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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Ocean of Theosophy - -Author: William Judge - -Release Date: March 1, 2017 [EBook #54268] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - -[Illustration: William Judge, July 1895] - - - THE OCEAN - - OF - - THEOSOPHY - - BY - - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE - - TWENTIETH THOUSAND - - THE UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS - METROPOLITAN BLDG., BROADWAY AT FIFTH ST. - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - 1915 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1893, - - BY - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. - All rights reserved. - - COPYRIGHT, 1915, - - BY - THE UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS - - - - -PREFACE. - - -An attempt is made in the pages of this book to write of Theosophy -in such a manner as to be understood by the ordinary reader. Bold -statements are made in it upon the knowledge of the writer, but at -the same time it is distinctly to be understood that he alone is -responsible for what is therein written: the Theosophical Society is -not involved in nor bound by anything said in the book, nor are any -of its members any the less good Theosophists because they may not -accept what he has set down. The tone of settled conviction which may -be thought to pervade the chapters is not the result of dogmatism or -conceit, but flows from knowledge based upon evidence and experience. - -Members of the Theosophical Society will notice that certain theories -or doctrines have not been gone into. That is because they could not -be treated without unduly extending the book and arousing needless -controversy. - -The subject of the Will has received no treatment, inasmuch as that -power or faculty is hidden, subtle, undiscoverable as to essence, -and only visible in effect. As it is absolutely colorless and varies -in moral quality in accordance with the desire behind it, as also it -acts frequently without our knowledge, and as it operates in all the -kingdoms below man, there could be nothing gained by attempting to -enquire into it apart from the Spirit and the desire. - -No originality is claimed for this book. The writer invented none of -it, discovered none of it, but has simply written that which he has -been taught and which has been proved to him. It therefore is only a -handing on of what has been known before. - - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. - - - - -PREFACE TO NEW EDITION. - - -Some twenty-two years ago, the first edition of “The Ocean of -Theosophy” was published by its author, Wm. Q. Judge. Since that time -thousands of books dealing with Theosophy have been published by more -or less prominent students of Theosophy, but unfortunately for the -public, none of these show the knowledge, grasp and range which is -so evident in the present volume,—and still more unfortunately, the -methods pursued by these latter-day writers have served to obscure -the fact of the existence of an exposition of Theosophy written by a -Teacher of that Science of Life. - -As the Author’s Preface shows, the book was written in such a manner -as to be understood by the ordinary reader; the simplicity of the -terms used, however, should not mislead the reader into thinking that -the work is an elementary one, for behind and within every statement -there is a depth of meaning that the careless and superficial fail -to perceive. It is really a simplified text-book of the fundamental -teachings of Theosophy, and is found by students of the “Secret -Doctrine” to be a true abridgment of that great work and a wonderful -aid in its comprehension; it was written with that end in view by the -only one competent to do so and is therefore earnestly recommended to -every student of Theosophy. - -The passage of years has served to show, not only the value of this -little book, but the status of Mr. Judge as a Teacher. Everything -he has written bears impress of his deep knowledge to every real -student of Theosophy. Even the ordinary reader cannot fail to perceive -that only “One Who Knows” could have so applied Theosophy to the -circumstances and conditions of every-day human existence. - -There are but few books whose issuance is due to Mr. Judge; these -few however, are most valuable aids to the student in living the -Theosophic life. “Letters That Have Helped Me,” are two small -volumes containing letters written to students, with comments by the -compiler; “Echoes From the Orient,” is a broad outline of Theosophical -doctrines, 64 pages; “The Bhagavad-Gita” is a rendition, much better -and clearer than any literal translation extant; “Patanjali’s Yoga -Aphorisms,” is an ancient treatise on the Soul and its powers, from -which modern psychology has much to learn. In addition Mr. Judge -wrote a great number of articles dealing with the philosophy in its -practical application to daily life; these can be found in the magazine -“Theosophy.” - -The earnest student will do well to study conjointly the writings of -H. P. Blavatsky and Wm. Q. Judge; from them he will learn Theosophy -pure and simple; will recognize the community of knowledge and complete -accord that existed between them and will more fully appreciate the -mission and nature of those two Personages. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. - - THEOSOPHY AND THE MASTERS. - - Theosophy generally defined. The existence of highly developed - men in the Universe. These men are the Mahatmas, - Initiates, Brothers, Adepts. How they work and why they - remain now concealed. Their Lodge. They are perfected - men from other periods of evolution. They have had various - names in history. Apollonius, Moses, Solomon, and others - were members of this fraternity. They had one single doctrine. - They are possible because man may at last be as they - are. They keep the true doctrine and cause it to reappear at - the right time. Pages 1 to 13. - - - CHAPTER II. - - GENERAL PRINCIPLES. - - A view of the general laws governing the Cosmos. The - sevenfold division in the system. Real Matter not visible and - this always known to the Lodge. Mind the intelligent portion - of the Cosmos. In the universal Mind the sevenfold plan of - the Cosmos is contained. Evolution proceeds upon the plan - in the universal Mind. Periods of Evolution come to an end; - this is the Night of Brahma. The Mosaic account of cosmogenesis - has dwarfed modern conceptions. The Jews had merely - one part of the doctrine taken from the ancient Egyptians. - The doctrine accords with the inner meaning of Genesis. The - general length of periods of Evolution. Same doctrine as - Herbert Spencer’s. The old Hindu chronology gives the details. - The story of Solomon’s Temple is that of the evolution - of man. The doctrine far older than the Christian one. The - real age of the world. Man is over 18,000,000 years old. Evolution - is accomplished solely by the Egos within that at last - become the users of human forms. Each of the seven principles - of man is derived from one of the seven great divisions of - the Universe. Pages 14 to 22. - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE EARTH CHAIN. - - The doctrine respecting the Earth. It is sevenfold also. It - is one of a chain of seven corresponding to man. The whole - seven are not in a chain separated as to members, but they - interpenetrate each other. The Earth chain is the reïncarnation - of a former old and now dead chain. This old chain was - one of which our moon is the visible representative. Moon - now dead and contracting. Venus, Mars, etc., are living - members of other similar chains to ours. A mass of Egos for - each chain. The number, though incalculable, is definite. - Their course of evolution through the seven globes. In each - a certain part of our nature is developed. At the fourth globe - the process of condensation is begun and reaches its limit. - Pages 23 to 28. - - - CHAPTER IV. - - SEPTENARY CONSTITUTION OF MAN. - - The constitution of man. How the doctrine differs from the - ordinary Christian one. The real doctrine known in the first - centuries of this era, but purposely withdrawn from a nation - not able to bear it. The danger if the doctrine had not been - withdrawn. The sevenfold division. The principles classified. - The divisions agree with the chain of seven globes. The lower - man is a composite being. His higher trinity. The lower - four principles transitory and perishable. Death leaves the - trinity as the only persistent part of us. What the physical - man is, and what the other unseen mortal man is. A second - physical man not seen but still mortal. The senses pertain to - the unseen man and not to the visible one. Pages 29 to 34. - - - CHAPTER V. - - BODY AND ASTRAL BODY. - - The body and life principle. The mystery of life. Sleep - and death are due to excess of life not bearable by the organism. - The body an illusion. What is the cell. Life is universal. - It is not the result of the organism. The Astral Body. - What it is made of. Its powers and functions. As a model - for the body. It is possessed by all kingdoms of nature. Its - power to travel. The real sense organs are in the astral body. - The place the astral body has at spiritualistic _séances_. The - astral body accounts for telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, - and all such psychical phenomena. Pages 35 to 44. - - - CHAPTER VI. - - KAMA-DESIRE. - - The fourth principle. Kama Rupa. In English, the Passions - and Desires. Kama Rupa is not produced by the body - but is the cause for body. This is the balance principle of the - seven. It is the basis of action and mover of the will. Right - desire leads to right act. This principle has a higher and a - lower aspect. The principle is in the astral body. At death - it coalesces with the astral body and makes of it a shell of the - man. It has powers of its own of an automatic nature. This - shell is the so-called “spirit” of _séances_. It is a danger to the - race. Elementals help this shell at _séances_. No soul or conscience - present. Suicides and executed criminals leave very - coherent shells. The principle of desire is common to all the - organized kingdoms. It is the brute part of man. Man is - now a fully developed quaternary with the higher principles - partially developed. Pages 45 to 51. - - - CHAPTER VII. - - MANAS. - - Manas the fifth principle. The first of the real man. This - is the thinking principle and is not the product of brain. Brain - is only its instrument. How the light of mind was given to - mindless men. Perfected men from older systems gave it to - us as they got it from their predecessors. Manas is the storehouse - of all thoughts. Manas is the seer. If the connection - between Manas and brain is broken the person is not able to - cognize. The organs of the body cognize nothing. Manas is - divided into upper and lower. Its four peculiarities. Buddha, - Jesus, and others had Manas fully developed. Atma the Divine - Ego. The permanent individuality. This permanent individuality - has been through every sort of experience in many bodies. - Manas and matter have now a greater facility of action - than in former times. Manas is bound by desire, and this - makes reïncarnation a necessity. Pages 52 to 59. - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - OF REINCARNATION. - - Why is man as he is, and how did he come. What the Universe - is for. Spiritual and physical evolution demand reïncarnation. - Reïncarnation on the physical plane is reëmbodiment - or alteration of form. The whole mass of matter of the globe - will one day be men in a period far distant. The doctrine ancient. - Held by the early Christians. Taught by Jesus. What - reïncarnates. Life’s mysteries arise from incomplete incarnation - of the higher principles. It is not transmigration to lower - forms. Explanation of Manu on this. Pages 60 to 69. - - - CHAPTER IX. - - REINCARNATION CONTINUED. - - Objections urged. Desire cannot alter law. Early arrivals - in heaven. Must they wait for us. Recognition of the soul not - dependent on objectivity. Heredity not an objection. What - heredity does. Divergences in heredity not recognized. History - goes against heredity. Reïncarnation not unjust. What - is justice. We do not suffer for another’s but for our own - deeds. Memory. Why we do not remember other lives. Who - does? How to account for increase of population. Pages 70 to 78. - - - CHAPTER X. - - ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING REINCARNATION. - - From the nature of the soul. From the laws of mind and - soul. From differences in character. From the necessity for - discipline and evolution. From differences of capacity and - start in life at the cradle. Individual identity proves it. The - probable object of life makes it necessary. One life not enough - to carry out Nature’s purposes. Mere death confers no advance. - A school after death is illogical. The persistence of - savagery and decay of nations give support to it. The appearance - of geniuses is due to reïncarnation. Inherent ideas - common to man show it. Opposition to the doctrine based - solely on prejudice. Pages 79 to 88. - - - CHAPTER XI. - - KARMA. - - Definition of the word. An unfamiliar term. A beneficent - law. How present life is affected by past acts of other lives. - Each act has a thought at its root. Through Manas they react - on each personal life. Why people are born deformed or - in bad circumstances. The three classes of Karma and its - three fields of operation. National and Racial Karma. Individual - un-happiness and happiness. The Master’s words on Karma. - Pages 89 to 98. - - - CHAPTER XII. - - KAMA LOKA. - - The first state after death. Where and what are heaven and - hell? Death of the body only the first step of death. A second - death after that. Separation of the seven principles into - three classes. What is _Kama Loka_? Origin of Christian purgatory. - It is an astral sphere with numerous degrees. The - _Skandhas_. The astral shell of man in _Kama Loka_. It is devoid - of soul, mind, and conscience. It is the “spirit” of the - _séance_ rooms. Classification of shells in _Kama Loka_. Black - magicians there. Fate of suicides and others. Pre-devachanic - unconsciousness. Pages 99 to 108. - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - DEVACHAN. - - The meaning of the term. A state of _Atma-Buddhi-Manas_. - Operation of Karma on Devachan. The necessity for Devachan. - It is another sort of thinking with no physical body to - clog it. Only two fields for operation of causes—subjective - and objective. Devachan is one. No time there for the soul. - Length of stay therein. Mathematics of the soul. Average - stay therein is 1500 mortal years. Depends on psychic impulses - of life. Its use and purpose. On the last thoughts at death - the devachanic state is fashioned. Devachan not meaningless. - Do we see those left behind? We bring their images before - us. Entities in Devachan have a power to help those they - love. Mediums cannot go to those in Devachan except in rare - cases and when the person is pure. Adepts only can help - those in Devachan. Pages 109 to 116. - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - CYCLES. - - One of the most important doctrines. Corresponding words - in the Sanskrit. Few cycles known to the West. They cause - the reäppearance of former living personages. They affect - life and evolution. When did the first moment come. The first - rate of vibration determines the subsequent ones. When man - leaves the globe the forces die. Convulsions and cataclysms. - Reïncarnation and karma intermixed with cyclic law. Civilizations - cycle back. The cycle of Avatars. Krishna, Buddha, - and others come under cycles. Minor personages and great - leaders. Intersection of cycles causes convulsions. The Moon, - Sun, and Sidereal cycles. Individual cycles and that of reïncarnation. - The motion through the constellations, and the - meaning of the story of Jonah. The Zodiacal clock. How the - ideas are impressed and preserved by nations. Cause for - earthquakes, Cosmic Fire, Glaciation, and Floods. The Brahmanical - Cycles. Pages 117 to 126. - - - CHAPTER XV. - - DIFFERENTIATION OF SPECIES—MISSING LINKS. - - Ultimate origin of man not discoverable. Man not derived - from a single pair, nor from the animals. Seven races of men - appeared simultaneously on the globe. They are now amalgamated - and will differentiate. The Anthropoid Apes. Their - origin. They came from man. They are the descendants of - offspring from unnatural union in the third and fourth rounds. - The Delayed Races. The secret books on the question. Human - features of apes accounted for. The lower kingdoms - from other planets. Their differentiation by intelligent interference - by the Dhyanis. The midway point of evolution. - Astral forms of old rounds solidified in physical rounds. - Missing links, what they are and why Science cannot discover - them. The aim of Nature in all this work. Pages 127 to 134. - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - PSYCHIC LAWS, FORCES, AND PHENOMENA. - - No true psychology in the West. It exists in the Orient. - Man the mirror of all forces. Gravitation only a half law. - Importance of polarity and cohesion. Rendering objects invisible. - Imagination all powerful. Mental telegraphy. Reading - minds is burglary. Apportation, clairvoyance, clairaudience, - and second-sight. Pictures in the Astral Light. Dreams - and visions. Apparitions. Real clairvoyance. Inner stimulus - makes outer impression. Astral Light the Register of - everything. Pages 135 to 146. - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - PSYCHIC PHENOMENA AND SPIRITUALISM. - - Spiritualism wrongly named. Should be called necromancy - and the worship of the dead. This cult did not originate in - America. The practice long known in India. The facts recorded - deserve examination. Theosophists admit the facts but - interpret them differently from the “spiritualist.” The examination - confined to the question of whether the dead return. - The dead do not return thus. The mass of communications - are from the astral shell of man. Objections stated to the - claims made by mediums. The record justifies the ridicule of - science. Materialization and what it is. A mass of electric - magnetic matter with a picture upon it from the astral light. - Or it is the astral body of the medium extruded from the - living body. Analysis of the laws to be known before the - phenomena can be understood. The _timbre_ of the “independent - voice.” Importance of the astral realm. The Dangers of - mediumship. Attempt to get these powers for money or - selfish ends also dangerous. Cyclic law ordains the slackening - of the force at this time. The purpose of the Lodge. - Pages 147 to 154. - - - - -THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -Theosophy is that ocean of knowledge which spreads from shore to shore -of the evolution of sentient beings; unfathomable in its deepest -parts, it gives the greatest minds their fullest scope, yet, shallow -enough at its shores, it will not overwhelm the understanding of a -child. It is wisdom about God for those who believe that he is all -things and in all, and wisdom about nature for the man who accepts the -statement found in the Christian Bible that God cannot be measured -or discovered, and that darkness is around his pavilion. Although it -contains by derivation the name God and thus may seem at first sight -to embrace religion alone, it does not neglect science, for it is the -science of sciences and therefore has been called the wisdom religion. -For no science is complete which leaves out any department of nature, -whether visible or invisible, and that religion which, depending solely -on an assumed revelation, turns away from things and the laws which -govern them is nothing but a delusion, a foe to progress, an obstacle -in the way of man’s advancement toward happiness. Embracing both the -scientific and the religious, Theosophy is a scientific religion and a -religious science. - -It is not a belief or dogma formulated or invented by man, but is a -knowledge of the laws which govern the evolution of the physical, -astral, psychical, and intellectual constituents of nature and of man. -The religion of the day is but a series of dogmas man-made and with no -scientific foundation for promulgated ethics; while our science as yet -ignores the unseen, and failing to admit the existence of a complete -set of inner faculties of perception in man, it is cut off from the -immense and real field of experience which lies within the visible and -tangible worlds. But Theosophy knows that the whole is constituted of -the visible and the invisible, and perceiving outer things and objects -to be but transitory it grasps the facts of nature, both without and -within. It is therefore complete in itself and sees no unsolvable -mystery anywhere; it throws the word coincidence out of its vocabulary -and hails the reign of law in everything and every circumstance. - -That man possesses an immortal soul is the common belief of humanity; -to this Theosophy adds that he is a soul; and further that all nature -is sentient, that the vast array of objects and men are not mere -collections of atoms fortuitously thrown together and thus without law -evolving law, but down to the smallest atom all is soul and spirit -ever evolving under the rule of law which is inherent in the whole. -And just as the ancients taught, so does Theosophy; that the course of -evolution is the drama of the soul and that nature exists for no other -purpose than the soul’s experience. The Theosophist agrees with Prof. -Huxley in the assertion that there must be beings in the universe whose -intelligence is as much beyond ours as ours exceeds that of the black -beetle, and who take an active part in the government of the natural -order of things. Pushing further on by the light of the confidence had -in his teachers, the Theosophist adds that such intelligences were once -human and came like all of us from other and previous worlds, where -as varied experience had been gained as is possible on this one. We -are therefore not appearing for the first time when we come upon this -planet, but have pursued a long, an immeasurable course of activity -and intelligent perception on other systems of globes, some of which -were destroyed ages before the solar system condensed. This immense -reach of the evolutionary system means, then, that this planet on which -we now are is the result of the activity and the evolution of some -other one that died long ago, leaving its energy to be used in