iri t of the green dragon is mercury, andthe water Of the white t iger is lead . The knowi ng ones wi l l bringmother and child together, when earth w il l become heaven and youw i l l be extr icated from the power Of mother .

[The tiger and dragon are synonyms for Ting Tang : the ir usei n this sense is comparatively anc ient

,as we maygather from the

ti tle of a book sti l l extant, by the h istorian Pan Ru of the firstcentury of our era .]

L it - Z ia”.

Tm : PH I LosOPHER‘

s STONE, SELP- C t'LTURE NECESSARY To

OBTA IN IT .

I must d i l igently plant my own field . There is w i th in it asp iritual germ that may l ive a thousand years. Its flower is l ike

Ting Tan are the dual forces which con tain the elements of nature .

Though general y referred to in the sexual systems their ch ief symbols are the sun

and moon. and the original signification of th e term s is ligh t and darkness—man ifestlyoccul t.

4O2 LUCIFER .

yel low gold , its bud is not large, but the seeds are round

(globu les of mercury) and l ike to a spotless gem . I ts growthdepends on the so i l of the cen tral palace (the heart), but its irrigation must proceed from a h igher founta in (the reason ). After nine

years of cul tivation , root and branch m ay be transplan ted to the

heaven of the greater geni i .L a - Z ien .

AN ALCHEM IST .

A biographer Of L u Tsu ,speak i ng of the labours Of h is great

master,says

Among the e ight stones he m ade most use of c in n abar,

because from that he extracted mercury and among the fi ve m etalshe made most use of lead

,because from that he obta ined silver.

The fire Of the heart (blood) is red as c i nnabar, and the water of thek idney (w ine) is dark as lead . To these must be added the sulphur,that the compound maybe eflicacious. Lead is themother of silver,m ercury the child Of c innabar. Lead represents the in fluen ces ofthe k idneys, mercury that of the heart .

THE EL IxI R .

However long th is mortal l ife, its even ts are al l uncertain . He

who but yesterday rode his horse so grand ly, tod ay is a corpse in a

coffi n . H is wife and his weal th are his no longer. His sin s m usttake their course, and self- deception wi l l do no good . I f you do

not seek the great remedy how wi l l you find i t If you find ou t themethod and do not prepare i t, how unwise you are . I f thev irtuous fol low a false doctri ne they reclaim i t, bu t if the v ic iousfol low a true doctri ne they pervert i t ; so i t is wi th the go lden el ixir .A dev iation of an i nch leads to the error of a m i le . I f I su cceed

then my fate is in myown hands and mybodymay last as long as

the heavens. But the vu lgar pervert this doctrine to the gratification Of low desires (such as those for weal th and pleasure).

OUTL I NE OF THE PROCESS .

In the gold furnace you must separate the mercury from thecinnabhr, and i n the germ inati ng bath you must prec ip i tate thesilver from the water . To wield the fires of th is d iv ine work is

not the task of a day. But out of the m idst of the pool sudden lythe sun r ises.

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404

THE UNITY UNDERLYING ALL RELIGIONS .

R IGHT thought is necessary to right conduct, right un derstan di ng to right l iv i ng, and the D ivi ne Wisdom— whether ca lled by itsancient Sanskri t name of Brahma V idya, or its modern Greek nam e

of Theosophia, Theosophy— comes to the world as at once anadequate ph ilosophy and an al l - embrac ing rel igion and eth ic . I t

was once said of the Christian Scriptures by a devotee that theyconta i ned shal lows in which a child could wade and depth s inwhich a giant must swim . A sim i lar statement m ight be m ade of

Theosophy, for som e of its teach ings are so simple and so practicalthat any person of average i ntel l igence can understand and fol lowthem

,whi le others are so lofty, so profound , that the ab l est stra ins

his intel lect to conta in them and si nks exhausted in the effort .

It is adm i tted on al l hands that a survey of the great religionsof the world shows that they hold in common many rel ig ious,eth ical and philosoph ical ideas. But wh i le the fact is un iversallvgranted

,the explanation of the fact is a matter of d ispu te . Some

al lege that religious have grown up on the soi l of human i gnoran ceti l led by im agination

,and have been gradual ly elaborated from

crude forms of anim ism and fetich ism ; thei r l ikenesses are referredto un iversal natural phenomena imperfectlyObserved and fanc i fu l lyexplai ned

,solar and star worship bei ng the universal key for one

school , phal l ic worship the equal ly universal key for anoth er fear,

desire , ignorance and wonder led the savage to person ify the powersof nature, and priests played upon his terrors and his hopes, hism isty fanc ies and his bewi ldered quest ionings ; myths becam escriptures and symbols facts, and as the ir basis was universal thel ikeness of the products was i nev i table . Thus speak the doctors of“ Comparative Mythology,

” and pla in people are silenced but not

convi nced under the rai n of proofs; theycannot denythe l ikenesses,but they d im ly feel Are allman ’s dearest hopesand loftiest im agin

ings real lynothing more than the outcome of savage fan c ies and of

THE UN ITY : UNDERLY ING A L I. RELIG IONS . 405

gropi ng ignorance ; have the great leaders of the race,the martyrs

and heroes of humanity, l ived , wrought , suffered , and d ied deludedbymere personifications of astronom ical facts and bv the drapedobscenities of barbarians ?The second explanation of the common property i n the

rel igions of the world asserts the existence of an or iginal teachingi n the custody of a Brotherhood of grea t spi ri tual Teachers, whothemse lves the outcome of past cycles of evolution— acted as thei nstru ctors and gu ides of the child - human ity of our planet ,imparting to its races and nat ions i n turn the fundamental tr uths ofrel igion in the form most adapted to the id iosyncrasies of therec ipients. Accord ing to th is v iew

,the Founders of the great

rel i gions are members of the one Brotherhood,and were aided i n

the ir m ission by many other m embers, lower i n degree thanthemselves, i n itiates and d isc iples of various grades

,em inent i n

sp iri tual insight, i n philosoph ic knowledge , or in puri ty of ethica lwisdom . These gu ided the in fant nations

,gave them their pol i ty,

en acted the ir laws,ru led them as k ings, taught them as philoso

phers, g uided them as priests ; al l the nations of antiqu i ty lookedback to such m igh tymen , deIn i- gods and heroes, and they left theirtraces i n l iterature , in architectu re, i n legislation .

That such men l ived i t seems diflicult to deny i n the face ofuniversal trad i tion , of sti l l exist ing sc riptures, and of prehistoricrem a i ns for the m ost part now i n r ui ns, to say noth ing of othertest imony wh ich the ignorant wou ld reject . The sacred books of

the East are the best evidence for the greatness of the ir authors, forwho i n later days or i n modern times can even approach thespiritual subl im i ty of the ir religious thought , the i ntel lectualsplendour of their ph i losophy, the breadth and puri ty of theireth ic And when we find that these books contai n teach ings abou tGod

,man

,and the universe identica l i n substance under much

varietv of ou ter appearance , i t does not seem unreasonable to referthem to a central primarybody of doctri ne ; to that we give thename of the Div ine Wisdom— in its Greek form : THEOSOPHY .

As the ori gi n and basis of al l rel igions,i t cannot be the

antagonist of any; i t is i ndeed the i r purifier, reveal ing the valuablei nner meaning of much that has become m ischievous i n its extern al

presen tation bythe perverseness of ignorance and the accretions of

406 m emes .

supersti tion , but i t recognizes and defends i tsel f i n each and seeks

i n each to unve i l its h idden wisdom . No m an in becom ing aTheosophist need cease to be a Christian , a Buddhist, a Hin du ; hewi l l acqu ire a deeper insight in to his own fa i th , a fi rmer hold on itsspiri tual truths, a broader understand i ng of its sacred teachings.

As Theosophy of old gave b irth to rel i gions so in modern tim esdoes i t j ustifyand defend them . I t is the rock whence all of them

were hewn , the hole of the p i t whence al l were d igged .

The truth of this statement becomes more and more apparen tas we study the various world - scriptures, and bu t a few se lec t ionsfrom the weal th of material avai lable w i l l be sufiicien t to establ ishthe fact and to gu ide the student in his search for further verifica

tion . The mai n sp iritual veri ties of rel igion maybe summarized as

i . One eternal infini te incognizable real Existen ce .i i . From That the manifested God , unfold ing from unity to

dual ity, from dual i ty to trin ity.

i i i . From the manifested Trini tymanysp iri tual Intell i gences,gu id ing the kosm ic order .iv . Man a reflexion of the manifested God and therefore a

trin i ty fundamental ly, his i nner and real Self be ing eter nal, onew i th the Self of the universe .

v . His evolution by repeated i ncarnations, i nto wh i ch he isdrawn by desire, and from wh ich he is set free by knowledge andsacrifice

,becom ing d ivi ne in potencyas he had ever been d iv in e i n

latency.

China,w ith its now fossi l ized civ il ization , was peop led in old

days by the Turanians, the fourth sub- division of the great FourthRace

,the race wh ich inhab i ted the lost con tinent of Atlant is and

spread its off- shoots over the world . The Mongo l ians,the last sub

d ivision of that same race,later re- i nforced its popu lation

, so thatwe have in Ch ina trad i tions from anc ient days, preced ing the

settlement of the F ifth , or Aryan , race in Ind ia . I n the K it ing[fang K ing, or Classic of P urity,

we have a fragm ent of an an cien tscripture of si ngular beauty, breath ing out the spiri t of restfu ln ess and peace so characteristic of the “ origi nal teach ing.

” Mr.

Legge says i n the introductory note to his translation'that the

treatiseTheSacred B ooks of theEast, vol. x1.

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408 LUCIFER .

In the 7 750 T MK ing the teaching as to the Unm an ifested and

the Manifested comes out veryplain ly

The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging TAO. The

name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. Having no

name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth ; having a name it is Mother of allthings. Under these two aspects it is reallv the same ; but as developmen t takes place it receives the differen t names . Together we call them the

.\Ivsterv (i. r. z . 4 1 .

Students of the K abalah w i l l be rem inded of one of the D ivineNames

,the Concealed Mvsterv . Again

There was something undefined and complete. com ing in to existence beforeheaven and earth . How still it was and form less, standing alone and undergoing

no change. reaching everywhere and in no danger (of being exhausted ). It may

be regarded as the Mother of all things. I do not know its name. and I give it

the designation of the Tao. Making an effort to give it a name I call it the Great .

Great , it passes on (in constan t flow ). Passing on it becomes remote. Having

become remote it returns (xxv . r

Very in teresting is i t to see here the idea of the forthgo ing and

the returning of the One Life,so fam i l iar to us i n H indu l i teratu re.

Fam i l iar also seems the verse

All things under heaven sprang from I t as existen t (and named); that existence sprang from It as non - existen t (and not named ) (xi.

That a universe m ight become,the L'nman ifest must give forth

the One from whom dualitv and trin itv proceed

The Tao produced One ; One produced Two ; Two produced Three ; Three

produced all things . All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of whichthey have come), and go forward to embrace the B rightness (into which thev

have emerged ). while they are harmon ised bv the B reath of V acancv (xlii. r).

Breath of Space wou ld be a happier translation . S i nce all

is produced from I t , I t ex ists in al l

All- pervading is the great Tao. It may be found on the left - hand and on

the right . It clothes all things as with a garmen t , and makes no assum p

tion of being their lord — It may be named in the smallest things. All th ingsreturn (to their root and disappear), and do not know that it is It which presidesover th eir doing so — It m ay be named in the greatest things (xxxiv . r,

Kwang - z e (fourth century B .C .) in his presentation of the

anc ient teachings, refers to the spiri tual Intel l igences com ing fromtheTao

THE UN ITY UNDERLYING AL L REL IGIONS . 409

It has Its root and ground (of existence)in Itself. B efore there were heavenand earth from of old , there It was, securelyexisting. From It came the mys~

terious existence of spirits, from It the mysterious existence of God (B k. vi. , Pt .i Sec. vi.

A number of the na mes of these Intel l igences fol low,bu t such

be ings are so wel l known to playa great part in the Chinese rel i gionsthat we need not mul tiplyquotations about them .

Man is regarded as a tri n i ty, Tao ism ,says Mr. Legge, recog

n ixing in h im the sp iri t,the m ind and the body. This d ivision

comes ou t clearly i n the Classic qf Purity,i n the teaching that man

must get rid of desire to reach union w i th the One :

Now the spirit of man loves purity, but his mind disturbs it. The m ind of

m an loves stillness. but his desires draw it away. If he could always send hisdesires away, his mind would of itself become stil l . L et his m ind he made clean ,

and his spirit of itself becomes pure. The reason whymen are not ableto attain to this is because their minds have not been cleansed , and their desireshave not been sen t away. If one is able to send the desires away, when he thenlooks in at his m ind it is no longer his ; when he looks out at his body it is no

longer his ; and when he looks farther off at external things, theyare thingswhichhe has nothing to do with (i. 3 ,

Then,after giv ing the stages of indraw ing to the cond i tion of

perfect sti ll ness,” i t is asked

In that condition of rest independent ly of place, how can anydesire arise ?

And when no desire any longer arises, there is the true stillness and rest . Thattrue (stil lness)becomes (a)constant quality, and responds to external things (with .

out error) ; yea , that true and constan t quality holds possession of the nature .

In such constan t response and constant stillness there is the constan t purity and

rest . He who has this absolute purity enters gradual ly into the (inspiration of)

the True TAO (i.

The suppl ied words i nspiration of rather cloud than eluc idatethe mean ing

,for enteri ng into the Tao is congruous w i th the whole

idea and wi th other scriptures.

On putting awayof desire is laid much stress i n Taoism ; a

commentator on the Classic of Purify remarks that understand ing

the Tao depen ds on absolute puri ty, and

The acquiring this Absolute Puritydepends entirely on the Putting awayof

Desire, which is the urgent practical lesson of the Treatise .

4ro m orass .

The Trio Tc]: K ing says

Always without desire we must be found .

If its deep mysterywe would sound

B ut if desire always within us be,

lts outer fringe is all that we shal l see (i.

Reincarnation does not seem to be so d istinctlytaugh t as m ighthave been expected

,although passages are found that imp ly that

the mai n idea was taken for granted and that the en ti tywas con

sidered as ranging through animal as wel l as human b i rths. Thuswe have from Kwang- z e the quaint and wise story of a dyin g m an

,

to whom his friend said

Great indeed is the Creator ! What will He now m ake you to become ?

Where wil l He take you to ? Will He make you the liver of a rat or the arm of

an insect Sz e- lai replied , Wherever a paren t tells a son to go, east , west,

south , or north , he simply follows the command . Here now is a greatfounder, casting his metal . If the metal were to leap up (in the pot) and say,

I must be made in to a (sword like the) Moysh ,

’

the great founder would be sure

to regard it as uncanny. So, again ,when a form is being fashioned in the mould

of the womb , if it were to say, I must become a man , I must become a m an ,

’

the

Creator would be sure to regard it as uncanny. When we once understand thatheaven and earth are a great melting-

pot , and the Creator a great founder , where

can we have to go to that shall not be right for us We are born as from a quietsleep , and we die to a calm awaking (B k. vi. , Pt. i. , Sec .

Turn ing to the F ifth,the Aryan , race we have the sam e teach

ings embod ied in the oldest and greatest Aryan rel igion— the H i ndu .

The eternal Existence is proclaim ed i n the Clzluindogyapam'

slmd as

One only, without a second,

”and i t is written

It willed , I shall multiply and be born (vi. n . r,

The Supreme LOGOS, B rahman , is threefold— Bei ng,Con sc ious

ness,B l iss

,and i t is said

From This arise life, m ind and all the senses, ether, air, fire, water , earth the

support of all (Mundakopanishad , ii.

No grander descriptions of De i ty can be found anywh ere thani n the Hindu Scr iptures, but they are becom i ng so fam il iar thatbrief quotation wi l l suffi ce . Let the fol lowing serve as specim ens ofthe wealth of gems

Manifest , near, moving in the secret place, the great abode, wherein rests allthat moves, breathes and shuts the eyes. K now That as to be worshipped , beingand non - being, the best . beyond the knowledge of all creatures. L uminous.

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4 1 2 w orsen .

and i n the liltindukyopams/md the Self is described as con d i tionedby the body, the subtle body, and the mental body, and th en risi ngout of all i nto the One “

wi thou t dual i ty.

” From the Trim ftrti

(Trin ity) come manyGods, connected w i th the adm inistration ofthe universe

,as to whom i t is said i n the B rzh rddm nyakopam slmd

Adore Him , ye Gods, after whom the year by rolling days is comp leted , the

L ight of lights, as the immortal L ife (IV . iv .

I t is hardlynecessaryto even mention the presence in H i ndu ismof the teaching of re incarnation

,si nce its whole philosophy of life

turns on this pi lgr image of the sou l through many b i rths anddeaths

,and not a book cou ld be taken up i n wh ich th is t ru th is not

taken for granted . B y desires man is bound to th is wheel ofchange

,and therefore by knowledge, devotion , and the destru ct ion

of desires,m an must set himself free . When the soul knows God it is

l iberated i . The i ntellect purified by k nowledgebeholds Him (M ama

,I I I . i . Knowledge jo ined to devotion

finds the abode of Brahman I I I . i i . Whoever knowsBrahman becomes Brahman I I I . i i . When desires cease

the mortal becomes immortal and obtai ns Brahman (K afkop ., v i. I 4).

Buddh ism,as i t exists in its northern form

,is qu i te at on e w i th

the more anc ient faiths,bu t in the southern form i t seem s to have

let sl ip the idea of the Logic Tri n ityas of the One Existence from

which They com e forth . The LOGOS i n His triple man ifestat ion is :the F irst LOGOS Am i tabha

,the Bound less Light ; the Second,

Avalok i teshvara or Padm apan i (Chenresi); the Third , Mandjusfithe representative of creative w isdom

,correspondin g to

B rahma (Eitel’s Sans/en ? Cl u

'

ncsc Dictionary,sub wee). C h inese

Buddhism apparently does not accept the idea of a prim ord ialExistence , beyond the LOGOS, bu t Nepaulese Buddhism postu latesAd i - Buddha, from which Am i tabha arises. Padmapan i is sa id byE itel to be the representative of compassionate Prov idence and to

correspond partly w i th Shiva, bu t as the aspect of the B uddhistTrin ity that sends forth incarnations He appears rather to rep resentthe same idea as V ishnu

,to whom He is further al l ied by hearing

the Lotus (fire and water, or sp iri t and matter as the p rimary con

stitueu ts of the universe). Re incarnation and Kar ma are so m uchthe fundamentals of Buddh ism that i t is hard ly worth while toinsist on them save to note the wayof l iberation

run umrv unosam nc AL L RELIGIONS.

Those beings who walk in the way of the law that has been wel l taught ,reach the other shore of the great sea of birth and death , that is diffi cult to cross

(Udcfnavarga. xxix. 3 7)

Desire b inds man , and must be gotten rid of

It is hard for one who is held by the fetters of desire to free himself of them ,

says the B lessed One. The steadfast, who care not for the happiness of desires,

cast them offand do soon depart (to N irvana). Mankind has no lastingdesires : theyare impermanent in them who experience them ; free yourselvesthen from what can not last, and abide not in the sojourn of death (ibid . , ii.

6 ,

He who has destroyed desires for (worldly)goods, sinfulness, the bonds ofthe eye of the flesh ,

who has torn up desire by the very root , he, I declare, is a

B rahmana (ibid . , xxxiii.

And a Brahmana is a man hav i ng his last body (ibrd ,xxxii i .

4 x), and is defined as one

Who, knowing his former abodes (existences), perceives heaven and hell, theM imi who has found the way to put an end to birth (ibid . , xxxiii.

In the exoter ic Hebrew Scriptures,the idea of a Trin i ty does

n ot come out strongly, though dual i ty is apparent , and the Godspoken of is obviously the LOGOS, not the One Unmanifest

I am the L ord and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness ;

I make peace and create evil ; I am the L ord that doeth all these things(Ia , xlvii.

Philo,however, has the doc trine of the LOGOS veryclearly, and

it is found i n the Fourth Gospel

In the beginning was the Word (L ogos) an d the Word was with God and

the Word was God . All things were made byHim , and without Him

was not anything made that was made (St. j ohn , i. x,

In the K abalah the doctri ne of the One Existence,the

T hree , the Seven ,and then the many, is plai nly taught

The Ancient of the Ancients, the Unknown of the Unknown , has a form yet

also has not anyform . I t has a form through which the universe is main tained .

I t also has not anyform as It cannot be comprehended . When It first took thisform [Kethen the Crown , the First L ogos] It perm itted to proceed from It nine

brillian t L ights [Wisdom and the Voice, form ing the Triad , and then the seven

lower Sephiroth] It is the Ancien t of the Ancien ts, the Mysteryof theMysteries, the Unknown of the Unknown . It has a form which appertains to It,since It appears (through it) to us, as the Ancien t Man above all, as the Ancien tof the Ancients, and as that which there is the Most Unknown among the

Unknown . B ut under that form bywhich It makes Itself known , It however

41 4 morass .

still remains the Unknown . (Isaac Myer’

s Qabbalah, from the Z ohar, pp .

275

Myer poin ts out that the“ form is not ‘the Anc ien t of A L L

the Ancients who is the Ain Soph .

Agai n

Three L ights are in the Holy Upper which unite as One ; and they are the

basis of the Thorah , and this opens the door to all Come see ! the

mysteryof the word . These are three degrees and each exists by itself, and yet

all are One and are knotted in One, nor are they separated one from a nother.

Three come out from One, One exists in Three. it is the force between

Two, Two nourish One, One nourishes manv sides, thus All is One (zbid . , pp . 3 7 3 ,

3 75

Need less to say that the Hebrews held the doctrin e of m any

Gods Who is l ike unto Thee , O Lord , among the Gods (Ex .

xv . i i .)— aud of mu l titudes of subord inate m inistrants,the Sons

of God,

” the Angels of the Lord ," the “ Ten Angel ic H osts .

Of the commencement of the universe the Z o/zar teaches

In the beginning was the Will of the K ing, prior to any existen ce which

came in to being, through emanation from thisWill . It sketched and engraved

the form s of all things that were to be manifested from concealmen t in to view ,

in the supreme and daz z ling ligh t of the Quadran t [the sacred Tetracts (Myer’

s

Qabbalah , pp . 1 94,

Noth ing can exist in wh ich the De i ty is not imm an en t,and

wi th regard to Rei ncarnation i t is taught that the Sou l is present inthe d iv ine Idea ere com i ng to earth ; if the Sou l rem a in ed qu i tepure duri ng its trial i t escaped rebirth , but th is seems to have beenonly a theoretical possibi l i ty

,as i t is sa id :

All souls are subject to revolution (metempsychosis, a’ leen b

’

gilgoolah l but

men do not know the ways of the HolyOne ; blessed be It l they are ignoran t ofthe way they have been judged in all time, and before they came in to th is worldand when they have quitted it (ibid . , p .

Traces of th is bel ief occur both in the Hebrew and C hrist ianexoteric scriptures, as in the bel ief that E l ijah wou l d retu rn

,and

later that he had returned i n John the Baptist .Turning to glance at Egypt we fi nd there from hoariest

antiqu i ty its famous Tri nity, R a,Osiris- Isis as the dua l Second

LOGOS, and Horus. The great hymn to Am un - R a w ill beremembered

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4 1 6

ANIMAL REINCARNATION .

THE article on this subject in the May number of L U C IFERraises a number of points of considerable interest, and cal ls n ot onlyfor serious attention on the part of all close students of Th eosophy,but first and foremost for a fu l ler and clearer statement of th e con

ceptions upon the subject wh ich have gradual ly been form i ngthemselves around the few fragments of in for mation h i thertoaccessible i n pri nt . Hence the fi rst part of th is article w i l l bedevoted to as clear an exposi tion as m ay be of what I bel ieve tobe the v iews general ly prevalent among those students who have

given spec ial attention to the matter . I t must be prem ised,how

ever,that I wri te in no sense as the ir mou thpiece

,nor in any wayas

speaki ng wi th authori ty; but simply as one who has often con versedupon th is question of animal evolution wi th those amongst us bestable to get at the facts of the matter ; and therefore I may possiblybe able to put i nto wri tten form an ou tl ine of what is at presentfloating, uncrystal l ized thought, in a shape that will be of i nterestto the readers of LUCIFER . In the second part of th is art ic le Ishall endeavour to deal in order wi th the poi nts raised byM r . Kn ox

,

to remove h is d iffi cu l ties and answer his objections.

When a universe is about to be,the fi rst great stage is the

unfoldm ent or manifestation of the One Life as matter,

” proceed

i ng outwards through the Form or Matter - side of the SecondLOGOS, ti l l at last all the seven great kosm ic planes of matter w i ththeir sub- d iv isions

,have been cal led i nto existence .

Into this great ocean of matter in its seven orders,th ere n ext

pours i tself forth the second great wave of the D ivi ne L ife— Lifewhich has already i n preced ing universespassed through th e variousstages of its evolution as matter . When the second wave comesw i thin our ken in our solar system i t appears as com i ng forthfrom the buddhic plane i n the form of Atma - Buddh i

,A tméi

AN IMAL amncaanar ron . 41 7

clothed with or vehicled i n Buddhi— and i t is termed “ Monad ic

Essence .

