Volume II , Number 2 Summer 1998

The Ori9in ofEviL

Superstition and 19norance: The Need for

Vi9ifance

ceCi6acy and the

TfiirdEye

Auroras Dance to Nature's Chorus

AVehicle for the Ancient Wisdom Tradition

This magazine is an invitation for followers of all traditions to enter into adialogue whose goal is Truth and whose means is Universal Brotherhood.

A C��������� I�� � � L������ �� ��� � � ���: This periodical, founded by H.P.Blavatsky, was recognized as one of the best metaphysical magazines of its time.The Index was compiled by Ted G. Davy and was formatted to the dimensions ofthe original volumes. It also includes three appendices: Book Reviews by Authorsand by Titles, Theosophical and Mystic Publications, and Theosophical Activities.224 pages h/c. ISBN 0-9681602-0-4

$23.95 U.S. $25.95 Cdn Postage add $5.00

A C��������� I�� � � T�� T������� �� ��� � � ���: Spanning the years ofBlavatsky’s editorship from 1879 to 1885, this period is seen as particularlyimportant for those studying the birth of the Theosophical Movement and theintroduction and dissemination of the perennial Wisdom into the West. vii + 246pages, softcover. ISBN 0-9681602-1-2

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S � �� ���� F���: A critical analysis of the book A Modern Priestess of Isis; byBeatrice Hastings; reprinted from The Canadian Theosophist; softcover.

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T�� � ������ F ���: First Series; edited by W. Q. Judge; published in New York;issued monthly from April 1889 - April 1895; [70 questions & answers]; boundinto 2 h/c volumes; Index added.

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T�� � ������ F ���, N�� S�����: edited by Mssrs. Fullerton, Judge and Har-grove; Vols 1 - 10 [May 1895 - April 1905]; bound into 5 h/c books; index includedin each book, cumulative Index in last.

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T�� T�� � ������ S ����� A I�� E� ����� B ��� �, P��� I and N� -T�� � ���� E�� ��, P��� II: by F.T. Brooks; two volumes, hardcover.

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T�� N ����� T�� � �����: edited by W.A. Bulmer; Vol.1, No.1, Dec. 1892 -Vol.2, No.20, July 1895: 8.5" x 11" softcover, cerloxed.

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To order, please write to:Edmonton Theosophical Society

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FOHAT Volume II, No. 2Summer 1998

A Quarterly Publication of Edmonton Theosophical Society

ContentsEditor

Robert Bruce MacDonald

Managing EditorJoAnne MacDonald

Assistant EditorsRogelle PelletierDolores Brisson

Graphics ConsultantLynne Brisson

PublisherEdmonton Theosophical

Society

The pages of Fohat are an openforum dedicated to the pursuit ofTruth, and consequently theviews and opinions expressedherein are those of the authorsand do not necessarily reflect theviews of the publisher unlessotherwise specifically stated.

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Cover Design: Donna Pinkard

ISSN 1205-9676

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Eternally Vigilant - Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30by Abhinyano

Celibacy: Exploratory Comments on ThirdEye/Celibacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33by P.B.

The Origin of Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36by Alexander Pogue

Radiant Auroras and Dawn Chorus . . . . . . . . . . 40by D.B.

Musings From a Secret Doctrine Class . . . . . . . . 42by Laurier Auger

Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Theosophical Friends Remembered . . . . . . . . . . 44

To be featured in coming issues:

Eternally Vigilant - Part II: Being Influenced byReligious Dogma;

Jungian Theosophy;

AND MUCH MORE!

Editorial

Truth Needs No Laws to Protect ItDavid Icke in his video, “The Robots� Rebellion”(based on the book of the same name), makes somevery interesting observations on the manner in whichpeople today think in terms of what he calls comfortzones. Anyone who pushes the envelope of thoughtbeyond certain accepted norms (comfort zones), risksthe censure of the community he lives in and risksbeing marginalized. Instead of exploring with anopen interest new areas of thought, new ideas, newpossibilities, walls go up and people turn away, leav-ing the innovator without community supportthrough which to develop further unexplored possi-bilities. This reality does not point to the futurepossibility of the loss of freedom, it is the loss offreedom.

People do not realize it but they have given up free-dom in almost every area of life. If reality is areflection of society’s thoughts, then society has lostthe ability to think freely. David Irving, the distin-guished British historian on World War II is theperfect example. His case shows how people need notmake up their own minds any more, the estab-lishment is happy to legislate their thoughts for them.This painstaking researcher developed a sterlingreputation through his books and research on thehistory of the Second World War. When, at the heightof his career he decided to do research on the topicof German concentration camps, he was quite sur-prised at what he found. He discovered that physicalevidence at the camps and the archival evidence thathe examined ran contrary to popular conceptions onthe holocaust. Now David Irving could have ignoredhis findings and left the whole matter alone; insteadhe published what he found in book form. Hestepped outside the comfort zone, way outside.David Irving’s biggest surprise was yet to come.

David Irving’s research and evidence for his thesis arereadily accessible through his book. Any historian ofnote need only look at Dr. Irving’s research and thendemonstrate how he erred in his conclusions and thewhole matter would have been put to rest. After all,if Dr. Irving was wrong, historians should have all ofthe evidence of truth on their side. The light of truthhas a way of making the shadowy clear. Instead ofdispelling Dr. Irving’s thesis, Dr. Irving has beenbanned from speaking in many countries, he hasbeen arrested and tried in Germany. In fact, newlaws in Germany have been instituted making itillegal to deny the holocaust. Book stores in GreatBritain that carried Dr. Irving’s books have beenattacked and harassed into carrying his books nolonger. Through all of this, few if any of Dr. Irving’sprofessional colleagues have come to his defence ortried to dispel what he says. Instead of shedding light

on the debate there has been every effort to push thewhole matter further into the shadows.

Dr. Irving is not the only individual to suffer this fate.Former German Judge of twenty years, WilhelmStaeglich, experienced a similar response for hisefforts. His research, papers on the subject, andfinally his book, Auschwitz: A Judge Looks at theEvidence, led to no counter-arguments, only a vigor-ous effort to discredit him. After being harassed,removed from the bench, having his pension dimin-ished, and having his book banned, the University ofGöttingen withdrew his doctoral degree that he hadearned in 1951. One must really question the valueof such degrees from institutions that demonstratesuch cowardly behaviour.

This whole matter begs the question as to why theleaders of a nation saddled with this terrible andheinous crime would want to legislate a version ofhistory that may not have a foundation, especially atthe cost of billions of dollars annually in reparationpayments to the state of Israel. Why are nations allover the world intent on legislating the official versionof the holocaust? If society is going to endorse thislegislation of thoughts by its elected officials (andbureaucrats) through its fearful avoidance of anysubject made unpleasant by officialdom, then it hasironically created a society in which future holo-causts can take place. In the Mahatma Letters, K.H.on the topic of Occultism writes that:

The only object to be striven for is the amelio-ration of the condition of ��� by the spread oftruth suited to the various stages of his devel-opment and that of the country he inhabitsand belongs to. ����� � ��� ���

Later in the same letter he writes:

Not even the President-Founder has the rightdirectly or indirectly to interfere with the free-dom of thought of the humblest member,least of all to seek to influence his personalopinion. It is only in the absence of thisgenerous consideration, that even the faintestshadow of difference arms seekers after thesame truth, otherwise earnest and sincere,with the scorpion-whip of hatred against theirbrothers, equally sincere and earnest. De-luded victims of distorted truth, they forget ornever knew, that discord is the harmony ofthe Universe. �����

In a world where thoughts are legislated, the naturalconsequence would be for fear and hatred to runrampant. It is clear that Occultism has no place insuch a world.

28 FOHAT

Letters to the Editor:

Referring to the four principles of the lower qua-ternary described in the Spring 98 Fohat bySharon Ormerod, it should be pointed out for thebenefit of new students of occult science that thephysical body is not counted as a principle.

The seventh principle is the etheric body which isthe matrix of the physical body.

It should be noted that the Linga Sharira is theastral body and not the etheric body. The January1900 edition of The Theosophist clarified this rela-tionship by giving a diagram of the lower KosmicPlanes in which the astral plane and the astralbody are shown lying between the lower manasmental body and Prana the energy body. This wasgiven almost a century ago and confusion shouldnot be carried into the present century.

From the foregoing the present description ofthe quaternary is as follows: -Principle 4 Kama Manas - the lower mind

5 Astral Body - the desire bodyof emotional relationships

6 Prana or Jiva - the energy body7 Etheric body - the matrix of the

physical body.

Eric Labrum

Principles

In reviewing some . . . past correspondence . . . Icame across some words . . . regarding [the authen-ticity of] H.P.B.’s “Diagram of Meditation.” . . . Boris[de Zirkoff] . . . said that the text was supposed tohave been dictated to E.T. Sturdy and that Judgehad nothing to do with it! Boris had told us thatthe diagram would probably not be included inH.P.B.’s Collected Writings series, because itsauthorship had never been clarified.