the -bringing into existence of the earth, and that the inhabitants of the -latter in their turn came from some older world to proceed here with -the destined work in matter. And the brighter planets, such as Venus, -are the habitation of still more progressed entities, once as low as -ourselves, but now raised up to a pitch of glory incomprehensible for -our intellects. - -The most intelligent being in the universe, man, has never, then, been -without a friend, but has a line of elder brothers who continually -watch over the progress of the less progressed, preserve the knowledge -gained through aeons of trial and experience, and continually seek -for opportunities of drawing the developing intelligence of the race -on this or other globes to consider the great truths concerning the -destiny of the soul. These elder brothers also keep the knowledge they -have gained of the laws of nature in all departments, and are ready -when cyclic law permits to use it for the benefit of mankind. They have -always existed as a body, all knowing each other, no matter in what -part of the world they may be, and all working for the race in many -different ways. In some periods they are well known to the people and -move among ordinary men whenever the social organization, the virtue, -and the development of the nations permit it. For if they were to come -out openly and be heard of everywhere, they would be worshipped as gods -by some and hunted as devils by others. In those periods when they do -come out some of their number are rulers of men, some teachers, a few -great philosophers, while others remain still unknown except to the -most advanced of the body. - -It would be subversive of the ends they have in view were they to make -themselves public in the present civilization, which is based almost -wholly on money, fame, glory, and personality. For this age, as one of -them has already said, “is an age of transition”, when every system -of thought, science, religion, government, and society is changing, -and men’s minds are only preparing for an alteration into that state -which will permit the race to advance to the point suitable for these -elder brothers to introduce their actual presence to our sight. They -may be truly called the bearers of the torch of truth across the ages; -they investigate all things and beings; they know what man is in his -innermost nature and what his powers and destiny, his state before -birth and the states into which he goes after the death of his body; -they have stood by the cradle of nations and seen the vast achievements -of the ancients, watched sadly the decay of those who had no power to -resist the cyclic law of rise and fall; and while cataclysms seemed -to show a universal destruction of art, architecture, religion, and -philosophy, they have preserved the records of it all in places -secure from the ravages of either men or time; they have made minute -observations, through trained psychics among their own order, into -the unseen realms of nature and of mind, recorded the observations -and preserved the record; they have mastered the mysteries of sound -and color through which alone the elemental beings behind the veil of -matter can be communicated with, and thus can tell why the rain falls -and what it falls for, whether the earth is hollow or not, what makes -the wind to blow and light to shine, and greater feat than all—one -which implies a knowledge of the very foundations of nature—they know -what the ultimate divisions of time are and what are the meaning and -the times of the cycles. - -But, asks the busy man of the nineteenth century who reads the -newspapers and believes in “modern progress,” if these elder brothers -are all you claim them to be, why have they left no mark on history nor -gathered men around them? Their own reply, published some time ago by -Mr. A. P. Sinnett, is better than any I could write. - -“We will first discuss, if you please, the one relating to the -presumed failure of the ‘Fraternity’ to leave any mark upon the -history of the world. They ought, you think, to have been able, with -their extraordinary advantages, to have gathered into their schools -a considerable portion of the more enlightened minds of every race. -How do you know they have made no such mark? Are you acquainted with -their efforts, successes, and failures? Have you any dock upon which -to arraign them? How could your world collect proofs of the doings of -men who have sedulously kept closed every possible door of approach by -which the inquisitive could spy upon them? The precise condition of -their success was that they should never be supervised or obstructed. -What they have done they know; all that those outside their circle -could perceive was the results, the causes of which were masked from -view. To account for these results, many have in different ages -invented theories of the interposition of gods, special providences, -fates, the benign or hostile influences of the stars. There never -was a time within or before the so-called historical period when our -predecessors were not moulding events and ‘making history,’ the facts -of which were subsequently and invariably distorted by historians to -suit contemporary prejudices. Are you quite sure that the visible -heroic figures in the successive dramas were not often but their -puppets? We never pretended to be able to draw nations in the mass -to this or that crisis in spite of the general drift of the world’s -cosmic relations. The cycles must run their rounds. Periods of mental -and moral light and darkness succeed each other as day does night. The -major and minor yugas must be accomplished according to the established -order of things. And we, borne along the mighty tide, can only modify -and direct some of its minor currents.” - -It is under cyclic law, during a dark period in the history of mind, -that the true philosophy disappears for a time, but the same law -causes it to reappear as surely as the sun rises and the human mind is -present to see it. But some works can only be performed by the Master, -while other works require the assistance of the companions. It is the -Master’s work to preserve the true philosophy, but the help of the -companions is needed to rediscover and promulgate it. Once more the -elder brothers have indicated where the truth—Theosophy—could be found, -and the companions all over the world are engaged in bringing it forth -for wider currency and propagation. - -The Elder Brothers of Humanity are men who were perfected in former -periods of evolution. These periods of manifestation are unknown to -modern evolutionists so far as their number are concerned, though -long ago understood by not only the older Hindus, but also by those -great minds and men who instituted and carried on the first pure and -undebased form of the Mysteries of Greece. The periods, when out of -the Great Unknown there come forth the visible universes, are eternal -in their coming and going, alternating with equal periods of silence -and rest again in the Unknown. The object of these mighty waves is -the production of perfect man, the evolution of soul, and they always -witness the increase of the number of Elder Brothers; the life of the -least of men pictures them in day and night, waking and sleeping, birth -and death, “for these two, light and dark, day and night, are the -world’s eternal ways.” - -In every age and complete national history these men of power and -compassion are given different designations. They have been called -Initiates, Adepts, Magi, Hierophants, Kings of the East, Wise Men, -Brothers, and what not. But in the Sanscrit language there is a word -which, being applied to them, at once thoroughly identifies them with -humanity. It is Mahatma. This is composed of _Maha_ great, and _Atma_ -soul; so it means great soul, and as all men are souls the distinction -of the Mahatma lies in greatness. The term Mahatma has come into -wide use through the Theosophical Society, as Mme. H. P. Blavatsky -constantly referred to them as her Masters who gave her the knowledge -she possessed. They were at first known only as the Brothers, but -afterwards, when many Hindus flocked to the Theosophical movement, the -name Mahatma was brought into use, inasmuch as it has behind it an -immense body of Indian tradition and literature. At different times -unscrupulous enemies of the Theosophical Society have said that even -this name had been invented and that such beings are not known of among -the Indians or in their literature. But these assertions are made -only to discredit if possible a philosophical movement that threatens -to completely upset prevailing erroneous theological dogmas. For all -through Hindu literature Mahatmas are often spoken of, and in parts of -the north of that country the term is common. In the very old poem the -_Bhagavad-Gîtâ_, revered by all Hindu sects and admitted by the western -critics to be noble as well as beautiful, there is a verse reading, -“Such a Mahatma is difficult to find.” - -But irrespective of all disputes as to specific names, there is -sufficient argument and proof to show that a body of men having the -wonderful knowledge described above has always existed and probably -exists to-day. The older mysteries continually refer to them. Ancient -Egypt had them in her great king-Initiates, sons of the sun and -friends of great gods. There is a habit of belittling the ideas of the -ancients which is in itself belittling to the people of to-day. Even -the Christian who reverently speaks of Abraham as “the friend of God”, -will scornfully laugh at the idea of the claims of Egyptian rulers to -the same friendship being other than childish assumption of dignity -and title. But the truth is, these great Egyptians were Initiates, -members of the one great lodge which includes all others of whatever -degree or operation. The later and declining Egyptians, of course, must -have imitated their predecessors, but that was when the true doctrine -was beginning once more to be obscured upon the rise of dogma and -priesthood. - -The story of Apollonius of Tyana is about a member of one of the same -ancient orders appearing among men at a descending cycle, and only for -the purpose of keeping a witness upon the scene for future generations. - -Abraham and Moses of the Jews are two other Initiates, Adepts who had -their work to do with a certain people; and in the history of Abraham -we meet with Melchizedek, who was so much beyond Abraham that he had -the right to confer upon the latter a dignity, a privilege, or a -blessing. The same chapter of human history which contains the names -of Moses and Abraham is illuminated also by that of Solomon. And thus -these three make a great Triad of Adepts, the record of whose deeds can -not be brushed aside as folly and devoid of basis. - -Moses was educated by the Egyptians and in Midian, from both of which -he gained much occult knowledge, and any clear-seeing student of -the great Universal Masonry can perceive all through his books the -hand, the plan, and the work of a master. Abraham again knew all the -arts and much of the power in psychical realms that were cultivated -in his day, or else he could not have consorted with kings nor have -been “the friend of God”, and the reference to his conversations with -the Almighty in respect to the destruction of cities alone shows him -to have been an Adept who had long ago passed beyond the need of -ceremonial or other adventitious aids. Solomon completes this triad and -stands out in characters of fire. Around him is clustered such a mass -of legend and story about his dealings with the elemental powers and of -his magic possessions that one must condemn the whole ancient world as -a collection of fools who made lies for amusement if a denial is made -of his being a great character, a wonderful example of the incarnation -among men of a powerful Adept. We do not have to accept the name -Solomon nor the pretense that he reigned over the Jews, but we must -admit the fact that somewhere in the misty time to which the Jewish -records refer there lived and moved among the people of the earth one -who was an Adept and given that name afterwards. Peripatetics and -microscopic critics may affect to see in the prevalence of universal -tradition naught but evidence of the gullibility of men and their -power to imitate, but the true student of human nature and life knows -that the universal tradition is true and arises from the facts in the -history of man. - -Turning to India, so long forgotten and ignored by the lusty and -egotistical, the fighting and the trading West, we find her full of the -lore relating to these wonderful men of whom Noah, Abraham, Moses, and -Solomon are only examples. There the people are fitted by temperament -and climate to be the preservers of the philosophical, ethical, and -psychical jewels that would have been forever lost to us had they been -left to the ravages of such Goths and Vandals as western nations were -in the early days of their struggle for education and civilization. -If the men who wantonly burned up vast masses of historical and -ethnological treasures found by the minions of the Catholic rulers -of Spain, in Central and South America, could have known of and put -their hands upon the books and palm-leaf records of India before the -protecting shield of England was raised against them, they would -have destroyed them all as they did for the Americans, and as their -predecessors attempted to do for the Alexandrian library. Fortunately -events worked otherwise. - -All along the stream of Indian literature we can find the names by -scores of great adepts who were well known to the people and who all -taught the same story—the great epic of the human soul. Their names are -unfamiliar to western ears, but the records of their thoughts, their -work and powers remain. Still more, in the quiet unmoveable East there -are to-day by the hundred persons who know of their own knowledge that -the Great Lodge still exists and has its Mahatmas, Adepts, Initiates, -Brothers. And yet further, in that land are such a number of experts in -the practical application of minor though still very astonishing power -over nature and her forces, that we have an irresistible mass of human -evidence to prove the proposition laid down. - -And if Theosophy—the teaching of this Great Lodge—is as said, both -scientific and religious, then from the ethical side we have still more -proof. A mighty Triad acting on and through ethics is that composed of -Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus. The first, a Hindoo, founds a religion -which to-day embraces many more people than Christianity, teaching -centuries before Jesus the ethics which he taught and which had been -given out even centuries before Buddha. Jesus coming to reform his -people repeats these ancient ethics, and Confucius does the same thing -for ancient and honorable China. - -The Theosophist says that all these great names represent members -of the one single brotherhood, who all have a single doctrine. And -the extraordinary characters who now and again appear in western -civilization, such as St. Germain, Jacob Boehme, Cagliostro, -Paracelsus, Mesmer, Count St. Martin, and Madame H. P. Blavatsky, -are agents for the doing of the work of the Great Lodge at the -proper time. It is true they are generally reviled and classed as -impostors—though no one can find out why they are when they generally -confer benefits and lay down propositions or make discoveries of -great value to science after they have died. But Jesus himself would -be called an impostor to-day if he appeared in some Fifth avenue -theatrical church rebuking the professed Christians. Paracelsus was -the originator of valuable methods and treatments in medicine now -universally used. Mesmer taught hypnotism under another name. Madame -Blavatsky brought once more to the attention of the West the most -important system, long known to the Lodge, respecting man, his nature -and destiny. But all are alike called imposters by a people who have -no original philosophy of their own and whose mendicant and criminal -classes exceed in misery and in number those of any civilization on the -earth. - -It will not be unusual for nearly all occidental readers to wonder how -men could possibly know so much and have such power over the operations -of natural law as I have ascribed to the Initiates, now so commonly -spoken of as the Mahatmas. In India, China, and other Oriental lands no -wonder would arise on these heads, because there, although everything -of a material civilization is just now in a backward state, they have -never lost a belief in the inner nature of man and in the power he may -exercise if he will. Consequently living examples of such powers and -capacities have not been absent from those people. But in the West a -materialistic civilization having arisen through a denial of the soul -life and nature consequent upon a reaction from illogical dogmatism, -there has not been any investigation of these subjects and, until -lately, the general public has not believed in the possibility of -anyone save a supposed God having such power. - -A Mahatma endowed with power over space, time, mind, and matter, is -a possibility just because he is a perfected man. Every human being -has the germ of all the powers attributed to these great Initiates, -the difference lying solely in the fact that we have in general -not developed what we possess the germ of, while the Mahatma has -gone through the training and experience which have caused all the -unseen human powers to develop in him, and conferred gifts that look -god-like to his struggling brother below. Telepathy, mind-reading, and -hypnotism, all long ago known to Theosophy, show the existence in the -human subject of planes of consciousness, functions, and faculties -hitherto undreamed of. Mind-reading and the influencing of the mind -of the hypnotized subject at a distance prove the existence of a mind -which is not wholly dependent upon a brain, and that a medium exists -through which the influencing thought may be sent. It is under this -law that the Initiates can communicate with each other at no matter -what distance. Its _rationale_, not yet admitted by the schools of -the hypnotizers, is, that if the two minds vibrate or change into the -same state they will think alike, or, in other words, the one who is -to hear at a distance receives the impression sent by the other. In -the same way with all other powers, no matter how extraordinary. They -are all natural, although now unusual, just as great musical ability -is natural though not usual or common. If an Initiate can make a solid -object move without contact, it is because he understands the two laws -of attraction and repulsion of which “gravitation” is but the name for -one; if he is able to precipitate out of the viewless air the carbon -which we know is in it, forming the carbon into sentences upon the -paper, it is through his knowledge of the occult higher chemistry, and -the use of a trained and powerful image making faculty which every man -possesses; if he reads your thoughts with ease, that results from the -use of the inner and only real powers of sight, which require no retina -to see the fine-pictured web which the vibrating brain of man weaves -about him. All that the Mahatma may do is natural to the perfected man; -but if those powers are not at once revealed to us it is because the -race is as yet selfish altogether and still living for the present and -the transitory. - -I repeat then, that though the true doctrine disappears for a time -from among men it is bound to reäppear, because first, it is impacted -in the imperishable center of man’s nature; and secondly, the Lodge -forever preserves it, not only in actual objective records, but also in -the intelligent and fully self-conscious men who, having successfully -overpassed the many periods of evolution which preceded the one we -are now involved in, cannot lose the precious possessions they have -acquired. And because the elder brothers are the highest product of -evolution through whom alone, in cöoperation with the whole human -family, the further regular and workmanlike prosecution of the plans of -the Great Architect of the Universe could be carried on, I have thought -it well to advert to them and their Universal Lodge before going to -other parts of the subject. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -The teachings of Theosophy deal for the present chiefly with our earth, -although its purview extends to all the worlds, since no part of the -manifested universe is outside the single body of laws which operate -upon us. Our globe being one of the solar system is certainly connected -with Venus, Jupiter, and other planets, but as the great human family -has to remain with its material vehicle—the earth—until all the units -of the race which are ready are perfected, the evolution of that -family is of greater importance to the members of it. Some particulars -respecting the other planets may be given later on. First let us take a -general view of the laws governing all. - -The universe evolves from the unknown, into which no man or mind, -however high, can inquire, on seven planes or in seven ways or methods -in all worlds, and this sevenfold differentiation causes all the -worlds of the universe and the beings thereon to have a septenary -constitution. As was taught of old, the little worlds and the great -are copies of the whole, and the minutest insect as well as the most -highly developed being are _replicas_ in little or in great of the vast -inclusive original. Hence sprang the saying, “as above so below” which -the Hermetic philosophers used. - -The divisions of the sevenfold universe may be laid down roughly as: -The Absolute, Spirit, Mind, Matter, Will, Akasa or Æther, and Life. In -place of “the Absolute” we can use the word Space. For Space is that -which ever is, and in which all manifestation must take place. The term -Akasa, taken from the Sanscrit, is used in place of Æther, because the -English language has not yet evolved a word to properly designate that -tenuous state of matter which is now sometimes called Ether by modern -scientists. As to the Absolute we can do no more than say It Is. None -of the great teachers of the School ascribe qualities to the Absolute -although all the qualities exist in It. Our knowledge begins with -differentiation, and all manifested objects, beings, or powers are only -differentiations of the Great Unknown. The most that can be said is -that the Absolute periodically differentiates itself, and periodically -withdraws the differentiated into itself. - -The first differentiation—speaking metaphysically as to time—is Spirit, -with which appears Matter and Mind. Akasa is produced from Matter and -Spirit, Will is the force of Spirit in action and Life is a resultant -of the action of Akasa, moved by Spirit, upon Matter. - -But the Matter here spoken of is not that which is vulgarly known -as such. It is the real Matter which is always invisible, and has -sometimes been called Primordial Matter. In the Brahmanical system it -is denominated _Mulaprakriti_. The ancient teaching always held, as is -now admitted by Science, that we see or perceive only the phenomena but -not the essential nature, body or being of matter. - -Mind is the intelligent part of the Cosmos, and in the collection of -seven differentiations above roughly sketched, Mind is that in which -the plan of the Cosmos is fixed or contained. This plan is brought over -from a prior period of manifestation which added to its ever-increasing -perfectness, and no limit can be set to its evolutionary possibilities -in perfectness, because there was never any beginning to the periodical -manifestations of the Absolute, there never will be any end, but -forever the going forth and withdrawing into the Unknown will go on. - -Wherever a world or system of worlds is evolving there the plan has -been laid down in universal mind, the original force comes from -spirit, the basis is matter—which is in fact invisible—Life sustains -all the forms requiring life, and Akasa is the connecting link between -matter on one side and spirit-mind on the other. - -When a world or a system comes to the end of certain great cycles men -record a cataclysm in history or tradition. These traditions abound; -among the Jews in their flood; with the Babylonians in theirs; in -Egyptian papyri; in the Hindu cosmology; and none of them as merely -confirmatory of the little Jewish tradition, but all pointing to early -teaching and dim recollection also of the periodical destructions and -renovations. The Hebraic story is but a poor fragment torn from the -pavement of the Temple of Truth. Just as there are periodical minor -cataclysms or partial destructions, so, the doctrine holds, there is -the universal evolution and involution. Forever the Great Breath goes -forth and returns again. As it proceeds outwards, objects, worlds and -men appear; as it recedes all disappear into the original source. - -This is the waking and the sleeping of the Great Being; the Day and the -Night of Brahma; the prototype of our waking days and sleeping nights -as men, of our disappearance from the scene at the end of one little -human life, and our return again to take up the unfinished work in -another life, in a new day. - -The real age of the world has long been involved in doubt for -Western investigators, who up to the present have shown a singular -unwillingness to take instruction from the records of Oriental people -much older than the West. Yet with the Orientals is the truth about -the matter. It is admitted that Egyptian civilization flourished many -centuries ago, and as there are no living Egyptian schools of ancient -learning to offend modern pride, and perhaps because the Jews “came -out of Egypt” to fasten the Mosaic misunderstood tradition upon modern -progress, the inscriptions cut in rocks and written on papyri obtain -a little more credit to-day than the living thought and record of the -Hindus. For the latter are still among us, and it would never do to -admit that a poor and conquered race possesses knowledge respecting -the age of man and his world which the western flower of culture, -war, and annexation knows nothing of. Ever since the ignorant monks -and theologians of Asia Minor and Europe succeeded in imposing the -Mosaic account of the genesis of earth and man upon the coming western -evolution, the most learned even of our scientific men have stood in -fear of the years that elapsed since Adam, or have been warped in -thought and perception whenever their eyes turned to any chronology -different from that of a few tribes of the sons of Jacob. Even the -noble, aged, and silent pyramid of Gizeh, guarded by Sphinx and Memnon -made of stone, has been degraded by Piazzi Smyth and others into a -proof that the British inch must prevail and that a “Continental -Sunday” controverts the law of the Most High. Yet in the Mosaic -account, where one would expect to find a reference to such a proof as -the pyramid, we can discover not a single hint of it and only a record -of the building by King Solomon of a temple of which there never was a -trace. - -But the Theosophist knows why the Hebraic tradition came to be thus -an apparent drag on the mind of the West; he knows the connection -between Jew and Egyptian; what is and is to be the resurrection of -the old pyramid builders of the Nile valley, and where the plans of -those ancient master masons have been hidden from the profane eyes -until the cycle should roll round again for their bringing forth. The -Jews preserved merely a part of the learning of Egypt hidden under -the letter of the books of Moses, and it is there still to this day -in what they call the cabalistic or hidden meaning of the scriptures. -But the Egyptian souls who helped in planning the pyramid of Gizeh, -who took part in the Egyptian government, theology, science, and -civilization, departed from their old race, that race died out and the -former Egyptians took up their work in the oncoming races of the West, -especially in those which are now repeopling the American continents. -When Egypt and India were younger there was a constant intercourse -between them. They both, in the opinion of the Theosophist, thought -alike, but fate ruled that of the two the Hindus only should preserve -the old ideas among a living people. I will therefore take from the -Brahmanical records of Hindustan their doctrine about the days, nights, -years and life of Brahma, who represents the universe and the worlds. - -The doctrine at once upsets the interpretation so long given to the -Mosaic tradition, but fully accords with the evident account in Genesis -of other and former “creations”, with the cabalistic construction of -the Old Testament verse about the kings of Edom, who there represent -former periods of evolution prior to that started with Adam, and also -coincides with the belief held by some of the early Christian Fathers -who told their brethren about wonderful previous worlds and creations. - -The Day of Brahma is said to last one thousand years, and his night is -of equal length. In the Christian Bible is a verse saying that one day -is as a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years as one day. -This has generally been used to magnify the power of Jehovah, but it -has a suspicious resemblance to the older doctrine of the length of -Brahma’s day and night. It would be of more value if construed to be a -statement of the periodical coming forth for great days and nights of -equal length of the universe of manifested worlds. - -A day of mortals is reckoned by the sun, and is but twelve hours in -length. On Mercury it would be different, and on Saturn or Uranus -still more so. But a day of Brahma is made up of what are called -Manvantaras—or period between two men—fourteen in number. These include -four billion three hundred and twenty million mortal, or earth, years, -which is one day of Brahma. - -When this day opens, cosmic evolution, so far as relates to this solar -system, begins and occupies between one and two billions of years in -evolving the very ethereal first matter before the astral kingdoms of -mineral, vegetable, animal and men are possible. This second step takes -some three hundred millions of years, and then still more material -processes go forward for the production of the tangible kingdoms of -nature, including man. This covers over one and one-half billions of -years. And the number of solar years included in the present “human” -period is over eighteen millions of years. - -This is exactly what Herbert Spencer designates as the gradual coming -forth of the known and heterogeneous from the unknown and homogeneous. -For the ancient Egyptian and Hindu Theosophists never admitted a -creation out of nothing, but ever strenuously insisted upon evolution, -by gradual stages, of the heterogeneous and differentiated from the -homogeneous and undifferentiated. No mind can comprehend the infinite -and absolute unknown, which has no beginning and shall have no end; -which is both last and first, because, whether differentiated or -withdrawn into itself, it ever is. This is the God spoken of in the -Christian Bible as the one around whose pavilion there is darkness. - -This cosmic and human chronology of the Hindus is laughed at by -western Orientalists, yet they can furnish nothing better and are -continually disagreeing with each other on the same subject. In -Wilson’s translation of _Vishnu Purana_ he calls it all fiction based -on nothing, and childish boasting. But the Free Masons, who remain -inactive hereupon, ought to know better. They could find in the story -of the building of Solomon’s Temple from the heterogeneous materials -brought from everywhere, and its erection without the noise of a tool -being heard, the agreement with these ideas of their Egyptian and -Hindu brothers. For Solomon’s Temple means man whose frame is built -up, finished and decorated without the least noise. But the materials -had to be found, gathered together and fashioned in other and distant -places. These are in the periods above spoken of, very distant and -very silent. Man could not have his bodily temple to live in until all -the matter in and about his world had been found by the Master, who -is the inner man; when found, the plans for working it required to be -detailed. They then had to be carried out in different detail until all -the parts should be perfectly ready and fit for placing in the final -structure. So in the vast stretch of time which began after the first -almost intangible matter had been gathered and kneaded, the material -and vegetable kingdoms had sole possession here with the Master—man—who -was hidden from sight within, carrying forward the plans for the -foundations of the human temple. All of this requires many, many ages, -since we know that nature never leaps. And when the rough work was -completed, when the human temple was erected, many more ages would be -required for all the servants, the priests, and the counsellors to -learn their parts properly so that man, the Master, might be able to -use the temple for its best and highest purposes. - -The ancient doctrine is far nobler than the Christian religious -one or that of the purely scientific school. The religious gives a -theory which conflicts with reason and fact, while science can give -for the facts which it observes no reason which is in any way noble -or elevating. Theosophy alone, inclusive of all systems and every -experience, gives the key, the plan, the doctrine, the truth. - -The real age of the world is asserted by Theosophy to be almost -incalculable, and that of man as he is now formed is over eighteen -millions of years. What has become at last man is of vastly greater -age, for before the present two sexes appeared the human creature -was sometimes of one shape and sometimes of another, until the whole -plan had been fully worked out into our present form, function, and -capacity. This is found to be referred to in the ancient books written -for the profane where man is said to have been at one time globular -in shape. This was at a time when the conditions favored such a form -and of course it was longer ago than eighteen millions of years. And -when this globular form was the rule the sexes as we know them had not -differentiated and hence there was but one sex, or if you like, no sex -at all. - -During all these ages before our man came into being, evolution was -carrying on the work of perfecting various powers which are now our -possession. This was accomplished by the Ego or real man going through -experience in countless conditions of matter all different one from -the other, and the same plan in general was and is pursued as prevails -in respect to the general evolution of the universe to which I have -before adverted. That is, details were first worked out in spheres of -being very ethereal, metaphysical in fact. Then the next step brought -the same details to be worked out on a plane of matter a little more -dense, until at last it could be done on our present plane of what we -miscall gross matter. In these anterior states the senses existed in -germ, as it were, or in idea, until the astral plane which is next to -this one was arrived at, and then they were concentrated so as to be -the actual senses we now use through the agency of the different outer -organs. These outer organs of sight, touch and hearing, and tasting, -are often mistaken by the unlearned or the thoughtless for the real -organs and senses, but he who stops to think must see that the senses -are interior and that their outer organs are but mediators between -the visible universe and the real perceiver within. And all these -various powers and potentialities being well worked out in this slow -but sure process, at last man is put upon the scene a sevenfold being -just as the universe and earth itself are sevenfold. Each of his seven -principles is derived from one of the great first seven divisions, and -each relates to a planet or scene of evolution, and to a race in which -that evolution was carried out. So the first sevenfold differentiation -is important to be borne in mind, since it is the basis of all that -follows; just as the universal evolution is septenary, so the evolution -of humanity, sevenfold in its constitution, is carried on upon a -septenary Earth. This is spoken of in Theosophical literature as the -Sevenfold Planetary Chain, and is intimately connected with Man’s -special evolution. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -Coming now to our Earth the view put forward by Theosophy regarding -its genesis, its evolution and the evolution of the Human, Animal and -other Monads, is quite different from modern ideas, and in some things -contrary to accepted theories. But the theories of to-day are not -stable. They change with each century, while the Theosophical one never -alters because, in the opinion of those Elder Brothers who have caused -its repromulgation and pointed to its confirmation in ancient books, -it is but a statement of facts in nature. The modern theory is, on the -contrary, always speculative, changeable, and continually altered. - -Following the general plan outlined in preceding pages, the Earth is -sevenfold. It is an entity and not a mere lump of gross matter. And -being thus an entity of a septenary nature there must be six other -globes which roll with it in space. This company of seven globes has -been called the “Earth Chain”, the “Planetary Chain”. In _Esoteric -Buddhism_ this is clearly stated, but there a rather hard and fast -materialistic view of it is given and the reader led to believe that -the doctrine speaks of seven distinct globes, all separated from though -connected with each other. One is forced to conclude that the author -meant to say that the globe Earth is as distinct from the other six as -Venus is from Mars. - -This is not the doctrine. The earth is one of seven globes, in respect -to man’s consciousness only, because when he functions on one of the -seven he perceives it as a distinct globe and does not see the other -six. This is in perfect correspondence with man himself who has six -other constituents of which only the gross body is visible to him -because he is now functioning on the Earth—or the fourth globe—and his -body represents the Earth. The whole seven “globes” constitute one -single mass or great globe and they all interpenetrate each other. -But we have to say “globe”, because the ultimate shape is globular or -spherical. If one relies too closely on the explanation made by Mr. -Sinnett it might be supposed that the globes did not interpenetrate -each other but were connected by currents or lines of magnetic force. -And if too close attention is paid to the diagrams used in the _Secret -Doctrine_ to illustrate the scheme, without paying due regard to the -explanations and cautions given by H. P. Blavatsky, the same error -may be made. But both she and her Adept teachers say, that the seven -globes of our chain are in “_coadunition with each other but not in -consubstantiality_”.[1] This is further enforced by cautions not to -rely on statistics or plane surface diagrams, but to look at the -metaphysical and spiritual aspect of the theory as stated in English. -Thus from the very source of Mr. Sinnett’s book we have the statement, -that these globes are united in one mass though differing from each -other in substance, and that this difference of substance is due to -change of centre of consciousness. - -[1] _Secret Doctrine_, Vol. 1, p. 166, first edition. - -The Earth Chain of seven globes as thus defined is the direct -reïncarnation of a former chain of seven globes, and that former -family of seven was the moon chain, the moon itself being the visible -representative of the fourth globe of the old chain. When that former -vast entity composed of the Moon and six others, all united in one -mass, reached its limit of life it died just as any being dies. Each -one of the seven sent its energies into space and gave similar life or -vibration to cosmic dust—matter,—and the total cohesive force of the -whole kept the seven energies together. This resulted in the evolving -of the present Earth Chain of seven centres of energy or evolution -combined in one mass. As the Moon was the fourth of the old series it -is on the same plane of perception as the Earth, and as we are now -confined in our consciousness largely to Earth we are able only to see -one of the old seven—to wit: our Moon. When we are functioning on any -of the other seven we will perceive in our sky the corresponding old -corpse which will then be a Moon, and we will not see the present Moon. -Venus, Mars, Mercury and other visible planets are all fourth-plane -globes of distinct planetary masses and for that reason are visible -to us, their companion six centres of energy and consciousness being -invisible. All diagrams on plane surfaces will only becloud the theory -because a diagram necessitates linear divisions. - -The stream or mass of Egos which evolves on the seven globes of our -chain is limited in number, yet the actual quantity is enormous. For -though the universe is limitless and infinite, yet in any particular -portion of Cosmos in which manifestation and evolution have begun -there is a limit to the extent of manifestation and to the number of -Egos engaged therein. And the whole number of Monads now going through -evolution on our Earth Chain came over from the old seven planets or -globes which I have described. _Esoteric Buddhism_ calls this mass -of Egos a “life wave”, meaning the stream of Monads. It reached this -planetary mass, represented to our consciousness by the central point -our Earth, and began on Globe A or No. 1, coming like an army or river. -The first portion began on Globe A and went through a long evolution -there in bodies suited to such a state of matter, and then passed on to -B, and so on through the whole seven greater states of consciousness -which have been called globes. When the first portion left A others -streamed in and pursued the same course, the whole army proceeding -with regularity round the septenary route. - -This journey went on for four circlings round the whole, and then the -whole stream or army of Egos from the old Moon Chain had arrived, and -being complete, no more entered after the middle of the Fourth Round. -The same circling process of these differently arrived classes goes -on for seven complete Rounds of the whole seven planetary centres of -consciousness, and when the seven are ended as much perfection as is -possible in the immense period occupied will have been attained, and -then this chain or mass of “globes” will die in its turn to give birth -to still another series. - -Each one of the globes is used by evolutionary law for the development -of seven races, and of senses, faculties and powers appropriate to that -state of matter: the experience of the whole seven globes being needed -to make a perfect development. Hence we have the Rounds and Races. The -Round is a circling of the seven centres of planetary consciousness; -the Race the racial development on one of those seven. There are seven -races for each globe, but the total of forty-nine races only makes up -seven great races, the special septennate of races on each globe or -planetary centre composing in reality one race of seven constituents or -special peculiarities of function and power. - -And as no complete race could be evolved in a moment on any globe, the -slow, orderly processes of nature, which allow no jumps, must proceed -by appropriate means. Hence sub-races have to be evolved one after the -other before the perfect root race is formed, and then the root race -sends off its off-shoots while it is declining and preparing for the -advent of the next great race. - -As illustrating this, it is distinctly taught that on the Americas is -to be evolved the new—sixth—race; and here all the races of the earth -are now engaged in a great amalgamation from which will result a -very highly developed sub-race, after which others will be evolved by -similar processes until the new one is completed. - -Between the end of any great race and the beginning of another there -is a period of rest, so far as the globe is concerned, for then the -stream of human Egos leaves it for another one of the chain in order -to go on with further evolution of powers and faculties there. But -when the last, the seventh, race has appeared and fully perfected -itself, a great dissolution comes on, similar to that which I briefly -described as preceding the birth of the earth’s chain, and then the -world disappears as a tangible thing, and so far as the human ear is -concerned there is silence. This, it is said, is the root of the belief -so general that the world will come to an end, that there will be a -judgment-day, or that there have been universal floods or fires. - -Taking up evolution on the Earth, it is stated that the stream of -Monads begins first to work up the mass of matter in what are called -elemental conditions when all is gaseous or fiery. For the ancient -and true theory is that no evolution is possible without the Monad as -vivifying agent. In this first stage there is no animal nor vegetable. -Next comes the mineral when the whole mass hardens, the Monads being -all imprisoned within. Then the first Monads emerge into vegetable -forms which they construct themselves, and no animals yet appear. Next -the first class of Monads emerges from the vegetable and produces the -animal, then the human astral and shadowy model, and we have minerals, -vegetables, animals and future men, for the second and later classes -are still evolving in the lower kingdoms. When the middle of the Fourth -Round is reached no more Monads emerge into the human stage and will -not until a new planetary mass, reïncarnated from ours, is made. This -is the whole process roughly given, but with many details left out, -for in one of the rounds man appears before the animals. But this -detail need lead to no confusion. - -And to state it in another way. The plan comes first in the universal -mind, after which the astral model or basis is made, and when that -astral model is completed, the whole process is gone over so as to -condense the matter, up to the middle of the Fourth Round. Subsequent -to that, which is our future, the whole mass is spiritualized with -full consciousness and the entire body of globes raised up to a higher -plane of development. In the process of condensing above referred to -there is an alteration in respect to the time of the appearance of man -on the planet. But as to these details the teachers have only said, -“that at the Second Round the plan varies, but the variation will not -be given to this generation.” Hence it is impossible for me to give it. -But there is no vagueness on the point that seven great races have to -evolve here on this planet, and that the entire collection of races has -to go seven times round the whole series of seven globes. - -Human beings did not appear here in two sexes first. The first were of -no sex, then they altered into hermaphrodite, and lastly separated into -male and female. And this separation into male and female for human -beings was over 18,000,000 years ago. For that reason is it said, in -these ancient schools, that our humanity is 18,000,000 years old and a -little over. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -Respecting the nature of man there are two ideas current in the -religious circles of Christendom. One is the teaching and the other -the common acceptation of it; the first is not secret, to be sure, -in the Church, but it is so seldom dwelt upon in the hearing of the -laity as to be almost arcane for the ordinary person. Nearly everyone -says he has a soul and a body, and there it ends. What the soul is, -and whether it is the real person or whether it has any powers of its -own, are not inquired into, the preachers usually confining themselves -to its salvation or damnation. And by thus talking of it as something -different from oneself, the people have acquired an underlying notion -that they are not souls because the soul may be lost by them. From -this has come about a tendency to materialism causing men to pay more -attention to the body than to the soul, the latter being left to -the tender mercies of the priest of the Roman Catholics, and among -dissenters the care of it is most frequently put off to the dying day. -But when the true teaching is known it will be seen that the care of -the soul, which is the Self, is a vital matter requiring attention -every day, and not to be deferred without grievous injury resulting to -the whole man, both soul and body. - -The Christian teaching, supported by St. Paul, since upon him, in fact, -dogmatic Christianity rests, is that man is composed of body, soul, -and spirit. This is the threefold constitution of man, believed by the -theologians but kept in the background because its examination might -result in the readoption of views once orthodox but now heretical. -For when we thus place soul between spirit and body, we come very -close to the necessity for looking into the question of the soul’s -responsibility—since mere body can have no responsibility. And in order -to make the soul responsible for the acts performed, we must assume -that it has powers and functions. From this it is easy to take the -position that the soul may be rational or irrational, as the Greeks -sometimes thought, and then there is but a step to further Theosophical -propositions. This threefold scheme of the nature of man contains, in -fact, the Theosophical teaching of his sevenfold constitution, because -the four other divisions missing from the category can be found in the -powers and functions of body and soul, as I shall attempt to show later -on. This conviction that man is a septenary and not merely a duad, was -held long ago and very plainly taught to every one with accompanying -demonstrations, but like other philosophical tenets it disappeared -from sight, because gradually withdrawn at the time when in the east -of Europe morals were degenerating and before materialism had gained -full sway in company with scepticism, its twin. Upon its withdrawal -the present dogma of body, soul, spirit, was left to Christendom. The -reason for that concealment and its rejuvenescence in this century is -well put by Mme. H. P. Blavatsky in the _Secret Doctrine_. In answer to -the statement, “we cannot understand how any danger could arise from -the revelation of such a purely philosophical doctrine as the evolution -of the planetary chain,” she says: - - The danger was this: Doctrines such as the Planetary chain or the - seven races at once give a clue to the sevenfold nature of man, for - each principle is correlated to a plane, a planet, and a race; and - the human principles are, on every plane, correlated to the sevenfold - occult forces—those of the higher planes being of tremendous occult - power, the abuse of which would cause incalculable evil to humanity. A - clue which is, perhaps, no clue to the present generation—especially - the Westerns—protected as they are by their very blindness and - ignorant materialistic disbelief in the occult; but a clue which - would, nevertheless, be very real in the early centuries of the - Christian era, to people fully convinced of the reality of occultism - and entering a cycle of degradation which made them ripe for abuse of - occult powers and sorcery of the worst description. - -Mr. A. P. Sinnett, at one time an official in the Government of India, -first outlined in this century the real nature of man in his book -_Esoteric Buddhism_, which was made up from information conveyed to him -by H. P. Blavatsky directly from the Great Lodge of Initiates to which -reference has been made. And in thus placing the old doctrine before -western civilization he conferred a great benefit on his generation and -helped considerably the cause of Theosophy. His classification was: - - (1.) The Body, or _Rupa_. - - (2.) Vitality, or _Prana-Jiva_. - - (3.) Astral Body, or _Linga-Sarira_. - - (4.) Animal Soul, or _Kama-Rupa_. - - (5.) Human Soul, or _Manas_. - - (6.) Spiritual Soul, or _Buddhi_. - - (7.) Spirit, or _Atma_. - -The words in italics being equivalents in the Sanscrit language adopted -by him for the English terms. This classification stands to this day -for all practical purposes, but it is capable of modification and -extension. For instance, a later arrangement which places Astral body -second instead of third in the category does not substantially alter -it. It at once gives an idea of what man is, very different from -the vague description by the words “body and soul,” and also boldly -challenges the materialistic conception that mind is the product of -brain, a portion of the body. No claim is made that these principles -were hitherto unknown, for they were all understood in various ways not -only by the Hindus but by many Europeans. Yet the compact presentation -of the sevenfold constitution of man in intimate connection with the -septenary constitution of a chain of globes through which the being -evolves, had not been given out. The French Abbé, Eliphas Levi, -wrote about the astral realm and the astral body, but evidently had -no knowledge of the remainder of the doctrine, and while the Hindus -possessed the other terms in their language and philosophy, they did -not use a septenary classification, but depended chiefly on a fourfold -one and certainly concealed (if they knew of it) the doctrine of a -chain of seven globes including our earth. Indeed, a learned Hindu, -Subba Row, now deceased, asserted that they knew of a sevenfold -classification, but that it had not been and would not be given out. - -Considering these constituents in another manner, we would say that -the lower man is a composite being, but in his real nature is a unity, -or immortal being, comprising a trinity of Spirit, Discernment, and -Mind which requires four lower mortal instruments or vehicles through -which to work in matter and obtain experience from Nature. This trinity -is that called _Atma-Buddhi-Manas_ in Sanscrit, difficult terms to -render in English. _Atma_ is Spirit, _Buddhi_ is the highest power of -intellection, that which discerns and judges, and _Manas_ is Mind. This -threefold collection is the real man; and beyond doubt the doctrine is -the origin of the theological one of the trinity of Father, Son, and -Holy Ghost. The four lower instruments or vehicles are shown in this -table: - - _Atma_, {The Passions and Desires, - _Buddhi_, {Life Principle, - _Manas_, {Astral Body, - {Physical Body. - -These four lower material constituents are transitory and subject to -disintegration in themselves as well as to separation from each other. -When the hour arrives for their separation to begin, the combination -can no longer be kept up, the physical body dies, the atoms of which -each of the four is composed begin to separate from each other, and -the whole collection being disjointed is no longer fit for one -as an instrument for the real man. This is what is called “death” -among us mortals, but it is not death for the real man because he is -deathless, persistent, immortal. He is therefore called the Triad, -or indestructible trinity, while they are known as the Quaternary or -mortal four. - -This quaternary or lower man is a product of cosmic or physical laws -and substance. It has been evolved during a lapse of ages, like any -other physical thing, from cosmic substance, and is therefore subject -to physical, physiological, and psychical laws which govern the race -of man as a whole. Hence its period of possible continuance can be -calculated just as the limit of tensile strain among the metals used -in bridge building can be deduced by the engineer. Any one collection -in the form of man made up of these constituents is therefore limited -in duration by the laws of the evolutionary period in which it exists. -Just now, that is generally seventy to one hundred years, but its -possible duration is longer. Thus there are in history instances where -ordinary persons have lived to be two hundred years of age; and by a -knowledge of the occult laws of nature the possible limit of duration -may be extended nearly to four hundred years. - - { Brain, - { Nerves, - The visible { Blood, - physical { Bones, - man is: { Lymph, - { Muscles, - { Organs of Sensation and Action, - { and Skin, - - The unseen { Astral Body, - physical { Passions and Desires, - man is: { Life Principle, (called _prana_ or _jiva_.) - -It will be seen that the physical part of our nature is thus extended -to a second department which, though invisible to the physical eye, is -nevertheless material and subject to decay. Because people in general -have been in the habit of admitting to be real only what they can see -with the physical eye, they have at last come to suppose that the -unseen is neither real nor material. But they forget that even on the -earth plane noxious gases are invisible though real and powerfully -material, and that water may exist in the air held suspended and -invisible until conditions alter and cause its precipitation. - -Let us recapitulate before going into details. The _Real Man_ is -the trinity of _Atma-Buddhi-Manas_, or Spirit and Mind, and he uses -certain agents and instruments to get in touch with nature in order -to know himself. These instruments and agents are found in the lower -Four—or the Quaternary—each principle in which category is of itself an -instrument for the particular experience belonging to its own field, -the body being the lowest, least important, and most transitory of the -whole series. For when we arrive at the body on the way down from the -Higher Mind, it can be shown that all of its organs are in themselves -senseless and useless when deprived of the man within. Sight, hearing, -touch, taste, and smelling do not pertain to the body but to the second -unseen physical man, the real organs for the exercise of those powers -being in the Astral Body, and those in the physical body being but the -mechanical outer instruments for making the coördination between nature -and the real organs inside. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -The body, as a mass of flesh, bones, muscles, nerves, brain matter, -bile, mucous, blood, and skin is an object of exclusive care for too -many people, who make it their god because they have come to identify -themselves with it, meaning it only when they say “I.” Left to itself -it is devoid of sense, and acts in such a case solely by reflex and -automatic action. This we see in sleep, for then the body assumes -attitudes and makes motions which the waking man does not permit. It is -like mother earth in that it is made up of an infinitesimal number of -“lives”. Each of these lives is a sensitive point. Not only are there -microbes, bacilli, and bacteria, but these are composed of others, and -those others of still more minute lives. These lives are not the cells -of the body, but make up the cells, keeping ever within the limits -assigned by evolution to the cell. They are forever whirling and moving -together throughout the whole body, being in certain apparently void -spaces as well as where flesh, membrane, bones, and blood are seen. -They extend, too, beyond the actual outer limits of the body to a -measurable distance. - -One of the mysteries of physical life is hidden among these “lives”. -Their action, forced forward by the Life energy—called _Prana_ or -_Jiva_—will explain active existence and physical death. They are -divided into two classes, one the destroyers, the other the preservers, -and these two war upon each other from birth until the destroyers -win. In this struggle the Life Energy itself ends the contest because -it is life that kills. This may seem heterodox, but in Theosophical -philosophy it is held to be the fact. For, it is said, the infant -lives because the combination of healthy organs is able to absorb -the life all around it in space, and is put to sleep each day by the -overpowering strength of the stream of life, since the preservers -among the cells of the youthful body are not yet mastered by the other -class. These processes of going to sleep and waking again are simply -and solely the restoring of the equilibrium in sleep and the action -produced by disturbing it when awake. It may be compared with the -arc-electric light wherein the brilliant arc of light at the point -of resistance is the symbol of the waking active man. So in sleep we -are again absorbing and not resisting the Life Energy; when we wake -we are throwing it off. But as it exists around us like an ocean in -which we swim, our power to throw it off is necessarily limited. Just -when we wake we are in equilibrium as to our organs and life; when we -fall asleep we are yet more full of life than in the morning; it has -exhausted us; it finally kills the body. Such a contest could not be -waged forever, since the whole solar system’s weight of life is pitted -against the power to resist focussed in one small human frame. - -The body is considered by the Masters of Wisdom to be the most -transitory, impermanent, and illusionary of the whole series of -constituents in man. Not for a moment is it the same. Ever changing, in -motion in every part, it is in fact never complete or finished though -tangible. The ancients clearly perceived this, for they elaborated a -doctrine called Naimittika Pralaya, or the continual change in material -things, the continual destruction. This is known now to science in the -doctrine that the body undergoes a complete alteration and renovation -every seven years. At the end of the first seven years it is not the -same body it was in the beginning. At the end of our days it has -changed seven times, perhaps more. And yet it presents the same general -appearance from maturity until death; and it is a human form from birth -to maturity. This is a mystery science explains not; it is a question -pertaining to the cell and to the means whereby the general human shape -is preserved. - -The “cell” is an illusion. It is merely a word. It has no existence -as a material thing, for any cell is composed of other cells. What, -then, is a cell? It is the ideal form within which the actual physical -atoms—made up of the “lives”—arrange themselves. As it is admitted that -the physical molecules are forever rushing away from the body, they -must be leaving the cells each moment. Hence there is no physical cell, -but the privative limits of one, the ideal walls and general shape. The -molecules assume position within the ideal shape according to the laws -of nature, and leave it again almost at once to give place to other -atoms. And as it is thus with the body, so is it with the earth and -with the solar system. Thus also is it, though in slower measure, with -all material objects. They are all in constant motion and change. This -is modern and also ancient wisdom. This is the physical explanation of -clairvoyance, clairaudience, telepathy, and mind-reading. It helps to -show us what a deluding and unsatisfactory thing our body is. - -Although, strictly speaking, the second constituent of man is the -Astral Body—called in Sanscrit _Linga Sarira_—we will consider Life -Energy—or _Prana_ and _Jiva_ in Sanscrit—together, because to our -observation the phenomenon of life is more plainly exhibited in -connection with the body. - -Life is not the result of the operation of the organs, nor is it gone -when the body dissolves. It is a universally pervasive principle. It -is the ocean in which the earth floats; it permeates the globe and -every being and object on it. It works unceasingly on and around us, -pulsating against and through us forever. When we occupy a body we -merely use a more specialized instrument than any other for dealing -with both _Prana_ and _Jiva_. Strictly speaking, _Prana_ is breath; and -as breath is necessary for continuance of life in the human machine, -that is the better word. _Jiva_ means “life”, and also is applied to -the living soul, for the life in general is derived from the Supreme -Life itself. _Jiva_ is therefore capable of general application, -whereas _Prana_ is more particular. It cannot be said that one has a -definite amount of this Life Energy which will fly back to its source -should the body be burned, but rather that it works with whatever be -the mass of matter in it. We, as it were, secrete or use it as we -live. For whether we are alive or dead, life-energy is still there; in -life among our organs sustaining them, in death among the innumerable -creatures that arise from our destruction. We can no more do away with -this life than we can erase the air in which the bird floats, and like -the air it fills all the spaces on the planet, so that nowhere can -we lose the benefit of it nor escape its final crushing power. But -in working upon the physical body this life—_Prana_—needs a vehicle, -means, or guide, and this vehicle is the astral body. - -There are many names for the Astral Body. Here are a few: _Linga -Sarira_, Sanscrit, meaning design body, and the best one of all; -ethereal double; phantom; wraith; apparition; doppelgänger; personal -man; perisprit; irrational soul; animal soul; _Bhuta_; elementary; -spook; devil; demon. Some of these apply only to the astral body when -devoid of the corpus after death. _Bhuta_, devil, and elementary are -nearly synonymous; the first Sanscrit, the other English. With the -Hindus the _Bhuta_ is the Astral Body when it is by death released from -the body and the mind; and being thus separated from conscience, is a -devil in their estimation. They are not far wrong, if we abolish the -old notion that a devil is an angel fallen from heaven, for this bodily -devil is something which rises from the earth. - -It may be objected that the term Astral Body is not the right one -for this purpose. The objection is one which arises from the nature -and genesis of the English language, for as that has grown up in a -struggle with nature and among a commercial people it has not as yet -coined the words needed for designating the great range of faculties -and organs of the unseen man. And as its philosophers have not admitted -the existence of these inner organs, the right terms do not exist in -the language. So in looking for words to describe the inner body the -only ones found in English were the “astral body”. This term comes near -to the real fact, since the substance of this form is derived from -cosmic matter or star matter, roughly speaking. But the old Sanscrit -word describes it exactly—_Linga Sarira_, the design body—because it -is the design or model for the physical body. This is better than -“ethereal body”, as the latter might be said to be subsequent to the -physical, whereas in fact the astral body precedes the material one. - -The astral body is made of matter of very fine texture as compared -with the visible body, and has a great tensile strength, so that it -changes but little during a lifetime, while the physical alters every -moment. And not only has it this immense strength, but at the same time -possesses an elasticity permitting its extension to a considerable -distance. It is flexible, plastic, extensible, and strong. The matter -of which it is composed is electrical and magnetic in its essence, and -is just what the whole world was composed of in the dim past when the -processes of evolution had not yet arrived at the point of producing -the material body for man. But it is not raw or crude matter. Having -been through a vast period of evolution and undergone purifying -processes of an incalculable number, its nature has been refined to a -degree far beyond the gross physical elements we see and touch with the -physical eye and hand. - -The astral body is the guiding model for the physical one, and all the -other kingdoms have the same astral