”

This monad ic essence proceed ing outwards, next clothes i tselfi n the atom ic matter of the manasic plane , then works its

way step bystep through the various molecu lar states of that subplane down to the lowest or seventh sub- plane . Thence i t passes ondownwards to the astral plane and onwards through all its sub

d ivisions. In these stages when clothed in the matter ofeither of the planes below the buddhic , the Monad ic Essence so

clothed is termed the “ E lemental Essence ” of the plane i nquestion ; and i t consti tutes the three elemental ki ngdoms, preceding the m i neral k ingdom , which are mentioned i n E ra/on }:

and other Theosoph ica l wri tings. These three k i ngdoms

,i t m ay be noted , are consti tu ted , the first by the elemental

essen ce on the three aritpa levels of the manasic plane ;the second

,by the essence on the four rfipa levels thereof ; and

the th ird by the essence on the seven sub- d ivisions of the astral

plane .Now when the monad ic essence first pours forth from the

buddhic into the manasic plane,i t does so i n seven great streams

or rays, each of wh ich is disting uished by a characterist ic qual i typredom inating in i t . This primary d ifferentiation has at the ou tseta sevenfold sub- d iv ision and its differentiation goes on increasingever more and more as the essence works its way downwardsth rough the three elemental k ingdoms, both as regards its

vertical sub- d ivisions and i n its horizontal striations, so to speak .

The way in wh ich this d ifferentiation appears to proceed may

briefly be described , as the general process is the same throughout,and when we come to deal w i th later stages of evolution these factswi l l need to be borne i n m ind . F irst then the general law is th iswhenever anyform is bu i l t out of the matter of any plane, that formis “ ensouled ” or “ i nformed by a port ion of elemental essence

,

correspond ing w i th the order and k i nd of matter from wh ich theform is made . The portion of essence that thus ensouls a form is

separated off for the time be i ng from the particu lar volume or massof essen ce from which i t is drawn

,and acqu ires

,so to say, a d istinct

and temporari lyseparate ex istence of its own ,last ing as long as the

form that it ensouls endures. When that form is broken up, this

41 8 LUCIFER .

ensouli ng and temporari ly separated port ion of essence pou rs i tselfback and merges i nto the parent block , carrying wi th it, of course,whatever of experience or unfoldm ent i t m ayhave acqu i red in thatform . The experience so carried back does not rema in d ist i nct bu t,wi th the essence which is its carrier, d iffuses i tself through the

whole of that particu lar volume or block so that the next portiontemporari lyseparated off from the block i n quest ion w i l l be en

riched by that much of experience and unfoldmen t . Verygradual ly, by alm ost in finite repeti tions of this process, d istin c tion sgrow up wi thin the block of essence between one part and anoth er,these grow i nto d ifferences, ti ll at last com plete d ifferent iat ion has

taken place and the one block of essence has becom e severalsmaller blocks

,each d iffering from the others in some particu lar

way.

To complete the conception,i t must be added that when m ore

than one k ind or order of matter is bu i l t into a form ,there w i l l be

a correspond ing com plexity in the ensou l i ng elemental essen ce, aportion be i ng drawn from each of the k inds of essence whose corresponding orders or kinds of matter en ter into the form . And whenthe form breaks up

,each such portion returns d istinctively to its own

appropriate parent block .

The resu l t of this is that when we exam i ne the essence i n itslowest stage

,as i n form i ng the m i neral ki ngdom and const i tu ti ng

what has been spoken of i n earl ier Theosoph ical writ i ngs as the“ m i neral monad

,

”we fi nd that i t presents a very large num ber,

runn ing into the thousands,of d ifferent k i nds of essence, each k i nd

form ing as i t were a d istinct “ block or segregated volum e of theessence belonging to the m ineral k i ngdom

,from which is d rawn

the portion which ensouls any particu lar chem ical comb i nat ion ofthat class

,and i nto wh ich that temporarily separated port ion pou rs

i tself back,when the particu lar chem ical combination in question is

broken up .

We have thus to substitu te for the earlier conception of

M ineral Monad,

” the idea of a very large number of d isti nct b locksor k inds of essence inform ing the various genera

,spec ies and

varieties which make up the m ineral kingdom . Each of theseblocks d iffers from al l the rest

,and each of them is destin ed to

undergo sti ll further d ifferentiations, as we shal l see hereafter . All

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420 woman .

ing sl ightly from each other . This of course repeats itsel f againand again

,ti l l

,by the time the evolution of the Essence th rough

the vegetable k i ngdom has been completed , the number of d ist inctlyd ifferentiated blocks thereof has mu l tipl ied i tself to m any t imes the

number which cou ld be counted at the end of its evolution throughthe m ineral k ingdom .

The onward sweep of evolution next carries the ascen d ingMonad ic Essence into the Animal Kingdom ,

where its evolutionand unfold ing of consc iousn ess proceed on the same genera l linesas those just sketched . Onlythe process of differentiation now pro

ceedswi th greater rapid i ty, the number of blocks increasi ng rapid lywhile the number of an imal bod ies which are ensou led from any

one block decreases. Or,to say the same th ing in other words

,

each block of Essence forms the “ common sou l,

”as it were

,of

a n umber of animals of the same k ind , each separate an im al bodyof that k ind being ensou led by a portion of Essence tem porari lyseparated from the correspond ing block, a portion wh ich on the deathof the animal

,pours back into the same block and d iffuses through

out its whole mass the experience and development which has beenacqu ired by that part icu lar portion during its quasi - separated l ifeas the “

sou l of the particular an imal body in question .

An analogym ayhelp to make th is process clearer to our m i nds.

Consider a mass of protoplasm— l iv ing organic m atter . As you

watch it, you wi l l see i t bu lge out on one side or the oth er t i l lthere gradually puts itself forth from the mass a long tong ue or

promontoryof the l iving substance . After a time th is comes to rest,

another sim i lar tongue be ing extruded at another spot,and so on .

Later on the first protrusion is drawn back agai n into the gen eralmass

,and one after the other the rest fol low su it

,fresh tongues

processes they are technical ly cal led— bei ng extr uded i n new dircetions. Now if some del icate sem i - fluid colouring matters— say b lueon one side and yel low on the other— are placed near the m ass of

protoplasm,we shal l see the tongue or process” put forth on the

side where the blue colouring m atter is placed,com e in to con tact

w i th,and gradual ly absorb and draw i t i nto its own substan ce

acqu iring natural ly a blu ish tinge thereby. S im i larlythe tongue orprocess extruded i n the d irection where the yel low colour ing m atteris placed wil l acqu ire a yel lowish t inge . When these are in turn

AN IMAL REINCARNAT ION . 421

w i thdrawn each wi l l spread its own ti nge i n fai nter degree throughout the whole mass

,wh ich wil l ul timately acqu ire a green tinge

from the blend i ng of the blue and the yel low . At first th is w i l l repeati tsel f time after time ; but if there be some sl ight d ifference i n theeffec t of the two colouring matters on the protoplasm , which isgradual ly cumu lative i n its character, then we shal l find

,after a

time,that one side of the ori gi nal m ass has acqu ired a d isti nctly

blue,an d the other a d istinctlyyellow colouring, and that the two

colours are no longer d iffusing themselves freely throughout thewhole mass

,produc ing by their comb i nation the green colour, but

that each colour spreads only through its own defin ite part of themass

,and does not d iffuse i tself fu rther . Here the original mass

has become i nternal ly d ifferentiated i nto two or three d istinct k inds,each now d iffering sl ightly from the others in v i rtue of the ac

cumu lated action upon it of the d ifferi ng colouri ng matters.

In l ike manner to th is the blocks of evolv ing essence becomedifl

'

eren tiated by the varied action upon the essence of the d iverseexperien ces and developments which its temporari ly separated portions acqu ire and transm i t to the block from the d ifferences in the irenv ironment while ensou l ing d i fferent animal bod ies of the same

spec ies. And th is process is ever go ing on throughout the entireanimal k ingdom al l along the seven great d ivisions or rays, wh ichrun on through it as clearly and plain ly as through the lowerk ingdoms.

Let us now carry our m inds forward to the highest types ofan imal . We shal l find a particular type which stands as i t were atthe head of one of the seven rays wh ich together make up the an imalki ngdom ; and this type of animal w i l l be one wh ich is i n closecontact wi th m an— more or less a “ domesticated ” animal . Thuswe have the dog

,the cat , the elephant , the cow and the horse as

examples of animal types, each of wh ich stands at the head of oneof these rays and consti tutes the evolu tionary stage next below thatof humani ty. And when we exam i ne more closely, we shal l findthat the various blocks of evolv ing essence, wh ich are each thecommon sou l of some one spec ial k ind

,say, of dog, have become

much smal ler, whi le the number of ind ividual dog- bod ies of thatk i nd dependent from each of them has also grow n qu i te small , a

single block,say, ensoul ing onlysome ten or twenty terr iers.

422 w oman .

Now al l through the anim al kingdom the evolving essen ce

has been work ing in astral even more than in purely physicalmatter

,and in the higher types has begun very defi nite ly to act

upon the matter of the lower levels of the manasic plane . Thus i thas bu i l t not only a physical and astral

,bu t an incip ient m in d

bodv for its mani festation . Com i ng then into close contact w i thm an ,

its m anasic unfoldment is greatly stimulated and qu ickened .

The an imal acqu ires devotion to something higher than i tse lf— in

this case m an . I t seeks bl i nd ly,d im ly, sem i - consc iously to reach

out to him,to understand him

,to enter i nto his l ife , to please and

help him . Thus the essence pushes its way upwards through thematter of the rupa- m anasic levels

,setting that matter in v ibrat ion

and dim ly beginning to unfold its capac i ty for mental act ivity, ix .,

thought . B ut its upreaching, its aspiration towards, and devot ionto that which it feels, however d im ly and bl indly, to be

h igher than itself has also another and an all- important effect . In

some mysterious way, which we do not yet at al l understan d , i t actson the planes above the manasic and drawsdown a

.

ray, a spark from

the d iv ine,to meet and qu icken its upward asp iration . Th is ray

or spark,which descends from the atm ic l ife through the buddh ic

plane,seems to belong to a th ird great atm ic wave

,or ou t - pou rin g

of the Divi ne Life,which descends no lower i nto ma tter than the

th ird of the arftpa levels of the manasic plane . Bu t on th issubject l i ttle or noth ing more is known than what has j ust beenstated .

At anyrate this rayor spark is drawn down to meet the essenceevolvi ng upwards along the ascend ing arc of its cycl ic sweep ,which , hav ing worked its way as we have seen al l round th e evolutionary cycle is now unfold ing itself in the rflpa- manasic levels . Aunion takes place between the descend ing ray and some tem porarilyseparated portion of essence wh ich is ensou l ing an animal wh oseclose contact wi th m an has drawn the Essence upwards. The

port ion of essence ensou l ing the an imal is,by the action of the

ray, final ly sep arated off from the block to wh ich i t be longed .

That port ion , as i t were,swel ls out and forms the egg - shaped

causal body” or true Ego on the th ird arfipa level of the m anasic

plane , becom ing the vehicle or “ body wi th i n wh ich dwel ls therayor d iv ine spark , that has descended into it from abov e ; thus

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424 LUCIFER .

z'

psofacto, to the fmman k ingdom ,and wi ll on their next appearan ce

on the scene,be embod ied as human be ings. I t is prec isely th is

ind iv idual ized causal body wh ich Mrs. Besant speaks of as the

ferti l ized germ sou l,

” the descend i ng rayof the D iv ine L ife be i ngthe ferti l iz ing spark sent down by the Manasa -

putras, wh ich fa l lsi nto the soi l of the ascend ing animal essence and causes the in divi

dual ization .

As bearing on the further development of th is poi n t by M r .

Knox,a word may be said on what may theoretical ly have taken

place i n ages past,though so far as known

,i t certainly does not

occur now . I t wil l possiblyhave alreadystruck the attentive readerthat the description given of the gradual d im inution in the s i z e ofthe blocks of essence

,and i n the number of animal bod ies ensouled

from one and the same block,as we reach the h ighest types of the

animal k ingdom,rather leads up to the idea that if th is process were

left to work ou t by i tself, i t wou ld u l timately resu lt in the block ofessence becom i ng so smal l that i t cou ld ensou l onlyone an imal bodyof the appropriate k ind at a time . And hence that i n such a case

we should have a defin i te,reincarnating anima l entitywh ich wou ld

rei ncarnate as an ind ividual,al though not hav ing as yet rece ived

the ferti l izing ray from above,i t could not be cal led a re i ncarna

ting d ivi ne human Ego,whatever the body, human or an imal

which i t m ight occupy. Such a possibi l i tymust clearly be recogn iz ed as at least theoretical ly possible , and apparently not in harm on ious w i th the general pri nc iples and scheme of our Theosoph icalknowledge ; but whether or not i t has as a matz

‘

cr of fact ever p layeda part i n the evolu tion of our chain

,we do not know for certa in as

yet ; though something of the k ind is indeed rendered rathe r probable by a few observations. However that may have been ,

thefact remai ns that such is not the process actual ly in vogue at thepresent time and that in all the cases known the i nd ividual i z a t ionhas taken place by the actual spl i tt ing of the animal

’s sou l off from

the block of essence to wh ich i t belonged,by the descent of the

d iv ine ray from the atm ic ocean .

In questions of th is sort we are deal ing wi th a problem of factrather than theory, and however sentimental considerat ion m i ghtmake us incl ine to a certai n v iew

,we ought not to forget that

Occu l tism is the true Sc ience of Nature, and hence that we m ust

ANIMAL REINCARNATION . 425

mou ld our views rather on the facts themselves than upon ourwishes as to what theym ight be . But the problem of animal suffering sti ll rema ins to be faced ; and space wi l l only al low a word ortwo upon it . The general unfoldmen t of the animal essence

,and

espec ially the manasic phase thereof, is greatlyhastened and in tensified by sufferi ng

,though other d isadvantages of a hastened

evolution also make themselves fel t , wh ich those responsible for thei nflict ion of the pai n wi l l i n due course have to make good . Andth is qu icker progress goes to the relatively smal l block on whichthe suffering animal is dependent , not to the k i ngdom at large .Further

,i n the cases of the highest

,individualiz able types, i t is

probable that i t m ay greatly tend to hasten the actual i nd ividual ization of that particu lar an imal

,though the same resul t could , and

augbl to have been brought about by k i ndness and love i nstead .

I thi nk I have now deal t with the mai n poi nts of Mr . Knox’scon tention . Wi th reference to the various texts he quotes insupport of his v iews

,I shal l sayonly th is : To me i t seems that al l

the passages he ci tes from Tbe Secret Doctrine or H . P . B .

'

s otherwriti ngs

,as wel l as those from such other wri ters as have spoken

from sight and knowledge, not simply from i nferential speculat ion ,wi l l be found to rece ive a harmonious

,coherent and consistent

interpreta tion in the l ight of the genera l v iews and facts wh ich Ihave tried to make intel l igible i n the preced i ng pages.

Of course our knowledge on this,as on most Theosophical

subj ects, is bu t a grai n of sand i n the Sahara desert of ouri gnorance ; and wi th further knowledge wi l l come clearer insight .Bu t meanwh ile such knowledge as we have is freelyat the serviceof our fel low students the world over, subject to the understand i ngthat they wi l l accept i t as open to correction , mod ification andt ransformation as knowledge expands and observations accumulate

,

an d above al l that theywi l l not for a moment imagine that anyone ,

be i t whom i t may, is to be looked upon as an infal l ible an thoritv .

BERTRAM K aron '

ru iv .

426

DEVACHAN .

(Con fz'

nuea'

from 15. 3

IL — NON - HUMAN .

WHEN we attempt to describe the non - human inhab i tan ts of

the devachan ic plane, we at once find ourselves face to face w i thd iffi cul ties of the most insuperable character . For in touch in g th earupa levels we come into contact for the first time wi th a p lanewhich is cosm ic i n its extent— ou which therefore m aybe met m any

an entitywhich mere human language has no words to portray.

For the purposes of our present paper i t w il l probably be best topu t aside al together those vast hosts of be ings whose ran ge iscosm ic

,and confine our remarks strictly to the inhab i tants pecu l iar

to the manasic plane of our own cha in of worlds. I t m ay be

remembered that in the manual on the astral plane the sam e

course was adopted,no attempt bei ng made to describe v isi tors from

other planets and systems ; and al though such visitors as were thereonly occasional would here be very much more frequent , i t isobv iously desirable in an essay for general read i ng to adhere to thesame ru le. A few words

,therefore

,upon the elemental essen ce of

the plane and the sect ions of the great Deva k ingdom which areespec ial ly connected w i th it wi l l be as much as i t w i l l be usefu l togive here and the extreme d ifficu lty of presenting even these com

paratively simple ideas w i l l conclusively show how im possible itwou ld be to deal wi th others wh ich cou ld not but be far m ore

compl icated .

T[wE lm/Jamal E ssa y s— It m ay be remembered that in one of

the earl ier letters received from an Adept teacher the remark wasmade that to comprehend the cond ition of the first and second ofthe elemental k ingdoms was impossible except to an Initiate— an

observation wh ich shows how partial must be the success which

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428 L UC IFER .

i nto matter,is driven by the resistless force of its own evolu tion to

pass onward to the plane next below,i t must

,in order to man ifest

itsel f there,enfold i tself i n the matter of that lower plan e— d raw

round i tself as a bodv a vei l of that matter,to wh ich it w i l l act as

soul or energizing force. S im i larly, when i t continues its descen t toa third plane , i t must draw round i tself some of ifs matter, an d weshall have then an entitywhose body or outer coveri ng consists ofthe m atter of that th ird plane . B ut the force energiz ing i n it— its

sou l,so to speak— wi l l not be Atma in the cond ition i n wh ich it

was upon the higher plane on which we fi rst found i t ; i t w i l l bethat Atma plus the vei l of the matter of the second plane th roughwhich it has passed . When a stil l further descent is m ade to afourth plan e

,the enti ty becomes sti l l more complex

,for i t w i l l then

have a body of the matter of that fourth plane, ensou led by A tmaalready twice vei led , in the matter of the second and th ird p lan es .

I t w i l l be seen that,since this process repeats i tself for every sub

plane of each plane of the solar system ,by the time the original

force reaches our physical level i t is so thoroughly ve i led tha t i t issmal l wonder that m en often fai l to recognize i t as At at all.

Now suppose that the monad ic essence has carried on th is process of ve i l ing itself down to the atom ic level of the devachan icplane

,and that

,instead of descend i ng through the various sub

d iv isions of that plane,i t plunges down d i rectly i nto th e astral

p lane,ensoul ing or aggregating around i t a body of atom ic astral

matter ; such a comb ination wou ld be the elemental essence of theastral plane, belonging to the th ird of the great elemental k in gdoms— the one immed iately preced ing the m ineral . In the course of itstwo thousand four hundred d ifferentiations on the astra l p lane i tdraws to i tself many and various comb i nations of the matter of itsseveral subd ivisions ; bu t these are only temporary, and it st il lrem ains essential lyone k ingdom ,

whose characteristic is m onad icessence i nvolved down to the atom ic level of thedevachan ic plan e only,butman ifesti ngprim ari lythrough theatom ic matter ofthe astra l plane .

The elem ental essence which we find on the devachan ic planeconsti tu tes the fi rst and second of the great elemental ki ngdom s

,but

the princ iple of its formation is the sam e as that described above .A mass of monadic essence (the expression is mater ial istic and

m islead i ng, but it is d ifficu l t to see how to avoid i t) carries on the

Davacnxn . 429

process of ve il ing itself down to the atom ic level of the buddhicplane

,and then plunges down d irec tly into the devachan ic plane,

en sou ling a bodyof atom ic devachanic matter— that is, of the matterbelonging to the h ighest of the arupa levels— and so becomes the

elemen tal essence of the first great ki ngdom . In th is —its simplestor natural cond i tion , be i t understood— it does not combine the atomsof the plane i nto molecu les i n order to form a body for i tself, butsimply appl ies by its attraction an immense compressi ng force tothem . In the course of its d ifferentiations i t aggregates aroundi tsel f various comb inations of the matter of the second and th irdsub—d ivisions, but it never loses the special and definite characteristics which mark i t as the elementa l essence of the arffpa levels.

The second great k i ngdom,whose habi tat is the rupa d ivision

of Devachan , is formed upon a very sim i lar princ iple . The essenceof the first k i ngdom , after evolving th rough various d i fferentiationsduri ng ages whose length is unknown to us, returns to its simplestcond i tion— not of course

,as i t was before that evolution

,but hearing

with in i t all that i t has ga ined throughout its course ; and i t thenpu ts i tse lf down d irectly into the fourth sub - d ivision of Devachanthe highest of the rupa levels— drawing to i tsel f as a body some of

the matter of that sub‘

plane. That is the simplest cond i tion of thee lemental essence of the second ki ngdom

,but

,as before

,i t takes on

i n the course of its evolu tion garbs manyand various composed ofcomb inations of the matter of the lower sub-

planes.

I t m ight natural ly be supposed that these elemen tal k ingdomswhich exist and function upon the devachanic plane must certa inly,bei ng so much higher, be further advanced i n evolution than thethird k ingdom , which belongs exclusively to the astral plane .

This however is not so ; for i t must be remembered that in speaki ng of th is phase of evolution the word higher means not , asusual , more advanced , bu t less advanced

,si nce here we are dealing

with the monad ic essence on the downward sweep of its arc,a nd

progress for the elemental essence therefore means descent intom atter i nstead of, as wi th us

,ascent towards higher planes. Unless

the student bears th is fact constantlyand clearly i n m i nd , he w i l laga i n and aga in find himself beset by perplexing anomal ies, and hisv iew of this side of evolution wi ll be lack ing in grasp and comprehensiveness.

43 0 LUCIFER .

The general characteristics of elemental essence were in d icatedat considerable length in the manual on the astral plane

,and al l

that is there said as to the number of sub- d iv isions i n the k ingdom s

and their marvel lous impressibi l i ty by human though t is equallytrue of these devachan ic varieties. A few words should perhaps besaid to explain how the seven horizontal sub- d iv isions of each k in gdom arrange themselves i n connection w i th the sub- p lanes ofDevachan . In the case of the fi rst k ingdom , its h ighest sub

d iv ision correspondswi th the fi rst sub- plane of Devachan,wh i le the

second and th ird sub - planes are each d iv ided i n to three parts,each

of wh ich is the hab i tat of one of the elemental sub- d ivision s. The

second k ingdom d istributes i tself over the rflpa levels, its h ighestsubd iv ision correspond i ng to the fourth sub - plane

,wh ile the fi fth

,

sixth and seventh sub- planes are each d iv ided i nto two to accomm o

date the rema i nder .So much was wri tten in the earl ier part of th is paper as to the

effect of thought upon the devachan ic elemental essence that i t w i llbe unnecessary to return to that branch of the subject now bu t i tmust be borne in m ind that it is

,if possible, even more i nstantan e

ously sensi tive to thought - action here than it is on the astral plan e,

the wonderfu l del icacy wi th wh ich it responds to the fain testaction of the m ind bei ng constantly and prom i nently brough tbefore our investigators. We shal l grasp th is capab i l i ty the m ore

ful ly if we real ize that i t is in such response that its very l ife consists— that its progress is due to the use made of i t i n the process ofthought by the more advanced entities whose evolution i t sh ares.

I f i t could be imagined as entirelyfree for a mom ent from the actionof thought i t wou ld be but a form less conglomeration of dan c i nginfin itesimal atoms— instinct indeed w i th a marvel lous i n tensi ty ofl ife , yet m aking no k i nd of progress on the downward path of its

i nvolu tion into matter . B ut when by the thoughts of the be in gsfunction ing on those respective planes i t is thrown on the rfrpa

levels into al l k inds of lovelyforms, and on the arupa levels in to flashi ng streams, i t receives a d istinct add i tional impu lse wh ich , oftenrepeated , helps i t forward on its way. Very noticeably a lso is i taffected by music— by the splend id floods of glorious sound ofwhich we have prev iously spoken as poured forth upon these loftyplanes by the great masters of melodywho are carrying on there

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43 2

THEOSOPH ICAL ACTIVITIES .

AUSTRALASIAN SECTION .

The Second An nual Convention of the Australasian Sec tion was

held at Melbourne on April 3 rd and 4th delegates were presen t fromthe B ranches at Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, South Y arra, B risban eand Auck land , the other branches of the Section being m ostlv repre

sen ted by proxies.

The General Secretary reported the secession of on ly th irty- on e

m embers throughout Australasia to the Judge party ; the form ation of

three new B ranches, and the addition of fullv [00 members to the

Society,were the resu l ts of the year

'

s activities.

The principal business of the Convention was the consid eration of

the revision of the Constitution and Ru les. A sub - comm ittee was

appoin ted who, after a careful comparison of the proposed d rafts of

revision subm itted by the Indian and European Sections ; with the

expressed wishes of the various Australasian B ranches, advised the

adoption of the Indian Section draft with an am endmen t to the effectthat it was deemed in advisable by this Section to alter the word ingof the th ree objects except by the omission of the word ‘

psych ic’

in

the third and also suggesting som e additions from the old Ru les to the

new proposed drafts.

A proposal to form a scien tific association in order to attract m oregeneral atten tion to the teachings of Theosophy in its scien tifi c aspects

was considered and adopted , and the General Secretary was in structedto take such steps as wou ld tend to promote the formation of th isscien tific association at an early date.

Several public lectures and addresses were given in con nec tionwith the Conven tion , which were attended by large and apprecia

tive audiences, and on the whole it has been genera l ly adm itted thatthis Conven tion has been a great success. I t was understood that theConven tion of 1 897 wil l be held in Adelaide.

The Coun tessWach tmeister left New Zealand on Apri l 1 8 th , a :

route for Hono lu lu and theU nited States, having devoted alm ost exactlytwelve mon ths to Theosoph ic propaganda in these Colon ies, during

r naosorm cm . ACT IVIT IES . 43 3

which time she del ivered over 100 public lectures. besides addressingthe members of each B ran ch on one or more occasions, and holdingreceptions for enquirers and those interested in Theosophy. She

leaves m any loving friends and gratefu l adm irers behind her, who wil lfol low her future movements in America and Europe with interest andsin cere wel l wishes.