Boris had conveyed . . . that the Inner GroupTeachings were fully analysed by Dr. Joseph H.Fussell, formerly secretary to Judge. The text ofhis analysis may be found in the TheosophicalForum of Point Loma; Vol. XVI, April, May, June1940; Vol. XVII from July to December 1940 andin Vol. XVIII from January through April 1941,under the title of “Leaves of Theosophical History:H.P.B.’s ‘Inner Group!’”

Dara Eklund

Meditation Diagram

G.A.Farthing, in his brilliant article ‘ The Theo-sophical Society and its Future’ has given 8 pointswhich could help for ORIGINAL THEOSOPHY tosurvive. There is nothing the present writer couldadd, except that we should work again for theestablishment of theosophical—pythagorean andbuddhist—communities as the forerunners of thecoming 6th Rootrace. . . . It would be good, if someserious theosphists could read the 2 pages: 134-135 in HPB’s C.W., Vol. VIII about the subject of‘theosophical retreats or communities’.

To cooperate with the new impulse of the ArhatBrotherhood, namely with the work of the DalaiLama and the teachings of the Theravadins, is aMUST that means that the Theosophical Societymust establish again the BUDDHIST ORIGIN, NA-TURE, CHARACTER and MISSION of the Arhatphilosophy and discipline—Theosophy, resp. Eso-teric Budhism (!), the Secret Teachings of GautamaBuddha. This a conditio sine qua non!

. . . There is only one Theosophy, and that is theEsoteric Budhism(!) of our Masters Morya andKuthumi! They are the authorities, and nobodyelse! And it should be known again that GautamaBuddha was and is the GREATEST THEOSOPHISTas HPB clearly stated in C.W. Vol.XI, p.373!

In the next centuries there will be a separation ofthe spiritual Intelligentia from the mass of presentmankind [which is] moving fast in the direction ofAbsolute evil, and there will be an unspeakablemorass of violence, bestiality and grief. This sepa-ration will be necessary so that the 6th Rootracecan be established. In S.D.II, p. 445:

This process of preparation for the Sixthgreat Race must last throughout the wholesixth and seventh sub-races. . . . But thelast remnants of the Fifth Continent[Europe, which is slowly sinking!] will notdisappear, until some time after the birthof the new Race, when another and newdwelling, sixth continent, will have ap-peared above the new waters on the face ofthe Globe [this new continent is now slowlyforming in the Pacific, specifically aroundand beyond the Eastern Island and Hawaii,as Geologists have discovered!], so as toreceive the new stranger. To it also willemigrate and there will settle all those, whowill be fortunate enough [by a good Karma]

Theosophical Future

. . . continued on page 46

SUMMER 1998 29

Eternally VigilantPart I: Ignorance and Superstition

Abhinyano

At the end of the last century, the Masters,working with H.P. Blavatsky, helped her with

the publishing of her first work, Isis Unveiled. InVolume II of that work, the origin of Early Christi-anity was declared as having come out of theEgyptian Mysteries and then from the efforts of theBuddhist Theravada monks of the Indian EmperorAshoka. These missionaries had gone to Syria,Greece, Macedonia and especially to Egypt, inorder to teach Buddhism. Isis Unveiled neverbecame hugely popular and perhaps because ofthat Theosophy was allowed to grow in the earlydays without too much opposition from thoseforces allied against Truth.

Blavatsky went to India in 1879 with ColonelHenry S. Olcott and began in earnest the work ofdeveloping the Theosophical Society. In India shemet with two gentlemen, A.P. Sinnett — the editorof the Anglo-Indian newspaper, The Pioneer — andA.O. Hume, an ardent ornithologist and BritishCivil Servant. These two gentlemen were allowedto enter into correspondence with the Teachers ofH.P. Blavatsky for as these Teachers said:

Their beliefs are no barrier to us for theyhave none. They may have had influencesaround them, bad magnetic emanationsthe result of drink, Society and promiscu-ous physical associations (resulting evenfrom shaking hands with impure men) butall this is physical and material impedi-ments which with a little effort we couldcounteract and even clear away withoutmuch detriment to ourselves. (ML 462)

Sinnett and Hume were allowed to correspond inpart because they were open to the content of thecommunications. Such openness is not a qualitythat everyone shares and there were others, lessdeserving, who also coveted such communication.

On November 4, 1881, two Indian gentlemen fromthe Prayag Theosophical Society in Allahabad hadapproached these Teachers through others aboutalso entering into correspondence with them.Blavatsky’s teacher, M., told Sinnett to respond to

those seeking communications with them as fol-lows:

The ‘Brothers’ desire me [Sinnett] to informone and all of you, natives, that unless aman is prepared to become a thoroughtheosophist i.e. to do as D. Mavalankar did,—give up entirely caste, his old supersti-tions and show himself a true reformer(especially in the case of child marriage) hewill remain simply a member of the Societywith no hope whatever of ever hearing fromus. The Society, acting in this directly inaccordance with our orders, forces no oneto become a theosophist of the IId. Section.It is left with himself and at his choice. Itis useless for a member to argue ‘I am oneof a pure life, I am a teetotaller and anabstainer from meat and vice. All my aspi-rations are for good etc.’ and he, at the sametime, building by his acts and deeds animpassable barrier on the road betweenhimself and us. What have we, the disci-ples of the true Arhats, of esoteric Bud-dhism and of Sang-gyas to do with theShasters and Orthodox Brahmanism?There are 100 of thousands of Fakirs,Sannyasis and Saddhus leading the mostpure lives, and yet being as they are, on thepath of error, never having had an opportu-nity to meet, see or even hear of us. Theirforefathers have driven away the followersof the only true philosophy upon earth awayfrom India and now, it is not for the latterto come to them but to them to come to usif they want us. Which of them is ready tobecome a Buddhist, a Nastika as they callus? None. Those who have believed andfollowed us have had their reward. Mr.Sinnett and Hume are exceptions. Theirbeliefs are no barrier to us for they havenone. They may have had influencesaround them, bad magnetic emanationsthe result of drink, Society and promiscu-ous physical associations (resulting evenfrom shaking hands with impure men) butall this is physical and material impedi-

30 FOHAT

ments which with a little effort we couldcounteract and even clear away withoutmuch detriment to ourselves. Not so withthe magnetism and invisible results pro-ceeding from erroneous and sincere beliefs.Faith in the Gods and God, and other su-perstitions attracts millions of foreign influ-ences, living entities and powerful agentsaround them, with which we would have touse more than ordinary exercise of powerto drive them away. We do not choose todo so. We do not find it either necessary orprofitable to lose our time waging war to theunprogressed Planetaries who delight inpersonating gods and sometimes wellknown characters who have lived on earth.. . .[A]ll in this universe is contrast (I cannottranslate it better) so the light of the DhyanChohans and their pure intelligence is con-trasted by the “Ma-Mo Chohans”—and theirdestructive intelligence. These are the godsthe Hindus and Christians and Mahomedand all others of bigoted religions and sectsworship; and so long as their influence isupon their devotees we would no morethink of associating with or counteractingthem in their work than we do the Red-Capson earth whose evil results we try to palliatebut whose work we have no right to meddlewith so long as they do not cross our path.(ML 462-63)

This passage is perhaps one of the strongest state-ments of Theosophical Principle in the MahatmaLetters. For one thing, Theosophists do not go outlooking to convert the superstitious of any religion,they wait for them to throw off their supersti-tions—to get rid of those “millions of foreign influ-ences”—and to approach the path on whichtheosophists toil, for then they are ready and ableto listen. This ability to listen of course was notand is not the case in much of the world, and Indiawas and is no exception. The Brahmans with theirgreat learning can possess great wisdom, if theyare able to sense the spirit of their great works; ifnot, then they are stuck with a fiercely supersti-tious and proud intellect. As in any group thereare too few who display wisdom and too many whocling to superstition and pride.

These sentiments are echoed again in an articleby Blavatsky in 1887. She writes that “[i]t is theloss of the keys to symbolism and to the laws ofManu which has produced all the errors and allthe abuses that have infiltrated into Brâhmanism.. . .[I]t should be clear at last that the Theosophistsfight the Brâhmanism of the pagodas, as they do

all the superstitions, all the abuses, and all theinjustices” (BCW VIII 83). Still later in the samearticle she writes, “[y]es, exoteric Brâhmanismmust fall, but it will be replaced by esoteric Vedism. . . ” (BCW VIII 90). In a letter to Sinnett, M. alsohas an aside concerning the Prayag theosophists.He writes: “[t]hen those Prayag theosophists—thePundits and Babus! They do naught and expectus to correspond with them. Fools and arrogantmen” (ML 248).

The Prayag group was obviously somewhat of athorn in the side of the Society. Commenting onthe Prayag group at one point, K.H. writes, “[t]heyare a troublesome lot—especially Adityaram, whoinfluences the whole group” (ML 374). In the Feb-ruary 1883 supplementary edition of The Theoso-phist, it was announced that the “PrayagTheosophical Society” had changed its name to“The Prayag Psychic Theosophical Society” whichwould seem to attract a different applicant thanthe former. Indeed in a letter to Sinnett, Blavatskywrites of the Prayag group that Sinnett “will findwonderful mesmeric subjects in it, if he butsearches” (LOHPB 5). Interestingly, M. confirmedthe accuracy of the contents of this letter to Sin-nett. Blavatsky has many interesting things to sayon the topic of mesmerism, things that bear heavilyon future events.