model. Vegetables, minerals, and -animals have the ethereal double, and this theory is the only one -which will answer the question how it is that the seed produces its own -kind and all sentient beings bring forth their like. Biologists can -only say that the facts are as we know them, but can give no reason -why the acorn will never grow anything but an oak except that no man -ever knew it to be otherwise. But in the old schools of the past the -true doctrine was known, and it has been once again brought out in the -West through the efforts of H. P. Blavatsky and those who have found -inspiration in her works. - -This doctrine is, that in early times of the evolution of this globe -the various kingdoms of nature are outlined in plan or ideal form -first, and then the astral matter begins to work on this plan with the -aid of the Life principle, until after long ages the astral human form -is evolved and perfected. This is, then, the first form that the human -race had, and corresponds in a way with the allegory of man’s state in -the garden of Eden. After another long period, during which the cycle -of further descent into matter is rolling forward, the astral form at -last clothes itself with a “coat of skin”, and the present physical -form is on the scene. This is the explanation of the verse of the book -of Genesis which describes the giving of coats of skin to Adam and -Eve. It is the final fall into matter, for from that point on the man -within strives to raise the whole mass of physical substance up to a -higher level, and to inform it all with a larger measure of spiritual -influence, so that it may be ready to go still further on during the -next great period of evolution after the present one is ended. So at -the present time the model for the growing child in the womb is the -astral body already perfect in shape before the child is born. It is -on this the molecules arrange themselves until the child is complete, -and the presence of the ethereal design-body will explain how the form -grows into shape, how the eyes push themselves out from within to the -surface of the face, and many other mysterious matters in embryology -which are passed over by medical men with a description but with no -explanation. This will also explain, as nothing else can, the cases -of marking of the child in the womb sometimes denied by physicians -but well-known by those who care to watch, to be a fact of frequent -occurrence. The growing physical form is subject to the astral model; -it is connected with the imagination of the mother by physical and -psychical organs; the mother makes a strong picture from horror, fear, -or otherwise, and the astral model is then similarly affected. In the -case of marking by being born legless, the ideas and strong imagination -of the mother act so as to cut off or shrivel up the astral leg, and -the result is that the molecules, having no model of leg to work on, -make no physical leg whatever; and similarly in all such cases. But -where we find a man who still feels the leg which the surgeon has cut -off, or perceives the fingers that were amputated, then the astral -member has not been interfered with, and hence the man feels as if it -were still on his person. For knife or acid will not injure the astral -model, but in the first stages of its growth ideas and imagination have -the power of acid and sharpened steel. - -In the ordinary man who has not been trained in practical occultism or -who has not the faculty by birth, the astral body cannot go more than -a few feet from the physical one. It is a part of that physical, it -sustains it and is incorporated in it just as the fibres of the mango -are all through that fruit. But there are those who, by reason of -practices pursued in former lives on the earth, have a power born with -them of unconsciously sending out the astral body. These are mediums, -some seers, and many hysterical, cataleptic, and scrofulous people. -Those who have trained themselves by a long course of excessively hard -discipline which reaches to the moral and mental nature and quite -beyond the power of the average man of the day, can use the astral -form at will, for they have gotten completely over the delusion that -the physical body is a permanent part of them, and, besides, they have -learned the chemical and electrical laws governing in this matter. In -their case they act with knowledge and consciously; in the other cases -the act is done without power to prevent it, or to bring it about at -will, or to avoid the risks attendant on such use of potencies in -nature of a high character. - -The astral body has in it the real organs of the outer sense organs. -In it are the sight, hearing, power to smell, and the sense of touch. -It has a complete system of nerves and arteries of its own for the -conveyance of the astral fluid which is to that body as our blood is -to the physical. It is the real personal man. There are located the -subconscious perception and the latent memory, which the hypnotizers -of the day are dealing with and being baffled by. So when the body -dies the astral man is released, and as at death the immortal man—the -Triad—flies away to another state, the astral becomes a shell of -the once living man and requires time to dissipate. It retains all -the memories of the life lived by the man, and thus reflexly and -automatically can repeat what the dead man knew, said, thought, and -saw. It remains near the deserted physical body nearly all the time -until that is completely dissipated, for it has to go through its own -process of dying. It may become visible under certain conditions. It is -the spook of the spiritualistic _séance_ rooms, and is there made to -masquerade as the real spirit of this or that individual. Attracted by -the thoughts of the medium and the sitters, it vaguely flutters where -they are, and then is galvanized into a factitious life by a whole host -of elemental forces and by the active astral body of the medium who is -holding the _séance_ or of any other medium in the audience. From it -(as from a photograph) are then reflected into the medium’s brain all -the boasted evidences which spiritualists claim go to prove identity -of deceased friend or relative. These evidences are accepted as proof -that the spirit of the deceased is present, because neither mediums nor -sitters are acquainted with the laws governing their own nature, nor -with the constitution, power, and function of astral matter and astral -man. - -The Theosophical philosophy does not deny the facts proven in -spiritualistic _séances_, but it gives an explanation of them wholly -opposed to that of the spiritualists. And surely the utter absence of -any logical scientific explanation by these so-called spirits of the -phenomena they are said to produce supports the contention that they -have no knowledge to impart. They can merely cause certain phenomena; -the examination of those and deductions therefrom can only be properly -carried on by a trained brain guided by a living trinity of spirit, -soul, and mind. And here another class of spiritualistic phenomena -requires brief notice. That is the appearance of what is called a -“materialized spirit”. - -Three explanations are offered: _First_, that the astral body of -the living medium detaches itself from its corpus and assumes the -appearance of the so-called spirit; for one of the properties of the -astral matter is capacity to reflect an image existing unseen in ether. -_Second_, the actual astral shell of the deceased—wholly devoid of his -or her spirit and conscience—becomes visible and tangible when the -condition of air and ether is such as to so alter the vibration of the -molecules of the astral shell that it may become visible. The phenomena -of density and apparent weight are explained by other laws. _Third_, -an unseen mass of electrical and magnetic matter is collected, and -upon it is reflected out of the astral light a picture of any desired -person either dead or living. This is taken to be the “spirit” of such -persons, but it is not, and has been justly called by H. P. Blavatsky -a “psychological fraud”, because it pretends to be what it is not. And, -strange to say, this very explanation of materializations has been -given by a “spirit” at a regular _séance_, but has never been accepted -by the spiritualists just because it upsets their notion of the return -of the spirits of deceased persons. - -Finally, the astral body will explain nearly all the strange psychical -things happening in daily life and in dealings with genuine mediums; -it shows what an apparition may be and the possibility of such being -seen, and thus prevents the scientific doubter from violating good -sense by asserting you did not see what you know you have seen; it -removes superstition by showing the real nature of these phenomena, and -destroys the unreasonable fear of the unknown which makes a man afraid -to see a “ghost”. By it also we can explain the apportation of objects -without physical contact, for the astral hand may be extruded and made -to take hold of an object, drawing it in toward the body. When this is -shown to be possible, then travelers will not be laughed at who tell of -seeing the Hindu yogee make coffee cups fly through the air and distant -objects approach apparently of their own accord untouched by him or any -one else. All the instances of clairvoyance and clairaudience are to be -explained also by the astral body and astral light. The astral—which -are the real—organs do the seeing and the hearing, and as all material -objects are constantly in motion among their own atoms the astral sight -and hearing are not impeded, but work at a distance as great as the -extension of the astral light or matter around and about the earth. -Thus it was that the great seer Swedenborg saw houses burning in the -city of Stockholm when he was at another city many miles off, and by -the same means any clairvoyant of the day sees and hears at a distance. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -The author of _Esoteric Buddhism_—which book ought to be consulted by -all students of Theosophy, since it was made from suggestions given by -some of the Adepts themselves—gave the name _Kama rupa_ to the fourth -principle of man’s constitution. The reason was that the word _Kama_ in -the Sanscrit language means “desire”, and as the idea intended to be -conveyed was that the fourth principle was the “body or mass of desires -and passions”, Mr. Sinnett added the Sanscrit word for body or form, -which is _Rupa_, thus making the compound word _Kamarupa_. I shall call -it by the English equivalent—passions and desires—because those terms -exactly express its nature. And I do this also in order to make the -sharp issue which actually exists between the psychology and mental -philosophy of the west and those of the east. The west divides man into -intellect, will, and feeling, but it is not understood whether the -passions and desires constitute a principle in themselves or are due -entirely to the body. Indeed, most people consider them as being the -result of the influence of the flesh, for they are designated often by -the terms “desires of the flesh” and “fleshly appetites”. The ancients, -however, and the Theosophists know them to be a principle in themselves -and not merely the impulses from the body. There is no help to be had -in this matter from the western psychology, now in its infancy and -wholly devoid of knowledge about the inner, which is the psychical, -nature of man, and from this point there is the greatest divergence -between it and Theosophy. - -The passions and desires are not produced by the body, but, on the -contrary, the body is caused to be by the former. It is desire and -passion which caused us to be born, and will bring us to birth again -and again in this body or in some other. It is by passion and desire we -are made to evolve through the mansions of death called lives on earth. -It was by the arising of desire in the unknown first cause, the one -absolute existence, that the whole collection of worlds was manifested, -and by means of the influence of desire in the now manifested world is -the latter kept in existence. - -This fourth principle is the balance principle of the whole seven. It -stands in the middle, and from it the ways go up or down. It is the -basis of action and the mover of the will. As the old Hermetists say: -“Behind will stands desire.” For whether we wish to do well or ill we -have to first arouse within us the desire for either course. The good -man who at last becomes even a sage had at one time in his many lives -to arouse the desire for the company of holy men and to keep his desire -for progress alive in order to continue on his way. Even a Buddha or a -Jesus had first to make a vow, which is a desire, in some life, that -he would save the world or some part of it, and to persevere with -the desire alive in his heart through countless lives. And equally -so, on the other hand, the bad man life after life took unto himself -low, selfish, wicked desires, thus debasing instead of purifying this -principle. On the material and scientific side of occultism,—the use of -the inner hidden powers of our nature—if this principle of desire be -not strong, the master power of imagination cannot do its work, because -though it makes a mould or matrix the will cannot act unless it is -moved, directed, and kept up to pitch by desire. - -The desires and passions, therefore, have two aspects, the one being -low and the other high. The low is that shown by the constant placing -of the consciousness entirely below in the body and the astral body; -the high comes from the influence of and aspiration to the trinity -above, of Mind, Buddhi, and Spirit. This fourth principle is like the -sign Libra in the path of the Sun through the Zodiac; when the Sun (who -is the real man) reaches that sign he trembles in the balance. Should -he go back the worlds would be destroyed; he goes onward, and the whole -human race is lifted up to perfection. - -During life the emplacement of the desires and passions is, as obtains -with the astral body, throughout the entire lower man, and like that -ethereal counterpart of our physical person it may be added to or -diminished, made weak or increased in strength, debased or purified. - -At death it informs the astral body, which then becomes a mere shell; -for when a man dies his astral body and principle of passion and desire -leave the physical in company and coalesce. It is then that the term -_Kamarupa_ may be applied, as _Kamarupa_ is really made of astral body -and _Kama_ in conjunction, and this joining of the two makes a shape or -form which though ordinarily invisible is material and may be brought -into visibility. Although it is empty of mind and conscience, it has -powers of its own that can be exercised whenever the conditions permit. -These conditions are furnished by the medium of the spiritualists, -and in every _séance_ room the astral shells of deceased persons are -always present to delude the sitters, whose powers of discrimination -have been destroyed by wonderment. It is the “devil” of the Hindus, and -a worse enemy the poor medium could not have. For the astral spook—or -_Kamarupa_—is but the mass of the desires and passions abandoned by the -real person who has fled to “heaven” and has no concern with the people -left behind, least of all with _séances_ and mediums. Hence, being -devoid of the nobler soul, these desires and passions work only on the -very lowest part of the medium’s nature and stir up no good elements, -but always the lower leanings of the being. Therefore it is that even -the spiritualists themselves admit that in the ranks of the mediums -there is much fraud, and mediums have often confessed, “the spirits did -tempt me and I committed fraud at their wish.” - -This _Kamarupa_ spook is also the enemy of our civilization, which -permits us to execute men for crimes committed and thus throw out into -the ether the mass of passion and desire free from the weight of the -body and liable at any moment to be attracted to any sensitive person. -Being thus attracted, the deplorable images of crimes committed and -also the picture of the execution and all the accompanying curses and -wishes for revenge are implanted in living persons, who, not seeing the -evil, are unable to throw it off. Thus crimes and new ideas of crimes -are wilfully propagated every day by those countries where capital -punishment prevails. - -The astral shells together with the still living astral body of the -medium, helped by certain forces of nature which the Theosophists -call “elementals”, produce nearly all the phenomena of non-fraudulent -spiritualism. The medium’s astral body having the power of extension -and extrusion forms the framework for what are called “materialized -spirits”, makes objects move without physical contact, gives reports -from deceased relatives, none of them anything more than recollections -and pictures from the astral light, and in all this using and being -used by the shells of suicides, executed murderers, and all such spooks -as are naturally near to this plane of life. The number of cases in -which any communication comes from an actual spirit out of the body -is so small as to be countable almost on one hand. But the spirits of -living men sometimes, while their bodies are asleep, come to _séances_ -and take part therein. But they cannot recollect it, do not know how -they do it, and are not distinguished by mediums from the mass of -astral corpses. The fact that such things can be done by the inner -man and not be recollected proves nothing against these theories, for -the child can see without knowing how the eye acts, and the savage who -has no knowledge of the complex machinery working in his body still -carries on the process of digestion perfectly. And that the latter is -unconscious with him is exactly in line with the theory, for these -acts and doings of the inner man are the unconscious actions of the -subconscious mind. These words “conscious” and “subconscious” are of -course used relatively, the unconsciousness being that of the brain -only. And hypnotic experiments have conclusively proved all these -theories, as on one day not far away will be fully admitted. Besides -this, the astral shells of suicides and executed criminals are the -most coherent, longest lived, and nearest to us of all the shades of -hades, and hence must, out of the necessity of the case, be the real -“controls” of the _séance_ room. - -Passion and desire together with astral model-body are common to men -and animals, as also to the vegetable kingdom, though in the last but -faintly developed. And at one period in evolution no further material -principles had been developed, and all the three higher, of Mind, Soul, -and Spirit, were but latent. Up to this point man and animal were -equal, for the brute in us is made of the passions and the astral body. -The development of the germs of Mind made man because it constituted -the great differentiation. The God within begins with _Manas_ or mind, -and it is the struggle between this God and the brute below which -Theosophy speaks of and warns about. The lower principle is called bad -because by comparison with the higher it is so, but still it is the -basis of action. We cannot rise unless self first asserts itself in -the desire to do better. In this aspect it is called _rajas_ or the -active and bad quality, as distinguished from _tamas_, or the quality -of darkness and indifference. Rising is not possible unless _rajas_ -is present to give the impulse, and by the use of this principle of -passion all the higher qualities are brought to at last so refine and -elevate our desires that they may be continually placed upon truth -and spirit. By this Theosophy does not teach that the passions are to -be pandered to or satiated, for a more pernicious doctrine was never -taught, but the injunction is to make use of the activity given by the -fourth principle so as to ever rise and not to fall under the dominion -of the dark quality that ends with annihilation, after having begun in -selfishness and indifference. - -Having thus gone over the field and shown what are the lower -principles, we find Theosophy teaching that at the present point of -man’s evolution he is a fully developed quaternary with the higher -principles partly developed. Hence it is taught that to-day man -shows himself to be moved by passion and desire. This is proved by a -glance at the civilizations of the earth, for they are all moved by -this principle, and in countries like France, England, and America -a glorification of it is exhibited in the attention to display, to -sensuous art, to struggle for power and place, and in all the habits -and modes of living where the gratification of the senses is sometimes -esteemed the highest good. But as Mind is being evolved more and more -as we proceed in our course along the line of the race development, -there can be perceived underneath in all countries the beginning of -the transition from the animal possessed of the germ of real mind to -the man of mind complete. This day is therefore known to the Masters, -who have given out some of the old truths, as the “transition period”. -Proud science and prouder religion do not admit this, but think we are -as we always will be. But believing in his teacher, the theosophist -sees all around him the evidence that the race mind is changing by -enlargement, that the old days of dogmatism are gone and the “age of -inquiry” has come, that the inquiries will grow louder year by year -and the answers be required to satisfy the mind as it grows more and -more, until at last, all dogmatism being ended, the race will be ready -to face all problems, each man for himself, all working for the good -of the whole, and that the end will be the perfecting of those who -struggle to overcome the brute. For these reasons the old doctrines are -given out again, and Theosophy asks every one to reflect whether to -give way to the animal below or look up to and be governed by the God -within. - -A fuller treatment of the fourth principle of our constitution would -compel us to consider all such questions as those presented by the -wonder workers of the east, by spiritualistic phenomena, hypnotism, -apparitions, insanity, and the like, but they must be reserved for -separate handling. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -In our analysis of man’s nature we have so far considered only the -perishable elements which make up the lower man, and have arrived at -the fourth principle or plane—that of desire—without having touched -upon the question of Mind. But even so far as we have gone it must be -evident that there is a wide difference between the ordinary ideas -about Mind and those found in Theosophy. Ordinarily the Mind is -thought to be immaterial, or to be merely the name for the action of -the brain in evolving thought, a process wholly unknown other than by -inference, or that if there be no brain there can be no mind. A good -deal of attention has been paid to cataloguing some mental functions -and attributes, but the terms are altogether absent from the language -to describe actual metaphysical and spiritual facts about man. This -confusion and poverty of words for these uses are due almost entirely, -first, to dogmatic religion, which has asserted and enforced for many -centuries dogmas and doctrines which reason could not accept, and -secondly to the natural war which grew up between science and religion -just as soon as the fetters placed by religion upon science were -removed and the latter was permitted to deal with facts in nature. The -reaction against religion naturally prevented science from taking any -but a materialistic view of man and nature. So from neither of these -two have we yet gained the words needed for describing the fifth, -sixth, and seventh principles, those which make up the Trinity, the -real man, the immortal pilgrim. - -The fifth principle is _Manas_, in the classification adopted by Mr. -Sinnett, and is usually translated Mind. Other names have been given -to it, but it is the knower, the perceiver, the thinker. The sixth is -_Buddhi_, or spiritual discernment; the seventh is _Atma_, or Spirit, -the ray from the Absolute Being. The English language will suffice to -describe in part what _Manas_ is, but not _Buddhi_, nor _Atma_, and -will leave many things relating to _Manas_ undescribed. - -The course of evolution developed the lower principles and produced -at last the form of man with a brain of better and deeper capacity -than that of any other animal. But this man in form was not man in -mind, and needed the fifth principle, the thinking, perceiving one, to -differentiate him from the animal kingdom and to confer the power of -becoming self-conscious. The monad was imprisoned in these forms, and -that monad is composed of _Atma_ and _Buddhi_; for without the presence -of the monad evolution could not go forward. Going back for a moment to -the time when the races were devoid of mind, the question arises, “who -gave the mind, where did it come from, and what is it?” It is the link -between the Spirit of God above and the personal below; it was given -to the mindless monads by others who had gone all through this process -ages upon ages before in other worlds and systems of worlds, and it -therefore came from other evolutionary periods which were carried out -and completed long before the solar system had begun. This is the -theory, strange and unacceptable to-day, but which must be stated if we -are to tell the truth about theosophy; and this is only handing on what -others have said before. - -The manner in which this light of mind was given to the Mindless Men -can be understood from the illustration of one candle lighting many. -Given one lighted candle and numerous unlighted ones, it follows that -from one light the others may also be set aflame. So in the case of -_Manas_. It is the candle of flame. The mindless men having four -elementary principles of Body, Astral Body, Life and Desire, are the -unlighted candles that cannot light themselves. The Sons of Wisdom, -who are the Elder Brothers of every family of men on any globe, have -the light, derived by them from others who reach back, and yet farther -back, in endless procession with no beginning nor end. They set fire to -the combined lower principles and the Monad, thus lighting up _Manas_ -in the new men and preparing another great race for final initiation. -This lighting up of the fire of _Manas_ is symbolized in all great -religions and Freemasonry. In the east one priest appears holding -a candle lighted at the altar, and thousands of others light their -candles from this one. The Parsees also have their sacred fire which is -lighted from some other sacred flame. - -_Manas_, or the Thinker, is the reïncarnating being, the immortal who -carries the results and values of all the different lives lived on -earth or elsewhere. Its nature becomes dual as soon as it is attached -to a body. For the human brain is a superior organism and _Manas_ uses -it to reason from premises to conclusions. This also differentiates -man from animal, for the animal acts from automatic and so-called -instinctual impulses, whereas the man can use reason. This is the lower -aspect of the Thinker or _Manas_, and not, as some have supposed, the -highest and best gift belonging to man. Its other, and in theosophy -higher, aspect is the intuitional, which knows, and does not depend on -reason. The lower, and purely intellectual, is nearest to the principle -of Desire, and is thus distinguished from its other side which has -affinity for the spiritual principles above. If the Thinker, then, -becomes wholly intellectual, the entire nature begins to tend downward; -for intellect alone is cold, heartless, selfish, because it is not -lighted up by the two other principles of _Buddhi_ and _Atma_. - -In _Manas_ the thoughts of all lives are stored. That is to say: in -any one life, the sum total of thoughts underlying all the acts of the -life-time will be of one character in general, but may be placed in -one or more classes. That is, the business man of to-day is a single -type; his entire life thoughts represent but one single thread of -thought. The artist is another. The man who has engaged in business, -but also thought much upon fame and power which he never attained, -is still another. The great mass of self-sacrificing, courageous, -and strong poor people who have but little time to think, constitute -another distinct class. In all these the total quantity of life -thoughts makes up the stream or thread of a life’s meditation—“that -upon which the heart was set”—and is stored in _Manas_, to be -brought out again at any time in whatever life the brain and bodily -environments are similar to those used in engendering that class of -thoughts. - -It is _Manas_ which sees the objects presented to it by the bodily -organs and the actual organs within. When the open eye receives a -picture on the retina, the whole scene is turned into vibrations in the -optic nerves which disappear into the brain, where _Manas_ is enabled -to perceive them as idea. And so with every other organ or sense. If -the connection between _Manas_ and the brain be broken, intelligence -will not be manifested unless _Manas_ has by training found out how -to project the astral body from the physical and thereby keep up -communication with fellowmen. That the organs and senses do not cognize -objects, hypnotism, mesmerism, and spiritualism have now proved. For, -as we see in mesmeric and hypnotic experiments, the object seen or -felt, and from which all the effects of solid objects may be sensed, is -often only an idea existing in the operator’s brain. In the same way -_Manas_, using the astral body, has only to impress an idea upon the -other person to make the latter see the idea and translate it into a -visible body from which the usual effects of density and weight seem -to follow. And in hypnotism there are many experiments, all of which -go to show that so called matter is not _per se_ solid or dense; that -sight does not always depend on the eye and rays of light proceeding -from an object; that the intangible for one normal brain and organs may -be perfectly tangible for another; and that physical effects in the -body may be produced from an idea solely. The well-known experiments of -producing a blister by a simple piece of paper, or preventing a real -blistering plaster from making a blister, by force of the idea conveyed -to a subject, either that there was to be or not to be a blister, -conclusively prove the power of effecting an impulse on matter by the -use of that which is called _Manas_. But all these phenomena are the -exhibition of the powers of lower _Manas_ acting in the astral Body and -the fourth principle—Desire, using the physical body as the field for -the exhibition of the forces. - -It is this lower _Manas_ which retains all the impressions of a -life-time and sometimes strangely exhibits them in trances or dreams, -delirium, induced states, here and there in normal conditions, and very -often at the time of physical death. But it is so occupied with the -brain, with memory and with sensation, that it usually presents but few -recollections out of the mass of events that years have brought before -it. It interferes with the action of Higher _Manas_ because just at -the present point of evolution, Desire and all corresponding powers, -faculties, and senses are the most highly developed, thus obscuring, -as it were, the white light of the spiritual side of _Manas_. It is -tinted by each object presented to it, whether it be a thought-object -or a material one. That is to say, Lower _Manas_ operating through -the brain is at once altered into the shape and other characteristics -of any object, mental or otherwise. This causes it to have four -peculiarities. _First_, to naturally fly off from any point, object, -or subject; _second_, to fly to some pleasant idea; _third_, to fly -to an unpleasant idea; _fourth_, to remain passive and considering -naught. The first is due to memory and the natural motion of _Manas_; -the second and third are due to memory alone; the fourth signifies -sleep when not abnormal, and when abnormal is going toward insanity. -These mental characteristics all belonging to Lower _Manas_, are those -which the Higher _Manas_, aided by _Buddhi_ and _Atma_, has to fight -and conquer. Higher _Manas_, if able to act, becomes what we sometimes -call Genius; if completely master, then one may become a god. But -memory continually presents pictures to Lower _Manas_, and the result -is that the Higher is obscured. Sometimes, however, along the pathway -of life we do see here and there men who are geniuses or great seers -and prophets. In these the Higher powers of _Manas_ are active and the -person illuminated. Such were the great Sages of the past, men like -Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, Zoroaster, and others. Poets, too, such as -Tennyson, Longfellow, and others, are men in whom Higher _Manas_ now -and then sheds a bright ray on the man below, to be soon obscured, -however, by the effect of dogmatic religious education which has given -memory certain pictures that always prevent _Manas_ from gaining full -activity. - -In this higher Trinity, we have the God above each one; this is _Atma_, -and may be called the Higher Self. - -Next is the spiritual part of the soul called _Buddhi_; when thoroughly -united with _Manas_ this may be called the Divine Ego. - -The inner Ego, who reïncarnates, taking on body after body, storing up -the impressions of life after life, gaining experience and adding it -to the divine Ego, suffering and enjoying through an immense period of -years, is the fifth principle—_Manas_—not united to _Buddhi_. This is -the permanent individuality which gives to every man the feeling of -being himself and not some other; that which through all the changes -of the days and nights from youth to the end of life makes us feel -one identity through all the period; it bridges the gap made by sleep; -in like manner it bridges the gap made by the sleep of death. It is -this, and not our brain, that lifts us above the animal. The depth and -variety of the brain convolutions in man are caused by the presence of -_Manas_, and are not the cause of mind. And when we either wholly or -now and then become consciously united with _Buddhi_, the Spiritual -Soul, we behold God, as it were. This is what the ancients all desired -to see, but what the moderns do not believe in, the latter preferring -rather to throw away their own right to be great in nature, and to -worship an imaginary god made up solely of their own fancies and not -very different from weak human nature. - -This permanent individuality in the present race has therefore been -through every sort of experience, for Theosophy insists on its -permanence and in the necessity for its continuing to take part in -evolution. It has a duty to perform, consisting in raising up to a -higher state all the matter concerned in the chain of globes to which -the earth belongs. We have all lived and taken part in civilization -after civilization, race after race, on earth, and will so continue -throughout all the rounds and races until the seventh is complete. -At the same time it should be remembered that the matter of this -globe and that connected with it has also been through every kind of -form, with possibly some exceptions in very low planes of mineral -formation. But in general all the matter visible, or held in space -still unprecipitated, has been moulded at one time or another into -forms of all varieties, many of these being such as we now have no -idea of. The processes of evolution, therefore, in some departments, -now go forward with greater rapidity than in former ages because both -_Manas_ and matter have acquired facility of action. Especially is this -so in regard to man, who is the farthest ahead of all things or beings -in this evolution. He is now incarnated and projected into life more -quickly than in earlier periods when it consumed many years to obtain -a “coat of skin”. This coming into life over and over again cannot be -avoided by the ordinary man because Lower _Manas_ is still bound by -Desire, which is the preponderating principle at the present period. -Being so influenced by Desire, _Manas_ is continually deluded while in -the body, and being thus deluded is unable to prevent the action upon -it of the forces set up in the life time. These forces are generated -by _Manas_, that is, by the thinking of the life time. Each thought -makes a physical as well as mental link with the desire in which it is -rooted. All life is filled with such thoughts, and when the period of -rest after death is ended _Manas_ is bound by innumerable electrical -magnetic threads to earth by reason of the thoughts of the last life, -and therefore by desire, for it was desire that caused so many thoughts -and ignorance of the true nature of things. An understanding of this -doctrine of man being really a thinker and made of thought will make -clear all the rest in relation to incarnation and reïncarnation. The -body of the inner man is made of thought, and this being so it must -follow that if the thoughts have more affinity for earth-life than for -life elsewhere a return to life here is inevitable. - -At the present day _Manas_ is not fully active in the race, as Desire -still is uppermost. In the next cycle of the human period _Manas_ will -be fully active and developed in the entire race. Hence the people of -the earth have not yet come to the point of making a conscious choice -as to the path they will take; but when in the cycle referred to, -_Manas_ is active, all will then be compelled to consciously make the -choice to right or left, the one leading to complete and conscious -union with _Atma_, the other to the annihilation of those beings who -prefer that path. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -How man has come to be the complex being that he is and why, are -questions that neither Science nor Religion makes conclusive answer -to. This immortal thinker having such vast powers and possibilities, -all his because of his intimate connection with every secret part of -Nature from which he has been built up, stands at the top of an immense -and silent evolution. He asks why Nature exists, what the drama of -life has for its aim, how that aim may be attained. But Science and -Religion both fail to give a reasonable reply. Science does not pretend -to be able to give the solution, saying that the examination of things -as they are is enough of a task; religion offers an explanation both -illogical and unmeaning and acceptable but to the bigot, as it requires -us to consider the whole of Nature as a mystery and to seek for the -meaning and purpose of life with all its sorrow in the pleasure of a -God who cannot be found out. The educated and enquiring mind knows that -dogmatic religion can only give an answer invented by man while it -pretends to be from God. - -What then is the universe for, and for what final purpose is man the -immortal thinker here in evolution? It is all for the experience -and emancipation of the soul, for the purpose of raising the entire -mass of manifested matter up to the stature, nature, and dignity of -conscious god-hood. The great aim is to reach self-consciousness; not -through a race or a tribe or some favored nation, but by and through -the perfecting, after transformation, of the whole mass of matter as -well as what we now call soul. Nothing is or is to be left out. The -aim for present man is his initiation into complete knowledge, and -for the other kingdoms below him that they may be raised up gradually -from stage to stage to be in time initiated also. This is evolution -carried to its highest power; it is a magnificent prospect; it makes of -man a god, and gives to every part of nature the possibility of being -one day the same; there is strength and nobility in it, for by this no -man is dwarfed and belittled, for no one is so originally sinful that -he cannot rise above all sin. Treated from the materialistic position -of Science, evolution takes in but half of life; while the religious -conception of it is a mixture of nonsense and fear. Present religions -keep the element of fear, and at the same time imagine that an Almighty -being can think of no other earth but this and has to govern this one -very imperfectly. But the old theosophical view makes the universe a -vast, complete, and perfect whole. - -Now the moment we postulate a double evolution, physical and spiritual, -we have at the same time to admit that it can only be carried on by -reïncarnation. This is, in fact, demonstrated by science. It is shown -that the matter of the earth and of all things physical upon it was at -one time either gaseous or molten; that it cooled; that it altered; -that from its alterations and evolutions at last were produced all -the great variety of things and beings. This, on the physical plane, -is transformation or change from one form to another. The total mass -of matter is about the same as in the beginning of this globe, with -a very minute allowance for some star dust. Hence it must have been -changed over and over again, and thus been physically reformed and -reëmbodied. Of course, to be strictly accurate, we cannot use the -word reïncarnation, because “incarnate” refers to flesh. Let us say -“reëmbodied”, and then we see that both for matter and for man there -has been a constant change of form and this is, broadly speaking, -“reïncarnation”. As to the whole mass of matter, the doctrine is that -it will all be raised to man’s estate when man has gone further on -himself. There is no residuum left after man’s final salvation which in -a mysterious way is to be disposed of or done away with in some remote -dustheap of nature. The true doctrine allows for nothing like that, and -at the same time is not afraid to give the true disposition of what -would seem to be a residuum. It is all worked up into other states, -for as the philosophy declares there is no inorganic matter whatever -but that every atom is alive and has the germ of self-consciousness, -it must follow that one day it will all have been changed. Thus what -is now called human flesh is so much matter that one day was wholly -mineral, later on vegetable, and now refined into human atoms. At a -point of time very far from now the present vegetable matter will have -been raised to the animal stage and what we now use as our organic or -fleshy matter will have changed by transformation through evolution -into self-conscious thinkers, and so on up the whole scale until the -time shall come when what is now known as mineral matter will have -passed on to the human stage and out into that of thinker. Then at -the coming on of another great period of evolution the mineral matter -of that time will be some which is now passing through its lower -transformations on other planets and in other systems of worlds. This -is perhaps a “fanciful” scheme for the men of the present day, who are -so accustomed to being called bad, sinful, weak, and utterly foolish -from their birth that they fear to believe the truth about themselves, -but for the disciples of the ancient theosophists it is not impossible -or fanciful, but is logical and vast. And no doubt it will one day be -admitted by everyone when the mind of the western race has broken away -from Mosaic chronology and Mosaic ideas of men and nature. Therefore -as to reïncarnation and metempsychosis we say that they are first to -be applied to the whole cosmos and not alone to man. But as man is -the most interesting object to himself, we will consider in detail its -application to him. - -This is the most ancient of doctrines and is believed in now by more -human minds than the number of those who do not hold it. The millions -in the East almost all accept it; it was taught by the Greeks; a large -number of the Chinese now believe it as their forefathers did before -them; the Jews thought it was true, and it has not disappeared from -their religion; and Jesus, who is called the founder of Christianity, -also believed and taught it. In the early Christian church it was known -and taught, and the very best of the fathers of the church believed and -promulgated it. - -Christians should remember that Jesus was a Jew who thought his mission -was to Jews, for he says in St. Matthew, “I am not sent but unto -the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He must have well known the -doctrines held by them. They all believed in reïncarnation. For them -Moses, Adam, Noah, Seth, and others had returned to earth, and at the -time of Jesus it was currently believed that the old prophet Elias was -yet to return. So we find, first, that Jesus never denied the doctrine, -and on various occasions assented to it, as when he said that John the -Baptist was actually the Elias of old whom the people were expecting. -All this can be seen by consulting St. Matthew in chapters XVII, XI, -and others. - -In these it is very clear that Jesus is shown as approving the doctrine -of reïncarnation. And following Jesus we find St. Paul, in Romans IX, -speaking of Esau and Jacob being actually in existence before