The General Secretary is making a tour of the B ranches in

Australia, giving public lectures and doing other Theosophic pro

paganda, preparatory to paying a visit to Europe.

The seven B ranches in New Zealand have been defin itely formedinto a new Section , with Miss Edger, M .A . , as fi rst General Secretarythroughou t New Zealand she is universal ly loved and respected . bothfor her intel lectual abilities. her sympathetlc manner, and the clear

,

concise reasoning and quiet though persuasiveeloquenceof her platformutterances.

H . A . W.

On “White Lotus Day the Sydney and Dayspring B ranches co

operated and held a un ited meeting at Head - quarters. There was a

very large attendance of m embers and friends, and selections from theB hagaw d Gila, Tits Voice qf {be S ilence, and Tire L ight of Asia wereread and addresses were delivered byMessrs. Peel l and Martyn . Afterthe formal readings and speeches the ladies of both branches invitedthose present to tea and coffee, and the proceedings were conductedwi th somewhat less formal ity than usual , smal l groups being formedfor Theosophical discussion . There were manysym pathetic referencesto our m uch - loved teacher, and there was an evident determination to

give what aid we cou ld to the Cause and the Society to which she was

devoted .

L . E. HAacus.

NEW ZEA LAND SECTION .

The New Zealand B ranches of the Society have now been formedinto a separate section . The application was sent to the PresidentFounder early in March , and an Executive Notice, dated April 7 th ,

au thoriz ed the form ation of the Section . and appointed Miss LilianEdger, M .A . , aS

‘General Secretary, pro (cm . The Headquarters of theSection are at present in one of the rooms belonging to the AucklandB ranch , Mutual L ife B uildings, L ower Queen Street, Auckland , and

the prel im inary work of the Section is wel l in hand . There are at

43 4 LUCIFER .

presen t seven B ranches, and a litt le over a hundred m em bers . I t istherefore but a smal l Section , but New Zealand is so iso lated , and the

comm un ication with Australia is so slow, that inconvenience has ft cquen tly arisen from unavoidab le delay ; and we feel that we shall beab le to m ake the work here far more so lid if we have the power todecide business m atters within the coun try without referen ce to a

Headquarters a fortn ight away. At the same time we trust that theseparation wil l be on ly form al , and that there wil l be the same com bin edwork between the two Section s as regards study that there has beenduring the past year.

The seven B ranches of the Section are at Auck land , Duned in ,

Christchurch,Wel lington , Woodvil le, Pahiatua and Devonport (a

suburb Of Auck land). Of these the fi rst th ree are doing active workboth in study and in propaganda there are publ ic lectures at regu larin tervals, week ly classes for the study of The Secret Doctrine and for

the graduated scheme of study, and H . P . B . Train ing- classes, as wel las m eetings for general papers and discussion . The other B ran chesare at presen t less active ; but at Wel lington and Pah iatua there are

regu lar m eetings for study,while at Woodvil le and Devon port the

meetings are at presen t held on ly occasional ly. In addition to the

B ran ches there are unattached m embers in various parts of the coun trywho are gradual ly gathering around them a few who are in terested in

the subject , so that we hope before long to be ab le to form other cen tresand B ranches and so strengthen the Section .

We are singu larly fortunate in having had the help of the Coun tessWach tm eister just at the begin n ing of our separate existence . I t was

in fact m ain ly due to her advice and help that the app lication was

m ade. Her visit has given a great impetus to the work of the B ran chesand at the sam e tim e has spread in terest in Theosophy.

L . EDGE R .

EU ROPEAN SECTION

Much the most importan t activity of the past month has been the

Conven tion of the Section ,but as that is treated in the

“Watch - Tower

further reference is un necessaryThe Theosophical Publishing Society has now moved in to its n ew

prem ises at 26, Charing Cross, S .W. The number of passers - by who

stop to exam ine the publ ications in the window indicates th e gen eralin terest which is taken in mystical subjects.

Mrs. B esan t’s lectures at Queen’

s Hal l have proceeded in a m ostsatisfactory m an ner, the con tinuity being broken , however, by her

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REVIEWS .

DEV IL-WORSH IP IN FRANCE .

B v A . Waite . [Bellairs and CO 1 896 . Price, 5s. net . ]

MR . REDWAY has just publ ished a new work by Mr. Waite on on e

of the bye- ways of credu lity and immorality in France. I t is n ecessarv

for the studen t Of the various mystic and psychic tenden cies a t work at

the end of the presen t cen tury to take notice of th is fan tastic and grue

some so - cal led “ Satan ism ,

”as exempl ifying one of the dan gers in to

which credu l ity,lack Of moral balance, and ignoran t psych ism , can

lead the strange com pound cal led m an .

Precisely the sam e tendencies are at work in our own day as thosewh ich agitated the m ind Of society in the early cen turies of the

Christian era, and it wil l require the greatest soberness, good sense,

decency and moral ity, to steer a straight course in all the strangedelusion s that invariablv accompany any strong attempt to spiritualiz ehum an ity by the disclosure of a portion of the ancien t wisdom . In

order to understand all these factors and the general and persisten timbecil ity Of hum an ity, it is necessary to m ake repeated referen ce tothe lesson wh ich the m ixed good and evil Of the spiritual outpouringin the early cen turies of our era have to teach us. Mankind is in realitv

as credu lous as it ever was, and now that the pendulum is swinging

back from incredu lity and scepticism in things occu l t to a belief inthem , we have in our m idst, and shal l have in ever - increasing abun

dance, the strangest combin ations of b lind faith , fanaticism , and

charlatan ry, proceeding from ignorance and imm oderate desire,

curiosity and con ceit .Against these dangers the serious student m ust ever be on his

guard and to be on h is guard he must have some idea of the factors atwork . Mr. Waite’

s book , written in h is fam iliar style, wil l give the

reader a very good idea of th is particu lar kind of topsy- tnrvydom,

wh ich has al ready been treated Of at greater length in our January

REVIEWS. 43 7

Watch - Tower. The author. however, th inks that much may be put

down to Cathol ic invention ; and doubtless “ Satanism ”and its

cognate “ ism s"

has been written up" considerably by clerical and

“ boulvardier”

penmen ,the one class under the in spiration of med iaeval

tradition , and the o ther in the feverish anxiety to discover somethingnew in sensationalism . The Theosoph ical studen t, however, has to

penetrate beneath both the writers and their subjects to where the

festering sore of modern society lies h id .

G. R . S . M .

EN Rom a.

B v J . K . Huysmans. [Kegan Pau l , Tren ch , Tr nbner and Co. , t 896 .

Price 6s. ]

Tm s' is the first con tribution from French Satanistic literature

which has made its appearance in England . Huysmans’ E n Route has

for two years had a tremendous vogue in France, and is now admirablytranslated and judiciously bowdlerized by Mr. Kegan Pau l , a devoutCatho l ic. E n Row/e is a sequel to one of the foulest books that havelately appeared in the French language, and depicts the fearfu l struggleof onewho tries to free himself from the wild immoralities and gruesome

psychic obsessions which are concomitants of " Satanism . In it isdescribed , with start ling vividness, the psychological state of a Parisianvo luptuary. who tries to lead a better l ife and devote himsel f to re

ligious contemplation . The cu lmination is reached by the un fortunatevictim , after years of vice and a liaison with a woman devotee of Satanism , going for a week’

s retreat " to the sanctuary of a Trappistmonastery. The author, with horribly graphic force and all the art ofa skil led romancier, paints the hel l that Durtal passes through , whenin the m idst of his devotions, and in spite of all his efforts to think

pure thoughts and aspire to the h ighest , the hideous visions of his pastrise before him like tormen ting fiends, an d give him no rest by day orn igh t . This isof course an extreme case, but it serves to bring graphica lly before the public the horrors of not on ly ordered and consciousSatan ism , but also of irregu lar and hidden , and , so to say, unconsciousvice and immoral ity and abuse, al l of which are gen erical ly of the same

nature, and , as we on ly too well know, are steadily rotting the youthand m anhood and womanhood of many in the Western world . M .

Huysman s, presumably, wrote his book for the youth and manhoodand womanhood of Paris, and doubtless Mr. Kegan Pau l has brought it

43 8 LUCIFER .

before the English public because he knows it is wanted here as well

as on the con tinent . The tran slator also, as a zealous Catho l ic convert ,may be influenced by the belief that the Roman Church alone can

grapp lewith a problem in which Protestan t scepticism refuses to believe.

It is, however, a matter in which a real knowledge of occu l tism alonecan th row any real light .

B ut we have alreadywritten suffi cient ly on this sorrowful subject ,and now that such books are being published in English , we h ave on lyto add that the two which have appeared are less open to m isunderstanding than others which have appeared in France on th e sam e

theme.

G. R . S . M .

ORPHEUS.

ByG. R . S . Mead . [Theosophical Pub l ishing Society. Price 6d .

net ]

THOSE who have read Mr. Mead’

s learned papers in L UC IFER willbe glad to have them in a col lected form , and they need no detaileddescription here. They give the Engl ish reader for the fi rst tim e a

c lear and connected view of ancient Hel lenic Theosophy, and we

venture to recommend the book especial ly to our Eastern students, asit is importan t that they shou ld real iz e the identity between the teachings of the Shastras and those presen ted by the Orph ic School. I t is

just ly said of this book by our con tem porary,the l zan

“ I t con tainsa mass of valuable in formation derived from rare books, and convin eing proofs derived from fi rst - hand authorities of a number of im portan t statem en ts m ade by H . P . B but wh ich have hitherto been for themost part supported by quotations from either second hand sources orauthors who are regarded by studen ts as exceedingly un reliab le . I t is

in tensely gratifying to find how the original documen ts con fi rm m any

and many a con ten tion of H . P . B . , which scholars have scou tedbecause the evidence was not put forward in their own orthodoxfashion .

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440 LUCIFER .

Sophia the original articles are on Astro cated by them become fully developed ,

logy, treating in th is num ber of the signs theyawaken Siddh is or powers. and open

of the Z odiac, and correspondences in up the h igher realms of nature.

the K abalah and other mystical system s, We have also to acknowledge receip tand on B uddha, by Senor Trevino,

who of the fol lowing periodicals, wh ich do

proposes to con tribu te short accoun ts of not call for special notice : Theosophy indifferen t religions. A ud ra/fa, fi lled with the Con ven tionIn The ofthe space report ; .frya b’dla B od/zin i, wh ich

is occupied by translations, the original main tains a very goo d average q uality;

articles consisting of “ Self- Knowledge ” Tbeosopllia, con tain ing th e usual quanand a paper dealing with “ In fection and tity of excel len t translations and two

the ()d or 3 Rays.

"original articles ; Tmsofi sk Tidskrif l ;

A sm all pamphlet en titled filarm’

s Ten A strology, prom ising a substan

Commandmen/s (Bom bay) has been re tial en largem en t shortly ; 773 8 L amp ;ceived from India, con taining an adm ir B ook-

.Votes ; T/ICOSOfi/Iy ; The 7 7160501911 12

able lecture by M . I). Sch rofl’

. A com ( a! For um ; 7 llt’ li‘iS/l TMOSOPh iSI Isis

parison is m ade between the r ules givenL ight 77 ” Agnostic j ourna l 7 73 :

by M an n and the injunctions of other B uddhist 7718 Hansei the

religious, showing them to have the Japanese B uddhist jour nal ; 7 716 San

sam e foundation . The writer m ain tainsthat the rules are not m erely precepts of “" d ”if 1moralzty, but that as the virtues ineul

Women '

s Prin ting Society, Lim ited , 66. Wh itcomb Street W.C.

Vox xvm . AUGUST x5 , 1 896. No. 1 08 .

L U C IFER .

ON THE WATCH - TOWER .

THE American loyalists have passed through a terrible strugglei n order that the nam e of the United S tates m ight not d isappearfrom the roll of the Theosoph ical Soc iety. F irm ly they held tothe ir al legiance to the President - Founder and to the Soc iety forwh ich H . P . B . l ived and d ied , facing poverty and weakness ratherthan break the tie that bound them to the organization throughwh ich their spiri tual l ife had come . Among other efforts they

en larged what had been a chi ldren’s magaz ine

,M ercury,

into ageneral Theosoph ical journal , the organ of the American Sec tion ;i t has been adm i rably conducted , and Mr . Wal ters, Mrs. Sears andMiss Walsh deserve the greatest cred i t for the way i n which theyhave persevered i n face of d ifficu l ties. Countess Wachtmeister isnow work ing in America , and is much interested i n the fortunes ofthis l ittle magaz ine ; she is doing al l i n her power to aid i t , and she

feels its value as the offi cial organ of the Section . It has struck methat i t would very much cheer our faith fu l friend and wou ld tel lher eloquently that we had not forgotten her, i f we could send herover a hundred add i tional subscriptions to Affercury as a souvenirfrom LUCIFER . The journal costs only a dol lar a year, and I suppose the postage is an add itional penny a month— a very trifl ingexpend i ture for many of our readers. I f those who feel incl ined tothus stretch a brotherlyhand across the Atlantic would send i n the irnames and subscriptions to me at once

,I m ight have the pleasure of

sen d ing them on before leaving for Ind ia at the beginning ofSeptem ber.

. I

Q 0

Nature mentions the success that has attended the explora

442 LUCIFER .

tions of Prof. Frank N . Cushing in Pine Island,Florida. It says

that he

Has just returned laden with rare and interesting archaeological specimens,

and bringing the storyof discoveries which demonstrate the existence of a pre

historic people in South -western Florida and the neighbourhood, who have left a

multitude of mounds and other structures of conch shells, and whose works

seem to furnish the key to much that was inexplicable in American archaeology.

He says that this ancien t people differed in manyways from any others hithertoknown ; but that they somewhat resembled the Swiss lake-dwellers in their modeof life, and that their state of culture was quite similar and equal to that of themound - builders and the Mayas and other builders of the r uined cities of Yucatanand Central America. Innumerable islands were found covered with shellfoundations, and some with structures covering hundreds of acres, and rising

fifty to sixty feet above the sea. A low mound , sixty feet in diameter, nearTarpon Springs, was thorough lyexplored ; more than sixhundred skeletons werefound, besides a large quan tityof pottery, stone and other objects of art. At

Marco, near the southern end of the Florida Peninsula, extraordinary paintedtablets were found ; also many carved wooden vessels, and imp lemen ts and

utensils of shell and bone. Sections of the shell islandsmadebelow the gu lf levelshowed them to be entirelyartificial , and the result of slow and long- continued

building. The civilisation developed on these islands is supposed to have

extended southward to Yucatan , and northward to the abode of the mound

builders. A notable collection of masks was found , put away in sets, each withan appropriateanimal figure-head, designed for use bypriestsperform ing themythdrama. The shell structures of the Ten Thousand Islands, as well as those on

the main land , are covered with peat and dense growths of m angrove, cactus and

other tropical vegetation . The general plan is similar in all. There is a net

work of enclosures of various siz es, or ridges leading up to terraces crowned by

gigantic mounds. A seriesof level - topped pyramids surround two or three lakes,from which channels lead out to the sea . The resemblance to the ancien t citiesof Yucatan is striking and instructive. The explorations made lead to the

inference that the Ten Thousand Islands are nearly all artificial .

The unve i l ing of the rel ics of an anc ient civ il ization in Americais ful l of interest to al l Theosophists, confi rm ing as i t does themanystatem ents made by H . P . B . w i th regard to the partially sub

merged continent of Atlantis. Proofs that wi ll conv in ce all willcome in time

,we know

,and meanwh ile i t is wel l to place on record

al l the sign - posts which poin t to the roads along which those proofswi l l come .

0

l » 1 »

Readers of LUCIFER are fam il iar wi th the good work carried on

byMrs. H iggins in the Musaeus School and Orphanage in Colombo.

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444 c maa.

of an ant . The vanities of al l others m ay gradual ly die out,

bu t the vanity of a sain t as regards his sainthood is hard indeed towear away.

” “ A boat maystay in the water, bu t water shou ld notstay i n the boat . An aspirant may l ive i n the world , but theworld shou ld not l ive i n h im .

” Could truths be put w i th more

exqu isi te poi nt and tact ? And how da in ty is th is : So lon g as

the bee is outside the petals of the flower,it buzzes and em its

sounds. But when i t is inside the flower the sweetness thereof hassilenced and overpowered the bee . Forgetfu l of sounds and of

i tself,i t drinks the nectar in qu iet . Men of learning

, you too are

mak ing a noise i n the world , bu t know the moment you get thesl ightest enjoyment of the sweetness of Bhakti (love of God)youwi l l be l ike the bee in the flower

,inebriated wi th the nectar of

D ivine love .

" Our readers should get the N ine/em f}: Cen tury,and

read the three and a quarter pages fi l led w i th l ike quotations.

Q Q

I t is most interesting and en couraging to see how sympatheticthe Professor’s attitude has become towards the resu l ts whichfol low the prolon ged practice of Yoga . We cannot qu i te understand them

,bu t in the case of our Mahatman we cannot doubt their

real i ty, and can only stand by and wonder, particularly when so

much that seems to us the outcome of a broken frame of body andan overwrought state of m i nd conta ins nevertheless so much thatis true and wise and beautifu l . The state of rel igiousexaltation as here described has been wi tnessed agai n and again byserious observers of exceptional psych ic states. I t is in its essencesomething l ike our talk i ng in sleep only that w i th a m i nd saturated w ith rel igious thoughts and w i th the subl imest ideas ofgoodness and pur i ty, the resu l t is what we find in the case of

Ramakrishna,no mere senseless hypnotic jabbering, bu t a sponta

neous outburst of profound wisdom clothed i n beautiful poeticlanguage . H is m ind seems l ike a kaleidoscope of pearls, diam ondsand sapph ires

,shaken together at random , but always producing

prec ious thoughts i n regu lar,beau tifu l outl ines. Wi th regard to

some of the lower physical resu l ts of some k inds of Hatha Yoga,the Professor also confesses bel ief. “When we read of cases, moreor less attested by trustworthy w i tnesses, of m en in such a state

see ing what ord inary mortals can not see, read ing the though ts of

ON THE WATCH - TOWER . 445

others- nay, bei ng lifted i nto the air wi thout any v isible support

we natural lywi thhold our bel ief ; but that some of these men can

go w ithou t food for many days ; that they can sit unmoved i ni ntense heat and cold ; that they can remain i n a long death - l iketrance ; nay, that they can be buried and brough t back to l ife afterthree or four days— these are facts testified to bysuch unexceptionable wi tnesses, byEnglish oflicers and Engl ish med ical men

,that

they have to be accepted , even though they cannot be accountedfor.

” Such a statement as th is shou ld have some effect on theignorant and superfic ial sceptic ism of the Bri tish publ ic

,and we

may hope to see th e cand id Professor ere long be l ieve the otherphenomena he mentions. Surelytheyare lesswonderfu l than be ingbu ried entranced , dug up , and revivified .

0Q 0

Sti l l more strange in the ears of some wi ll be the Professor'sstatem en t of the efl

'

ect of the worship of the Goddess Kali onR amakrishna . He says that he bel ieves that noth ing

“ is so

hideous as the popu lar worsh ip of Kal i in Ind ia,” bu t proceeds to

say, with regard to Ramakrishna’s adora tion of her

,and his prayers

to be del ivered from the material influen ce of woman, that

“ hesucceeded

,so that his mother to whom he prayed , the goddess

Kal i,mad e him recogn iz e every woman as her i ncarnation

,and

hon our each member of the other sex,whether

'

young,or old

,as

his mother .” This is one of the beaut ifu l resu l ts i n Ind ia of therecogni tion of the fem in ine and maternal side of De i ty, one of thereasons why from H i ndu l ips, unless the speaker be westernized

,

on e never hears sl ighting or l ightly contemptuous remarks abou twom en in general . Occasional ly one m ay hear tremendous denunciations of the sex ,

regarded as embodyi ng sexual temptation,bu t

the pure- l iving woman ,“ the mother,

” is regarded w i th the highestreverence .

0 0

Anoth er very i nteresting article i n the Nine/cent}: Century is

Father Clarke’s on The Tra i n ing of a Jesu i t,” for i t throws much

ligh t on the work ing of the Soc iety that is the backbone of theRoman Cathol ic Church . Those only are adm itted who arethought to be “ capable of rece ivi ng the Jesu i t “ who

show a capac i ty for imbibing its spiri t and subm i tt ing to its d isci

446 women .

pl ine .

” The appl icant has to be passed by the Head of theProv ince

,and is then handed over to four Fathers who exam ine

h im separately and rigorously; he is not adm issible if he has anynotable bod i ly defect or mental infirm i ty; if he is defic ien t ini ntel l igence ; i f he is in debt ; or if he has worn the hab i t of anyother rel igious body.

” Once a year there is a regu lar day foradm ission of cand idates, and they then have some days for studyingthe ru les and ways of the Soc iety and have a brief

“ re treat ” fori nstruction and med i tation . They are then adm i tted as nov icesthey rise at a.m .

,go to chapel at 6, med i tate ti l l 7, m ass 7 to

med i tate ti l l breakfast at read from to 9. At 9i nstruction on the ru les, fol lowed by mak ing the ir beds, settingthe ir cel ls i n order, dusting, scrubb ing, wash ing plates, etc .

,to

and then for a quarter of an hour comm i t some religiousparagraphs to memory. Then an hour for recreation

,and from

to outdoor labour . At med i tation,1 d inner

,

chapel and an hour’s recreation . More manual work,a walk or

game,m ed i tation at 6, prayers, some free time to supper at an

hour’s recreation , during the fi rst half of wh ich only Latin is

spoken ; at 9 prayers, med itation and self- exam ination ; l igh ts out

at 1 0. During the two years’nov i tiate there is a month ’s retreat

,

duri ng which prolonged and carefu lly gu ided med i tation is practised

,si lence enforced , and no recreation al lowed save on three days.

Another month is spent in the k i tchen . The whol e p lan is

arranged to foster the habi t of obed ience , el im inate th ose who arenot resolutely i n earnest , and train the nov ices for their fu tureduties. Father Clarke gives a most i nteresting explanat ion of theobed ience requ ired . The nov ice now takes his vows and enters on

five years of intellectual trai ning in classics, rhetoric , logic , m athematies and philosophy. Three times a week for two years he has

to attack or defend Cathol ic doctri nes,the fu l lest encouragem ent

be ing given to bring forward every objection from the best m odern

wri ters. After passing his exam inations,he is sent to teach boys

for five or six years, and then goes to col lege for three or four yearsof theology, five lectures a day three days a week for two of these

years, and three weeklyd ispu tations of the most search ing kind .

A fter three years of th is he is orda i ned priest and has another year’s

study, and lastly a year spent as during his nov i tiate . Such is the

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448 LUCIFER .

Dr . Salzer,of Calcutta

,wri ti ng to the Statesman ,

has some

in teresti ng rem arks on “ dark l ight,

” a d iscovery of M . Gustave leBon . This gentlem an

,a French physicist, states that Rays are

em i tted by organised beings in darkness, which al low us to photograph them

,by Operating ou ferns

,fishes, and various animals.

These rays appear to be related to the invisible rays of phosphorescence .

” After drawing attention to the upsetting by th is d iscoveryof the physiological balance - sheet of energy taken in and givenout

,Dr . Salzer says

From a metaphysical point of view M . L e B on’

s observations are remarkable,because they have been long ago an ticipated by the sages and seers of all times,and as systematically and stubborn ly repudiated by the men of science— the men

who ought to have known best . Paracelsus, who lived three hundred years beforeour time, waswell acquain ted with M . L e Bon

'

s discovery: he ascribed the pheno

menon to the existence ofwhat he called an Aura, that is to s: y, an etherealspecific substance that permeates every living being, be it plan t or an im al, and is

visible to him who has eyes to see. The aura was to Paracelsus the vehiclewherein the life of the respective p lan t or animal resides. Reichen bach who

lived in our centurymade the same observation . He cal led the dark light thatsurrounds men 0d , and spoke of odic force and odic ligh t .

I t is always usefu l to thus draw attention to the j ustifi cation ofOccu ltists bymodern science .

449

FRAGMENTS .

B v H . P . BLAVATSKY .

IDOLATRY .

THE ou tward form of idolatry is but a vei l , conceal ing the oneTru th l ike the vei l of the Sai tic Goddess. Only that truth , bei ngfor the few, escapes the majori ty. To the pious profane

,the ve i l

recovers a celestial local ity th ick ly peopled wi th d iv ine beings,dwarfs and giants

,good and wicked powers, all of whom are no

better than human caricatures. Yet,wh i le for the great majori ty

the space behind the ve i l is real ly impenetrable— if i t would bu tcon fess the real state of its m i nd— those

,endowed wi th the “ th ird

eye”(the eye of Shiva), d iscern in the C immerian darkness and

chaos a l ight i n whose i ntense rad iance all shape born of humanconception d isappears

,leav ing the al l - i nforming d ivine PRESENCE

,

to be fel t— not seen sensed— never expressed .

A charm i ng al legory translated from an old Sanskri t manuscripti l lustrates th is idea adm irablyToward the close of the Pralaya (the intermed iate period be

tween two creations or evolu tions of our phenomenal un iverse),the great IT

,the One that rests i n infini ty and ever is

,dropped its

reflection , wh ich expanded i n l im i tless Space , and fel t a desire tomake i tself cognizable by the creatures evolved from its shadow .