Blavatsky writes that “[n]o one in our Societyconsiders ‘mesmerism per se an occult and secretscience,’ though it is an important factor in occult-ism” (BCW IV 600). Quoting the New AmericanCyclopaedia, Blavatsky writes “’Animal Magnet-ism, called also mesmerism, [is] a force or fluid bymeans of which a peculiar influence may be ex-erted on the animal system’” (BCW II 275). AgainBlavatsky writes:

Mesmerism has been called the Key to theOccult Sciences, and it has this advantagethat it offers peculiar opportunities for do-ing good to mankind. If in each of ourbranches we were able to establish a ho-meopathic dispensary with the addition ofmesmeric healing . . . we might contributetowards putting the science of medicine inthis country on a sounder basis. (BCW VI335-36)

In showing finally that mesmeric forces can becontrolled by White or Black Adepts, Blavatskywrites:

[I]t is a recognized fact that some Red-CapLamas publicly rip their bowels open, takethem out, and then having replaced them,

SUMMER 1998 31

make a few mesmeric passes over thewound and not even a trace of the cut isleft. (BCW IV 477)

In a comment on the red-cap monks at Thuling,Blavatsky states that “they are possessed of greatmesmeric powers is a fact. A month passed intheir edifying company is conducive neither tospiritual enlightenment, nor purification of moral-ity” (BCW IV 160). The Prayag fellows were inter-ested in psychic development, there were thoseamong them with mesmeric abilities, but theywere still caught up in ignorant superstitions asevidenced by the Mahatmas’ attitudes towardsthem and consequently any use of their mesmericpowers must be suspect.

G.N. Chakravarti was a member of the “PrayagPsychic Theosophical Society.” As Charles J.Ryan points out in H.P. Blavatsky and the Theo-sophical Movement, Chakravarti was also profi-cient in the use of mesmeric forces and in fact gavedemonstrations of such in London on his returnto India following the 1893 Parliament of Religions(HPBTM 320). Chakravarti was also the individualwho tried to tell Judge that the “Prayag Letter”(quoted above) was a fraud. Judge vehementlydenied this. Chakravarti was also one of ten Brah-mans and four Europeans who urged that no legalaction be taken against The Christian CollegeMagazine for its libellous statements concerningBlavatsky.

Blavatsky, in her open letter, “Why I Do NotReturn to India”, points to the doubt and fear thatthe leadership at headquarters in Adyar experi-enced when the missionaries through the Cou-lombs attacked Blavatsky and her credibility witha pack of unsupported and unsupportable lies.Rather than rally around Blavatsky throughwhom the spirit of the Society was funnelled, theychose instead to protect the mere carcass—theSociety itself. Blavatsky found in Europe thosewho did not doubt her and the Masters for onemoment. She writes:

In Europe and America, during the lastthree years I have met with hundreds of

men and women who have the courage toavow their conviction of the real existenceof the Masters, and who are working forTheosophy on Their lines and under Theirguidance, given through my humble self.(BCW XII 158)

Concerning the Coulomb affair she wrote morepointedly:

If, I say, at that critical moment, the mem-bers of the Society, and especially its lead-ers at Adyar, Hindu and European, hadstood together as one man, firm in theirconviction of the reality and power of theMasters, Theosophy would have come outmore triumphantly than ever, and none oftheir fears would have ever been realised,however cunning the legal traps set for me,and whatever mistakes and errors of judg-ment I, their humble representative, mighthave made in the executive conduct of thematter.*

But the loyalty and courage of the AdyarAuthorities, and of the few Europeans whohad trusted in the Masters, were not equalto the trial when it came. (BCW XII 162)

With Blavatsky and the Spirit of the Mastersbanished from Adyar, the influence of the Mastersdwindled. Paraphrasing a letter from Damodar,Blavatsky again writes:

[T]he Masters’ influence was becomingwith every day weaker at Adyar; that Theywere daily represented as less than “sec-ond-rate Yogis,” totally denied by some,while even those who believed in, and hadremained loyal to them, feared even topronounce Their names. (BCW XII 163)

Blavatsky was prevented by the Adyar admini-stration from returning to India at this point toreassert the Masters’ influence on some silly pre-text and that was the last time she attempted sucha return. Many at Adyar were not ready to give uptheir fears and superstitions, consequently theTrue Spirit of Theosophy moved to the West.

* For some Theosophists, because of the close relationship Blavatsky held with the Masters, they know that theteachings that derived from her pen were in the end sanctioned by the Masters. They believe in the Masters andtheir guidance of the True leadership of The Theosophical Society. They are open and ready to learn ever moredeeply the Principles of Theosophy as set out by the Masters’ agent H.P. Blavatsky. This is the true IId Sectionthat M. referred to above. These people believe that they approach the Masters ever more closely by studying andimplementing into their lives Blavatsky’s works and through perseverance they will one day or one life come totheir reward. For those that follow such a course, it is also apparent that it is from this group and this group onlythat the leadership of any Theosophical Society should be derived. It is also apparent that at some point thingswent wrong. Although Theosophists can believe and study whatever they will, The Theosophical Society cannotbe led by individuals holding just any belief. Unless the leadership is pointing continually to the spirit of theteachings of Blavatsky and the Masters, they are not leading theosophically.

. . . continued on page 45

32 FOHAT

CELIBACY:Exploratory comments on Third Eye/Celibacy

P.B.

Occultism has long practised/demanded celi-bacy as a sin quâ non Rule of practical Occultism.

In “Occultism versus the Occult Arts” H. P. Blavat-sky writes:

The aspirant has to choose absolutely be-tween the life of the world and the life ofOccultism. It is useless and vain to endeav-our to unite the two, for no one can servetwo masters and satisfy both. No one canserve his body and the higher Soul, and dohis family duty and his universal duty,without depriving either one or the other ofits rights; for he will either lend his ear tothe “still small voice” and fail to hear thecries of his little ones, or, he will listen butto the wants of the latter and remain deafto the voice of Humanity. It would be aceaseless, a maddening struggle for almostany married man, who would pursue truepractical Occultism, instead of its theoreti-cal philosophy. For he would find himselfever hesitating between the voice of theimpersonal divine love of Humanity, andthat of the personal, terrestrial love. Andthis could only lead him to fail in one or theother, or perhaps in both his duties. Worsethan this. For, whoever indulges after hav-ing pledged himself to occultism in the grati-fication of a terrestrial love or lust, must feelan almost immediate result; that of beingirresistibly dragged from the impersonaldivine state down to the lower plane ofmatter. Sensual, or even mental self-grati-fication, involves the immediate loss of thepowers of spiritual discernment; the voiceof the master can no longer be distin-guished from that of one’s passions or eventhat of a Dugpa; the right from wrong;sound morality from mere casuistry.

In The Secret Doctrine, Vol II, pp. 295-296, it states:

The allegorical expression of the Hindumystics when speaking of the “eye of Siva,”the Tri-bochana (“three-eyed”), thus re-ceives its justification and raison d’etre �

the transference of the pineal gland (oncethat “third eye”) to the forehead, being an

exoteric licence. This throws also a light onthe mystery � incomprehensible to some �

of the connection between abnormal, orSpiritual Seership, and the physiologicalpurity of the Seer. The question is oftenasked, “Why should celibacy and chastitybe a sin quâ non rule and condition ofregular chelaship, or the development ofpsychic and occult powers?” The answer iscontained in the Commentary. We learnthat the “third eye” was once a physiologicalorgan, and that later on, owing to the grad-ual disappearance of spirituality and in-crease in materiality (Spiritual nature beingextinguished by the physical), it became anatrophied organ, as little understood nowby physiologists as the spleen is � when welearn this, the connection will become clear.During human life the greatest impedimentin the way of spiritual development, andespecially to the acquirement of Yoga pow-ers, is the activity of our physiologicalsenses. Sexual action being closely con-nected, by interaction, with the spinal cordand the grey matter of the brain, it is use-less to give any longer explanation. Ofcourse, the normal and abnormal state ofthe brain, and the degree of active work inthe medulla oblongata, reacts powerfully onthe pineal gland, for, owing to the numberof “centres” in that region, which controlsby far the greater majority of the physiologi-cal actions of the animal economy, and alsoowing to the close and intimate neighbour-hood of the two, there must be exerted avery powerful “inductive” action by the me-dulla on the pineal gland.

The much talked about “third eye” became, as thetext states, atrophied “owing to the gradual disap-pearance of spirituality and increase of material-ity” the selfish/Black Magic use (abuse) of occultpower during our stint in Atlantis (Fourth Race)gave rise to the eventual closure/atrophy of theone, three-fold, Eye in the Centre of the “brain”.We shut out the Above and were left with “grey”(not white, or even multi-coloured) dense “matter”of the (physical) brain. On a positive note it

SUMMER 1998 33

slammed on the brakes; it curtailed our con-scious/unconscious ability (Note 1) to create morecatastrophic karmic mess as a result of ouruse/abuse of what has been termed ‘the dark sideof nature’.