they -were born, and later such great Christian fathers as Origen, Synesius, -and others believing and teaching the theory. In Proverbs VIII, 22, -we have Solomon saying that when the earth was made he was present, -and that, long before he could have been born as Solomon, his delights -were in the habitable parts of the earth with the sons of men. St. -John the Revelator says in Revs. III, 12, he was told in a vision which -refers to the voice of God or the voice of one speaking for God, that -whosoever should overcome would not be under the necessity of “going -out” any more, that is, would not need to be reïncarnated. For five -hundred years after Jesus the doctrine was taught in the church until -the council of Constantinople. Then a condemnation was passed upon -a phase of the question which has been regarded by many as against -reïncarnation, but if that condemnation goes against the words of -Jesus it is of no effect. It does go against him, and thus the church -is in the position of saying in effect that Jesus did not know enough -to curse, as it did, a doctrine known and taught in his day and which -was brought to his notice prominently and never condemned but in fact -approved by him. Christianity is a Jewish religion, and this doctrine -of reïncarnation belongs to it historically by succession from the -Jews, and also by reason of its having been taught by Jesus and the -early fathers of the church. If there be any truthful or logical way -for the Christian church to get out of this position—excluding, of -course, dogmas of the church—the theosophist would like to be shown -it. Indeed, the theosophist holds that whenever a professed Christian -denies the theory he thereby sets up his judgment against that of -Jesus, who must have known more about the matter than those who follow -him. It is the anathema hurled by the church council and the absence of -the doctrine from the teaching now that have damaged Christianity and -made of all the Christian nations people who pretend to be followers of -Jesus and the law of love, but who really as nations are followers of -the Mosaic law of retaliation. For alone in reïncarnation is the answer -to all the problems of life, and in it and Karma is the force that will -make men pursue in fact the ethics they have in theory. It is the aim -of the old philosophy to restore this doctrine to whatsoever religion -has lost it; and hence we call it the “lost chord of Christianity.” - -But who or what is it that reïncarnates? It is not the body, for that -dies and disintegrates; and but few of us would like to be chained -forever to such bodies as we now have, admitted to be infected with -disease except in the case of the savage. It is not the astral body, -for, as shown, that also has its term and must go to pieces after -the physical has gone. Nor is it the passions and desires. They, -to be sure, have a very long term, because they have the power to -reproduce themselves in each life so long as we do not eradicate -them. And reïncarnation provides for that, since we are given by it -many opportunities of slowly, one by one, killing off the desires and -passions which mar the heavenly picture of the spiritual man. - -It has been shown how the passional part of us coalesces with the -astral after death and makes a seeming being that has a short life -to live while it is disintegrating. When the separation is complete -between the body that has died, the astral body, and the passions -and desires—life having begun to busy itself with other forms—the -Higher Triad, _Manas_, _Buddhi_, and _Atma_, who are the real man, -immediately go into another state, and when that state, which is called -_Devachan_, or heaven, is over, they are attracted back to earth for -reïncarnation. They are the immortal part of us; they, in fact, and no -other are we. This should be firmly grasped by the mind, for upon its -clear understanding depends the comprehension of the entire doctrine. -What stands in the way of the modern western man’s seeing this clearly -is the long training we have all had in materialistic science and -materializing religion, both of which have made the mere physical -body too prominent. The one has taught of matter alone and the other -has preached the resurrection of the body, a doctrine against common -sense, fact, logic, and testimony. But there is no doubt that the -theory of the bodily resurrection has arisen from the corruption of -the older and true teaching. Resurrection is founded on what Job says -about seeing his redeemer in his flesh, and on St. Paul’s remark that -the body was raised incorruptible. But Job was an Egyptian who spoke of -seeing his teacher or initiator, who was the redeemer, and Jesus and -Paul referred to the spiritual body only. - -Although reïncarnation is the law of nature, the complete trinity of -_Atma-Buddhi-Manas_ does not yet fully incarnate in this race. They use -and occupy the body by means of the entrance of _Manas_, the lowest of -the three, and the other two shine upon it from above, constituting the -God in Heaven. This was symbolized in the old Jewish teaching about the -Heavenly Man who stands with his head in heaven and his feet in hell. -That is, the head _Atma_ and _Buddhi_ are yet in heaven, and the feet, -_Manas_, walk in hell, which is the body and physical life. For that -reason man is not yet fully conscious, and reïncarnations are needed -to at last complete the incarnation of the whole trinity in the body. -When that has been accomplished the race will have become as gods, and -the godlike trinity being in full possession the entire mass of matter -will be perfected and raised up for the next step. This is the real -meaning of “the word made flesh”. It was so grand a thing in the case -of any single person, such as Jesus or Buddha, as to be looked upon -as a divine incarnation. And out of this, too, comes the idea of the -crucifixion, for _Manas_ is thus crucified for the purpose of raising -up the thief to paradise. - -It is because the trinity is not yet incarnate in the race that life -has so many mysteries, some of which are showing themselves from day to -day in all the various experiments made on and in man. - -The physician knows not what life is nor why the body moves as it -does, because the spiritual portion is yet enshrouded in the clouds of -heaven; the scientist is wandering in the dark, confounded and confused -by all that hypnotism and other strange things bring before him, -because the conscious man is out of sight on the very top of the divine -mountain, thus compelling the learned to speak of the “subconscious -mind”, the “latent personality”, and the like; and the priest can give -us no light at all because he denies man’s god-like nature, reduces -all to the level of original sin, and puts upon our conception of God -the black mark of inability to control or manage the creation without -invention of expedients to cure supposed errors. But this old truth -solves the riddle and paints God and Nature in harmonious colors. - -Reïncarnation does not mean that we go into animal forms after death, -as is believed by some Eastern peoples. “Once a man always a man” is -the saying in the Great Lodge. But it would not be too much punishment -for some men were it possible to condemn them to rebirth in brute -bodies; however nature does not go by sentiment but by law, and we, -not being able to see all, cannot say that the brutal man is brute all -through his nature. And evolution having brought _Manas_ the Thinker -and Immortal Person on to this plane, cannot send him back to the brute -which has not _Manas_. - -By looking into two explanations for the literal acceptation by some -people in the East of those laws of Manu which seem to teach the -transmigrating into brutes, insects, and so on, we can see how the true -student of this doctrine will not fall into the same error. - -The first is, that the various verses and books teaching such -transmigration have to do with the actual method of reïncarnation, that -is, with the explanation of the actual physical processes which have to -be undergone by the Ego in passing from the unembodied to the embodied -state, and also with the roads, ways, or means of descent from the -invisible to the visible plane. This has not yet been plainly explained -in Theosophical books, because on the one hand it is a delicate matter, -and on the other the details would not as yet be received even by -Theosophists with credence, although one day they will be. And as these -details are not of the greatest importance they are not now expounded. -But as we know that no human body is formed without the union of the -sexes, and that the germs for such production are locked up in the -sexes and must come from food which is taken into the body, it is -obvious that foods have something to do with the reïncarnating of the -Ego. Now if the road to reïncarnation leads through certain food and -none other, it may be possible that if the Ego gets entangled in food -which will not lead to the germ of physical reproduction, a punishment -is indicated where Manu says that such and such practices will lead to -transmigration, which is then a “hindrance”. I throw this out so far -for the benefit of certain theosophists who read these and whose own -theories on this subject are now rather vague and in some instances -based on quite other hypotheses. - -The second explanation is, that inasmuch as nature intends us to use -the matter which comes into our body and astral body for the purpose, -among others, of benefiting the matter by the impress it gets from -association with the human Ego, if we use it so as to give it only a -brutal impression it must fly back to the animal kingdom to be absorbed -there instead of being refined and kept on the human plane. And as all -the matter which the human Ego gathered to it retains the stamp or -photographic impression of the human being, the matter transmigrates -to the lower level when given an animal impress by the Ego. This -actual fact in the great chemical laboratory of nature could easily be -misconstrued by the ignorant. But the present-day students know that -once _Manas_ the Thinker has arrived on the scene he does not return -to baser forms; first, because he does not wish to, and second, because -he cannot. For just as the blood in the body is prevented by valves -from rushing back and engorging the heart, so in this greater system of -universal circulation the door is shut behind the Thinker and prevents -his retrocession. Reïncarnation as a doctrine applying to the real man -does not teach transmigration into kingdoms of nature below the human. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -In the West, where the object of life is commercial, financial, social, -or scientific success, that is, personal profit, aggrandizement, -and power, the real life of man receives but little attention, and -we, unlike the Orientals, give scant prominence to the doctrine of -preëxistence and reïncarnation. That the church denies it is enough for -many, with whom no argument is of any use. Relying on the church, they -do not wish to disturb the serenity of their faith in dogmas that may -be illogical; and as they have been taught that the church can bind -them in hell, a blind fear of the anathema hurled at reïncarnation in -the Constantinople council about 500 A. D., would alone debar them -from accepting the accursed theory. And the church in arguing on the -doctrine urges the objection that if men are convinced that they will -live many lives, the temptation to accept the present and do evil -without check will be too strong. Absurd as this seems, it is put -forward by learned Jesuits, who say men will rather have the present -chance than wait for others. If there were no retribution at all this -would be a good objection, but as Nature has also a Nemesis for every -evil doer, and as each, under the law of Karma—which is that of cause -and effect and perfect justice—must receive the exact consequences -himself in every life for what good or bad deeds and thoughts he did -and had in other lives, the basis for moral conduct is secure. It is -safe under this system, since no man can by any possibility, or favor, -or edict, or belief escape the consequences, and each one who grasps -this doctrine will be moved by conscience and the whole power of -nature to do well in order that he may receive good and become happy. - -It is maintained that the idea of rebirth is uncongenial and unpleasant -because on the one hand it is cold, allowing no sentiment to interfere, -prohibiting us from renouncing at will a life which we have found to -be sorrowful; and on the other, that there appears to be no chance -under it for us to see our loved ones who have passed away before us. -But whether we like it or not Nature’s laws go forward unerringly, -and sentiment or feeling can in no way avert the consequence that -must follow a cause. If we eat bad food bad results must come. The -glutton would have Nature permit him to gorge himself without the -indigestion which will come, but Nature’s laws are not to be thus put -aside. Now, the objection to reïncarnation that we will not see our -loved ones in heaven as promised in dogmatic religion, presupposes -a complete stoppage of the evolution and development of those who -leave earth before ourselves, and also assumes that recognition is -dependent on physical appearance. But as we progress in this life -so also must we progress upon leaving it, and it would be unfair to -compel the others to await our arrival in order that we may recognize -them. And if one reflects on the natural consequences of arising to -heaven where all trammels are cast off, it must be apparent that those -who have been there, say, twenty of mortal years before us must, -in the nature of things mental and spiritual, have made a progress -equal to many hundreds of years here under varied and very favorable -circumstances. How then could we, arriving later and still imperfect, -be able to recognize those who had been perfecting themselves in heaven -with such advantages? And as we know that the body is left behind -to disintegrate, so, it is evident, recognition cannot depend, in -the spiritual and mental life, on physical appearance. For not only -is this thus plain, but since we are aware that an unhandsome or -deformed body often enshrines a glorious mind and pure soul, and that a -beautifully formed exterior—such as in the case of the Borgias—may hide -an incarnate devil in character, the physical form gives no guarantee -of recognition in that world where the body is absent. And the mother -who has lost a child who had grown to maturity must know that she loved -the child when a baby as much as afterwards when the great alteration -to later life had completely swept away the form and features of early -youth. The Theosophists see that this objection can have no existence -in the face of the eternal and pure life of the soul. And Theosophy -also teaches that those who are like unto each other and love each -other will be reïncarnated together whenever the conditions permit. -Whenever one of us has gone farther on the road to perfection, he -will always be moved to help and comfort those who belong to the same -family. But when one has become gross and selfish and wicked, no one -would want his companionship in any life. Recognition depends on the -inner sight and not on outward appearance; hence there is no force in -this objection. And the other phase of it relating to loss of parent, -child, or relative is based on the erroneous notion that as the parents -give the child its body so also is given its soul. But soul is immortal -and parentless; hence this objection is without a root. - -Some urge that Heredity invalidates Reïncarnation. We urge it as proof. -Heredity in giving us a body in any family provides the appropriate -environment for the Ego. The Ego only goes into the family which either -completely answers to its whole nature, or which gives an opportunity -for the working out of its evolution, and which is also connected with -it by reason of past incarnations or causes mutually set up. Thus the -evil child may come to the presently good family because parents and -child are indissolubly connected by past actions. It is a chance for -redemption to the child and the occasion of punishment to the parents. -This points to bodily heredity as a natural rule governing the bodies -we must inhabit, just as the houses in a city will show the mind of -the builders. And as we as well as our parents were the makers and -influencers of bodies, took part in and are responsible for states of -society in which the development of physical body and brain was either -retarded or helped on, debased or the contrary, so we are in this life -responsible for the civilization in which we now appear. But when we -look at the characters in human bodies, great inherent differences are -seen. This is due to the soul inside, who is suffering or enjoying in -the family, nation, and race his own thoughts and acts which in the -past lives have made it inevitable he should incarnate with. - -Heredity provides the tenement and also imposes those limitations of -capacity of brain or body which are often a punishment and sometimes -a help, but it does not affect the real Ego. The transmission of -traits is a physical matter, and nothing more than the coming out into -a nation of the consequences of the prior lives of all Egos who are -to be in that race. The limitations imposed on the Ego by any family -heredity are exact consequences of that Ego’s prior lives. The fact -that such physical traits and mental peculiarities are transmitted -does not confute reïncarnation, since we know that the guiding mind -and real character of each are not the result of a body and brain but -are peculiar to the Ego in its essential life. Transmission of trait -and tendency by means of parent and body is exactly the mode selected -by nature for providing the incarnating Ego with the proper tenement -in which to carry on its work. Another mode would be impossible and -subversive of order. - -Again, those who dwell on the objection from heredity forget that they -are accentuating similarities and overlooking divergencies. For while -investigations on the line of heredity have recorded many transmitted -traits, they have not done so in respect to divergencies from heredity -vastly greater in number. Every mother knows that the children of a -family are as different in character as the fingers on one hand—they -are all from the same parents, but all vary in character and capacity. - -But heredity as the great rule and as a complete explanation is -absolutely overthrown by history, which shows no constant transmission -of learning, power, and capacity. For instance, in the case of the -ancient Egyptians long gone and their line of transmission shattered, -we have no transmission to their descendants. If physical heredity -settles the question of character, how has the great Egyptian character -been lost? The same question holds in respect to other ancient and -extinct nations. And taking an individual illustration we have the -great musician Bach, whose direct descendants showed a decrease in -musical ability leading to its final disappearance from the family -stock. But Theosophy teaches that in both of these instances—as in all -like them—the real capacity and ability have only disappeared from -a family and national body, but are retained in the Egos who once -exhibited them, being now incarnated in some other nation and family of -the present time. - -Suffering comes to nearly all men, and a great many live lives -of sorrow from the cradle to the grave, so it is objected that -reïncarnation is unjust because we suffer for the wrong done by some -other person in another life. This objection is based on the false -notion that the person in the other life was some one else. But in -every life it is the same person. When we come again we do not take up -the body of some one else, nor another’s deeds, but are like an actor -who plays many parts, the same actor inside though the costumes and the -lines recited differ in each new play. Shakespeare was right in saying -that life is a play, for the great life of the soul is a drama, and -each new life and rebirth another act in which we assume another part -and put on a new dress, but all through it we are the self-same person. -So instead of its being unjust, it is perfect justice, and in no other -manner could justice be preserved. - -But, it is said, if we reïncarnate how is it that we do not remember -the other life; and further, as we cannot remember the deeds for which -we suffer is it not unjust for that reason? Those who ask this always -ignore the fact that they also have enjoyment and reward in life and -are content to accept them without question. For if it is unjust to -be punished for deeds we do not remember, then it is also inequitable -to be rewarded for other acts which have been forgotten. Mere entry -into life is no fit foundation for any reward or punishment. Reward -and punishment must be the just desert for prior conduct. Nature’s -law of justice is not imperfect, and it is only the imperfection of -human justice that requires the offender to know and remember in this -life a deed to which a penalty is annexed. In the prior life the doer -was then quite aware of what he did, and nature affixes consequences -to his acts, being thus just. We well know that she will make the -effect follow the cause whatever we wish and whether we remember or -forget what we did. If a baby is hurt in its first years by the nurse -so as to lay the ground for a crippling disease in after life, as is -often the case, the crippling disease will come although the child -neither brought on the present cause nor remembered aught about it. -But reïncarnation, with its companion doctrine of Karma, rightly -understood, shows how perfectly just the whole scheme of nature is. - -Memory of a prior life is not needed to prove that we passed through -that existence, nor is the fact of not remembering a good objection. -We forget the greater part of the occurrences of the years and days of -this life, but no one would say for that reason we did not go through -these years. They were lived, and we retain but little of the details -in the brain, but the entire effect of them on the character is kept -and made a part of ourselves. The whole mass of detail of a life is -preserved in the inner man to be one day fully brought back to the -conscious memory in some other life when we are perfected. And even -now, imperfect as we are and little as we know, the experiments in -hypnotism show that