The reflection assumed the shape of a Maharaja (great King). Dev isi ng means for mank ind to learn of his existence

,the Maharaj a

bu i l t ou t of the qual i ties inherent i n h im a palace, in wh ich he concealed h imsel f

,satisfied that people shou ld perceive the outward

form of his dwel l ing . B ut when they looked up to the place wherestood the palace

,whose one corner stretched into the right, and the

other i nto the left in fin itude— the l ittle m en saw nothing ; the palacewas m istaken by them for empty space

,and be ing so vast remai ned

inv isible to the ir eyes Then the Maharaja resorted to another

450 w on -‘

as .

exped ient . He determ i ned to manifest h im self to the l i t t le crea

tures whom he pi tied— not as a folio/r out onlv in I nk far ts. H e

destroyed the palace bu i l t by h im from his m anifesting qual i ties,brick by brick

, and began throwi ng the bricks down upon th e earthone after the other . Each brick was transformed into an idol , thered ones becom ing Gods and the grey ones Goddesses ; in to thesethe Devatas and Devatis— the qual i ties and the attributes of theUnseen— entered and animated them .

This al legory shows polythe ism in its true l ight and that itrests on the One Unity, as does all the rest . Between the D 1 :

maj ores and the B it na'

non'

s there is i n real i ty no d ifference . The

former are the d irect,the latter the broken or refracted

,rays of on e

and the sam e Lum i nary . “’hat are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva , bu tthe triple R ay that emanates d i rectly from the Light of the W

'orldThe three Gods wi th their Goddesses are the th ree dual representat ions of Purusha the Spiri t , and Prakriti— matter ; the six are

syn thesized by Svfivam bhuva the sel f- existent , um nan ifested De i ty.

They are only the symbols personifying the Unseen Presence ineveryphenomenon of nature .

AV ATARAS .

The seven [regions] of B hi‘tm i,hang by golden th reads

[beams or rays] from the Spiri tual central Sun [or‘God Higher

than all,a “’

atcher for each [region ] . The Suras come down th is

[beam] . Thev cross the six and reach the Seventh [our earth] .They are our mother earth ’

s [B li ft tn i] supporters [or guard ians] .The eighth watches over the [seven] watchers.

”

Su ras are i n the Vedas deities,or beings

,connected wi th the

Sun ; i n the ir occu l t m eaning they are the seven chief watchers orguard ians of our planetary system . They are posi t ively ident icalwi th the “ Seven Spiri ts of the Stars .

” The Suras are connected i npractical Occu ltism wi th the Seven Yogic powers. One of these ,L aghim a(n) or

“ the facul ty of assum ing lev i ty,” is i l lustrated in a

Purana as rising and descend ing along a sunbeam to the solar orbw ith its mysteries ; raga, K hatvanga, i n Vis/mn P n ra

‘

na (Book

I t must be equal ly easy to the Adept to travel a ray downwards,

In every ancien t cosmography the universe and the earth are dividedlnto seven parts or regions,

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452 LUCIFER .

In order to become a Perfect One,

” the Sakridagam in hewho wi l l rece ive new birth ,

” lz'

t.)had , among other trials, to descendinto Patala

,the nether world

,

” after wh ich process only he cou ldhope to become an Anagam in

”one who w i l l be reborn no

more.

” The ful l Initiate had the option of ei ther entering this

second Path by appearing at wi l l i n the world of men un der ahuman form ,

or he cou ld choose to first rest in the world of Gods

(the Devachan of the In itiates), and then only be reborn on thisour earth . Thus

,the next stage shows the postulant prepar in g for

th is journey.

(3 ) Every k i nd of temptation— we have no right to enum eratethese or speak of them— was bei ng placed on his way. I f he came

out v ictorious over these , then the further Initiation was proceededw i th if he fel l— it was delayed , often entirely lost for h im .

These r i tes lasted seven days.

ON CYCLES AND MODERN FALLACIES .

The Hermetic axiom has been made good by astronom y and

geology. Sc ience has become conv i nced now that the m i l l iards ofthe heavenly hosts— suns

,stars

, planets, the systems in and beyondthe MilkyWay

— have all had a common origi n,our earth in c luded .

Nevertheless that a regu lar evolution , i ncessant and da i ly, is sti l lgoing on . That cosm ic l ife - times have began at d ifferen t epochsand proceed at d ifferent rates of change . Some began so far back

in etern i ty or have proceeded at so rap id a rate,that thei r careers

are brought to a conclusion in the passing age. Some are even now

awak ing in to existence and i t is probable thatworlds are beg i nningand end ing continually. Hence cosm ic existence

,l ike the k in gdoms

of organ ic l i fe,presents a simul taneous panorama of a com p leted

cycle of be ing . A taxonom ic arrangem ent of the various grades ofan im al ex istence presents a succession of forms which we find

repeated in the embryonic h istory of a single ind iv idual,an d agai n

i n the succession of geological types ; so the taxonomy of theheaven s is both a cosm ic embryology and a cosm ic palmon tology.

”

p .

So much for cycles again i n modern orthodox sc ience . I t wasthe knowledge of all these truths— scien tifically demonstra ted and

made publ ic now,bu t i n those days of an tiqu i tyoccu l t and known

raAon nu'rs. 453

to In it iates alone— that led to the formation of various cycles i ntoa regu lar system . The grand Manvan taric system was d iv ided i ntoother great cycles ; and these i n the i r turn into smal ler cyc les,regu lar wheels of time

,i n E terni ty. Yet no one outside of the

sacred preci ncts ever had the key to the correct read i ng and i nter

pretation of cycl ic notat ion , and therefore even the ancient classicsd isagreed on many po in ts. Thus

,Orpheus is sa id to have ascr ibed

to the “ Great " Cycle years’ duration

,and Cassandrus

accord ing to Censori nus (De: Natal c '

,Chron . and Astron .

Fragments). Analogy is the law,and is the surest gu ide i n occu l t

sciences,as i t ought to be in the natural phi losophymade publ ic .

I t is perhapsmere vanity that preventsmodern sc ience from acceptingthe enormous periods of time i nsisted upon bythe ancients, as elapsedsince the fi rst civi l izations. The m iserable l i ttle fragment torn ou tfrom the Book of the Universal H istory of Mank ind , now cal led so

proudly Our H istory,” forces historians to dwarf everv period i n

order to wedge i t in wi th in the narrow l im i ts primari ly constructedby theology. Hence the most l iberal among them hesi tate to acceptthe figures given by anc ient h istorians. Bunsen , the em i nentEgyptologist, rejects the period of years before Alexander, towhich Diogenes L aertius carries back the records of the priests, bu the is ev identlymore embarrassed wi th the ten thousand of astronom ical observations

,and remarks that “ if they were actual

observations,they must have extended over to

,ooo years

”(p .

We learn,however

,

” he adds,

“ from one of the ir own old chronological works that the genu i ne Egyptian trad i tionsconcerning the mythological period , treated of myn

'

ads of years.

”

(Erot ic. i p 1 5)We must notice and try to explai n some of these great and

sm al ler cycles and the ir symbols. Le t us begin wi th the cycle ofMahayuga, personified by Shesha— the great serpent cal led “

the

couch of Vishnu,

” because that God is Time and Duration personified i n the most phi losophical and often poetica l way.

I t is sa id that V ishnu appears on it at the beginn ing of everyMan vantara as

“the Lord of C reat ion .

" Shesha is the greatSerpent - Cycle, represented as swal low ing its own tai l— thence theemblem of Time wi th in E ternity. Time

,says Locke (On (In:

Human Understanding— Time is“ duration set forth bymeasures,

"

454 w oman .

and Shesha sets forth evolu tion by symbol izing its period ical

stages. On him V ishn u sleeps during the i n tervals of rest (pralayas) between creations” ; the blue God— blue because he is space

and the depth of infin ity— awakens only when Shesha bends h is

thousand heads, preparing to again bear up the Un iverse wh ich issupported on them . The Vis/m u Purdue describes him thus“B elow the seven Pé talas is the form of Vishnu , proceed ing fromthe qual i ty of darkness, wh ich is Shesha, the excel lences of wh ichnei ther Daityas nor Danavas can fu l ly enumerate . This be ing iscal led Ananta [the infinite] by the spiri ts of S iddha (Yoga \Visdom ,

sons of Dharma, or true rel igion), and is worshipped by sages andby gods. He has a thousand heads

,wh ich are embel l ished w i th

the pure and v isible myst ic sign [Svastika] ; and the thousandjewels in his crests (f lat /m) gives l ight to al l the region s. In

one hand he holds a plouglfi“and in the other a pestle .

From his mon ths, at the end of the Kalpa, proceeds the venom ed

fire that , impersonated as Rudra [Shiva, the‘destroyer

devours the three worlds (i i .Thence Shesha is the cyc le of the great Manvantara, and also

the spir i t of v i tal i ty as of destruction,si nce V ishnu

,as the pre

serv ing or conservative force, and Shiva as the destroyi ng potency,are both aspects of B rahma . Shesha is said to have taught thesage Garga— one of the oldest astronomers i n Ind ia , whom ,

nevertheless

,B entley places only 548 B .C .

— the secret sc iences,the mys

teries of the heavenlybod ies, of astrology, astronomy and variousom ens. Shesha is so great and m ighty, that i t is more than l ikelyhe wi ll some day, in far off fu ture ages, render the same serv ice toour modern astronomers. Noth ing l ike Time and cycl ic changesto cure sceptics of the ir bl i ndness.

Bu t Occu l t truths have to contend wi th a far more bl i nd foethan sc ience can ever be to them ,

nam ely, the Chr istian theologian sand b igots. These claim unblush ingly the number of yearsl ived by their Patriarchs som e four thousand years ago, and pre

tend to prove that they have in terpreted“ the symbol ic predic

tions of scripture and have traced the h istoric fu lfi lment of two

An emblem referring to the longhing and sowing the renewed earth

(in its new Round) with fresh seeds 0 life.

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456

THE LIVES OF THE LATER PLATONISTS .

PORPHYRY .

Con tinued from p.

Tm : ORACL r-zs.

B UT you wi l l say, what on earth have oracles to do wi th mysticexerc ises and con templation The answer is not to be fou nd i n theclassical d ictionaries

,nor wil l i t be very clear to those who have

not some idea of what the Hindu m vstics cal l ‘ Mantra- v idya, anabsolutely untranslatable term . The lowest aspect of th is V idya, orsc ience, is the use of invocatory hymns or prayers ; the hi gher sideof the art is mental ; and doubtless i t was th is that Porphyry cu l tivated . We have alreadystated that he spent much time i n exposingthe spurious im i tations of the so- cal led Zoroastrian Orac les

,

”and

th is leads us to conjecture w i th great confidence that he was

thoroughly fam i l iar wi th the genu in e Oracles of anc ien t Persiaand Chaldaea. Acquainted as he was w i th Semitic d ialects

,it is

more than probable that he had a first - hand knowledge of these o ldmantras of the ancient evokers of that mystic F ire of wh ich thefire on the al tar and the fire of the sun were merely the extern alsymbols, j ust as theywere for the seers of the Upanishads . More

over we shall see i n the l ife of Proclus that there was a pecu l iarway of chanting these old stanzas

,and i t is to the Cha ldaeans

,

Assyrians and Egyptians that Jam blichus ascribes the preservationof the “ language of the gods.

” Fol low ing these ind ications,i t is

no wide stretch of imagination for the mystic to entertain the viewthat Porphyrymade use of these evocations in order to producethat i nner l ight ” which shone forth from the

“ fire i n the heart” ;and th is is all the m ore probable, seei ng that one of his lost worksis i nscr ibed 01 1 [be P/z z

'

losop/zy of 111 5 Oracles.

Eusebius tel ls us that in this book Porphyryhad col lected fromevery source he cou ld a variety of oracles or i nspired sayings con

cerning m an and the universe ; and i f we are to judge by the use

THE L IV ES OF THE LATER PLATON ISTS . 457

Proclus subsequentlymade of them ,and bythe method of Porphyry

i n other th i ngs,we shal l be i ncl ined to agree with Taylor that , by

this means he promoted “ theosophy, or the study of d ivi ne w isdom ,

for as the oracles were for the ancients the most sacred revelations i nthe world

,i t is ev ident that a comparative study of them was one

of the best methods of obtai ning a thorough insight into theirmethods and gen ius, and hence a proper understand i ng of universalrel igion . Moreover Porphyry is said to have wri tten On D ivine

.Vames,and though we know nothing of his treatise beyond the

title,we shal l not be too speculative i n supposing that this had

somewhat to do w i th the “ language of the gods in which thenames of the gods were wri tten , and all those vowel - names and

permutations which -lay at the back of one department of Mantrav idya .

WAS Poapn vav SUPERSTITIOUS ?

Eunapius says that th is side of his character must be leftto those who have been in i tiated i nto the mysteries, that is to say

those who have som e knowledge of psych ic science ; w i th so briefa remark he passes over what

,if we are to j udge from the rest of

the School,must have been a very important side of Porphyry

’s

life,an al l the more regrettable om ission

,seeing that the m ajor

part of Porphyry’s wri ti ngs are lost to the present generation .

Eunapius m ight po int to those wri tings i n his own time wi th confidence

,but to - daywe can only look w i th regret on a long l ist of

t i tles of no less than forty d istinct works that have entire lyd isappeared .

There is i ndeed mention of the expu lsion of an elemental froma certa i n place

,or i n ecclesiastical terms

,

“ the casting ou t of anev i l sp iri t

,

” but that is of very l i ttle i nterest to students of the higher

yoga art . This sol itary i nc ident , however, has been qu i te suffi c ientto encourage both ecclesiastical and rational istic wri ters to ascribeto Porphyrya bel ief in “ all the supersti tion of the time ” ; the formerforgetting thei r Gospel narrative , and the latter l im i ted by the v isionof a myop ic

“science wh ich requ ires glasses to aid its sight .

One th ing is almost certai n,that Porphyry had nothing to do

w i th ceremonial magic , but depended on his own wi ll and puri tyalone . This purgation of the sou l was one of the ch ief objects ofthe d isc ipl ine

,and Porphyry devoted a whole treatise to the subject

458 LUCIFER .

under the ti tle TIn : [Cc- ascen t of {11 5 Soul,which is now u nfortunatelylost and wou ld be u tterly unknown bu t for some quota tions inAugustine the Church father . The espec ial subject dea l t w i th wasthe purgation of the subtle body or phantastic sp i r i t

,

” partand parcel of the theurgic art, and we cannot bu t deeply regret that

so valuab le and practical a treatise has been lost to the world .

Hrs LEARN ING.

Thus we see that Porphyrywas not only d istingu ished for hisgreat intellectual attainments, bu t also for the extraord i nary luc id ityand grace of his ph ilosoph ical exposi tions. Not on ly was heacquai n ted w i th every departmen t of philosophy proper as thenknown

,but he was also a d istingu ished special ist in rhetoric

,

grammar,ari thmetic, geometry, astronomv music

,and all the

l iberal arts of the time . In all of which he doubtless followed theadv ice of P lato i n the seventh book of the R epublic as to the propereducation of m an .

That is to say, that in ari thmetic he treated the sc ience not ina commerc ial or traffick ing m anner,

” bu t investigated “ theproperties of pure number . His study of geometrywas

“ pr imar i lyd irected to the knowledge of that which is eternal and not perishable .

” Byastronomyagain , he d id not mean“ lyi ng on the back and

staring upwards to the heavens, bu t that sc ience wh ich“ draws

the i ntel l igence upwards and points to a unity and coherentdesign of a perfect creator.

”Bymusic, moreover, he un derstood

the sc ience of harmony, and not the“ practice of worryi ng and

torturing musical instruments, twisting the head on one side,

dragging unw il l ing notes from more unw i l l ing stri ngs,and dis

puting abou t dem i - sem i - tones.

” We shou ld , however, l ike to hearPorphyry

’s present op inion of a sonata of Beethoven or an opera of

Wagner . Nevertheless the above wi l l give the reader some ideaof the primary educat ion of a phi losopher as understood bv the

Platonists.

ETH ICS AND DISCI PL INE .

But as alreadystated the m oral l ife was above al l th i ngs themost im portant in Porphyry

’s eyes, not the mere theoryof e th ics but

the carrying of them out in all the detai ls of l ife ; and i t is from the

writings of Porphyry, such for instance as his A uxilz'

arz'

es and his

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460 w omen .

that no less than forty complete works have utterlyd isappeared , andth is not so much through the obl ivion of antiqu ity as because or

their del iberate destruction by Christian fanat ic ism ,owing to

Porphyry’s sturdy cri tic ism of many of the pretension s of ill

i nstr ucted bigots who cal led themselves Christians, bu t who totallym isunderstood real Christ ianity.

Poap n vav,THE CR ITIC or

“ CH R ISTIAN ITY .

Porphyrywas wi thout doubt the most learned and dangerouscri tic of the nndiscrim inating adherents of the new rel i gion . Not

onlywas he intimatelyacqua i nted wi th the scriptures of both theOld and New Testamen t

,in Hebrew and Greek, but the favou rite

tact ics of the apologists and defenders of the fai th,who when

argument fai led resorted to an attack on personal character, werebut too transparently fl imsywhen d irected at a man again st whosemoral character his con temporaries had not ven tured to breathe aword . No less than thi rty orthodox wri ters attempted to refutePorphyry

'

s fifteen books -lgaz'

ns/ {Ire Cltn'

sfzhns : the most con spicuous be ing Method ius of Tyre, Eusebius of C zesarea, who wrotetwenty- five books against Porphyry, and Apol l i naris of Laod iceawho composed som e th irty volumes.

From the wri tings of the Church fathers we glean that h is chiefattack was d irected against the claim of the in fallibilitv of thescriptures bv po inting out the ir manifold self- contrad ict ion s . He

pointed also to the confl ict between Peter and Pau l , and thechanges of purpose ascribed to Jesus by the m ixed Gospe l narrat ive.He accused the wri ters of the Gospels

,m oreover

,of del iberate

falsificat ion,and dwel t espec ial ly upon the m urder of Anan ias and

Sapphira, as related in the Acts.

He further propounded some sti l l unsolved d i lem m as by the

pr0positions : I f Christ is the onlyway of salvat ion , why was he solate revealed ; if the God of the Old Testam ent enjoined bloodsacrifices, why d id the Christians rej ect them : how can sin entaileverlasting pun ishm ent, seeing that Jesus him self distin ctly declared.

what measure ve mete, i t shall be measured to you again" ?

Porphyry was also most strongly cri tica l of the too wild alle

gorical i nterpretations of Origen and others, who found mysteries in

the simplest words of the L aw . But his ch ief attack on the Old

r un raves or m e LATER PLATON ISTS . 461

Testamen t was d i rected aga i nst the au thenticity of the Book ofDaniel . He contended that i t was composed i n Judaea by a personnamed Epiphanes, who l ived in the time of Antiochus. Daniel

,

”

therefore , narrates past h istoryand not future events. I t is curiousto observe how the inau thentic i ty of Daniel has lately been established beyond any doubt bymodern scholarship .

The above are the sal ient po ints on which the Church fathersthought they had

“ refuted ” Porphyry, the“ Daniel - controversy

”

be i ng the ch ief point to which Method ius, Eusebius and Apol l inarisdevoted themselves. How many more po ints of equal , if not ofgreater vi gour, were i n the rest of Porphyry

’s fifteen books, we shal l

never kn ow ; they must have been numerous and d isturb ing toorthodox ideas or we shou ld not have had an army of th irtywri terslet loose on one man , and that too when his body was i n thegrave .

Yet Porphyry d id not sneer at Chr istianity or the teach ing ofJesus

,he was no bl ind fanatic or b i tter opponent who cou ld see no

good i n the Christian moral teachings; far from i t . As Augustinesays, the Platonists praised Christ wh ile theyd isparaged Christianity.

I t was the d isc iples and i gnorant fol lowers whom they took to task ;for Jesus had condemned no man ’s idea of God, provided i t wassincere . Theywere wi l l ing to honour Jesus as one of the best andwisest of men , bu t could not worsh ip him as God .

But moderate views and hard facts were contrary to the spi ri tof the times

,which looked for wonders and hysterical lyyearned for

death rather that abate one jot or tittle of bl i nd credu l ity. So thatwhen th is wild stream overtopped its banks and flooded theRoman world

,fanatic ism had a Constantine , Theodosius and

Justin ian to issue ed icts for the destruction of the works of thephilosophers and wri ters of l iberal views ; and then it was thatOrthodoxy at last made sure of “

refu ting ” the sceleratusPorphyr ius,

”zm d destroyed everywork of his it cou ld lay hands on .

Bu t physical force is no argument in the realm of m ind , and to- day

there are many cri tics of“ Christiani ty such as was Porphyry

sixt een hundred years ago, and manyof these , byan irony of fate,are to be found not wi thou t the ranks of the now orthodox “ highercri ticism .

” So far,then

,concern ing Porphyry, whose memorywi l l

ever be kept green by the lovers of true ph ilosophy.

462 w oman .

THE DISCI PLES or: Poapnvnv .

The most d istingu ished pupi l of Porphyrywas Jam blichns, towhom we shall next devote our attention . Of the rest Theodorusof Asine

,probably the Laconian Asine, seems to have been held in

greatest honour by the m embers of the School . Proclus frequen tlyrefers to him i n his Commentaries on P lato

,wi th such laudatory

epi thets as“ the great

,

” “ the adm irable and “ the nob le.

” His

principal work was on the sou l or world - sou l,w i th the d istin c tive title

,

T[ml the Soul consists of all Species, and this is quoted by Nem esius,

to whom we have already referred as preserving two fragm en tsascribed to Ammonius Saccas. Theodorus was also a pupil of

Jamblichus. Another of his pup i ls was a certain Crysaorius, towhom he ded icated several of his books

,the chief of wh ich was an

Introduction to Aristotle which Porphyrywrote i n S ic i lyand en titledConcern ing {be Fz

'

m' Predz'

cables,treating of genera

,spec ies

,d iffer

en tizf,properties and acc idents. Th is treatise is general ly prefixed

to the Organon of Aristotle . Of the rest of his pupi ls we kn ow thenames of onlyNemertins and Gedalius

,and of them only from in

scriptions on certain of Porphyry’s works. I t must, however, have

been that Porphyry had many pupi ls, for he was adm ired and

beloved by the best of the Roman c itizens, as has been al readyrem arked . The fact , however, that the fame of Jam blich us outshone the reputation of Porphyry even in the latter’s l ife t im e

,leads

us to suppose that a number of Porphyry’

s pupi ls passed on to thetu i tion of h is own bri l l iant d isc iple .

JAMB L ICHUS .

(255 —3 3 0

Hrs PROBA B LE DATE .

Jamblichus was born at Chalc is, a town of C tr le- Syr ia or thatd istrict of Sy ria lying between the two great ranges of MountLebanon ; un less, i ndeed , this is a m istake of Eunapius for Chalcis,one of the most fam ous of the Upper Syrian c i t ies, at equald istan ce from An tioch and Apamea . As h is name (YML Ch) shows,he was a Syrian ,

and we are further told that his fam i lywas nobleand wealthy. The date of his bi rth has been aban doned even con

jecturallyby everywriter I have as yet read on the subject . There

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464 LUCIFER .

wel l have preserved his philosophy i n sp ite of his theo logy, j ust as

Synesius d id ; and he owed his ph ilosophy at least to the same

source as Porphyryand the fol lowers of Ammon ius— that is to saytoPythagoras, P lato , and Aristotle . As Eunapius, moreover , tel ls us

that Anatolius was looked upon as in the second rank of philoso

phers to Porphyry, he was presumablyonce a member of the School ,before Porphyrywrote his cri t ic ism on

“ Ch ristianity, and whilehe h imself was sti l l hesi tating between phi losophy and the new

rel igion . A philosophical fragment of Anatolius On Sympathz'

cs

and A n tz'

patlz z'

cs has been preserved,and we have also some

fragm ents of his mathematical work .

JAM B L ICHUS AND PoRPHvRv .

Jamblichus, however, soon passed beyond the i nstructions ofAnatolius and attached h imself to Porphyry. He must h ave , therefore

,come to S ic i ly or Rom e , and spen t some considerable tim e

there . We are told that as a ph ilosopher he was by no m eansi nferior to Porphyry, though indeed the few works prese rved to us

do not qu i te bear out th is opi n ion as an exponent of occu lt scien ce,

however,as al l those who came after h im i n the School are agreed,

he was by far Porphyry’s superior .

Like Plotinus he was not complete master of the Greek tongue,nor had he the elegance or rhetorical power of Porphyry as P latoonce rem arked of one of his con temporaries

,

“ he d id n ot sacrificeto the Graces. Consequen tlyh is wri t ings are somewh at obscureand d iffi cu l t

,and i t requ ires much patience to perfectly se ize their

meaning .

And though Jam blichus based h imself upon the same li ne ofteach ings as his predecessors i n the school

,and was famous not

on ly for h is knowledge of all subjects connected wi th P laton ic andAristotel ian ph ilosophy, bu t also for his elaborat ion of severalpo ints of great i nterest

,nevertheless he devoted his energies especi

al ly to the Pythagorean trad i tion and the mysteries of th eology and

theurgy. Moreover he paid far greater attention to the greatOriental trad itions, such as those of the Chaldaeans

,Assyrians and

Egyptians, than any of his predecessors.

JAM B L ICHUS AND H IS PU PILS .

Our information con cerning the l ife of the philosopher

THE u vns or Tn s LATER PLATON ISTS . 465

is as scanty as are our data for constructing Porphyry‘

s

b iography, and the major portion of the space devoted to

Jamblic hus by Eunapius, our only au thori ty, is taken up wi ththe rec i tal of phenomenal incidents. Even in Porphyry

’s l ife time

,

his bri l l iant pupi l not only rival led but ecl ipsed the fame of his

teacher . In his turn , Jamblichus was surrounded wi th a band ofdevoted pupi ls who came from al l parts of the world to obtai nhis i nstruction

,and for med a k ind of community l ike the com

munity of Plotinus. Jamblichus was ever wi th them and presidedat the common table

,wh ich was excessively frugal and fol lowed

the Pythagorean model of abstinence from animal flesh . In fact ,

Jamblichus observed strictly the Pythagorean d isc ipl i ne i n all

th ings,and showed a greater love for the great master than perhaps

anv other member of the School .