It is particularly pertinent, maybe, that HPB usessuch terms as “reacts powerfully” and “very pow-erful” when describing the inter-action of the me-dulla oblongata and the pineal gland. This“inductive” action between the two might be de-scribed as the physical correspondence and mani-fested workings of the inner man. By analogy:

The “eye of Siva” did not become entirelyatrophied before the close of the FourthRace. When spirituality and all the divinepowers and attributes of the deva-man ofthe Third had been made the hand-maid-ens of the newly-awakened physiologicaland psychic passions of the physical man,instead of the reverse, the eye lost its pow-ers. But such was the law of Evolution, andit was, in strict accuracy, no fall. The sinwas not in using those newly-developedpowers, but in misusing them; in makingof the tabernacle, designed to contain agod, the fane of every spiritual iniquity.And if we say “sin” it is merely that everyoneshould understand our meaning; as theterm Karma would be the right one to usein this case; while the reader who wouldfeel perplexed at the use of the term “spiri-tual” instead of “physical” iniquity, is re-minded of the fact that there can be nophysical iniquity. The body is simply theirresponsible organ, the tool of the psychic,if not of the “Spiritual man.” While in thecase of the Atlanteans, it was precisely theSpiritual being which sinned, the Spiritelement being still the “Master” principle inman, in those days. Thus it is in those daysthat the heaviest Karma of the Fifth Racewas generated by our Monads. (The Secret

Doctrine, Vol II, p. 302)

The collective (karmic) consequences of this “iniq-uity” are still with us, it seems; the Third Eyeremains atrophied for the vast majority of our FifthRace (ourselves) and can only be awakened byconscious “self-induced and self-devised efforts”from within-without.

“During human life the greatest impediment in theway of spiritual development, and especially to theacquirement of Yoga powers, is the activity of ourphysiological senses.” This includes sexual ac-

tion. Sexual action, as an activity of the animalman, includes self-gratification of a most per-sonal/sensate kind. It ‘fires up’ kama (desire)which, being the fourth principle, consequentlyhas an analogous relationship to the ‘power’ of theFourth, Atlantean, Race. This would seem a “re-verse” activity for ascending-back-towards-SpiritBeings engaged in true, selfless, “spiritual devel-opment”.

“Let us remember that the First Race isshown in Occult sciences as spiritualwithin and ethereal without; the second,psycho-spiritual mentally, and ethero-physical bodily; the third, still bereft ofintellect in its beginning, is astro-physicalin its body, and lives an inner life, in whichthe psycho-spiritual element is in no wayinterfered with as yet by the hardly nascentphysiological senses. Its two front eyeslook before them without seeing either pastor future. But the “third eye” “embracesETERNITY.” (The Secret Doctrine, Vol II, pp.298-299, footnote)

The Caduceus (see p. 550, Vol I, of The Secret

Doctrine) “this laya rod entwinedby two serpents” could itselfdepict, on one of its many lev-els, the medulla oblongata (thecentral rod?) and pineal gland (thehead on top of the central rod?) andthe (potential) “induction” precipitatedby the motion of the wings. The wingsand the three heads (the latter beingsymbolic of Atma-Buddhi-Manas) arefar, far, above the base point where thetwo entwining (dark and light) serpents‘earth’. What happens if this “reacts powerfully” inthe wrong direction? What happens if it’s mud-died by selfish physiological and psychic pas-sions?

There is but one road to the Path; at its veryend alone the “Voice of the Silence” can beheard. The ladder by which the candidateascends is formed of rungs of suffering andpain; these can be silenced only by thevoice of virtue. Woe, then, to thee, Disciple,if there is one single vice thou hast not leftbehind. For then the ladder will give wayand overthrow thee; its foot rests in thedeep mire of thy sins and failings, and erethou canst attempt to cross this wide abyssof matter thou hast to lave thy feet inWaters of Renunciation. Beware lest thou

34 FOHAT

should’st set a foot still soiled upon theladder’s lowest rung. Woe unto him whodares pollutes one rung with miry feet. Thefoul and viscous mud will dry, becometenacious, then glue his feet unto the spot,and like a bird caught in the wily fowler’slime, he will be stayed from further pro-gress. His vices will take shape and draghim down. His sins will raise their voiceslike as the jackal’s laugh and sob after thesun goes down; his thoughts become anarmy, and bear him off a captive slave. (The

Voice of the Silence, TUP, pp. 15-16)

If there remains “one single vice” during a candi-date�s attempt to ‘raise Kundalini’ (Note 2) it willresult in ‘failure’; any “sins” lying dormant withinthe aura will prematurely activate, and having

released the genie from the bottle the candidatewill necessarily reap the consequences � conse-quences that could/would extend over manylives/incarnations. A candidate still prone to per-sonalised/sensate gratification is all but guaran-teed to make the ladder give way. If the ‘direction’,so to speak, is downward-tending the Voice(Soundless Sound) of Silence may be mistaken forthe hiss and slither of the illusory serpent, the“astral region, the Psychic World of supersensu-ous perceptions and of deceptive sights � the worldof Mediums. It is the great ‘Astral Serpent’ ofÉliphas Lévi. No blossom plucked in those regionshas ever yet been brought down on earth withoutits serpent coiled around the stem. It is the worldof the Great Illusion.” (The Voice of the Silence, TUP,Glossary to Part I, pp. 75-76)

Note 1:

Viz: “Kriyâsakti: � The mysterious power of thought which enables it to produce external, perceptible, phenomenal re-sults by its own inherent energy. The ancients held that any idea will manifest itself externally if one’s attention isdeeply concentrated upon it. Similarly an intense volition will be followed by the desired result.

A Yogi generally performs his wonders by means of Itchásakti and Kriyâsakti.” (see “The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac”by T. Subba Row).

Note 2:

“(24.) The “Power” and the “World-mother” are names given to Kundalini � one of the mystic “Yogi powers.” It is Bud-dhi considered as an active instead of a passive principle (which it is generally, when regarded only as the vehicle, orcasket of the Supreme Spirit Atma). It is an electro-spiritual force, a creative power which when aroused into actioncan as easily kill as it can create.” (The Voice of the Silence, TUP, pp. 76-77.)

“(31). Kundalini is called the ‘Serpentine’ or the annular power on account of its spiral-like working or progress in thebody of the ascetic developing the power in himself. It is an electric fiery occult or Fohatic power, the great pristineforce, which underlies all organic and inorganic matter.” (The Voice of the Silence, TUP, pp. 77-78.)

Men cannot all be Occultists, but they can all be Theosophists. Many whohave never heard of the Society are Theosophists without knowing itthemselves; for the essence of Theosophy is the perfect harmonizing of thedivine with the human in man, the adjustment of his god-like qualities andaspirations, and their sway over the terrestrial or animal passions in him.Kindness, absence of every ill feeling or selfishness, charity, goodwill to allbeings, and perfect justice to others as to oneself, are its chief features. Hewho teaches Theosophy preaches the gospel of goodwill; and the converse ofthis is true also� he who preaches the gospel of goodwill, teaches Theosophy.

H.P. BlavatskyAddress to the American Convention,April 22, 1888.

SUMMER 1998 35

The Origin of EvilAlexander Pogue

The origin of Evil brings us immediately to theproblem of Self-Consciousness and the “reason-ableness of Conscious existence.” In a rock ormineral there may be many problems in the con-sciousness residing there, but the origin of evil isnot one of them. The first fifty years of the twen-tieth century are ample justification for MadameBlavatsky’s article, “The Origin of Evil”:

The liberal “progressive” atmosphere of thethought of this period, including its politicalethics, its contempt for metaphysics, andits naïve neglect of what is sometimes calledthe “demonic” aspect of human behavior,has since given way to the uncertaintiesand anxieties of the present, with too oftenthe harsh mood of reaction replacing hopesthat were suddenly overwhelmed by theappalling crimes and inhumanities of ide-ology on the march.

The weaknesses of the present, increas-ingly may be seen to be philosophical weak-nesses. They are the moral harvest of acivilization which has ignored or skirtedbasic philosophical questions for genera-tions, and which has allowed expedientsocio-political formulas — all the “isms” ofthe age — to monopolize the attention ofmen of good will. (H.G.)

It is precisely those “socio-political formulas”which men of good will are beginning to turn theirback on. Reason, the demonic leader of the cycle,has finally come into question. This “Counting-house” Reason of the senses with little or nokinship to Plato’s use of the word led directly to theInductive method of Aristotle which we in the Westdrove to its logical limits. Thus our reactionagainst “Fake Faith” drove us into the arms of“Fake Rationality.” We traded the Inquisition forthe Holocaust and Hiroshima; so whether it beSatan in the Garb of a Science-bred technology, orSatan carrying “Bell, Book and candle,” we form-seeking mortals get caught in the grinding wheelsof Juggernaut:

Ancient wisdom alone solves the presenceof the universal fiend in a satisfactory way.It attributes the birth of Kosmos and the

evolution of life to the breaking asunder ofprimordial, manifested UNITY, into plural-ity, or the great illusion of form.� HOMOGE-NEITY having transformed itself intoHeterogeneity, contrasts have naturallybeen created; hence sprang what we callEVIL, which thenceforward reigned su-preme in this “Vale of Tears.”. . .