As time went on , however, i t was observed by certai n of hismost devoted pupi ls

,who rarelyqu i tted his side, that thei r teacher

sought the privacy of his chamber for certai n exerc ises,of a

devotional and mystic character,concerning wh ich he breathed no

word to them . From the servants,however, they heard wonderfu l

stories that Jamblichus, being at such times engaged i n prayer, orrather i n med i tation

, was lev i tated ten cubi ts from the ground,

and that he appeared as one transfigured, a golden glory playi nground him . Al l of wh ich apparentlym ighti ly surprised his pup i ls.

Theyaccord inglyasked Jamblichus the meaning of such phenomena .expecting no doubt the reply that i t was entirelya fabrication ofthe supersti tious and ignorant domestics. Bu t their master repl ied ,that al though the matter was not as described , and the embroidererof the fact was endowed wi th a gracefu l imagination

,nevertheless

there was some truth in the matter, and he wou ld i n future adm i tt hem to his confidence and expla i n what real ly took place .

Tm : SCEPT IC ISM or m s PU PILS .

Psychic phenomena of lev i tation and transfiguration ,or exter

naliz ation of the aura,are suffi c ientlywel l authenticated to cause no

surprise to the student of mystic ism ,and the exaggeration of ten

cub i ts maybe wel l set down to the imagination of an ignorant andsupersti t ious observer ; but the po i nt of i nterest is that the pupi ls of

Jamblichus should have expressed surprise at the matter . As we

466 LUCIFER .

shal l see later on , however, the members of the School were stillexceed i ngly, if not entirely ,

dub ious of such external m an ifestations,and in fact their whole tendencywas one of great sceptic ism as to

psychic matters. Ploti nus and Porphyryhad consisten tly scouted

such phenomena,and presumably th is inc ident took place in

Porphyry’s l ifetime and before h is conversion to some of Jambli

chus’ views on such matters. The treatise On t/zc which

is d istinctly ascribed to Jamblichus by Proclus, is a reply to a

number of scept ical objections agai nst occul t phenomena broughtforward by Porphyry, and i t iswel l known that Jamblichus changedthe v iew of the whole School on the subject . The cri t ics unanimously declare that from th is m oment the School degeneratedbecause of its devotion to occu l t sc ience , wh ich of course criticism

at once dubs “supersti tion ,

”and so has done w ith i t . And it is

true that from th is time there was a marked d iv ision among themembers themselves wi th regard to occul t stud ies ; the majorityfol lowing the non - phenomenal side of occu l t developm ent

,and a few

strayi ng into the dev ious and dangerous paths of the occult arts.

”

C r i ticism has confounded al l together and overwhelmed the wholeof the School in a common condemna tion

,but the student of

occul t ism has a more d ifficu lt and complex problem to solve .

WHY THEY DOU BTED .

Doubtless the pupi ls of Ammon ius, Plotinus, Porphyry and

Jamblichus had all practised a certai n m ethod of ph ilosophicalmed i tation

,but as prev iouslyremarked , the method was too d ifficult

for the vast majori ty, and the resul t was so long to wa i t for,that

when the opportunity of tak i ng a less arduous road presented itself,theywere not averse to setting the i r feet upon i t . Bu t of one thingthey had fi rst to assure themselves

,namely that the method was

real and the means pure ; and that the road led in the righ t d irectionand was not a bye-

path , conducting them i nto the i l lusive swampsand quagm ires of vu lgar supersti tion and sorcery. Thus we readthat i t was a long tim e before even thei r teacher Jam blichus couldconquer the ir almost i nv i nc ible sceptic ism . Moreover we shouldremember that i t was becom ing dangerous to publ icly profess any

bel ief i n occu l tism . Christianity and intolerance are fast gainingthe upper hand , and wi th in the next twentyyears or so w i ll have

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468 LUCIFER .

together,the now fam i l iar d iscussion on phenomena once more arose

among them ,when Jamblichus sm i led and said Al though it is

not proper to show phenomena,yet for your sakes i t shal l be done.

”

And so he d irected his doubting d isc iples to enqu ire of the nativesthe anc ient names of two of the smal ler springs, wh ich were themost beautifu l of al l ; and they were told that theywere originallycal led Love and Love - for- Love ; but why no man knew . And so

master and pupi ls repaired to the spri ngs, and Jamblichus sat bv

the source of Love,and wav i ng h is hand over the spring

,he

muttered a few words,when suddenly there rose from the water s

beau tifu l youth , of med ium height , white, w i th golden hair, hisshou lders and breast sh ining as though he were just stepping out ofthe bath . And the Love embraced Jam blichus as a son a father.

His former sceptical companions were speechless from astonishment

,until Jamblichus roused them with the words

,

“ Let us tothe other spri ng, and led the way i n si lence

,plunged i n thought.

And there he caused the second Love to appear,an exact doubleof

the first,except that his hair was darker and more sunny. And

Love - for- Love embraced Jam blichus as his twi n Love had done.After th is incident his pupi ls no longer dared to doubt their

master’s knowledge of occul t sc ience,bu t appl ied themselves with

ardour to the inner side of his teach ings. And many other extraord inary acts of a sim i lar nature were recounted of the ph ilosopher.but Eunapius does not venture to repeat them ,

both for the reasonswe have given above

,and also because he wishes to confine himself

to that side of the narrative which ord inaryreaders can better understand .

THE EX PLANAT ION OR A PHENOMENON .

The remain ing recorded i nc ident of th is k ind is Jamblichus’

explanation of a phenomenon of external ization in a magical cerem onyof the period , a function which in our own time has beenreplaced by the spiri tual istic material ization sc

'

zm cc the ma in difi'

er

ence bei n g that the former was under the control of the operator,wh ile the latter is dependent on the atrophyi ng of the wil l of themedium .

The operator set to work and caused to appear what he had

previously regarded as a “

god but Jamblichus sm i lingly

THE LIV ES OF THE LATER PLATON lSTS . 469

remarked that i t was the image of a dead glad iator an explanationwhich agrees wi th the present researches i nto psych ic phenomena ofth is ki nd

,for perhaps the m ost frequent v isi tors to such stances are

su ic ides and the v ictim s of sudden death . The glad iator hadprobably passed over ful l of l ife and desire i n some recentcombat

,and hence his dc‘out on the magic stage as a god for the

un i nstructed ceremonial ist , bu t as an earth - bound shade for thetra i ned theurgist .

G . R . S . MEAD .

To be

MR . ANGRAND,in a comm uuication to the ( leographical Societv

of Paris, has made an interesting add ition to the history of anc ient

civ i l izat ion . After some years of residence and observation in UpperPer u

,he has come to the conclusion

,that the c ivi l ization of the time

of the Incas, that which P izarro overthrew,wasadecaden t c ivi l ization

,

far inferior to one that had long preceded i t . He finds ev idences forth is conclusion in the remains of ancient bu i ld ings, which are

remarkably numerous throughout Peru , and wh ich testify to theex istence of two d ifferent peoples, if not d ifferent races. Consideringthe natural characteristics of Peru , Mr . Angrand further concludes,that the civ il ization d id not originate there , but came ready formedfrom wi thou t ; and tracing i t by the monuments by the way, hed iscovers the route of the earl iest settlers i n Peru along theCord il lera

,across Central America, up to the Mexican terri tory of

Anahuac . There the Aymaras, as he cal ls them ,had flourished and

m u l tipl ied , and thence theyswarmed off, and took the ir pol i ty, theirrel igion and arts to the wi ld mountain - region of Peru

,where the ir

rel ics, after the lapse of ages, sti ll furn ish instruction to the modernethn ologist . —

“The Month : Sc ience and Arts,

”in

7o urnnl, January 25th ,1 868 (No . 2 1 3 , 4th Series).

470

LETTERS TO A CATHOLIC PRIEST . NO. 1 1 1 .

My DEAR FR IEND,

Your cand id confession that you find you and your

Gospel are not i n the least wan ted i n the slums gives much m atterfor thought . I t was a bold experiment

,and seemed

,at least from

your side , to deserve success. All prev ious attempts (as far as I

know) have depended on getting together a l i ttle nu c leus ofthe few Cathol ics everywhere m ixed up wi th the rest , aroundwhich it was hoped to gather converts from ou tside . Bu t th ismethod

,though it gives a certai n amount of apparen t success,

confuses the issues. You chose,simply and stra ightforward ly, to

take your Christianity i n your hand , and to make trial of what youcou ld do w i th i t on the actual work - a- day world around you ; theworld wh ich knows nothing and cares noth ing abou t the Ch rist ianGod . There could hard ly have been auv one better adapted for thetask

,and th is gives a deep significance to your adm ission that

, so

far,i t is a total fai lure. Had you not yourself rem i nded m e of i t , I

shou ld have had too m uch respect for the laws of frien dsh ip tosay, I told you so but i t is true .

I remember that as you and I were surveying the groundtogether we entered an Anglican Church wh ich stood open ; andas we looked round on the p ictures on the wal ls

,the pulp i t and the

Communion Table which summ ed up its means of action ,I

expressed to you my strong feel i ng that the whole th in g was a“surv ival

,

”as the sc ien tists say, a pure anachronism , possibly

usefu l fiftyyears ago when the m isery around seemed to everyone,

priest and people al ike,part of the i nevi table order of n ature, and

all anyone could hope for was to gai n some compensat ion afterdeath ; bu t now i t seem s qu i te out of date . The education of thepoorer classes means th is— that they know now that i t is qu itepossible for them to have a fair share of the good th ings of this

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474 LUCIFER .

damnation is a mystery (as you wou ld say) which I leave you toexplain . To me the matter is simple enough it is onlya necessarystep in the ir progress through the ages. As they rise h igher inthe ir future l ives the Unseen wi l l regain its hold on them

,never

fear there is plenty of time before them .

B ut i t wi ll not be Christianity to which theyw i l l return . As I

said in my last letter, people have changed much in these lastyears

,and wil l change more and more as time goes on . There are

two stories which wi l l i llustrate the change I mean . t en ananc ient heathen pri nce (Clov is, was i t not was being instructedfor baptism , the B ishop detai led to him the sufferi ngs and deathof Christ . As he went on ,

the old warrior’s face flushed,his hand

instinctivelygrasped his sword , and at length he broke out , Ah ,if I had only been there with myFranks Now for the con trast .

The same story was repeated to a heathen of our own coun try andour own century . He l istened wi th open mou th and vacant face

,

ti l l after a pause the dulleye brightened wi th an idea, and he rep l iedbrisk ly, \Vel l , it

’s a long time ago— [ct as Ito/wit isn

’t truc

Even th is, however, does not express your presen t d iffi cu lty.

Your intended catechumen no longer l istens i n silence,reveren t or

otherwise ; he begins to ask quest ions— the most i nconven ien tquestion s ; and you are no longer i n the i naccessible he igh t of apu lp i t ; you must find an answer . There are many quest ion s Icou ld put for h im ,

which he does not know enough to ask ; and

which,in th is connection

,I m ay leave on one side . I w i l l not

here press you for an explanation of lnno the only- begotten Son of

God took human flesh and was born as Jesus ; I wil l leave the

matter wi th the qu iet remark of a d istingu ished Ind ian phi losopherthat the Christians do not go in to a clear analysis of the propositions they lay down .

” I w i l l not ask you whether the God whorequ ired and was pleased w i th the blood of Jesus was his Fatherin Heaven to whom he so often appealed , or was not rather theHebrew Jehovah who had to be prop i tiated by the blood of bu l lsand goats dai ly poured out at his altar the God of the Pharisees

,

briefly and po inted ly d ism issed byJesus h imself as your fath er,

the dev i l . I wi ll leave the question whether i t was the Alm igh ty,All - wise God who al lowed the great Teacher to be taken awaybeforehe had found one d isc iple fu l lycapable of rece iv ing his love (

“ I have

LETTERS To A CATHOLIC PR IEST . 473

many th ings to say unto you ,but ye cannot hear them now and

then left the great tru thshe preached to be travestied by half taugh t

pupils in to whatwe now see. To thisquestion and the thousand of thek i nd which m ight be asked , you can only answer,

“ These aremysteries and our reply is equal lybrief, They are not mysteries

- they are blasphem ies aga i nst the D ivine Love and the D ivi neWisdom you profess to glorify.

” But let us pass over a l l th is j ustnow and l im it ourse lves to what our East - Enders can

,and wi ll ask

something to th is effectYou say that God loves me , and sent His Son to d ie for me .

That is al l verywel l , bu t what good has He done me by i t ? howam I here , starv ing in the slums, the better for i t ? Heaven hereafter ? How am I to know i t ? Has anyone ever come back fromheaven to say he has ga i ned i t ? How can you Show me that thesalvation vou prom ise is not simply an imaginary del iverance froman imaginary danger ? Cannot the love of God find anyth ingbetter for me than the m isery i n which I l ive ? Is al l Mot part ofthe goodness for which you would have me thank H im ? Am Ilikely to get a better l iv ing for w ife and chi ldren if l am

“ converted If so , I wi l l gladlylisten but what I see around m e is thatthe more unscr upu lous and selfish a man is, the better he gets on ; Idon

’t see that he sufl

'

ers for i t i n hel l when he d ies. Nor would thatbe anyparticular comfort to me if I did see i t ; i t wou ld not bring backthe darl ings I have watched slowly starv ing to death for his profi t .Revenge is something, certa i nly ; bu t i t is not what I want fromrel igion . The pol iceman keeps m e from be ing robbed and

murdered ; the Board School gives my children a chance of risingou t of the depth in which I l ive ; if you want to do me good , findme the means of l ivi ng decently i n this world— I am qu i te unconcerned w ith anywh ich may or may not come after .What wil l you do w i th him ? You say you are resolved not to

give up your effort— you wi l l keep on tryi ng to ga in h im ; what w i l l

you say?

Wi l l you speak to h im of the Church,passi ng from age to age,

holding God ’s truth,sure to triumph in the end ? This was the

way of the early Church . You may go i nto the cathedral of acerta in town in I taly, and see there an ancient crucifix

,so anc ient

that its date was unknown when i t furnished our second King

474 LUCIFER .

Wi l l iam with his favour i te oath “By the HolyFace of Lucca I t

is a strik ing figure . The Christ stands,clothed and crowned ; His

arms not nai led , but freely stretched out to embrace mank i nd thefu l l real ization of the God who rei gneth from the tree theChrist of the triumphant motto you m ay sti l l find carved or pa in tedround alm ost every church tower in North I taly, Ch rist hasconquered

,Chr ist ru les

,Christ re igns ! To be a Christian when

that rood was carved was to feel the glorious consc iousness ofform i ng part of the great Power which moves the world thcn

religion was indeed strength and l ife !But dare you so much as hint to your aud ience that Ch rist has

ru led for eighteen centuries and that this is what h is ru le hasbrought them to ? You know too well that i t is just in the nom inallv Christian world that all the labour and other troubles havearisen that nowhere

,out of a Christian country, is to be found the

u tter,complete degradation of the human bei ng beneath the level of

the beast which m ay be seen in certai n parts of London , Liverpoo lor New York ; that vear after year there looms before us m ore

d istinctly the soc ial cataclysm , terrible beyond imagination , and yet

more and m ore certainly the onlyhope of a nobler and better futu re,before which Christianitystands as helpless and useless as d id

,in an

earl ier catastrophe,the worn - ou t Gods of Rome. No vou have n ot

the heart to preach that “all is overru led byGod for the best in

your surround in gs in the East .Fa i l i ng th is

,as be ing at least five hundred years ou t of date,

how wi ll you now present the Christ you teach ? Italy w i l l aga insuggest the reply. Come down from the HolyFace of Lucca to themasterpieces of the great artists of the Renaissance ; you w i l l fi ndthem v icing wi th each other who can produce the l ivel iest im age

,

no longer of the King triumphing on the C ross,but of the wri th ing ,

tortured , human being nai led to the tree of shame . For th emChrist has ceased to re ign ; his priests no longer claim reverence forthe Ru ler

,but are reduced to ask p i ty for the Sulferer— iu a w ord

they recogn i z e that THE WOR LD HAS MOV ED ; and that with a n ew

world , theymust use new means. These new means, these appealsto the emotions

,which have for the last three hundred years form ed

the strength of Christianity,must by this tim e have had a fair tr ia l

do they prom ise you better success

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476 LUCIFER .

Hav ing set aside as unavai lable these two methods of deal ing

with— I was going to say— your flock ; bu t rather the sheep who

w i l l not com e i nto your fold I fear we cannot get anyfarth er withou t introducing the theologian ’s last resort— h is “ Deus exmach ina ”— the Cathol ic , and sti l l more the Protestant ultimaratio ”— the Dev i l ! Bu t due respect for so important a characterdemands a fresh commencement so we w i l l here cease , and i n my

conclud i ng ep istle I wil l do my best to solve the question whetherthe fear of the Dev i l can indeed do for you what the love of Godcannot . The enqu iry sounds irreverent , but the irreverence is notm i ne it is not myfau lt that the majori ty of Christians, both layandclerical

,act and speak as if i ndeed i t were the fear of the Dev i l wh ich

is the beginn ing of wisdom . I t reads otherwise i n th e B ible,

ma is nous avons changé tou t cela .

” You , however as wel l as I ,be long to the old school ; and I can express myself freely w i thoutfear of offend i ng you bymy plain speech .

Yours very sincere ly,

ARTHUR A . W'

E L LS .

477

DEVACHAN .

(Concluded front 75.

TheDeans — So much of the l i ttle that can be expressed i nhuman language about these wonderfu l and exal ted be ings waswri tten in TheA stral Plane that i t is unnecessary to go at lengthinto the subject here . For the in format ion of those who have not

that manual at hand I w i l l make an abstract here of the gen eralexplanation there given wi th reference to these entit ies.

The h ighest system of evolution connected with th is earth , sofar as weknow

,is that of the be ings whom Hindus cal l the Devas,

and who have elsewhere been spoken of as angels,sons of God ,

etc . They m ay i n fact be regarded as a k ingdom lying nextabove humanity i n the same way as human i ty i n turn l ies nextabove the animal k ingdom , but wi th th is important d ifference , thatwhile for an animal there is no possibilitv of evolu tion through anyk ingdom but the human

,man

,when he attai ns a certai n high level ,

finds various paths of advancement opening before him ,of wh ich

this great Deva evolution is only one . In Oriental l i terature th isword Deva is frequently used vaguely to mean almost anyk i ndof non - human entity, so that i t wou ld often include DHYANCHOHANS on the one hand and nature - spirits and artific ialelementals on the other . Here

,however

,its use wi l l be restricted to

the magnificent evolution which we are now considering . Thoughconnected wi th th is earth , the Devas are by no means con fined to i t,for the whole of our present chai n of seven worlds is as one worldto them

,thei r evolution be ing through a grand system of seven

chains. Their hosts have hitherto been recru i ted chieflyfrom otherhumanities i n the solar system ,

som e lower and some higher thanours

,since bu t a very smal l portion of our own has as yet reached

the level at which for us i t is possible to joi n them : bu t i t seems

certai n that some of their verynumerous classes have not passed in

478 LUCIFER .

thei r upward progress th rough any humanity at al l comparablewi th ours. I t is not possible for us at present to understan d verymuch about them

,bu t i t is clear that what may be described as the

a im of their evolu tion is considerably higher than ours that is tosay, while the object of our human evolution is to raise the successfu lportion of humanity to a certa i n degree of occu l t developmen t bythe end of the seventh round , the object of the Deva evolu tion is toraise their foremost rank to a verymuch higher level in the co rrespond ing period . For them

,as for us

,a steeper but shorter path to

st il l more subl im e he ights l ies open to earnest endeavour ; bu t whatthose he ights may be i n their case we can only conj ecture .

The ir three lower great d iv isions,beginn ing from the bo t tom ,

are general ly cal led K amadevas, R fipadevas, and Arfipadevas

respectively. Just as our ord inary body here— the lowest bodypossible for us— is the physical , so the ord i narybody of a K amadeva is the astral ; so that he stands in somewhat the sam e posi t ion

as hum ani ty w i ll do when i t reaches planet F,and he

,l ivi ng

ord inarily i n an astral body, wou ld go out of i t to higher sph eres i na Mayavirfipa j ust as we m ight i n an astral body, wh ile to en ter thecausal body wou ld be to h im (when sufliciently developed) nogreater effort than to form a Mayavirfipa m ight be to us. I n thesame way the Rupadeva

’s ordinary body would be the Mayavi

ri a,since his hab i tat is the four ri a levels of the devachanic

plane ; wh ile the Arupadeva belongs to the three higher levels ofthat place

,and owns no nearer approach to a body than the Karana

Sharira . Above the Arfipadevas there are four other great c lassesof th is k ingdom

,i nhabi ting respectively the four higher p la nes

of our solar system ; and agai n above and beyond the Deva k i n gdom al together stand the great hosts of the DHYAx CHOHAN S

,

bu t the consideration of such glorified bei ngs wou ld be ou t ofplace here .

Each of the two great d ivisions of this kingdom which h avebeen mentioned as i nhab i ting the devachanic plane contains w i th i ni tsel f manydifl

'

eren t classes ; bu t their l ife is in everyway so far

rem oved from our own that i t is useless to endeavour to give any

th ing bu t the most general idea of i t . I do not know tha t I canbetter ind ica te the impression produced upon the m inds of our

investigators on the subject than byreproduc ing the very words

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480 LUC IFER .

I I I .— ARTIFIC IAL .

Very few words need be sa id upon th is branch of our subject .The devachan ic plane is even more ful ly peopled than the astral bythe artific ial elementals cal led into temporary existence by thethoughts of its inhabitants and when i t is remembered how muchgrander and more powerfu l thought is upon this plane

,and that

its forces are be ing w ielded not only by the human inhab i tants,embod ied and d isembod ied , bu t by the Devas and by v isi tors fromhigher planes

,i t wil l at once be seen that the importance and in flu

ence of such artific ial entities can hard ly be exaggerated . I t is notnecessary here to go over again the ground traversed i n the prev iousmanual as to the effect of men ’s thoughts and the necessi tyof guardi ng them carefu l ly; and enough was said i n describi ng the difl

'

er

ence between the action of thought on the ri a and arp a levelsto show how the art ific ial elementa l of the devachanic p lan e iscal led into existence

,and to give some idea of the i nfin ite varietyof

temporary entities wh ich m ight be so produced , and the imm enseimportance of the work that m ight be

,and constantly is done, by

the ir means. Great use is made of them byAdepts and I n i tiates,and i t is need less to say that the artific ial elemental formed by suchpowerfu l m inds as these is a be i ng of i nfinitely longer existen ceand proport ionately greater power than any of those descr ibed i ndealing with the astral plane .

I II glanc i ng over what has been wri tten,the prom inen t idea is

not unnatu ral ly a hum i l iating sense of the utter i nadequacy o f all

the attempts at description— of the hopelessness of any effort to pu ti nto human words the ineffable glories of the heaven - world . S t i l l ,lam entablyimperfect as such an essayas this must be, i t is yet betterthan noth ing

,and i t m ay serve to pu t i nto the m ind of the reader

some faint conception of what awai ts him on the other side of thegrave ; and though when he reaches th is bright realm of bl iss hew i l l certa i nly find infinitelymore than he has been led to expect , hewi l l not

,i t is hoped , have to un learn any of the information he had

prev iously acqu ired .

Man,as at present consti tuted , has wi th in him princ iples

DEVACHAN . 48 I

belonging to two planes even h igher than Devachan,for his Buddhi

represents him upon what from that very fact we cal l the buddhicplane

,and h is Atma upon the th ird plane of the solar system which

has usual ly been spoken of as the nirvz‘

m ic . In the average man

these highest princ iples are as yet almost entirely undeveloped , andin anycase the planes to

'

which theybelong are sti l l more beyond thereach of all description than was Devachan . I t must suffi ce to saythat on the buddhic plane al l l im i tations begin to fall away, and theconsc iousness of m an expands until he real izes no longer i n theorybut by absolute experience that the consc iousness of his fel lows isincluded w i th in his own , and he feels and knows and experiences,wi th an absolute perfection of sympathy, al l that is i n them ,

because

i t is i n real i ty a part of himself ; wh ile on the nirvanic plane hemoves a step further, and real izes that his con sciousness and the irsare one

,because they are al l in real i ty facets of the infinitely greater

consc iousness of the LOGOS, in Whom they all l ive and m ove andhave the ir be ing ; so that when the dewdrop sl ips into the shining

sea” the effect produced is rather as though the process had been

reversed and the ocean poured i nto the drop,which now for the firsttime real izes that it is the ocean— not a part of it, but the whole .

Paradoxical,utterly incomprehensible, apparently impossible ; yet

absolutely true .

But this m uch at least we m ay grasp— that the blessed state ofN irvana is not

,as some have ignorantly supposed , a cond i tion of

b lank nothingness ; bu t of far more in tense and beneficen t activi ty,and that ever as we rise h igher i n the scale of n ature our possibi l it ies become greater

,our work for others ever grander and m ore far

reaching,and that infinite wisdom and infin i te power m ean only

in finite capac i ty for serv ice , because they are d irected by infinitelove .

C . W. LEADB EATER .

482

THE UNITY UNDERLYING ALL RELIGIONS .

(Concluded from 79.