The Eastern pantheist, whose philosophyteaches him to discriminate between Beingor ESSE and conditioned existence . . .knows he can put an end to form alone, notto being — and that only on this plane ofterrestrial illusion. True, he knows that bykilling out in himself Tanha (the unsatisfieddesire for existence, or the “will to live”) —he will thus gradually escape the curse ofre-birth and conditioned existence. But heknows also that he cannot kill, or “put anend,” even to his own little life except as apersonality, which after all is but a changeof dress.� And believing but in One Reality,which is eternal Be-ness, the “causelessCAUSE” from which he has exiled himselfunto a world of forms,� he regards thetemporary and progressing manifestationsof it in the state of Maya (change or illusion),as the greatest evil, truly; but at the sametime as a process in nature, as unavoidableas are the pangs of birth. It is the only meansby which he can pass from limited andconditioned lives of sorrow into eternal life,�

or into that absolute “Be-ness,” which is sographically expressed in the Sanskrit wordsat.

The “Pessimism” of the Hindu or Bud-dhist Pantheist is metaphysical, abstruse,and philosophical. The idea that matterand its Protean manifestations are thesource and origin of universal evil and sor-row is a very old one, though GautamaBuddha was the first to give to it its definiteexpression. But the great Indian Reformerassuredly never meant to make of it a han-dle for the modern pessimist to get hold of,or a peg for the materialist to hang hisdistorted and pernicious tenets upon! TheSage and Philosopher, who sacrificed him-

36 FOHAT

self for Humanity by living for it, in order tosave it, by teaching men to see in the sen-suous existence of matter misery alone,had never in his deep philosophical mindany idea of offering a premium for suicide;his efforts were to release mankind from toostrong an attachment to life, which is thechief cause� of Selfishness — hence thecreator of mutual pain and suffering. In hispersonal case, Buddha left us an exampleof fortitude to follow: in living, not in run-ning away from life. His doctrine shows evilimmanent, not in matter which is eternal,but in the illusions created by it: throughthe changes and transformations of mattergenerating life — because these changesare conditioned and such life is ephemeral.At the same time those evils are shown tobe not only unavoidable, but necessary.For if we would discern good from evil, lightfrom darkness, and appreciate the former,we can do so only through the contrastsbetween the two.�

Yet modern thought, like so many donkeys eatingthistles, brays out finalities, before inspecting thelineage of its assertions. Only a subject/verb men-tality could ever place on the same level the deeplyreligious Pantheism of the Hindu and Buddhistphilosopher and modern Pessimism. “Reason,” inthe Platonic sense leads directly to the Kumara, toHim who knows without being told, because he isKnowledge Itself:

The “personalized” approach to our Higher Ego hasbeen the curse of East and West alike. Therefore,we find the following a soul-satisfying definition ofthe Kumara:

He [the Philosopher] knows of, and believesin only the direct cause of that unit, eternaland ever living, because the ONE uncreated,or rather not evoluted.�

Hence, the true optimist, the follower of the Skyabove and the Center within, directs his effortstoward the speediest reunion possible with, andreturn to his pre-primordial condition. SERVICEwill accomplish this, for Service penetrates themasks-of-change we adopt, making our efforts ofincreasing benefit to the Soul-of-Life rather thanits costume:

Thus, philosophic pantheism is very differ-ent from modern pessimism. The first isbased upon the correct understanding ofthe mysteries of being; the latter is in realityonly one more system of evil added by

unhealthy fancy to the already large sum ofreal social evils. . . .

As mankind multiplies, and with it suf-fering — which is the natural result of anincreasing number of units that generate it— sorrow and pain are intensified. We livein an atmosphere of gloom and despair, butthis is because our eyes are downcast andriveted to the earth, with all its physical andgrossly material manifestations. If, insteadof that, man proceeding on his life-journeylooked — not heavenward, which is but afigure of speech —but within himself andcentered his point of observation on theinner man, he would soon escape from thecoils of the great serpent of illusion. Fromthe cradle to the grave, his life would thenbecome supportable and worth living, evenin its worst phases.

Pessimism — that chronic suspicion oflurking evil everywhere — is thus of a two-fold nature, and brings fruits of two kinds.It is a natural characteristic in physicalman, and becomes a curse only to theignorant. It is a boon to the spiritual, inas-much as it makes the latter turn into theright path, and brings him to the discoveryof another as fundamental a truth; namely,that all in this world is only preparatorybecause transitory. It is like a chink in thedark prison walls of earth-life, throughwhich breaks in a ray of light from theeternal home, which, illuminating the innersenses, whispers to the prisoner in his shellof clay of the origin and the dual mystery ofour being. At the same time, it is a tacitproof of the presence in man of that whichknows, without being told, viz.: — that thereis another and a better life, once that thecurse of earth-lives is lived through.�

The whole rationale for service of the manifestedunit to the plane upon which it happens to energizeis in that last sentence. The waxing of the Kumaricinfluence upon the lower pole: — If there really isonly ONE Self, could it happen in any other way?Thus —

[T]he problem and origin of evil being . . . ofan entirely metaphysical character, hasnothing to do with physical laws. Belong-ing as it does altogether to the spiritual partof man, to dabble with it superficially is,therefore, far more dangerous than to re-main ignorant of it. . . .

SUMMER 1998 37

Eastern wisdom teaches that spirit hasto pass through the ordeal of incarnationand life, and be baptized with matter beforeit can reach experience and knowledge.After which only it receives the baptism ofsoul, or self-consciousness, and may re-turn to its original condition of a god, plusexperience, ending with omniscience. Inother words, it can return to the originalstate of the homogeneity of primordial es-sence only through the addition of thefruitage of Karma, which alone is able tocreate an absolute conscious deity, re-moved but one degree from the absoluteALL.

And the Master makes plain what kind of actionbrings this fruitage of Karma so much to be de-sired:

Let not the fruit of good Karma be yourmotive; for your Karma, good or bad, beingone and the common property of all man-kind, nothing good or bad can happen toyou that is not shared by many others.Hence your motive, being selfish, can onlygenerate a double effect, good and bad, andwill either nullify your good action, or turnit to another man’s profit. . . . There is nohappiness for one who is ever thinking ofSelf and forgetting all other Selves.

The Universe groans under the weight ofsuch action (Karma), and none other thanself-sacrificial Karma relieves it. . . . Howmany of you have helped humanity tocarry its smallest burden, that you shouldall regard yourselves as Theosophists. Oh,men of the West, who would play at beingthe Saviors of mankind before they evenspare the life of a mosquito whose stingthreatens them, would you be partakers ofDivine Wisdom or true Theosophists?Then do as the gods when incarnated do.Feel yourselves the vehicles of the wholehumanity, mankind as part of yourselves,and act accordingly.�

As we abandon burrowing deeper into the Quarksand Anti-Quarks of illusive matter, the light of ourliving burns upward. We begin to see unmistak-ably that:

The reasonableness of Conscious Exist-ence can be proved only by the study of theprimeval — now esoteric — philosophy.And it says “there is neither death nor life,for both are illusions; being (or be-ness) is

the only reality.” This paradox was re-peated thousands of ages later by one ofthe greatest physiologists that ever lived.“Life is Death,” said Claude Bernard. Theorganism lives because its parts are everdying. The survival of the fittest is surelybased on this truism. The life of the supe-rior whole requires the death of the infe-rior, the death of the parts depending onand being subservient to it. And, as life isdeath, so death is life, and the whole greatcycle of lives forms but ONE EXISTENCE —the worst day of which is on our planet.

He who KNOWS will make the best of it.For there is a dawn for every being, whenonce freed from illusion and ignorance byKnowledge; and he will at last proclaim intruth and all Consciousness to Mahamaya:

B�� �� T�� ����� ��� ��� ��� R��������� S�����D������� ��������� ���

S��� ���� I ������ ����!������ �� �"����.��

And in The Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge,we find man’s flight of the Alone to the ALONE inthese words:

He who would be an occultist must notseparate either himself or anything elsefrom the rest of creation or non-creation.For, the moment he distinguishes himselffrom even a vessel of dishonor, he will notbe able to join himself to any vessel ofhonor. He must think of himself as aninfinitesimal something, not even as anindividual atom, but as a part of the world-atoms as a whole, or become an illusion, anobody, and vanish like a breath leavingno trace behind. As illusions, we are sepa-rate distinct bodies, living in masks fur-nished by Maya. Can we claim one singleatom in our body as distinctly our own?Everything, from spirit to the tiniest parti-cle, is part of the whole, at best a link.Break a single link and all passes intoannihilation; but this is impossible. Thereis a series of vehicles becoming more andmore gross, from spirit to the densest mat-ter, so that with each step downward andoutward we get more and more the senseof separateness developed in us. Yet thisis illusory, for if there were a real andcomplete separation between any two hu-man beings, they could not communicatewith, or understand each other in any way.(p. 138)

38 FOHAT

And finally, the Master, in his letter to Mr. Judgeof May 1887, illustrates why riveting our hopesand fears and efforts in the everyday plane ofsensual matter effectively keeps us outside theFane of the Sacred Science, based as it is on the“magic of Spirit” rather than the “magic of matter”:

You say you are a “sad case” and yet youhave in your heart so great a love forhumanity and for the individual membersof the race that you are haunted night andday by thoughts of their suffering, igno-rance and pain. It is such as you who holdthe human race from falling into that bot-tomless pit of emptiness where despair isforgotten and where effort is unknown.

My dear friend, for that you are, beingtruly the friend of all who are looking forthe light, do not forget that you are livingin a very dark and sad Maya of intenselyphysical life. The whole busy continent ofAmerica is eaten up by materialism andwhen an effort is made towards psychic lifeit results only in dragging that psychic lifeinto matter where it dies as a volatile gasescapes in the hands of one who is notexpert. The sadness of this fact colors yourletter. You know that any school foundedamongst you would at once become aschool of practical magic working in orderto produce results in matter. This is quitetrue. The reason is that even those whoare most in earnest among you have no

true psychic aspirations. Remedy this inyourself and endeavor to remedy it in oth-ers by word and example.

Desire no results which are forms ofpower. Desire only, in your efforts, toreach nearer to the center of life (which isthe same in the Universe and in yourself)which makes you careless whether you arestrong or weak, learned or unlearned. It isyour divinity; it is the divinity we all share.But its existence is not credited by thosewho look only for money or power or suc-cess in material effort. (I include intellectin matter.)

Lean I pray you in thought and feelingaway from these external problems whichyou have written down in your letter; drawon the breath of the great life throbbing inus all and let faith (which is unlearnedknowledge) carry you through your life asa bird flies in the air — undoubtingly. Onlyremember one thing — when once you flingyourself on the great life of Nature, theforce that keeps the world in motion andour pulses beating and which has withinit, in its heart, a supreme and awful power— once having done that, you can neveragain claim back your life. You must letyourself swing with the motions of thespheres. You must live for other men andwith them; not for or with yourself. Youwill do this, I am sure.

A free sample of Fohat will be sent to anyone you might suggest.Subscriptions can be purchased according to the rates noted on the Contents Page.

Visit our website: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/9530.

1. Emphasis Added.

2. Emphasis Added.

3. Emphasis Added.

4. Emphasis Added.

5. Emphasis Added.

6. From “The Origin of Evil,” by H.P. Blavatsky.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Quoted in Madame Blavatsky’s “Second Message to the American Theosophists.”

11. Op. cit.

SUMMER 1998 39

* In Theosophy, Fohat is spoken of as “the synthetic motor power of all the imprisoned life forces and the me-dium between the absolute and conditioned Force.”�

Radiant Auroras

and

Dawn Chorus

D.B.

The next time you gaze at the radiant NorthernLights think of birds singing. You can even thinkof dogs barking and whistles blowing. These arethe sounds you hear when you tune in with ahigh-powered radio transmitter located far awayfrom power lines during an auroral storm. It iscalled Dawn Chorus. It is Nature at her best, asshe displays resplendent curtains of light and asymphony of her sounds. If such an experiencedoes not trigger wonder and inspiration thennothing does. A song from Mother Earth! On aless poetic note, the study of auroras changes theway we ‘look’ at sound, and it broadens ourunderstanding of the Universe.

Auroral researcher Robert Helliwell from StarLaboratories at Stanford University uses high-powered radio transmitters to study radiationbelts, and records sounds coming from the invis-ible particles in space. In an interview, he statesthat during an auroral storm on Earth:

What we are hearing are natural electro-magnetic signals coming out of the magne-tosphere which have been created bylightning discharges or by radio transmit-ters, or by natural radiation from theplasma itself. What is most remarkable isthat the Earth’s plasma can create intenseradio waves of a very coherent nature thatsound like birds waking up in the morningwhich gives rise to the term Dawn Chorus.. . . Particles that create the radiation areacting collectively. . . . What is exciting isthat this process is present throughout theCosmos as far as we can tell, and I supposeit is everywhere that you have a plasma.�

Is science recognizing that sound is presentthroughout the Cosmos?

The energy that provides we earthlings with thebeautiful auroral sights and sounds come fromtwo main sources, the Earth and the Sun. ‘SOHO’satellite, located 1.4M km sunward, photographshot gases blowing from the Sun, headed for Earth.‘Wind’ spacecraft relays data to Earth as the gaseswhip by at 450 km/hr. While the storm hits andEarth’s magnetic field deflects the crash of thesolar wind, an aurora becomes visible to ‘Polar’spacecraft situated high above the North Pole.The solar wind blows past our planet, sweepsaround the magnetic field and creates an envelopearound the Earth called the magnetosphere. Itslong tail points away from the Sun, nearly reach-ing the lunar orbit. The solar plasma (with its ownmagnetic force) is now in direct contact with thelines of magnetic force that originate at the northand south poles. As colliding solar particles gettrapped in the magnetic tail they stream down toEarth and collide with our atmosphere. Hugeamounts of energy course through the auroralcircuits. SkyNews states that “[d]uring an in-tense display, 100 million kilowatts of energy flowthrough the magnetosphere, comparable to thegenerating capacity of all the world’s powerplants.”� It is uncertain where the power supplycomes from. What turns on the ‘switch’?* Whileall this is happening, here we are, staring up atthe sky, enjoying a most splendid light show. Andfor your listening pleasure, radio receivers thatcapture Dawn Chorus are being sold on the In-ternet.

The discovery of Dawn Chorus broadens ourknowledge base of silent sounds. We are aware ofonly a portion of the universe in which we live.Scientifically, we cannot now prove the presenceof a Cosmic/Universal Sound, nor can it be de-nied. We know that human ears register sound

40 FOHAT

waves within a limited range of frequencies.Above and below that range are the ultrasonic andinfrasonic frequencies detectable by physicalplane devices. The same applies to sight. We seea certain number of rates of vibration. Those oftoo rapid or too slow an order, as in ultraviolet andinfrared, cease to impart corresponding vibrationson our eyes. The truth is, while dead silencereigns in our acoustic organs, a thousand of themost varied sounds may be occurring. Theremust also exist thousands of things invisible tothe human eye hence non-existent to us. DawnChorus is a perfect example. In this case, we seethe light of the aurora, but cannot ‘tune in’ to theradio waves produced in the upper atmosphereduring auroral storms without special equipment,just as we cannot catch the news without a radioor television set. Then again, perhaps some peo-ple can. It is said that many sensitive people seea colour for every sound. The first sense is con-nected with sound, state Eastern doctrines, withsound passing into colours. According to thesedoctrines:

[I]n the realm of hidden Forces, an audiblesound is but a subjective color; and aperceptible color, but an inaudible sound;both proceed from the same potential sub-stance, which Physicists used to call ether,and now refer to under various othernames; but which we call plastic, thoughinvisible, Space.�

This Eastern approach to sound isdeeper than the average human mindcan comprehend. AncientHindu doctrines use the termNada (integrated sound) to ex-plain vibrations found in nature.The whole material universe is wavesand nothing but waves; from the atomto a planet, everything is motion. Thesedoctrines state that Swara, Spirit, the ONE LIFEor wavy motion, is the cause of the evolution ofcosmic undifferentiated matter into the differen-tiated universe. The Siva-Sutras associate Nadawith the tremendous energy required for themanifestation of a universe and the running of itsmachinery. The Sanskrit word Akasa is a homo-geneous and universal principle in its pre-differ-entiating period and its first production is Sound.It is the Mulaprakriti of the Vedantins. The ‘Word’is the manifested Logos of the Greeks and Platon-ists. Universal Sound is the Vach of the Brah-mans. I.K. Taimni writes, “vibration in its subtlestsense forms the very basis of the manifesteduniverse. The universe is created by vibration, is

maintained by vibration . . . is destroyed by vibra-tion.”� The doctrines imply that sound is thevibration that sets everything in motion, is thefirst principle that manifests, is the last to leave,and is applicable to everything and anything!

According to H.P. Blavatsky, psychic activity “ismotion; but not all ‘molecular’ motion. . . . Motionas the great breath . . . � ergo ‘sound’ at the sametime � is the substratum of Kosmic-Motion. . . .the basis and genesis of the subjective and theobjective universe . . .”� Do all things which arevisible come from the invisible? The exact signifi-cance or validity of these ancient concepts areincomprehensible due to our limited conscious-ness. Universal Sound does exist and man willeventually recognize it.