IN Z oroastrianism we find the conception of the One Existenceimaged as Bound less Space, whence arises the LOGOS , the creatorAiIharmaz d

,

Supreme in om niscience and goodness, and unrivalled in splendour ; theregion of light is the place of Afiharmaz d (The B undahzs, Sacred B ooks of the East,

v . p . 3 ,

To Him i n the Yasno,the chief l i turgy of the Z ara thustrians,

homage is fi rst paid

I announce and I (wil l) complete (myYasna [worship] ) to Ahura Maz da , the

Creator, the radiant and glorious, the greatest and the best , the most beau tiful(to our conceptions), the most firm , the wisest , and the one of allwhose body is

the most perfect , who attains his ends the most in fallibly, because of His

righteous order, to Him who disposes our m inds arigh t , who sends H is joycreating grace afar who made us and has fashioned us, and who h as nourished

and protected us, who is the most bounteous Spirit (Sacred B ooks of the East .

xxxi. pp . 1 95 ,

The worsh ipper then pays homage to the Ameshaspends and

other Gods,but the supreme manifested God

,the LOGOS

,is not here

presen ted as triune . As w i th the Hebrews, there was a tenden cy inthe exoteric fai th to lose sight of th is fundamental tru th . P ortu

natelywe can trace the prim i tive teach ing, though i t d isappeared inlater times from the popular bel ief. Dr . Hang, i n his E ssays on the

Porsis (translated byDr . West and form ing vol . v . of Triibner’

s

Oriental Series) states that Ahuramazda— Afiharm az d or HOrm az d

— is the Suprem e B eing, and that from Him were produced

Two primeval causes, which , though differen t , were united and produced the

world of m aterial things as wel l as that of the spirit (p .

These were cal led twins and are everywhere present, inAhuram azda as wel l as i n m an . One produces real ity, the other

non - real i ty, and i t is these who i n later Zoroastrian ism became the

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484 LUCIFER .

charge of the whole material creation (Sacred B ooks of the E ast,v .

p . 1 0,note). Re incarnation does not seem to be taught in the books

wh ich,so far

,have been translated

,and the bel ief is not current

among modern Parsis. But we do find the idea of the Sp iri t inm an as a spark that is to becom e a flame and to be reunited to theSupreme Fire , and th is must imply a development for whichreb irth is a necessi ty.

Travel l ing westwards to Greece,we meet with the Orphic

system ,described w i th such abundant learning by M r . G . R . S .

Mead i n his work,Orpheus. The Ineffable Thrice - unknown Dark

ness was the name given to the One Existence :

According to the theology of Orpheus, all things originate from an immense

principle. to which through the im becility and poverty of human conception we

give a nam e, though it is perfectly ineffable, and in the reveren tial language of

the Egyptians is a thrice unknown darkness in con templation of which all know

ledge is refunded in to ignorance (Thomas Taylor, quoted in Orpheus, p .

From this the Primord ial Triad,

” Universal Good,Un iversal

Sou l,Universal M ind , aga in the Logic Tri n ity. Of th is Mr . Mead

wri tes

The first Triad, which is mannestable to in tellect , is but a reflection of, or

substitute for, the Unman ifestable, and its hypostases are : (a) the Good , which

is super- essen tial ; (b) Soul (theWorld - Soul), which is a self-motive essence ; and

(c) In tellect (or the Mind), which is an impartible, immovable essence (Ibid . ,

P 94)

After th is,a series of ever - descend i ng triads

,show i ng the

characteristics of the fi rst i n d im i n ishing splendour, unti l man isreached who

Has in him poten tially the sum and substance of the universe. The

race of men and gods is one”

(Pindar, who was a Pythagorean ,quoted by

C lemens, Strom . ,v . 709). Thus m an was called the m icrocosm or little

world , to distinguish him from the universe or great world (Ibtd . , p . 27 I ).

He has the Nous,or real m ind

,the Logos or rational part, the

Alogos or irrational part , the two latter again form ing each a triad,and thus presenting the m ore elaborate septenary d iv ision . The

m an was also regarded as hav ing three vehicles,the physical and

subtle bod ies and the luc iform body or augoeides, that

Is the causal body, or karm ic vesture of the soul , in which its destinyorrather all the seeds of past causation are stored . This is the thread - soul " as

THE UN ITv UNDERLYING AL L REL IGIONS . 485

it is sometimes called , the" body that passes over from one incarnation to

another (Ibid . , p .

As to re incarnation

Together with all the adheren ts of the Mysteries in every land the Orphies

believed in reincarnation (Ibid . , p .

To th is M r . Mead brings abundant testimony, and he showsthat i t was taught by P lato , Em pedocles, Pythagoras and others.

Onlyby v irtue cou ld men escape from the l ife - wheel .Taylor, i n his notes to the Select I’Vorhs of Plotin us, quotes from

Damascius as to the teachings of P lato on the One beyond the One ,the unmanifest Existence

Perhaps, indeed , Plato leads us ineffably through the one as a m edium to the

ineffable beyond the one which is now the subject of discussion ; and this by an

oblation of the one in the same manner as he leads to the one by an oblation of

other things. That which is beyond theone is to be honoured in the mostperfect silence. Theone indeed wil ls to be by itself, but with no other ; butthe unknown beyond the one is perfectly ineffable, which we acknowledge we

neither know , nor are ignoran t of, but which has about itself super - ignorance.

Hence by proxim ity to this the one itself is darkened : for being near to the

immense principle, if it be lawful so to speak. it rem ains as it were in the adytmu

of that trulymystic silence. The fi rst is above the one and all things, being

more simple than either of these (pp . 3 4 1

The Pythagorean , P latonic and Neo - Platonic schools have so

many points of contact w ith H indu and Buddhist thought that theirissue from one fountain is obv ious. R . Garbe in his work

,D ie

Sa'

mkhya Philosophie (i i i . pp . 85 to presents many of thesepoints

,and his statemen t m aybe summarized as fol lows

The most strik ing is the resemblance— or more correctly theidentity— of the doctri ne of the One and Onlyin the Upan ishads andthe E leat ic school . X enophanes’ teach ing of the unity of God and

the Kosmos and of the changelessness of the One,and even more

that of Parmen ides,who held that real i ty is ascribable only to the

One unborn,indestructible and omnipresent , while all that is

m an ifold and subject to change is bu t an appearance, and furtherthat Be ing and Think ing are the same— these doctri nes are com

pletely identical wi th the essential conten ts of the Upanishads andof the Vedan tic ph ilosophy wh ich spri ngs from them . B ut evenearl ier sti ll the view of Thales

,that all that is has sprung from

486 LUCIFER .

water,is curiously l ike the Ved ie doctrine that the Un iverse arose

from the bosom of the waters. Later on Anaximander assumed as

the basis (dpxri) of al l th ings an eternal , i nfini te and i ndefi n ite substance , from wh ich all definite substances proceed and i n to whichthey return— an assumption identical wi th that which l ies at theroot of the Sfmkhya, the Prakri ti from which the wholematerial side of the universe evolved . And his famous sayingm in or 59? expresses the characteristic v iew of the Sankhya that allth ings are ever changing under the ceaseless activi ty of the threegunas. Empedocles agai n taught theor ies of transm i gra tion andevolu tion practical ly the same as those of the Sankhyas, whi le histheory that noth ing can come into be ing which does not alreadyexist is even more closely identical w i th a characterist ical lySfinkhyan doctrine .

Both Anaxagoras and Democri tus also present severa l po intsof close agreement

,especial ly the latter

’s v iew as to the nature and

posi tion of the Gods, and the same appl ies, notably in som e cu riousmatters of detai l , to Ep icurus. But i t is

,however

,i n the teach ings

of Pythagoras that we find the closest and most frequent iden t i tiesof teaching and argumentation , explai ned as due to Pythagorashimself havi ng v isi ted Ind ia and learnt his philosophy there , as

trad i tion asserts. I II later centuries we find some pecu l iarlySankhyan and B uddhist ideas playi ng a prom i nent part i n Gnosticthought . The fol lowi ng quotation from Lassen , c ited by Garbe onp . 97, shows th is very clearly

B uddhism in general d istingu ishes clearly between Sp ir i t andLight

,and does not regard the latter as immaterial ; bu t a v iew of

Light is found among them wh ich is closely related to that of theGnostics. Accord i ng to th is

,Light is the vehicle of the man ifesta

tions of spirit in matter ; the i ntel l i gence thus clothed in Lightcomes i nto relation wi th matter, in which the l ight can be lessenedand at last qu i te obscured

,i n which case the intell i gence falls

final ly i nto complete unconsc iousness. Of the highest i n tel l i gencei t is mai nta i ned that i t is nei ther Light nor Not - Light , ne i therDarkness nor Not - Darkness

,si nce al l these expressions denote

relations of the intel l igence to the Light,wh ich indeed i n the

beginn ing was free from these connections,but later on encloses the

i ntel l igence and med iates its connection w ith matter . I t fol lows

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488 LUCIFER .

com ing before the Messiah,he answered that “ E l ias is come already

and theyknewh im not xvi i . I 2). So agai n wefind the d isc iplestaki ng rei ncarnation for gran ted i n ask i ng whether bl i ndness frombirth was a punishm ent for a man

’

s sin, and Jesus in answer not

rejecting the possibi l ity of ante - natal sin , but only exclud i ng it ascausing the bl indness i n the spec ial instance (?ohn , ix . 1 The

rem arkable phrase appl ied to“ him that overcom eth i n R eo.

,iii. 1 2

,

that he shal l be a p i l lar in the temple of myGod , and he shal l gono more out

,

” has been taken as signifying escape from reb irth .

From thewri tings of som e of the Christ ian Fathers a good case may

be made out for a current bel ief in re incarnation ; some argue thatonly the pre - existence of the sou l is taught

,but this v iew does not

seem to me sup ported by the ev idence .

The unity of moral teach ing is not less strik ing than the un itvof the conceptions of the universe and of the experiences of thosewho rose out of the prison of the body into the freedom of thehigher spheres. I t is clear that th is body of primeval teach ing wasin the hands of definite custod ians, who had schools i n wh ich theytaught d isciples who stud ied the ir doctri nes. The identi tyof theseschools and of their d isc ipl ine stands out plainlywhen we studythe moral teaching

,the demands m ade on the pupi ls

,and the

m ental and spiri tual states to wh ich theywere raised . A causticd iv ision is made in the Ta

‘

o Telz K ing of the types of scho lars

Scholars of the highest class, u hon they hear about the Tao, earnest ly carry

it in to practice. Scholars ofthe m iddle class, when theyhave heard about it , seemnow to keep it and no“ to lose it . Scholars of the lowest class, when they haveheard about it, laugh greatly at it (Sacred B ooksof theEast. xxxix . , op. cit . xli. I ).

I II the same book we read

The sage puts h is own person last , and yet it is found in the forem ost place ;he treats his person as if it were foreign to him . and yet that person is preserved.

Is it not because he has no personal and prixate ends, that therefore such ends

are reahscd ? (xii He is free from self- display, and therefore he sh ines from

self- assert ion . Ind therefore he is distinguished ; from self- boasting, and

therefore h is m erit is acknowledged ; from self- com placency, an d thereforehe acquires snpcrioritv . I t is because he is thus free from striving thattherefore no one in the u orld is able to strive with him (xxii. There

is no guilt greater than to sanction am bition ; no calam ity greater than tohe discon ten ted with one

’

s lot ; no faul t greater than the wish to be getting(xlvi. To those who are good (to me) I am good : and to those whom

THE UNrrv UNDERL Y ING AL L REL IGIONS . 489

not good (to me) I am also good ; and thus (all) get to be good . To

those who are sincere (with me) I am sincere ; and to those who are not

sincere (with me) I am also sincere ; and thus (all) get to be sincere

(xlix. He who has in him self abundan tly the at tributes (of the Tao) is

like an infan t . Poisonous insects will not sting him ; fierce beasts will notseiz e him ; birds of preywill not strike him (lv . I have three precious thingswhich I priz e and hold fast . The fi rst is gen t leness ; the second is economy;

the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others. Gen tlenessis sure to be victorious, even in bat tle, and firm ly to main tain its ground .

Heaven wil l save its possessor, by his (very) gen tleness protecting him (lxvii.2,

Among the H i ndus there were selected scholars deemed worthyof spec ial instruction to whom the Guru im parted the secret teachings

,while the general ru les of right l ivi ng m ay be gathered from

Mann’s Ordinances, the Upam klzaa

’s,the .ll alza

‘

b/ aimm and manyother treat ises

L et him saywhat is true, let him saywhat is pleasing, let him ut ter no dis

agreeable truth , and let him utter no agreeable falsehood ; that is the eternallaw (Mann , iv . Giving no pain to anv creature, let him slowly accum ulatespiritual merit (iv . For that twice- born m an , bywhom not the sm al lestdanger even is caused to created beings, there will be no danger from any

(quarter) after he is freed from his body (vi. L et him patien tly bear hardwords, let him not insult anybody, and let him not become anybody

’

s enemy for

the sake of this (perishable) body. Against an angryman let him not in returnshow anger, let him bless when he is cursed (vi. 47 , Freed from passion ,

fear and anger, thinking on Me, taking refuge in Me. purified in the fire of

wisdom , many have en tered into My B eing (B hagaz'ad (Hui, iv . Supreme joyis for this Yogi whose Manas is peaceful , whose passion - nature is calmed , who is

sin less and of the nature of B rahman (vi. He who beareth no ill-wil l to any

being, friendly and compassionate. without attachmen t and egoism , balanced in

pleasure and pain , and forgiving, ever con ten t , harmon ious, with the self- controlled , resolute, with Manas and B uddhi dedicated to Me, be, My devotee, isdear to Me (xii. 1 3 ,

If we turn to the B uddha,we find him with his Arhats, to

whom his secret teachings were given ; whi le publ ished we have

The wise man through earnestness, virtue and purity makes him self an

island which no flood can submerge (Udzinavarga , iv . The wise man in thisworld holds fast to faith and these are h is greatest treasures ; he castsaside allother riches (x. He who bears ill-wil l to those who bear ill-will cannever becom e pure ; but he who feels no ill-will pacifies those who hate ; as

hatred brings m isery to mankind , the sage knows no hatred (xiii. Overcome

490 women .

anger by not being angered : overcome evil bygood ; overcome avarice by liberality;

'

overcome falsehood by truth (xx.

The Zoroastrian is taught to praise Ahuramazda, and then

“'

hat is fairest , what pure,what imm ortal , what brillian t . all that is good.

The good spirit we honour, the good kingdom we honour, and the good law , and

the good wisdom (l'

asna , May there come now to this dwel ling contentmen t , blessing, guilelessness, and wisdom of the pure (Yasna , Purity is thebest good . Happiness. happiness is to him : namely, to the best pure in purity(Ashcm - vohu). All good thoughts. words and works are done with knowledge.

Allevil thoughts, words and works are not done with knowledge (Ma'

s/m K umata).

(Selected from the Avesta in Ancient I ranian and Z oroastrian Morals, byDhunjibhoy

Jam setji Medhora).

The Hebrew had h is schools of the prophets and his

Kabbalah,and i n the exoter ic books we find the accepted moral

teachings

Who shall ascend in to the hil l of the L ord and who stand in His holyplace ?He that hath clean hands and a pure heart ; who hath not lifted up his soulun to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully (Ps. xxiv . 3 , What doth the L ord requireof thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humblywith thy God ?

(Micah, vi. The lip of truth shall be established for ever ; but a lying tongueis but for a momen t (Prov. xii. Is not this the fast that I have chosen ? to

loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavyburden s, and to let theoppressedgo free, and that ye break everyyoke Is it not to deal thybread to the hungryand that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thyhouse ? when thou seest thenaked that thou cover him , and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh(Is. lviii. 6,

The Christian Teacher had his secret instruc tion for his

d isc iples (fl/aft , xi i i . 1 0- 1 7) and he bade them

Give not that which is holy un to the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls beforeswine (Matt. , vii.

For publ ic teach ing wem ayrefer to the beati tudes i n the Sermonon the Mount

,and to such doctrines as

I say un to you , love your enem ies, bless them that curse you , do good to

them that hate you , and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecuteyou . B e ye therefore perfect , even as your Father which is in heaven isperfect (Matt ,

v . 44, He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that losethhis life for my sake shal l find it (x. Whosoever shall humble him self as thislittle child , the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (xviii. The fruit ofthe Spirit is love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gen tleness, goodness, faith , meekness,

temperance ; against such there is no law (Gal. , v . 22. L et us love one

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492 women .

an tiquity are agreed that this discipline had succeeded in producing the h ighestexamples not only of the purest chastityand sen timen t , but also a simplicityofmanners, a delicacy, and a taste for serious pursuitswhich was unparalleled . This

is adm itted even byChristian writers (see Justin , xx. Among the members

of the school the idea of justice directed all their acts, while they observed the

strictest tolerance and compassion in their mutual relationships. For justice is theprinciple of all virtue, as Polus (ap . Stob . , Serm . ,

viii. , ed . Schow , p . 23 2)

teaches ; ’

tis justice which m ain tains peace and balance in the soul ; she is the

mother of good order in all comm unities, m akes concord between husband and

wife, love between m aster and servan t .The word of a Pythagorean was also his bond . And finally a m an should

live so as to be ever ready for death (Hippolytus, Philos. , (Ibid . , pp . 263

The treatment of the v irtues in the neo - P laton ic schools isi nteresting

,and the d ist inction is clearlymade between moral i ty and

spiri tual development,or as P lotinus put i t,

“ The endeavour is notto be wi thout sin

,bu t to be a God (Select ”forksof Plotin us, trans.

by Thomas Taylor, ed . 1 895 , p . The lowest stage was thebecom ing wi thou t sin by acqu iring the “ pol itical v irtues whichmade a m an perfect in conduct (the physical and eth ical be ing belowthese), the reason control l ing and adorning the irrational nature .Above these were the cathartic

,pertai ning to reason alone

,and

wh ich l iberated the Sou l from the bonds of generation ; the th eoreticor i ntel lectual

,l ifting the Sou l into touch wi th natures superior to

i tself ; and the parad igmatic, giv ing it a knowledge of true be i ng.

Hence he who energiz es according to the practical virtues is a worthy mm

but he who energiz es according to the cathartic virtues is a denwniacal man , or is

also a good demon .

" He who energiz es according to the in tellectual virtues aloneis a God . B ut he who energiz es according to the paradigmatic v irtues is theFather of theGods (Ibid . , note on In tellectual Prudence, pp . 3 25

By various practices the d isc iples were taught to escape fromthe body, and to rise i nto higher regions. As grass is drawn from a

sheath the i nner m an was to draw h imself from his bod i ly easing

v i . The “ body of l ight” or rad iant body

of the Hindus is the luc iform bodv” of the neo - P laton ists

,and in

this the m an rises to find the Self.

Not grasped by the eye, nor by speech , nor by the other senses (lit . , Gods),nor by austerity, nor by religious rites ; by serene wisdom , by the pure essence

on ly doth one see the partless One in m editation . This subtle Self is to be

known by the m ind in which the fivefold life is sleeping. The m ind of all

A good spiritual in telligence, as the daim on of Socrates.

THE UN ITY UNDER LYING AL L RELIGIONS . 493

creatures is instinct with [thesel lives in this. purified , man ifests the SelfI I I . ii. 8 ,

Then alone can man en ter the region where separation is not,

wh ere “ the spheres have ceased .

” In G . R . S . Mead ’s Introductionto Taylor

’

s Plotinus he quotes from Plotinus a description of asphere wh ich is ev idently the a iya of the Hindus

They likewise see all things. not those with which generation , but those

with which essence is present . And they perceive themselves in others. For all

things there are diaphanous ; and nothing is dark and resisting, but everythingis apparen t to everyone in ternal ly and throughout . For ligh t everywheremeets with light ; since everything contains all things in itself and again

sees all things in another. So that all things are everywhere and all

is all. Each thing likewise is everything. And the splendour there is

infinite. For everything there is great , since even that which is smal lis great . The sun too which is there is all the stars ; and again each

star is the sun and all the stars. In each , however, a differen t property predominates, but at the same time all things are visible in each . Motion likewisethere is pure ; for the motion is not confounded by a mover differen t from it(p .

A description wh ich is a fa i lure,because the region is one

above describi ng bymortal language, bu t a description that couldonlyhave been given by one whose eyes had been opened .

A whole volume m ight easi ly be wr i tten on the sim ilari tiesbetween the rel igions of the world

,bu t the above imperfect state

ment must suffice as a preface to the study of Theosophy, to thatwh ich is a fresh and fu l ler presentment to the world of the anc ienttruths on which it has ever been fed . All these sim i lar i ties poi n t toa si ngle source

,and that is the Brotherhood of the White Lodge,

the Hierarchy of Adepts who watch over and gu ide the evolutionof humani ty, and who have preserved these truths unimpaired ,from tim e to time

,as necessi tyarose , reasserting them i n the ears of

m en . From other worlds,from earlier humani ties

,thev came to

help our globe,evolved by a process comparable to that now go i ng

on w i th ourselves,and that wil l be m ore i ntel l igible when we have

completed our present study than i t m ay now appear and theyhave afforded th is help, re i nforced by the flower of our own

humanity, from the earl iest t imes un til to - day. S til l they teach

This paper is the Introduction to an exposition of Theosophyon which the authoris engaged .

494 w omen .

eager pup i ls,showing the path and guid ing the d isc iple’s steps ;

sti l l they m ay be reached by al l who seek them,beari ng i n their

hands the sacrificial fuel of love , of devotion , of unselfish longingto know in order to serve ; sti l l theycarryou t the anc ient d isc ipl ine,stil l unve i l the anc ient mysteries. The two pi l lars of the i r Lodgegateway are Love and Wisdom , and through its stra i t portal canonly pass those from whose shoulders has fal len the burden ofdesire and selfishness.

A heavy task l ies before us,and beginning on the physical

plane we shal l cl imb slowly upwards ; but a b ird’s eye v iew of the

great sweep of evolution and of its purpose may help us,ere we

begin our deta iled study i n the world that surrounds us. A L ocos,ere a system has begun to be

,has in His m ind the whole

,existingas

idea— al l forces, al l forms, al l that in due process shal l em erge intoobjective l ife . He draws the c ircle of manifestation w i th i n whichHe wi lls to energize, and c ircumscribes Himself to be the l ife ofHis un iverse . As we watch we see strata appearing of successivedensi ties

,ti l l seven vast regions are apparent, and in these centres of

energy appear Whirlpools of matter that separate from each other,unti l when the processes of separation and of condensation are over— so far as we are here concerned— we see a cen tral sun

,the physi

cal symbol of the LOGOS, and seven great planetary cha i ns, eachchai n consisting of seven golbes. Narrowing down our view tothe chain of which our globe is one we see l ife - waves sweep roundi t,form ing the k ingdoms of nature

,the three elemen tal

,the m in eral

,

vegetable,an imal

,human . Narrowing down our v iew sti l l fu rther

to our own globe and its surround ings we watch hum an evolut ion,

and seeman developi ng self- consc iousness by a series of m any l i feperiods ; then cen tering on a single m an we trace his growth andsee that each l ife - period has a threefold d iv ision , that each is l i nked toal l l ife -

periods beh ind i t reap ing their resu l ts, and to al l l i fe- periodsbefore i t sowi ng their harvests

,by a law that cannot be broken ; that

thus m an may cl imb upwards, w i th each l ife -

period add in g to hisexperience , each l ife - period l ifting him higher i n puri ty, in devot ion ,i n i ntel lect

,i n power of useful ness

,unti l at last he stan ds where

they stand who are now the Teachers, fit to pay to his you ngerbro thers the debt he owes to them .

ANN IE BESANT ,

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496 w oman .

i n these good deeds and incred ible cures, and noth ing cou ld workbetter . At Strasburg, the Count of Cagl iostro had become veryi ntimate wi th Prince Lou is. He had unvei led for h im the greatarcana of Nature . He had pred icted for h im the fu ture . He

prom ised h im a colossal fortune,and at last succeeded i n causing

him to sup wi th phan toms.

Drawn to Paris byhis d isc iples, his fanatics, and by the GrandAlm oner

,Cagl iostro came there to practise hermetic m ed icine,

supernatural chem istry, and charlatan ism .

I I .

Tal leyrand sa id

Cagl iostro had arr ived from I taly under extraord in ary and

mysterious c ircumstances ; his com ing had been preceded bynumerous rumours more strange

,more surprising sti l l , and his

door was besieged at once byal l the r ich and id le , the marvel - lov i ngpopulation of Paris. Among the rest I am ashamed to confess thatI was one of the most ardent . I was young at the tim e .

Manymonths had elapsed before I cou ld obtain the aud ience I somuch coveted . Thousands of persons had to pass by ri ght beforeme

,and i t was sa id that immed iately on his arrival h is books were

so fi l led w i th the names of the highest and the m igh tiest that had

he been j ust and rece ived them i n turn,the cand idates at the bottom

of the l ist wou ld have known their fortune by experience longbefore he cou ld by any possible means have foretold i t .M . de B ouffles had ki ndly consented to accompany me . I t wasalready dark when we were adm i tted into the awfu l presence of theconjurer ; not qu i te dark w i thou t doors, yet suffi c iently so w ithinto requ ire the aid of tapers. The ante - chamber was fi l led withimpatient appl ican ts. We found the m agic ian in his study. Hewas j ust at the mom en t engaged in d ism issing two poor patients towhom he had given adv ice gratu i tously.

As soon as we entered Cagl iostro led his guests to the door atthe further end of the room

,wh ich was ve iled by thick tapestry,

and opening it w i thou t the sl igh test noise,ushered them th rough

i t into the passage beyond , and then closed i t w i th the same attention to si lence

,returned to the spot where we were stand in g, and

plac i ng his fingers on his lip, poi nted towards a sti l l and motionless

CAGL IOS’

I‘

RO. 497

figure seated i n one corner of the room ,and wh ich from the

obscuri ty that re igned about us had not been observed at our

entrance . The fig ure was that of a fema le covered from head tofoot wi th a long ve i l of crape, so long and ample that i t d isg uisedeven the form of the fauteu i l i n which shewas seated .

Cagl iostro bade us take seats at a table covered wi th greenve lvet upon wh ich were placed d ivers mysterious look ing instruments of torture

,sundry queerly shaped bott les and d iabol ical

volumes,and then stand ing up before us

,i n solemn and b ibl ical

language i nqu ired wherefore we had sought h im,and what i t was

we desired to know .

Cagl iostro was then a man in the very flower of his age,of

exceed inglyprepossessing appearance . His person,al though smal l ,

was so wel l and fi rm ly kni t that its proportions seemed those of amuch larger man . His counten ance was remarkably keen and

penetrating,be ing formed of a succession of sharp succeed ing l ines

,

wh ich gave him a look of cunning that he wou ld wi l l ingly have disgu ised

,and w ith wh ich the solemn tone and mysterious aspec t were

al together at variance . His sharp p ierc ing eyes I shall never forget :they awolutely seemed to l ight up the obscuri tyof the chamber,and

,as they flashed from one to the other of his v isitors, they seemed

to belong to some wi ld b ird of prey hesi tat ing between two v ictims,wh ich to devour fi rst . His beard and eyebrows were dark andbushy, w ith here and there a streak of grey am id the ir jetty blackness. When we entered he had upon his head a velvet cap ,wh ich

,wi th gentlemanl ike courtesy, he doffed when he addressed us,

and then I perce ived that the summ it of his crown was already baldal though his hai r curled downward upon his neck and shou lders i na th ick and si lkymass. The hand wh ich rested upon his table

,and

upon wh ich he seemed to be lean ing his whole we ight as he stoodi n gracefu l and theatrical atti tude awa i ti ng our communication , wassmal l and del icate as that of a lady of the court, and yeti t needed not any very profound know ledge of anatomy to enablethe observer to d iscern at a glance that i t was the hand of a m an

possessed of almost hercu lean strength and power,so vi gorouswere

the firm - kn it muscles,

so wel l - strung the t ightened cord - l ikenerves.

De Bouffles remain ing mute (both he and Talleyrand were very

498 LUCIFER .

young and verymuch frightened), the conj urer turned to me andasked me i n a vo ice which had already lost much of its solemnity,and partook of someth ing l ike harshness, if I also had com e unprepared wi th a subject of consu l tation . I answered i n a lowvoice that I wished to consul t h im i n regard to the health of aperson who was dear to me . Cagl iostro turned

,and by a

movement so abrupt and sudden that i t made us both start to ourfeet

,drew the fauteu il whereon was seated the ve i led mysterious form

of the female,who had rema ined al l th is t ime si lent and m otion less,

across the floor,and sti l l the figu re moved not . The feet resti ng on

a board attached to the bottom of the fau teu i l moved wi th the rest,

produc ing an indescr ibable effect .“What is i t you seek to

know said Cagl iostro,resum ing once more his so lemn and

theatrical a ir,and drawing a l i ttle aside the ve i l of black crape

,he

bent towards the ear of the female and whispered a few words wh ichwe could not understand .

I repl ied hurr ied ly, I wish to learn the cause of the m igraineof my friend the Marqu ise de

Chut,”said Cagl iostro

,

“ the name is of l i ttle im port . Whatsee you ?

” he added i n a loud,deep tone

,turning to the vei led

figure .

“ I see a fai r and beauteous lady,” rep l ied a sweet

,soft voice

beneath the ve i l . “ She is attired in a dress of sea- green Padua si lk,

her powdered hai r is wreathed wi th rose - buds,and she wears long

and splend id ear- drops of emerald and topaz . The lady is

pressing her hand to her forehead at th is very i nstant . Is i t withpai n

,or is i t with care ? She is wai ting for som e one

,for she

now rises and looks at the clock upon the console,and now she goes

to the smal l side door to l isten .

”(I t seems that Tal leyran d had

agreed to escort her to the opera, bu t had been deta i ned by hisengagem ent w ith Cagl iostro .)

“ Enough,enough

,

”sa id I

,i n my

turn growing impatien t,“ tel l me at once what i t is that a ils the

lady, and what m aybe the remedy.

”

The figure spoke aloud no more , but whispered long in Cagliostro’s ear, and the latter, turning towards me, sa id wi th ease and

afl omh,

“ The lady’s m igraines are caused by over - watch ing and

anxiety. The cure is easy and must be appl ied at once. The cause

wi ll be removed in time.

”

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500 LUCIFER .

applying i t external ly than in swal lowing it, should it provepernic ious

,and as I was chosen to be the operator, I poured a sm al l

quan tity of the water i nto the hol low of my hand which Bgu ided so that not a drop was sp ilt . I placed i t as gentlyas possibleover the forehead of the Marqu ise

,pressi ng i t there, bu t certa i nly

not w i th v iolence,and support ing the back of the head w i th the

hand that was free,held i t there

,thus awai ti ng the resul t .

The Marqu ise closed her eyes but uttered not a word , and therewas a moment ’s si lence among the clamorous group bend i ng overher w i th such eager curiosi ty when suddenly i t was brokenby a loud convu lsive shriek from the Marqu ise herself, wh ich wasechoed alm ost bym any of those present, so solem n lyand startl in glyd id i t burst from her l ips.

Take away your hand . For God ’s sake,take away your

hand ,” excla imed she

,i n a voice of agony, and starting to her feet

she endeavoured wi th all her strength to pul l awaymywrist downward ; but strange to tel l , not al l the efforts of the Marqu ise northose I used myself could tear awaymy hand from her forehead .

No words can describe the sensation of terror w i th wh ich I foundmyself deprived of the power or facu l ty of w i thdrawing my hand ,but drawn by some powerfu l attraction closer and closer st i l l

,

until i t seemed that my fingers wou ld bury themselves in

the flesh . I t was not,however

,unti l the Marqu ise sank

back in her chair fai nti ng and exhausted that the Due d’Argen ton ,

recovering from the general consternation . se ized mywristi n a nervous man ner and tore i t awaybyma in force, drawi ng w i thi t patches of sk i n from the forehead of the Marqu ise

,upon wh ich

the impr i nt of my touch remained i n bleed ing characters. My

hand was torn and bleed ing l ikew ise,and the pai n was unbearable . I

bound up my hand and gave al l the assistance i n my power towardthe recovery of the Marqu ise, who was conveyed to bed , sti l l in adeep swoon . We all remained i n the saloon awa i ting the report ofthe surgeon who had been sent for to apply the proper remed ies tothe wounds of the Marqu ise

,who was not declared out of danger

unti l towards morning . We then d ispersed w i th the firm determ ination of having the mystery cleared up byCagl iostro h imself assoon as possible .

(Talleyrand and de B ouflles, accompanied by two pol icemen ,

AN IMPORTANT LETTER . 50 1

went to interv iew Cagl iostro on the subject at his house . Thel iqu id in the jug was seized by the pol ice and taken to a chem ist

for analysis, who pronounced i t to be pure water .)To my bi tter reproaches, Cagl iostro repl ied with perfect calm

ness that the l iqu id was pure and i nnocent when he placed i t in myhands

,and that if i t had grown pernic ious i t must have been owing

tothe gu i l ty passions, or to the ev i l sym path ies, of those who

used i t .The Marqu ise carried the m arks of that n ight’s adventure to

her grave— a long, narrow scar . The corner of one of her eyebrows

had been torn off.

(She never wou ld have anyth ing to do wi th Tal leyrand

afterwards.)

AN IMPORTANT LETTER .

THE fol lowing letter was c ircu lated byH . P . B . among manyof her pup i ls

,and some quotations from i t have been publ ished from

time to time. Bu t,so far as I know , i t has not seen the l igh t in its

en tirety, and i t wi l l be read with general interest . I t reachedH . P . B .

’s hands in 1 886

,from a source she much revered .

The doctrine we promu lgate be ing the only true one, mustsupported bysuch ev idence as we are preparing to give— becomeu l t imately triumphant, l ike every other truth . Yet i t is absolutelynecessary to i ncu lcate i t gradual ly; enforc ing its theories (unim

peachable facts for those who know)wi th d irect i nference , deducedfrom and corroborated by, the ev idence furnished bymodern exactsc ience . That is why Col . H . S . Olcott

,who works to rev ive

Buddhism,maybe regarded as one who labours in the true path of

502 w oman .

Theosophy, far more than any man who chooses as his goal thegratification of his own ardent aspirations for occu l t kn owledge.Buddh ism

,stripped of its superstition , is eternal truth and he who

strives for the latter is striv ing for Theo- Soph ia,d ivi ne wisdom

,

which is a synonym of truth . For our doctri nes to pract ical lyreact on the so- cal led moral code, or the ideas of truth fulness, purity,self- denial

,chari ty, etc . , we have to preach and popu larize a know

ledge of Theosophy. I t is not the ind iv idual and determ i ned purpose of attai ning Nirvana— the cu lm ination of al l know ledge andabsolute w isdom ,

which is after al l only an exal ted an d gloriousselfishness— but the self- sacrificing pursu i t of the best m eans to leadon the right path our ne ighbour, to cause to benefi t by i t as manyof our fellow creatures as we possibly can

,which const itutes the

true Theosophist .The i ntel lectual portion of mank ind seems to be fast d iv id ing

into two classes : the one unconsciously prepari ng for i tse l f longperiods of temporary annih ilation or states of non - consc iousness

,

owing to the del iberate surrender of i ntel lect and its imprisonmentin the narrow grooves of b igotry and superstition— a process whichcannot fai l to lead to the utter deformation of the in tel lectua l principle ; the other unrestrai ned ly i ndu l ging its animal propensi tieswi th the del iberate i ntention of subm i tting to annih ilation pure and

simple,i n case of fai lure

,and to m i l lenniums of degradation after

physical d issolution . Those i ntel lectual classes reacti ng upon theignorant masses— wh ich they attract, and which look up to them as

noble and fit examples to be fol lowed— degrade and moral ly ru inthose they ought to protect and gu ide . Between degrad in g super

stition and sti l l more degrad i ng brutal material ism,the White

Dove of Truth has hard ly room whereon to rest her weary unwel

come feet .I t is time that Theosophy shou ld enter the arena . The sons

of Theosophists are more l ikely to become in thei r turn Theoso

phists than anyth ing else . No messenger of the tru th,no prophet

has ever achieved duri ng his l ife - time a complete triumph— not

even Buddha . The Theosoph ical Soc ietywas chosen as the cornerstone

,the foundation of the future rel igions of humanity. To

ach ieve the proposed object , a greater, wiser, and espec ial ly a more

benevolent interm ingl ing of the h igh and the low,the alpha and

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504 LUCIFER .

and most prol ific parent of most woes and sorrows, and all crim es?

Whyhas that struggle become almost the universal scheme of theuniverse ? We answer, because no rel igion , w i th the exception ofBuddhism

,has taught a pract ical contempt for th is earth ly l ife ;

while each of them ,alwaysw i th that solitaryexcept ion , has through

its hel ls and damnat ions i ncu lcated the greatest dread of death .

Therefore do we find that struggle for l ife raging most fiercely inChristian countries, most prevalent in Europe and Am erica . Itweakens i n the Pagan lands, and is nearly unknown amongBuddh ist popu lations. In Ch ina during fam i ne

,and where the

masses are inost ignorant of the ir own or of any rel igion , i t wasremarked that those mothers who devoured the ir children belongedto local i ties where there was none ; and that where the Bonzesalone had the field

,the popu lat ion d ied wi th the utm ost ind ifference .

Teach the people to see that l ife on this earth , even the happ iest, isbut a burden and an i l lusion that it is our own Karma [the causeproduc ing the effects] that is our own j udge— our Saviour in futurelives— and the great struggle for l ife w i l l soon lose its i ntensi ty.

There are no pen i tentiaries in Buddhist lands,and crime is n early

unknown among the Buddhist Tibetans. The world in general,

and Christendom especially, left for years to the régz'

mc of a

personal God,as wel l as to its pol i tical and soc ial systems based on

that idea,has now proved a fai lure .

I f the Theosophists saywe have noth ing to do w i th al l th is ;the lower classes and i nferior races (those of Ind ia, for i nstan ce, inthe conception of the Bri tish) cannot concern us, and must m anageas they can , what becomes of our fine professions of benevolence,ph ilan thropy, reform ,

etc . Are those professions a mockery And

i f a mockery, can ours be the true path Shal l we devote ourselvesto teaching a few Europeans— fed on the fat of the land , manyofthem loaded wi th the gifts of bl ind fortune— the rationale of bel lr i nging

,of cup - growing

,of the spiri tual telephone , and astral body

formation,and leave the teem ing m i ll ions of the ignorant

,of the

poor and oppressed,to take care of themselves

,and of the ir here

after,as best they can ? Never ! perish rather the Theosophical

Societywi th both its hapless Founders, than that we shou ld perm iti t to become no better than an academy of magic, and a hall ofoccu l tism That we

,the devoted followers of that sp irit incarnate

AN IMPORTANT LETTER . 505

of absolute self- sacrifice, of philan thropy, d iv ine k indness, as of allthe h ighest v irtues attai nable on this earth of sorrow

,the m an of

men,Gautama Buddha

,shou ld ever al low the Theosophical Soc iety

to represent the embod im en t of selfishness,the refuge of the few

,

with no thought in them for the many, is a strange idea,my

brothers ! Among the few gl impses obta ined by Europeans ofTibet and its mystical h ierarchyof perfect Lam as there was one

wh ich was correctly understood and described . The i ncarnationsof the Bodhisattva Padmapan i or Avalok i teshvara , of Tsongkapa,

and that of Am i tabha,rel inqu ished at the ir death the

attai nment of Buddhahood,

the szcmmum 60mm : of bl iss,

and of i nd iv idual personal fel ic i ty, that they m ight be bornaga in and aga in for the benefi t of mank i nd . In other words

,

that theym ight be again and again subjected to m isery, imprisonment in flesh

,and all the sorrows of l ife provided that they,

by such a self- sacrifice,repeated throughou t long and weary

centuries, m ight become the means of securing salvation and bl issi n the hereafter for a handfu l of men chosen among bu t one of themany planetary races of mank ind . And i t is we

,the humble

d isc iples of these perfect Lamas who are expected to al low theTheosophical Soc iety to drop its noblest ti tle, that of the Brotherhood of Human i ty, to become a simple school of philosophy! No,no

,good brothers

, you have been labouri ng under the m istake toolong already. Let us understand each other . He who does not fee lcompetent to grasp the noble idea suffi ciently to work for i t , neednot undertake a task too heavy for h im . But there is hard ly a

Theosophist i n the whole Soc iety unable to effectual ly help i t bycorrecting erroneous impressions of outsiders

,byhimself actual ly

propagating th is idea . Oh for noble and unselfish men to help us

effectually i n that d ivi ne task ! All our knowledge, past andpresent

,wou ld not be suffic ient to repay them .

Hav ing explai ned our views and asp irations,I have but a few

wordsmore to add . The true rel igion and ph ilosophy offer the solution of every problem . That the world is in such a bad cond i tion

,

moral ly, is a conclusive ev idence that none of its rel igions and

ph ilosoph ies,those of the c iv i l ized races less than any other, has

ever possessed the truth . The righ t and logical explanations on thesubject of the problems of the great dual princ iples

,right and

506 LUCIFER .

wrong, good and evi l,l iberty and despot ism , pai n and pleasure,

egotism and al tru ism ,are as impossible to them now as theywere

1 886 years ago . They are as far from the solu tion as theywere ;bu t to these problems there must be somewhere a consistent

solution , and if our doctri nes wi l l show thei r competence to offeri t,then the world wi l l be the fi rst to confess that there must be

t he true ph ilosophy, the true rel igion , the true l ight, wh ich gives

tru th and noth ing bu t the truth .

Abandon al l personal amb i tion,and you wi l l be content e i ther

to l ive or d ie .

Have read and made an abstract of al l the Gospe l of S t . John .

I t has confirmed my idea that we must take Jesus as testim onyof himself

,and d iscover the true image of the founder beh ind

al l the prismatic refractions across which he reaches us,and

wh ich blur that image The historical task of Christian ityis from century to century to undergo a new metamorphosis

,

to sp iri tual ize more and more the comprehension of Ch rist and ofsalvation . Whether wew i l l or no there is an esoteric doctr i ne— there is a re lative revelation man enters i nto God i n proportionas God enters in m an

,and as Angelus says,

“ I bel ieve that the eye

wi th which I see God is the same eye wi th which He sees me .”

Heroism is the signal triumph of the sou l over the flesh,that

is to say over fear ; fear of poverty, of suffering, of calumny, or

sickness,of isolation

,and of death . Hero ism is the bri l l ian t

and glorious concentration of courage .

Dutyhas th is v irtue : i t makes us feel the real i tyof the posi t iveworld , and at the same time i t detaches us from i t .

— Fragmem‘

sf rom the your/m l q/ llen rl n‘

de‘rc

'

c A mic] .

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508 LUCIFER .

and B lake ; I select the fi rst and second as the types of the nonoccu l t ; the th ird and fourth as types of the mystical . L et me firstdwel l upon the causes which , in my j udgment, precluded Scottand Byron from be ing occul t in their teach i ng, and then considerTennyson

’s and B lake’s mysticisms, which were of d istinctly

d iffering types, though agree ing, as must all mysticism ,in funda

mental poi nts. I am aware that Wordsworth , K eats and Shelleyare also to be ranked among the occu lt and i nspired

,but the late

Laureate and B lake must suffice for my present purposes.

There are certai n qualit ies of m ind,wh ich are found very

general ly i n al l great poetic gen iuses, and certain methods of l ifeand tendenc ies of thought and action which inevi tably veil the GodW i th in . The man in whom the God is vei led is never the greatpoet ; he m aywri te bri l l iant, stirring, excessively clever verse, buthe is never inspired . Therefore I th ink we m ay here hai l thecause of the greatest be ing also the most occu l t

,as I bel ieve we

shal l d iscover them to be . The man whose m i nd is tossed on thewaves of the sea of l ife, the m an who cares for applause

,the man

to whom the existing shows of the world are much,can never be

i l lum inated by the highest l ight, he never can wri te from theind iv idual i ty, bu t always from the personality ; very excellen t,adm irable

,masterlywork he m ay do , but i t is not insp ired . One

never says to oneself : th is man was caugh t up to the th ird heavento hear and see th ings unspeakable .

One of our best poetic cri tics,i n speak ing of the marvellous

freshness and spontane i ty of B lake’

s

of I n nocence m ight havesaid : “ The k ingdom of a perfectHeaven— one must enter i t as a l i tti ng in conj unction w i th one frompup i l must regain the ch i ld statecan fal l upon his ears.

” Assum ingwe shal l expect to find the mostmost mystical and occu l t in theiexpect to find i n them ,

on the lowof the qual i t ies of the child, andi ng the personal i ty of the occulhave stated my conv iction thr

occuurrsn IN ENGL ISH rosTRv. 509

furthermore state my op i nion that they were ne ither of them greatpoets. I shou ld place Tennyson and B lake infinitely h igher thanei ther of them . Of course th is is a matter of ind ividual op i n ion

,

bu t in such a case one can onlyargue from one’s op i n ion . Nowwhich of these four famous men have been the s uccessfu l songwri ters ? Scott and Byron wrote few songs ; Tennyson and B lakeliteral ly, i f I may use so fam i l iar a term , bubbled over wi th themtheybroke i n to song as the nighti ngale does, and mark th is—as

unconsc iously. Scott wrote songs; Byron wrote a few songs ; butread the song of Fitz ~Eustace from M am ion

,

“Where shal l thelover rest ? then read Byron

's pretty- mannered “There be non e of

B eau ty’s daughters,

”and contrast them w i th B lake’s“ Piping down the

val leywild and the Nutse’s Song,

" and wi th Ten nyson's Tears

,

id le Tears.

” In the work of the last two poets you hear the th ril lof the harps of the New Jerusalem ; the music from the kingdomof the l i ttle child . To me i t is si gn ificant that Ten nyson so preem i nently excel led i n the song .

Com ing to his mysticism , which I propose to contrastwith Blake’s, I think that Ten nyson

’

s songs are better thu

B lake’s—even puttin g ou t of account the almost matchle.

and B lake both wrote spontaneously, but Tennym took as :

pains w i th techn icalities, wi th the subsequent poll-hing Dys

5 1 0 LUCIFER .

verse ten ,to be a marvel lous p icture of insanity. What enabled the

great poet , upon whose sanity no doubt has been cast as uponB lake’s

,to th ink and feel as a madman th inks and feels, i f i t were

not past experience ?

When I stated that Scott was not,as I th ink , a real ly great

poet,I d id not mean to be- l ittle his gen ius. The impress of

Scott’s honest, strong, human personal i ty is upon his work . I t isdel ightfu l ; no one adm ires h is genius more than I do ; I rank

Manse Headrigg even above Mrs. Poyser , and Scott’s poetry I

love .

I love the fire and v igour and the swing of M arm z’

on . One cansmel l the air of the moors and see the heather i n TimL ady of the

L ake and th is is j ust where the point comes i n : Tennyson was as

stronglyEnglish as Scott was Scotch ,while B lake was of no nat ion ;bu t when Tennyson is d istinctly i nspired he m ay take Englishmetaphors

,but he is no longer Engl ish— wh i le Scott is always

Scotch . He wri tes from a very noble personal ity°

B reathes there a man with soul so dead ,Who never to himself hath said ,

This is myown , my native land P

I am qu i te sure B lake never said anyth ing of the k ind to himsel f

,and I should not accuse h im of being a

“ dead soul .” But thatis how Scott fel t ; Scott was noth ing of the ch ild ; he was thesingle- m i nded , honest - purposed m an of great and del igh tfultalents.

The same great cri tic to whom I have already referred hasspoken of Scott as being possessed by the

“ passion of the past .” I tis most true ; and the ch ild l ives in the present and the future .

This,i t m ay be objected , is surely not a bar to occu l tism ,

for

do not occu l tists and theosophists belaud the past ?No theyland the wisdom of the past, wh ich is also the w isdom

of the present and the future,the timeless wisdom . The w isdom of

the anc ients, not of an age, bu t for all time,”is not of the “ good

old times — and these old times Scott loved he loved the “ th ingsseen if they were noble

,or even p icturesque and rom antic ; he

d id not love the symbol ical . He loved the goodlym anifestation ofsu ch th ings as fired his fan cy— he loved feudal ism— he wou ld

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5 1 2

THEOSOPH ICAL ACTIVITIES .

EUROPEAN SECTION .

THE THEOSOPH ICAL SocrE'rv .

At a Council meeting held at 1 9, Avenue Road , London ,on Ju ly

4th ,the Presiden t - Founder in the chair, the reports of all the Section s

of the T . S . on the Ru les were carefu l ly considered , and the follow in gwas adopted and ordered to be issued .

RULES OF THE THEOSOPH ICAL SocrE'rv .

Constitulz’

on

r. The title of this Society, which was form ed at New Y ork ,

Un ited States of America,on Nov . ryth , 1 875, is the “ Theosoph ica l

Society.

2. The objects of the Theosophical Society are

(i) To form a nucleus of the Un iversal B rotherhood of Hum an ity,

without distinction of race, creed ,sex , caste, or colour.

(ii) To en courage the study of comparative religion , ph ilosophyand science.

(iii) To investigate unexplained laws of Nature, and the powerslaten t in man .

3 . The Theosophical Society has no concern with pol itics, caster ules and social Observances. I t is unsectarian , and dem an ds n o

assen t to any form u la of belief as a qualification of membersh ip .

Memberslz ip .

4 . Every app lication for m embersh ip m ust be m ade on an

authoriz ed form , and m ust be endorsed by two members of the Societyand signed by the applican t ; but no person s under age shal l beadm itted without the con sen t of their guardian s.

5 . Adm ission to m embership m ay be obtained through the Presiden t of a B ranch , the General Secretary of a Section , or the Record in gSecretary, and a certifi cate of m embership , bearing the signatu re of

the Presiden t and the seal of the Society, and coun tersigned by one of

the above- named offi cers, shal l be issued to the member.

THEOSOPH ICAL ACTIV ITIES . 5 1 3

(Wicca .

6. The Societyshal l have a Presiden t , a V ice- President, a Recording Secretary, and a Treasurer .

7 . The Presiden t - Founder, Colonel H . S . Olcott, ho lds the offi ceof Presiden t of the Theosophical Society for life, and has the right ofnom inating his successor, subject to the ratifi cation of the Society.

8 . The term of the Presiden cy is seven years (subject to theexception named in Ru le

9. The Presiden t shal l nom inate the V ice- Presiden t, subject toe lection by the Society. The V ice- President’s term of offi ce shal lexpire upon the election of a new Presiden t .

10. The appoin tm ents to the oflices of the Recording Secretaryand the Treasurer shall be vested in the Presiden t .

I I . The Presiden t shal l be the custodian of all the archives andrecords of the Society, and shal l be one of the trustees and adm in is

trators for property of all kinds, of which the Society as a whole is

possessed .

1 2. The Presiden t.

shal l have the power to make provisionalappoin tments to fi ll all vacancies that occur in the ofiices of the

Society,and shal l have discretionary powers in all matters not specifi

cal ly provided for in these Ru les.

1 3 . On the death or resignation of the President, the V icePresiden t shal l perform the presidential duties un til a successor takesoffi ce .

Orga7: fearfit) 71 .

1 4 . Any seven m embers may app ly to be chartered as a B ran ch ,the appl ication to be forwarded to the Presiden t through the Secretaryof the n earest Section .