For example, even now, through the study ofNorthern and Southern lights, physicists are dis-covering that the auroral zone is more like the restof the Universe than is anything found on Earthitself. Science suggests that Space is not a voidbut is filled with plasma, gases in the 4th state ofmatter, present throughout the Universe. Thatplasma is also present in the auroral zone. Themore we find out how things work here on Earth,the more we know about the rest of the Universe.Similarities naturally exist. Remarkably, otherscientific disciplines have comparable findings.At a certain point, different areas of research seem

to merge with one another in spite ofthemselves. In The Presence ofThe Past, Rupert Sheldraketalks about fields: non-materialregions of influence. Many as-pects of electromagnetic fieldsare integral to organization of

the material systems, from at-oms to galaxies. He explains that

all around us there are countless vibratory pat-terns of activity within the field that we cannotdetect with our senses. All nature is now thoughtto consist of fields and energy. He discusses thequantum theory and light waves, and how allparticles of matter also have a wavelike quality.In Rebirth of Nature, Sheldrake talks about ‘some-thing from nothing’ leading to discussion aboutUniversal Energy:

The result of all these changes is thatfields, together with energy, have becomethe basis of physical reality. In the phraseof Karl Popper, through modern physics,“materialism has transcended itself.”�

. . . continued on page 46

SUMMER 1998 41

Musings From A Secret Doctrine ClassLaurier Auger

Speaking upon the subject of the formation ofman’s physical body and the processes in-

volved, Blavatsky drops an interesting quotationtaken from the Kabala that “[t]he Blessed Oneshave nought to do with the purgations of matter”(Secret Doctrine I, 224). It follows that there aresome beings who are exempt from working withthe physical world of matter. As the Laws ofNature guide the development of worlds andbeings, an economy with varying levels of devel-opment and duty is laid out. So it seems thatone of Man’s main duties is the purification ofmatter. One aspect of this is to help the lowerkingdoms evolve and pass to the next higher oneas he himself strives to reach his next level.

Looking at the subject of the purification ofmatter, the question might be asked, does thematter itself change, or does the monad of thatkingdom to which it belongs gain experience andthereby progress to the next level? Although thematter itself does progress, it is at quite a slowrate, taking aeons upon aeons. The monads,however, progress much faster than the matterthat they inhabit, and upon having learned allthat can be taught from one particular kingdom,they move on to the next. The kingdoms innature remain the constants and are there forthe monads to live and experience through. Ahierarchy of beings have their existence at thevarious levels.

But what does the statement “purgations ofmatter” mean? How does this apply to Man, andto matter itself? It was said that over a period ofyears, W.Q. Judge’s physical appearance hadchanged. At the time of his death it was notedthat the shape of his head, especially, was quitedifferent compared to that of earlier pictures ofhim. He had made a great effort to develophimself spiritually, this being a direct cause ofthe manifested physical changes.

Let us now look at Man and study his situation.In The Secret Doctrine it is stated that there area limited number of human monads (I 171).What marks the difference between Man and theanimals is that man is a thinking entity endowedwith Manas or Mind. We humans do, however,

possess animal qualities that, like the otherlower kingdoms, are part of our constitution.Having the principle of Mind is what will bringMan to the next level. Understanding the poten-tial and the power of this principle will liberatehim from the attachment to matter and movehim to a more spiritual condition. Over manyincarnations a person produces and “creates” forhimself the conditions that dictate who he is, hisphysical appearance, temperament, and thesurroundings into which he is born. In thisprocess of refinement, if it may be called aprocess, an individual slowly brings himself inharmony with higher beings of a more profoundrate of vibration. Just as the pebble dropped inthe pond creates ripples that affect the wholepond, his progress affects the world in which helives.

The way a person thinks and the thoughts thathe maintains about himself are two of the keysto his progress (or stagnation). As the next levelfor humans is to become super-human, that is,to become Adepts, one may keep in mind the ideathat in order to become a Mahatma, one has tolearn to think like a Mahatma. Mankind is notleft abandoned without help from “above”, for asMahatma K.H. tells Sinnett in regards to Ma-hatma M.:

M. spoke well and truthfully when sayingthat a love of collective humanity is hisincreasing inspiration; and if any oneindividual should wish to divert his re-gards to himself, he must overpower thediffusive tendency by a stronger force.(Mahatma Letters, TUP, 266)

It can then be surmised that these Adepts worktowards the elevation of the mind of Man, whilesimultaneously progressing towards their ownnext higher step. The monads inhabiting theseAdepts in turn move onto the next higher level,that of the Dhyanis, who do not have a physicalform. It is they who are in charge of a planetarychain, who protect and watch over the progressof humanity. The highest class of Dhyanis, whoare the Spirit of a planet, are �[t]he Blessed Ones[who] have nought to do with the purgations ofmatter.�

42 FOHAT

S d: The Son of the Man, by S.F. Dunlap. Photographic copy of the 1861 edition, plus new notes andbibliography. A Secret Doctrine Reference Series title published 1998 by Wizards Bookshelf, San Diego.Softcover. xxiv + 162 pp. Price: $14.00 U.S.

S d is defined in The TheosophicalGlossary as a Hebrew word meaningan arcanum, a religious mystery. The

term was well chosen by S.F. Dunlap as the maintitle of his S d: The Son of the Man. He also wrotea sister volume, S d: The Mysteries of Adoni.Numerous quotations from both are to be foundin H.P. Blavatsky’s Isis Unveiled and The SecretDoctrine.

Dunlap appears to have been an unorthodoxscholar, which is not to be taken as a criticism.He was ahead of mid 19th century theology � eventhat of the present time � in recognizing that 2,000years ago “mystery” traditions were an importantelement in any number of contemporary religions,and that some of these significantly influenced thedevelopment of early Christianity.

In S d: The Son of the Man the author compiledan extraordinary collection of references to whathe called “infant Gnosticism”. Among these are

eclectic quotations from the books of the Old andNew Testament, the Hermetica, Greek and Latinhistorians and philosophers, the early ChurchFathers and many others, including later schol-ars. One of the most interesting of this wide rangeof sources is the Codex Nazaraeus an 11th cen-tury document with obviously earlier origins.

Dunlap commences the final chapter of this bookwith the statement that “It is unnecessary to sumup.” However, most readers would have wel-comed a summary by one who was astute torecognize a common thread in the religious phi-losophies of the Mediterranean area at the com-mencement of the common era.

S d: The Son of the Man is a useful source for acomparative study of ancient religion and is aninteresting addition to the Secret Doctrine Refer-ence Series.

Ted G. Davy

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BOOK REVIEWS

Index to The Theosophist, Volumes I - VI, October 1879 to September 1885. Edmonton TheosophicalSociety, Edmonton, Alberta. 8.5" x 11" Paperback. vii + 246 pp. Price: $34.95 CDN; $29.95 US.

This excellent labor by EdmontonTheosophical Society is perhaps 100years late. In all these interveningdecades, none of the main function-

aries of the Theosophical Movement considered itworth their time to provide this indispensable toolfor serious students. The first years of The The-osophist are the most valuable, being under thedirect aegis of the Masters and HPB. It may beargued that the computer makes the task easier,but still, with the plethora of verbiage exuded fromall the presses, why no indexes for the primarywritings? At last this is being rectified.

In the volume under consideration, we see a wellthought out and organized format. It begins witha review of events prior to the founding of thejournal, providing useful background. The origi-nal cover is reproduced. There is a review of thevarious additional printings following the initialmonthly publication. Subject and author head-

ings are easily distinguished, and the spelling ofIndian names have been cross referenced in theirvariants. Where correspondence has followed anarticle, replies have been tied in to the original.The volume, year, and month of each reference isshown. This includes the Supplement that beganwith the second year, and includes much histori-cal information.

The whole effort has resulted in roughly 10,000entries. Paging through it, one is struck by howmuch we have forgotten, or failed to digest. Thisis the kind of truly valuable theosophical endeavorwe can all do well to emulate. The real reason forthe widespread popularity of the Edgar Caycereadings, is the 15,000 card index compiled over10 years, and made available to researchers.Were the same to be done in the T.S. movement,enormous strides could result. As a well knownGreek once said, Eureka, I have found it!

Richard Robb

SUMMER 1998 43

THEOSOPHICAL FRIENDS REMEMBERED

John Cooper(October 9, 1930 - May 12, 1998)

The TheosophicalMovement lost one ofits finest individualsrecently when JohnCooper died, appar-ently while sitting athis desk in his officeat the University ofSydney (Australia).

John was an ‘inde-pendent’ theosophistwho never became amember of a theo-sophical organiza-

tion, and who was respected by one and all as aneutral theosophist/researcher/historian. He wasrecognized as being the most knowledgeable of thehistory of the modern theosophical movementworldwide. John always seemed to have a fingeron the pulse of the Movement and was usually wellinformed regarding events globally.

In 1986 John obtained his Master of Arts in Relig-ious Studies. The subject of his thesis was TheTheosophical Crisis in Australia, The Story of theBreakup of the Theosophical Society in Sydneyfrom 1913 until 1923. More recently he had sub-mitted his thesis for a PhD, the subject being TheLetters of H.P. Blavatsky. In a telephone conversa-tion with him, one month to theday before he died, John statedthat the first volume (of an antici-pated three volume collection)was nearly ready for Quest/TPH -Wheaton to publish. John hadspent years amassing, editingand annotating these letters. Hewas a tireless worker, who likelymade extensive use of his photo-graphic memory with this projectespecially.