1 5 . The Presiden t shal l have authority to gran t or refuse app lications for charters, which ,

if issued , m ust bear h is signature and the

seal of the Society, and be recorded at the Headquarters of the

Society.

1 6. A Section m av be form ed by the Presiden t of the Society,

upon the app lication of seven or more chartered B ranches.

1 7 . All Charters of Section s or B ranches, and all certificates of

m embersh ip ,derive their authority from the Presiden t, and m ay be

cancel led by the sam e authority.

I 8 . Each B ran ch and Section shal l have the power of m aking its

own ru les, provided they do not con flict with the general ru les of theSociety, and the ru les shal l become valid un less their confi rmation berefused by the President .

5 1 4 LUCIFER .

1 9. Every Section must appoin t a General Secretary, who shall

be the channel of communication between the President and theSection .

20. The General Secretary of each Section shal l forward to thePresident an n ual ly,

not later than the fi rst day of November, a reportof the work of his Section up to that date, and shal l at any timefurnish any further information the Presiden t may desire.

Adm in istrafz'

on

2 1 . The general contro l and adm inistration of the Society isvested in aGeneral Council , consisting of the Presiden t, V ice- President,and the General Secretaries.

22. N0 person can ho ld two offices in theGeneral Council .

E lect£07: of Presz'

dm t.

23 . Six months before the expiration of a President's term of

offi ce, h is successor shal l be nom inated by the General Coun cil , andthe nom ination shal l be sen t out by the V ice - Presiden t to the GeneralSecretaries and Recording Secretary. Each General Secretary shal ltake the votes of h is Section according to its rules, and the RecordingSecretary shall take those of the remain ing m embers of the Society .

A majority of two- thirds of the recorded votes shal l be necessary forelection .

Headquarters.

24 . The Headquarters of the Society are estab lished at Adyar,Madras, India.

25 . The Headquarters and all other property of the Society,

including the Adyar L ibrary, the perm anent and other Funds, are

vested in the Trustees for the tim e being of the Theosoph ical Societyappoin ted or acting under a deed of Trust dated December 1 4th , 1 892,

and recorded in the Chingleput District Offi ce, Madras, India.

26. The fees payable to the General Treasury by B ran ches not

comprised within the lim its of any Section are as fo l lows : charter, I

for each certificate of m embersh ip, 5s. for annual subscription of eachmember, 5s. , or equivalen ts.

27 . Unattached members not belonging to any Section or B ran chshal l pay an an nual subscription of £ 1 to the General Treasury.

28 . Each Section shall pay in to the General Treasury on e- fourthof the total amoun t received by it from annual dues and en tran ce fees.

29. The Treasurer’s accoun ts shall be yearly certified as correctby qual ified auditors appoin ted by the Presiden t ,

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5 1 6 LUCIFER .

The undersigned takes this opportunity of correcting the mistakenidea, which prevails in some quarters, that the T . S . Rules and the

wording of its“ Objects” are substan tiallywhat they have been from

the commen cem en t, and therefore en tit led to some special imm unityfrom change. So far is this from true that the “ Objects have beenrestated and the Rules al tered several times, as the growth of the

Society and its al tered conditions rendered the sam e necessary. The

version now adopted is, apparently, the best and most comprehensivethat we have had for years, and in the expression of the Objects the

line traced out in the m inds of the Founders is strictly followed . The

form given to the second object has been adopted to m eet an alm ost

general view that all rel igions, etc.,deserved study as being based on

the same general principles. In this, in her Isis Un vei led, Madame

B lavatsky led the way, which is now traced out for all future studentsOf Theosophy and sympathizers with our work .

The Revised Ru les go in to force at once, but the undersigned wil luse his discretionary powers so as to meet the reasonab le wishes ofall of his co l leagues with respect to details not specifi cal ly hereincovered .

H . S . OLCOTT, P.T .S .

EUROPEAN SECTION .

The Presiden t - Founder has been in England during the month,but has not been able to visit m any of the B ranches in consequence ofa sl igh t return of the old m ischief in the feet .Headquarters has been quiet, most of the staff being away,

but theSaturday gatherings forTheosophical conversation were very large, andgeneral regret was expressed at their com ing to a conclusion .

On Ju ly 1 6th , M r. B ertram Keight ley gave an exceptional ly ablelecture at the B lavatsky Lodge on “ Indian Philosophies,

”and was

listened to atten tively by a fu l l audience. On the 23 rd , Mr. C . W.

Leadbeater spoke on Our Relation to Children ,” arousing muchin terest and som e rather anxious question ing. 011 the 3 oth , the Lodgewasverycrowded to listen to Mrs. B esant on Prayer ;

”a large number

of questions fol lowed the lecture. During August the L odge is closed .

At Queen’

s (sm al l) Hal l , Mrs. B esan t finished her long series of

lectures on August 2nd , with a discourse on B uilding a Kosmos.

”The

previous lectures deal t with Reincarn ation ,” Karma,” “ The L aw of

Sacrifice, and Man’

s Ascen t . She lectured to the Chiswick L odgeon Ju ly 2oth .

On August 1 6th , Mrs. B esan t wil l lecture at Efi'

ra Hal l , B rixton , onthe “ Power of Thought , and on August 29th and the fo l lowing daysshe will visit L iverpool , Manchester, B radford , L eeds and Sheffi eld .

THEOSOPH ICAL ACTIV IT IES . 5 1 7

Her last lecture in England will be given at the B lavatsky Lodge on

September 3 rd,and OII September 7 th and 8th she wil l lecture in

Amsterdam . She wil l pay a flying visit to Paris 011 the Ioth , and leaveB rindisi OII the 1 3 th by P . and O. for B ombay.

The General Secretary spen t the fi rst week of August in Paris,where increased Theosophical activity is showing itsel f, and where

prospects are brigh ter than they have been for a long tim e.

AMERICAN SECTION .

The Coun tessWachtmeister is doing good service in America. AtSan Francisco, Headquarters have been Opened in a cen tral position ,

the con tract in cluding the use of a hal l in the sam e building forSundayeven ing lectures.

At San ta Cruz a B ran ch has been formed , the.

Theosophists therecombining under her inspiring influence, and a B ranch has also beenformed at Seattle, where she has been staying for a short tim e.

AUSTRAL IAN AND NEW ZEAL AND SECTIONS .

The Assistan t Secretary of the Australian Section sends the

fol lowing with a request for publication

BRANCHES .

NAM E OF

PL ACE . IIRANC I I . runsumxr . SECRET .\R \ sncaaraav'saonanss.

Sydney M r Geo Peel l Mr . 0 . D. Carver T .S . , 41 , M argaret StSydney. N .S .W .

M r . I. I i. llarcu s M r . ( 3 . W M ark s 5 1 5 . R iley St . , Sydney.

M r H W Hun t M r S . S tudd I 78 , Col lin s St Melbonn ie, V ictor

-

Ia

M r . Buck ie T .S . , 8, Garden St S .

Y arra. V ictoriaM iss R ateCast le T .S . , V ictoria . Ade~

laide. 8 . AustraliaDr. W . F .

'l‘a3 lor M r . W . C . John T .S .,Brisbane, Q.

M r J . B . Tur ner M r. D. J . Scott Cran St ., East Bundabers. Q.

M r. WIll Irwm M rs . Irwm Rockham pton , Q.

M r . It . It . Gil l M r J . Benjam in I I 2, Brisbane Street ,HobartM iss l Edger . M r . W . A . Drafl‘in M oun t M er u, PonsonM .A . l by,

AucklandM rs. Sara Draffi n M r . J Dinsdale B .C .Office. Devonport ,

Auck landR . Stone Florance M r. W . N icholson Woodvil le, N J “

M rs . M oore M iss M oore Pahiatua, NZ .

M rs. M . O.Gibson M iss Boughton Defence Depot , BasinReserve

M rs . R IclIn Iond M r. Jas. McCon IbS 5 , York Street , Christchurch

M r . M r. A . W M aurais Star"

Offi ce, Dunedin

, N Z .

Cen tres have been for med at M oun t Gam bier. S .A . , M aryborough in Queensland , and L auncestonin Tasm an ia .

Address J . C . STAPL ES , Gen . Sec Australasian Section , 42 , M argaret Street , Sydney, N S .W.

5 1 8 LUCIFER .

NEW ZEALAND SECTION .

Now that the excitemen t caused by thevisit of the Coun tessWach tm eister, and by the formation of the Section , has becom e a thing of the

past, the Theosophical work has resum ed its usual quiet course. The

various B ranches are continuing their ordin arym eetings both for studyand for propaganda and the youngest B ranch ,

theWaitemata, has justbegun holding fortn igh tly Open m eetings for papers and discussion .

Two item s of news from Auck land m ay be of som e in terest . M r. B al y ,

a m ember of the B lavatsky Lodge, has settled here and has begun a

C lass for instruction in Sanskrit ; at presen t there are very few studen ts,but otherswil l probably join in time. The second item is that there hasbeen a long newspaper correspondence, which indeed is still going on ,

on the subject of m iracles and the authority of the B ible, in which it

has been in teresting and encouraging to notice how the tendencytowards breadth of though t, and even towards the Theosoph ic ideas, isincreasing and spreading.

SOUTH AFR ICA .

Despite troublous tim es, a few earnest thinkers in Johan nesburgcon tinue their Theosoph ical efi

'

orts. Thanks to the work of Messrs.

Ritch ,Kitch in , and Purchas, a group for study has again been form ed ,

and a permanen t m eeting-

place, where the l ibrary already co l lected can

be kept, is being sough t for. Mr. Purchas writes :“ Those who are

unacquain ted with the conditions of l ife which are paramoun t here,and how thorough ly an tagon istic they are to anything like Theosoph ical activity, can have but a lim ited con ception of the in itial difiicultieswith wh ich the path is strewn but we hope by energy and determ ination to overcome or avoid them ,

and to have the p leasure of reportingin the course of a few mon ths that we are gathering strength , and

increasing in numbers . Meanwh ile,as it is possible there m ay be some

who are speciallyin terested in theprom ulgation of Theosoph ical teachings in th is part of the world , I shal l be happy to p lace mysel f at theirdisposal for the purposes of correspondence and the in terchange of

ideas.

”M r. Purchas’ address is B ox 272, Johannesburg, S .A .

Republic .

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520 LUC IFER .

phers. There is a suggestiveness in his rem arks on the former whichm akes them worth quoting :

“ I suppose that Socrates at the presen tmomen t inhabits som e thousands Of different m odern earth lytabernac les. George Wash ington is also very generously distributedamongst the Am erican people,

and so of other great m en . Th ree veryobvious deductions seem inevitable. The fi rst is that no comm on m an

is ever rein carnated ; second that the capacity of great m en for m in utesub - division is il l im itable ; and third , that reincarnation does not

improve the men tal capacity of the reincarnated .

”

B ut the Hindus come off worse stil l The idea (Of reincarn ation)originated among a people who for thousands of years have practisedhypnotism and kindred arts, and have con sequen tly buil t up a ph iloso

phy upon a basis of subjective hal lucination s. Having practised theirarts in utter ignorance of the law of suggestion (l) it fol lows that theirin formation regarding the other world is just as defective as thatobtained in this coun try th rough spirit medium s all that isrequisite is the proper suggestion to prove any doctrine whatever .

”

Having thus satisfactorily cleared off everyth ing in his way, Mr.

Hudson proceeds to try his n ew weapons 011 the Old Testamen t for he

is fi rst and foremost a Christian Apologist, and has by no m eans got

beyond the old view that the evolution of the spiritual m an is practi

cally confined to that of the Jews. The result is easily to be im agined .

The m ind of Moses was fi l led to saturation with the auto - suggestionwhich crystal liz ed in the vision wh ich he saw on Moun t Horeb and the

voice wh ich he heard , etc. The law of suggestion operated to causehis subjective m ind to bel ieve itsel f to be God

”and so forth . What

M r. Hudson’

s religious friends wil l say to this is not our concern ; anymore than what they will think of h is curious adm ission (so con trary toh is own argum en t) that Moses owed h is success to the “ m ingl ing of

the high code of ethics, wale/z was a part of Ms Egyptian educa tion , withthe pecu liar religion of his fathers ”

B ut we must pass on to the main poin t . Having thus demo lishedthe God Of the Old Testamen t

,how does our author “

scien tificallytreat the Jesus of the New .

9 We are sorry to have to say it, but herethe scien ce van ishes— hidden under a c loud of assum ptions and superla

tives, which we can forgive and respect in the mouth Of those in nocen tsouls who love their Saviour and cannot fi nd words enough to Showtheir devotion , but which we can not forgive when , as here, they are

on ly used to re- establish the exclusive Christian self- con ceit whichthe previous con siderations have rightly shaken . The m ask of the

scien tific enquirer is dropped ; and we have on ly another examp le of

REV IEWS . 52r

the desperate struggle of the ordinaryChristian m ind not to lose the so

precious enjoymen t of bel ieving it possesses the on ly science as wel l asthe only religion . The interest of the attempt is that the author hasrecogn ized that, at this time of day,

the Old Testamen t and its Jehovahm ust be en tirely abandoned . I t can not be long before he and his

fellows come to make the further discovery that the S . P . R . does not

possess the final word— that there is m uch more in Nature than the

L aw of Suggestion will exp lain . When he fi nds that the highmorality of Jesus was no new inven tion , but like that of Moses an

inheritance from far earlier times— that his powers are shared by manyanother even now in physical ex istence— that, in short, the grandeur ofh is personality is of importance to us m ain ly as being a noble exampleof a class, at presen t far our superiors, but to whose level we may hopeby their assistance one day to attain— why then he wil l not be far fromour own position .

We are forgetting the nomin al purpose of the book . The demonstration ”

m ay be summed up in very few words. Man has psychic

powers, and these cannot be used in th is l ife without serious injury tohis physical in terests— ergo, there m ust be a future l ife in which toenjoy them ,

or they wou ld be worse than wasted— wh ich cannot be.

Q. E. D . B ut our author devotes a special chapter to the making clearthat this future life wou ld not be worth living un less it was a com

plete reproduction of the present with all its surroundings. The idea

that a much higher and nobler life than this—one in which all psychic

powers m ay be brough t in to usefu l p lay for the benefi t of the worldat large, and is within the reach of m anyof us without passing throughthe gates of death at all— is one which has not yet en tered his m ind .

Maywe be forgiven for suggesting that when it does,'

he wil l not lookupon his presen t work quite so seriously as he does now ?

ARTHUR A . WELLS .

THE PATH on DISC IPL ESH I P .

By Annie B esan t . The Adyar Lectures for 1 895 . [London : TheTheosophical Publ ishing Society, 26, Charing Cross, S .W. Price2s. net . ]TH IS clearly printed and n icely bound volume of 1 50 pp . forms a

very valuable and usefu l sequel to the series of lectures which Mrs.

B esant published last year under the title In Me Outer Court. The

open ing lecture, wh ich has for subject First Steps,”deals chieflywith

Karma- Y oga, un ion by action , by m eans of wh ich are accomplishedthat purification and discipl ining of the lower nature through which

522 LUCIFER .

the higher gains room and scope to grow and develop . In cidenta l ly,

it may be noted ,that this lecture gives the key to the understanding

and appreciation of those forms, teach ings and demands which the

exoteric religion s have each in its own way imposed upon m en . In

the second lecture, the Qualifications of Discipleship are deal t with ,m uch as they have been given elsewhere, but with th is Special elem en tadded that they are so set forth that the studen t wil l be able to understand their natural necessity and their organ ic relation to each other,and to the goal towards which they lead .

The third lecture deals with the “L ife of the Discip le, and with

the four great In itiations which m ark the stages of his advan ce along

the Path itself ; while in the fourth and last lecture of the series we are

shown how this Path is the more rapid an ticipation of the slow

evo lutionary developmen t which in the ages to com e the race as

a whole wil l accompl ish , and in it we have a picture in m in iature of howin the far future men wil l grow divine in power, in knowledge and in

love.

L ike all else that Mrs. B esant writes, these lectures are models ofclear exposition and beautifu l language, while to the earnest studen tthey wil l bring the clearing up of many a diffi cul ty.

B . K .

Psvcm c PHOTOGRAPHY .

L’

Aure humaine, ses mouvemen ts, ses lum ieres et l’

iconograph ie de

l’

invisible fiuidique, par Dr . H . B araduc . [Paris GeorgeCarré, 3 , RueRacin e ]THIS book is both very in teresting and not a l ittle exasperating.

For a m an of scien ce Dr. B araduc is one of the worst exponen ts of himself in prin t that can be im agined . H is en tire term inology— a veryelaborate and artificial one— is based upon an exceedingly com p lextheory, nowhere succinctly and clearly explained , and noglossary beingprovided , the un lucky reader is pu l led up sharp on every page by

meeting th ree or four new techn ical terms, quite m ean ingless in themselves and hopelessly un in tel l igible withou t elaborate exp lan ations.

AsM iss X . rem arks in B orderland, Dr. B araduc is even worse than the

S . P . R .— and his new terms are more n umerous. Suppose the reader,

however, ,falls back upon the numerous and wel l - reproduced plates

with wh ich the book is furn ished, he gathers general ly that they pur

port to be reproductions of psychic effects produced upon ord inaryphotographic p lates and he sets h imself to study them . Prompt ly hefi nds h im self in wan t of precise in formation as to Dr. B araduc’s general

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524 LUCIFER .

for there are few experim en talists in this particular field , and none whohave as yet done such good work on these special l ines.

B . K .

ANIMAL MAGNETISM , OR MESMER ISM AND ITS PHENOMENA .

ByDr. W. Gregory. LG. Redway. 6s ]

TH IS reprin t Of Dr. Gregory’

s famous work , with an IntroductionbyM r. Stain ton Moses, is welcome, for it has long been out of print,though fu l l of in terest to the student . Dr. Gregorywas the Professorof Chem istry at Edinburgh Un iversity, and his experiments in m es

m eric phenomena show all the accuracy and patience of the man of

science.

The doctor begin s at the very begin n ing with directions how tom esmerize, and a description of the mesmeric sleep ; his remarks on

the different phases of consciousness therein shown are suggestive and

prove carefu l obser vation and balanced judgmen t . He then passes on

to the department of clairvoyance, giving an excel len t report of his ownexperim ents, and next exam ines phenom ena produced by other m es

merists. In describing trance or ecstasy, the doctor states that hedid not think it right to produce it, as it was sometim es attended with

great danger to l ife, so that he on ly gives a brief indication ofwhat hecal ls its strange phenom ena

”as observed byothers. A veryinterest

ing disquisition on Odyle fol lows, as a possible explanation of manyphenomena, and then various related topics are dealt with, crystal

gaz ing, magic m irrors, etc . , and no less than seven ty- five cases are

given at length , illustrating the chief phenomena of mesmerism .

The doctor records, he does not seek to dogmatize on causes, andh is book wil l always remain a m onument of patient industry.

THE TAROT OF THE BOHEM IANS .

By Papus. [G. Redway. 5s. net ]

M . Papus’ book on the Tarot is a remainder, re- issued at a reduced

price. I t gives a fu l l and in teresting account of the general principles that underl ie the Tarot , and then explains its symbolism at

length . Divination by the Tarot is dealt with in the last section of thebook .

REVIEWS . 525

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETV .

[22, Albemarle Street, W. 1 2s. ]

MR . TAK AK USU writes a very in teresting article on Pal i Elementsin Chinese B uddhism ,

”arguing that some of the Chinese B uddh ist

books have been translated from a Pfili original ; he relies on B uddha

ghosha’

s In troduction to the Saman ta/fdsddika . The ligh test article inthe n umber is Mr. St . John ’

s tran slation of a Jataka, in which some

adven tu res of V idhfira are related as told by the B uddha of himself inan earlier incarnation . Dr. F . Hirth gives some extracts from the

Ethnographyof Chao Ju - kua,but the l ion’s share of thejournal is given

to an article on The Army of the Indian Moghu ls”— a subject which

is presumably in teresting to some, or it wou ld scarcely be treated at

such length .

To shri nk from one’s cross is to i ncrease its we ight .Noth ing so nearly resembles pride as d iscouragement .Spite is anger that fears to show i tself ; i t is impotent fury

which knows its impotence .

Life is a tissue of habi ts.

The th inker is to the phi losopher what the d i lettante is to theartist . He plays wi th the thought and educes from i t a mass ofpretty th ings i n detai l , bu t he busies h imself wi th truths ratherthan w i th truth

,and the essence of the thought

,its consequence

,its

uni ty, escapes him the phi losopher is the sc ientific th inker .The ph ilosophical set of the last century (were) all- powerful i n

d issolv i ng by reasoning, and by reason powerless to construct , forconstruction demands feel ing

,i nsti nct and w i l l .

B e that wh ich you w ish others to become .

Goodness is the pri nc iple of tact , and respect for others the firststep i n the art of l iving (condition da sawoz

'

r - z riore).

Fragmen ts from the your/tal of [len d - FredericAmic] .

526

THEOSOPH ICAL

AND

MYSTIC PUBLICATIONS .

THE Oldest of the Theosophical m aga the rem ainder of its pages with wellz ines always offers its readers a varied chosen ex tracts, m ostly from Theosoph i

bill of fare, bu t the most in teresting cal jour nals— a very good way of bringarticle by far is always the Old Diary ing to its readers help from their far- off

L eaf of the m on th , telling the strange brothers. The vernacu lar Sanm dfga

thri l ling story of the Society’

s earlydays, b’

odlz im'

is beyond our reading, and we

and m aking live again before us the can on ly send hearty goo d wishes. Th e

even ts so graph ically described by the T[tinker has a good article on “ The Pa thsurvivor of the rem arkable “ twins.

”of L iberation (June 6th). The .ft '

ya

Th is m on th we read Of theirm eetingwith Is’cila [Rod/tin i has not reached us, we are

M r. I) . M . B ennett, s wel l - known Am eri sorry to say. The little Rays of L ight

can Free- th inker, and the candour of the con tin ue sh in ing. A new ven ture, Thenarrator comes out rem arkably in h is I

’m buddlia B litim ta or .

‘lrc'akencd India ,

frank statemen t of the hesitation he fel t m akes a prom ising begin n ing. I t upholdsin adm itting M r. B ennett tom embersh ip, theV edan tic ideal,bu t appealsto thepopuand the rebuke that hesitation m et lace rather than to the sage, and proposes

with . L ectures are plen tifu l— in B om to teach the great principles of moralitybay, Poona, Jeypore and onwards, flying and rel igion in the tim e- honoured Eas

north , one lecture 011 a brass dinner tern way, th rough the exqu isite storiesplate being not withou t its effectiveness. with wh ich Sanskrit literature a bounds .

M r. Nasarvanj i N . B ilimoria discou rses Thus it takes the story of Sh ri Krish n a,

learnedly on Z oroastrian Adepts, a sub the Gopis, and the revival of the deadject that would wel l bear further investi calf, as the foundation for its fi rst articlegation , for the redemption of the I’arsis on the Elem en ts of the V edan ta .

"

from the m aterialism wh ich debases the Nam la, the Pariah sain t,” isgiven as the

relics of a once glorious religion would first of a series of Seekers after Godbe a noble ach ievem en t . There are then comes a report of a class lecture bysom e good rem arks on n ame and form s

‘

un i V ivekananda, and a beau tifu l(Nam arupa) in the article en titled Dak tribu te by him to the B uddha as the idea lSlllllfin lflfl l. Karm a Yogi,Theosophy in India further con tribu tes j apan sends TheHansel Tass/u

'

, dedithe I ’ras/mottam . the organ of the Indian cated to the spreading of the principlesSCCtiOfl , con tinuing the papers on the Of the B uddha. I t isbeautifullyprin ted,L aw of Sacrifice and “ Dream s,

”and looks so pretty that one longs to

giving a“Stray Though t on the pay read its ideograph ic characters.

m en t of annual dues, and answers to tu o The j ournal of tlzc I'll aluibod/z i Society

quest ions. The Theosophic Gleaner gives the welcom e news that the im age

speaks gratefully of H . I’ . B . , and fi lls of the B uddha is to be allowed to rem ain

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

528 LUCIFER .

statem en ts that Jesusof Naz areth is talk destin ies of theAm erican Secession . The

ing th rough m edium s.

Am erica has quite a crop of Theosoph i

cal and sem i-Theosoph ical m agaz ines.

In the Aletaphysical lllagaz ine the reader

will natu rally tur n fi rst toM r. Joh nston ’

s

article on“ Karm a in the B hagazrad

one,"but un fortunately the clever writer

is by no m eans at h is best . I)r. Guy’

s

paper on“ The Subtle Bo dy, is a m ost

usefu l one, and the m agaz ine as a wholeis exceedingly wel l conducted. The

A rena has an article on H . P. B . byone

of the m ost faith ful workers in the

American Section , M rs. B uflington Davis.

The L amp is very m uch im proved, and

h as a good likeness of M r. Hargrove, the

young Englishm an who presidesover the

Oriental Department Of th is Society h as a

finelypoetical translation ofsom e sh lokas

from the Chhandogyopan ishad . bu t the

note on it is a little m arred by the in troduction ofM r. Joh nston

’

s fan tastic theoryas to B rahmanas and K sh attryas. The

rem ainder of the num ber isoccupied withtran slations from The Crest j ewel of Wisdom . Theosophy h as som e m ore affec tionate notices of M r. Judge, and articles on

Paul the In itiate,” “ The Th ree Qualities,” Wagner

’

s M usic Dram as an d

Kindness— B lack M agic M r. Har

grove has a funny paragraph , based on

a rum our,”he says. That soun ds pret

tier than “ inven tion .

Women’

s Prin ting Soc iety. 1- 1mm d , 66 , Wh itcomb Street W.C .