In 1989 John spent a number ofmonths in the USA doing re-search. Edmonton TheosophicalSociety had started a republish-ing programme some years ear-lier, and our quest to fill gaps inETS Library collections had led usto John. He was extremely help-

ful, generously supplying copies of required mate-rials, and on a number of occasions sending rarevolumes through the mail for our use, to be re-turned when we no longer needed them. If not forJohn’s assistance ETS would not have been ableto reprint some of the titles which we have man-aged to make available. John was keen to doresearch in ETS Library and scheduled a visit toEdmonton as part of his North American excur-sion.

On Sunday, May 17th, a Memorial Service washeld for John at The Theosophical Society in Aus-tralia headquarters to ‘celebrate’ his life. The fol-lowing anecdotes relating to John’s visit wereincluded in ETS’ contribution:

My wife, Rogelle and I, had the pleasure ofhosting John in our home when he visitedEdmonton (Alberta, Canada) for ten days inNovember 1989. We remember fondly how,after having delivered a lecture on EasternReligions to an evening class at the Univer-sity of Alberta, it was snowing when we leftthe building. John was fascinated with thelarge flakes and the amount of snow thathad fallen during those few hours, sincethere had not been a trace of snow on theground until then. He was impressed withthe fact that it blanketed everything, and

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44 FOHAT

insisted on being the one to have the ‘pleas-ure’ of brushing it off our car, discouragingany of us from lending a hand as he washaving so much fun! He was so delightedwith this new adventure that upon ourreturn home, he insisted on cleaning off ourson’s car as well. It was late at night, therest of us went into the house and watchedJohn carefully brush the snow off. When hefinally came in, he still couldn’t get over thefact that the whole city was covered, andthat the snow didn’t just fall in the moun-tains. It was a relatively mild evening, thesnow was very fluffy, and John loved everyminute of being in it. We shall never forgethis wonder with the whole experience.

While in Edmonton, John took a couple ofdays to go to Calgary [3 hours south] to visitwith Ted and Doris Davy. When he returnedto Edmonton, upon setting foot in the door,he exclaimed, “I’m home!” We believe thathe actually meant it — that he was verycomfortable here, and we equally enjoyed

having him as part of our family for theduration of his stay.

John lived with his wife, Shirley, on a farm nearBega, quite some distance from Sydney. It is arelatively isolated area and the farm was developedto be totally self-sufficient, including solar poweras their energy source and dams for their watersupply. We wish Shirley well with her decisionsregarding the farm and the part it will play in herfuture. Shirley has gained an international repu-tation for her weaving, and their children, Danielleand Damien, are both involved in the arts anddoing very well in their crafts.

We will miss John dearly but can fondly recallmany moments which will keep our good friendalive in our memories. Au revoir, John, until wemeet again.

Our condolences to Shirley, Danielle and Damien.

Ernest E. Pelletier

THEOSOPHICAL FRIENDS REMEMBERED

Superstitious Brahmans were not the only threatthat Theosophy faced, the West had its own fiercelyguarded institutions to contend with. What hap-

pened when Blavatsky died? What tests did theSociety face then?

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. . . Vigilant continued from page 32

Lydia Courtois - Truyts(May 20, 1920 - April 9, 1998)

Early in the morningof April 9, 1998, Ly-dia Courtois -Truyts, beloved wifeand companion ofArmand Courtois,passed away quietlyand unexpectedly inher sleep. She wasborn in Antwerp,Belgium and was

living in Kapellen, Belgium at the time of her death.

She is also survived by three sons, one daughter,and grandchildren.

Mrs. Courtois was cremated on April 15th. Ap-proximately 130 people attended the service whichfollowed. There were readings from The Voice of TheSilence and The Bhagavad Gita and Mr. Courtoisand his eldest son spoke.

Our sincere condolences are extended to the Cour-tois family for the loss of their beloved wife andmother.

Ernest E. Pelletier

SUMMER 1998 45

to escape the general disaster [which willaffect especially Europe, but also the USA,where race-wars can be expected and geo-logical changes as well]. . . .

The Cycles of Matter will be succeeded byCycles of Spirituality and a fully developed[and spiritualized] mind . . . the majority ofthe future mankind will be composed of glo-rious Adepts.

. . . A few genuine Theosophists know the law byexperience to the effect that there will be influence,guidance and help by our Masters:

[E]very bright thought in your mind, myBrother, will sparkle and attract the atten-tion of your distant friend and correspon-dent. If thus we discover our natural Alliesin the Shadow-world [Astral Plane]—yourworld and ours outside the precincts—and itis our law to approach every such one if even

there be but the feeblest glimmer of the true�Tathagata� Light, within him—then how fareasier for you to attract us. (Mahatma Letters

267-268)

But there is a price to be paid for that, namely to giveup ‘the old beliefs and superstitions’ and to becomean ‘Esoteric Budhist’ studying the Secret Teachingsof the Buddha and accepting the discipline of innertransformation. Furthermore:

[H]e who approaches our precincts even inthought, is drawn into the vortex of proba-tion. (ibidem 367)

Theosophy—the Arhat philosophy—was writtendown for the ‘Highest Minds’, not for the man of thestreet, and in order to “comprehend it one has tomake a serious and prolonged effort” as G.A. Far-thing said. He is right!

Abhinyano

Universal Energy? How does this relate to ancientconcepts of Universal Sound?

This is what was written about the auroras over100 years ago in The Secret Doctrine:

“The agitation of the Fohatic Forces at thetwo cold ends (North and South Poles) ofthe Earth which resulted in a multicol-oured radiance at night, have in themseveral of the properties of Akâsa (Ether)colour and sound as well”. . . . AuroraBorealis and Australis, both . . . take placeat the very centres of terrestrial electricand magnetic forces. The two poles aresaid to be the store-houses, the receptacles

and liberators, at the same time, of Cosmicand terrestrial Vitality (Electricity); fromthe surplus of which the Earth, had it notbeen for these two natural “safety-valves,”would have been rent to pieces long ago.�

It is intriguing, the similarities of Dawn Chorus tocommon natural sounds we hear during everydaylife on Earth. Is this coincidence? In closing, amost resonant thought:

Mother Earth can sing,I knew She played a part,Her Voice vibrates one of the StringsOn the Cosmic Harp.

� Aurora: An Examination of the Northern Lights. Videotape. Anchorage, AK: KAKM Video 1984. 58 min.

Martin Connors, “Night of the Northern Lights,” SkyNews, Jan./Feb. 1998: 13.

Transactions of The Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Los Angeles, CA: The Theosophy Company, 1923:134.

� H.P. Blavatsky, “E.S. Instruction No. III,” Blavatsky Collected Writings, vol. XII. Wheaton, IL: TPH, 1980: 620.

, I.K. Taimni, Man,God And The Universe. Adyar, Madras: TPH, 1969: 277.

6 H.P. Blavatsky, “Psychic and Noetic Action,” Blavatsky Collected Writings, vol. XII: 355.

: Rupert Sheldrake, The Rebirth of Nature. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1994: 88.

� H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, vol. I. Los Angeles, CA: Theosophy Company: 205.

. . . Auroras continued from page 41

. . . Letters continued from page 29

Be Theosophists, Work for Theosophy!- H.P. Blavatsky

46 FOHAT

The Works and Influence ofH.P. Blavatsky

“A Forum for Presentations and Open Dialogue”

A Conference Hosted by Edmonton Theosophical SocietyJuly 3 - 5, 1998

Papers to be Presented

Editing HPB - Michael Gomes.

HPB and ‘Spirit Art’ - John Patrick Deveney.

The Influence of Theosophy on W.B. Yeats - Jerry Hejka-Ekins.

“A Material Body Which Suffocates The Soul”: H.P. Blavatsky’s Attitude To Ritual - Ted G.Davy.

Lawren Harris and Emily Carr - Dr. Ann Davis

HPB’s Legacy To The Twentieth Century - R. Bruce MacDonald.

Theosophy’s Appeal for Harmony With Nature - Dara Eklund.

HPB’s Visionary Presentation: With Special Reference to Science and to Today’s SocietalDilemma - Anna Friefeld Lemkow.

On The Secret Doctrine - David Reigle.

On The Voice of The Silence - Nancy Reigle.

Active Theosophy: The Meditation Diagram of H.P. Blavatsky - Sharon Ormerod.

The Influence of HPB on A.L. Cleather and The HPB Library - Joan Sutcliffe.

The Influence of H.P. Blavatskaya Upon Russia - Dr. Yuri Gorbunov, (Ph.D, Professor ofOriental history at the Simferopol State University in Crimea, Ukraine)

30hat is the Steed, 71wught is the 2?ider

,Jtis the "bridge" by which the ",Jdeas" existing in the "rnivine 71wught" are impressed on Cosmic substance as the "laws of ::Nature." 30hat is thus the dynamic eneroy of Cosmic ,Jdeation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power ofall mani~station. ... 7hus from Spirit, or Cosmic ,Jdeation, comes our consciousness; from Cosmic Substance the several vehicles in which that consciousness is individualized and attains to self - or r4f.ective - consciousness; while 30hat, in its various manifestations, is the mysterious link between ~ind and ~tter, the animating principle electrifying every atom into life. - Secret rnoctrine I, 16

/-- - " FOHAT ,/ ' ~- -- Box 4587 .~~ Edmonton, Alberta ~ Canada, T6E 5G4

@Recycled Paper