all the smallest details are registered in what -is for the present known as the subconscious mind. The theosophical -doctrine is that not a single one of these happenings is forgotten in -fact, and at the end of life when the eyes are closed and those about -say we are dead every thought and circumstance of life flash vividly -into and across the mind. - -Many persons do, however, remember that they have lived before. Poets -have sung of this, children know it well, until the constant living in -an atmosphere of unbelief drives the recollection from their minds for -the present, but all are subject to the limitations imposed upon the -Ego by the new brain in each life. This is why we are not able to keep -the pictures of the past, whether of this life or the preceding ones. -The brain is the instrument for the memory of the soul, and, being new -in each life with but a certain capacity, the Ego is only able to use -it for the new life up to its capacity. That capacity will be fully -availed of or the contrary, just according to the Ego’s own desire -and prior conduct, because such past living will have increased or -diminished its power to overcome the forces of material existence. - -By living according to the dictates of the soul the brain may at last -be made porous to the soul’s recollections; if the contrary sort of a -life is led, then more and more will clouds obscure that reminiscence. -But as the brain had no part in the life last lived, it is in general -unable to remember. And this is a wise law, for we should be very -miserable if the deeds and scenes of our former lives were not hidden -from our view until by discipline we become able to bear a knowledge of -them. - -Another objection brought up is that under the doctrine of -reïncarnation it is not possible to account for the increase of -the world’s population. This assumes that we know surely that its -population has increased and are keeping informed of its fluctuations. -But it is not certain that the inhabitants of the globe have increased, -and, further, vast numbers of people are annually destroyed of whom we -know nothing. In China year after year many thousands have been carried -off by flood. Statistics of famine have not been made. We do not know -by how many thousands the deaths in Africa exceed the births in any -year. The objection is based on imperfect tables which only have to do -with western lands. It also assumes that there are fewer Egos out of -incarnation and waiting to come in than the number of those inhabiting -bodies, and this is incorrect. Annie Besant has put this well in her -“Reïncarnation” by saying that the inhabited globe resembles a hall in -a town which is filled from the much greater population of the town -outside; the number in the hall may vary, but there is a constant -source of supply from the town. It is true that so far as concerns this -globe the number of Egos belonging to it is definite; but no one knows -what that quantity is nor what is the total capacity of the earth for -sustaining them. The statisticians of the day are chiefly in the West, -and their tables embrace but a small section of the history of man. -They cannot say how many persons were incarnated on the earth at any -prior date when the globe was full in all parts, hence the quantity of -egos willing or waiting to be reborn is unknown to the men of to-day. -The Masters of theosophical knowledge say that the total number of -such egos is vast, and for that reason the supply of those for the -occupation of bodies to be born over and above the number that die is -sufficient. Then too it must be borne in mind that each ego for itself -varies the length of stay in the _post-mortem_ states. They do not -reïncarnate at the same interval, but come out of the state after death -at different rates, and whenever there occurs a great number of deaths -by war, pestilence, or famine, there is at once a rush of souls to -incarnation, either in the same place or in some other place or race. -The earth is so small a globe in the vast assemblage of inhabitable -planets there is a sufficient supply of Egos for incarnation here. But -with due respect to those who put this objection, I do not see that it -has the slightest force or any relation to the truth of the doctrine of -reïncarnation. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -Unless we deny the immortality of man and the existence of soul, -there are no sound arguments against the doctrine of preëxistence -and re-birth save such as rest on the dictum of the church that each -soul is a new creation. This dictum can be supported only by blind -dogmatism, for given a soul we must sooner or later arrive at the -theory of re-birth, because even if each soul is new on this earth -it must keep on living somewhere after passing away, and in view of -the known order of nature will have other bodies in other planets or -spheres. Theosophy applies to the self—the thinker—the same laws which -are seen everywhere in operation throughout nature, and those are all -varieties of the great law that effects follow causes and no effect -is without a cause. The soul’s immortality—believed in by the mass of -humanity—demands embodiment here or elsewhere, and to be embodied means -reïncarnation. If we come to this earth for but a few years and then go -to some other, the soul must be embodied there as well as here, and if -we have travelled from some other world we must have had there too our -proper vesture. The powers of mind and the laws governing its motion, -its attachment, and its detachment as given in theosophical philosophy -show that its reëmbodiment must be here, where it moved and worked, -until such time as the mind is able to overcome the forces which chain -it to this globe. To permit the involved entity to transfer itself to -another scene of action before it had overcome all the causes drawing -it here and without its having worked out its responsibilities to other -entities in the same stream of evolution would be unjust and contrary -to the powerful occult laws and forces which continually operate upon -it. The early Christian Fathers saw this, and taught that the soul had -fallen into matter and was obliged by the law of its nature to toil -upward again to the place from which it came. They used an old Greek -hymn which ran: - - Eternal Mind, thy seedling spark, - Through this thin vase of clay, - Athwart the waves of chaos dark - Emits a timorous ray. - This mind enfolding soul is sown, - Incarnate germ in earth: - In pity, blessed Lord, then own - What claims in Thee its birth. - Far forth from Thee, thou central fire, - To earth’s sad bondage cast, - Let not the trembling spark expire; - Absorb thine own at last! - -Each human being has a definite character different from every other -human being, and masses of beings aggregated into nations show as -wholes that the national force and distinguishing peculiarities go to -make up a definite and separate national character. These differences, -both individual and national, are due to essential character and not to -education. Even the doctrine of the survival of the fittest should show -this, for the fitness cannot come from nothing but must at last show -itself from the coming to the surface of the actual inner character. -And as both individuals and nations among those who are ahead in the -struggle with nature exhibit an immense force in their character, -we must find a place and time where the force was evolved. These, -Theosophy says, are this earth and the whole period during which the -human race has been on the planet. - -So, then, while heredity has something to do with the difference in -character as to force and morale, swaying the soul and mind a little -and furnishing also the appropriate place for receiving reward and -punishment, it is not the cause for the essential nature shown by every -one. - -But all these differences, such as those shown by babes from birth, by -adults as character comes forth more and more, and by nations in their -history, are due to long experience gained during many lives on earth, -are the outcome of the soul’s own evolution. A survey of one short -human life gives no ground for the production of his inner nature. It -is needful that each soul should have all possible experience, and -one life cannot give this even under the best conditions. It would be -folly for the Almighty to put us here for such a short time, only to -remove us just when we had begun to see the object of life and the -possibilities in it. The mere selfish desire of a person to escape the -trials and discipline of life is not enough to set nature’s laws aside, -so the soul must be reborn until it has ceased to set in motion the -cause of rebirth, after having developed character up to its possible -limit as indicated by all the varieties of human nature, when every -experience has been passed through, and not until all of truth that can -be known has been acquired. The vast disparity among men in respect -to capacity compels us, if we wish to ascribe justice to Nature or to -God, to admit reïncarnation and to trace the origin of the disparity -back to the past lives of the Ego. For people are as much hindered and -handicapped, abused and made the victims of seeming injustice because -of limited capacity, as they are by reason of circumstances of birth or -education. We see the uneducated rising above circumstances of family -and training, and often those born in good families have very small -capacity; but the troubles of nations and families arise from want of -capacity more than from any other cause. And if we consider savage -races only, there the seeming injustice is enormous. For many savages -have good actual brain capacity but still are savage. This is because -the Ego in that body is still savage and undeveloped, for in contrast -to the savage there are many civilized men with small actual brain -force who are not savage in nature because the indwelling Ego has had -long experience in civilization during other lives, and being a more -developed soul has power to use the brain instrument to its highest -limit. - -Each man feels and knows that he has an individuality of his own, a -personal identity which bridges over not only the gaps made by sleep -but also those sometimes supervening on temporary lesions in the brain. -This identity never breaks from beginning to end of life in the normal -person, and only the persistence and eternal character of the soul will -account for it. - -So, ever since we began to remember, we know that our personal identity -has not failed us, no matter how bad may be our memory. This disposes -of the argument that identity depends on recollection, for the reason -that if it did depend alone on recollection we should each day have -to begin over again, as we cannot remember the events of the past in -detail, and some minds remember but little yet feel their personal -identity. And as it is often seen that some who remember the least -insist as strongly as the others on their personal identity, that -persistence of feeling must come from the old and immortal soul. - -Viewing life and its probable object, with all the varied experience -possible for man, one must be forced to the conclusion that a single -life is not enough for carrying out all that is intended by Nature, to -say nothing of what man himself desires to do. The scale of variety -in experience is enormous. There is a vast range of powers latent in -man which we see may be developed if opportunity be given. Knowledge -infinite in scope and diversity lies before us, and especially in these -days when special investigation is the rule. We perceive that we have -high aspirations with no time to reach up to their measure, while the -great troop of passions and desires, selfish motives and ambitions, war -with us and among themselves, pursuing us even to the door of death. -All these have to be tried, conquered, used, subdued. One life is not -enough for all this. To say that we have but one life here with such -possibilities put before us and impossible of development is to make -the universe and life a huge and cruel joke perpetrated by a powerful -God who is thus accused, by those who believe in a special creation of -souls, of triumphing and playing with puny man just because that man is -small and the creature of the Almighty. A human life at most is seventy -years; statistics reduce this to about forty; and out of that little -remainder a large part is spent in sleep and another part in childhood. -Thus in one life it is perfectly impossible to attain to the merest -fraction of what Nature evidently has in view. We see many truths -vaguely which a life gives us no time to grasp, and especially is this -so when men have to make such a struggle to live at all. Our faculties -are small or dwarfed or weak; one life gives no opportunity to alter -this; we perceive other powers latent in us that cannot possibly be -brought out in such a small space of time; and we have much more than a -suspicion that the extent of the field of truth is vastly greater than -the narrow circle we are confined to. It is not reasonable to suppose -that either God or nature projects us into a body simply to fill us -with bitterness because we can have no other opportunity here, but -rather we must conclude that a series of incarnations has led to the -present condition, and that the process of coming here again and again -must go on for the purpose of affording us the opportunity needed. - -The mere fact of dying is not of itself enough to bring about -development of faculties or the elimination of wrong tendency and -inclination. If we assume that upon entering heaven we at once acquire -all knowledge and purity, then that state after death is reduced to a -dead level and life itself with all its discipline is shorn of every -meaning. Some of the churches teach of a school of discipline after -death where it is impudently stated that the Apostles themselves, well -known to be ignorant men, are to be the teachers. This is absurd and -devoid of any basis or reason in the natural order. Besides, if there -is to be such subsequent discipline, why were we projected into life -at all? And why after the suffering and the error committed are we -taken from the place where we did our acts? The only solution left is -in reïncarnation. We come back to earth because on it and with the -beings upon it our deeds were performed; because it is the only proper -place where punishment and reward can be justly meted out; because -here is the only natural spot in which to continue the struggle toward -perfection, toward the development of the faculties we have and the -destruction of the wickedness in us. Justice to ourselves and to all -other beings demands it, for we cannot live for ourselves, and it -would be unjust to permit some of us to escape, leaving those who were -participants with us to remain or to be plunged into a hell of eternal -duration. - -The persistence of savagery, the rise and decay of nations and -civilizations, the total extinction of nations, all demand an -explanation found nowhere but in reïncarnation. Savagery remains -because there are still Egos whose experience is so limited that they -are still savage; they will come up into higher races when ready. Races -die out because the Egos have had enough of the experience that sort -of race gives. So we find the red Indian, the Hottentot, the Easter -Islanders, and others as examples of races deserted by high Egos and as -they are dying away other souls who have had no higher life in the past -enter into the bodies of the race to go on using them for the purpose -of gaining such experience as the race body will give. A race could -not possibly arise and then suddenly go out. We see that such is not -the case, but science has no explanation; it simply says that this is -the fact, that nations decay. But in this explanation no account is -taken of the inner man nor of the recondite subtle and occult laws that -unite to make a race. Theosophy shows that the energy drawn together -has to expend itself gradually, and therefore the reproduction of -bodies of the character of that race will go on, though the Egos are -not compelled to inhabit bodies of that sort any longer than while -they are of the same development as the race. Hence a time comes when -the whole mass of Egos which built up the race leaves it for another -physical environment more like themselves. The economy of Nature will -not permit the physical race to suddenly fade away, and so in the real -order of evolution other and less progressed Egos come in and use the -forms provided, keeping up the production of new bodies but less and -less in number each century. These lower Egos are not able to keep up -to the limit of the capacity of the congeries of energies left by the -other Egos, and so while the new set gains as much experience as is -possible the race in time dies out after passing through its decay. -This is the explanation of what we may call descending savagery, and -no other theory will meet the facts. It has been sometimes thought by -ethnologists that the more civilized races kill off the others, but -the fact is that in consequence of the great difference between the -Egos inhabiting the old race body and the energy of that body itself, -the females begin to be sterile, and thus slowly but surely the number -of deaths exceeds the births. China itself is in process of decay, -she being now in the almost stationary stage just before the rush -downward. Great civilizations like those of Egypt and Babylon have gone -because the souls who made them have long ago reïncarnated in the great -conquering nations of Europe and the present American continents. As -nations and races they have been totally reïncarnated and born again -for greater and higher purposes than ever. Of all the old races the -Aryan Indian alone yet remains as the preserver of the old doctrines. -It will one day rise again to its old heights of glory. - -The appearance of geniuses and great minds in families destitute of -these qualities, as well as the extinction from a family of the genius -shown by some ancestor, can only be met by the law of rebirth. Napoleon -the First came in a family wholly unlike him in power and force. -Nothing in his heredity will explain his character. He said himself, -as told in the Memoirs of Prince Talleyrand, that he was Charlemagne. -Only by assuming for him a long series of lives giving the right line -of evolution or cause for his mind and nature and force to be brought -out, can we have the slightest idea why he or any other great genius -appeared at all. Mozart when an infant could compose orchestral score. -This was not due to heredity, for such a score is not natural, but -is forced, mechanical, and wholly conventional, yet he understood it -without schooling. How? Because he was a musician reïncarnated, with -a musical brain furnished by his family and thus not impeded in his -endeavors to show forth his musical knowledge. But stronger yet is the -case of Blind Tom, a negro whose family could not by any possibility -have a knowledge of the piano, a modern instrument, so as to transmit -that knowledge to the atoms of his body, yet he had great musical power -and knew the present mechanical musical scale on the piano. There are -hundreds of examples like these among the many prodigies who have -appeared to the world’s astonishment. In India there are many histories -of sages born with complete knowledge of philosophy and the like, -and doubtless in all nations the same can be met with. This bringing -back of knowledge also explains instinct, for that is no more than -recollection divisible into physical and mental memory. It is seen in -the child and the animal, and is no more than the result of previous -experience. And whether we look at the new-born babe flinging out its -arms for self-protection, or the animal with very strong instinctual -power, or the bee building a cell on the rules of geometry, it is all -the effect of reïncarnation acting either in the mind or physical -cell, for under what was first laid down no atom is devoid of life, -consciousness, and intelligence of its own. - -In the case of the musician Bach we have proof that heredity counts for -nothing if the Ego is not advanced, for his genius was not borne down -his family line; it gradually faded out, finally leaving the family -stream entirely. So, too, the coming of idiots or vicious children to -parents who are good, pure, or highly intellectual is explained in the -same way. They are cases where heredity is set at nought by a wholly -bad or deficient Ego. - -And lastly, the fact that certain inherent ideas are common to the -whole race is explained by the sages as due to recollection of such -ideas, which were implanted in the human mind at the very beginning of -its evolutionary career on this planet by those brothers and sages who -learned their lessons and were perfected in former ages long before the -development of this globe began. No explanation for inherent ideas is -offered by science that will do more than say, “they exist.” These were -actually taught to the mass of Egos who are engaged in this earth’s -evolution; they were imprinted or burned into their natures, and always -recollected; they follow the Ego through the long pilgrimage. - -It has been often thought that the opposition to reïncarnation has been -solely based on prejudice, when not due to a dogma which can only stand -when the mind is bound down and prevented from using its own powers. -It is a doctrine the most noble of all, and with its companion one -of Karma, next to be considered, it alone gives the basis for ethics. -There is no doubt in my mind that the founder of Christianity took it -for granted and that its present absence from that religion is the -reason for the contradiction between the professed ethics of Christian -nations and their actual practices which are so contrary to the morals -given out by Jesus. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -Karma is an unfamiliar word for Western ears. It is the name adopted by -Theosophists of the nineteenth century for one of the most important -of the laws of nature. Ceaseless in its operation, it bears alike upon -planets, systems of planets, races, nations, families, and individuals. -It is the twin doctrine to reïncarnation. So inextricably interlaced -are these two laws that it is almost impossible to properly consider -one apart from the other. No spot or being in the universe is exempt -from the operation of Karma, but all are under its sway, punished -for error by it yet beneficently led on, through discipline, rest, -and reward, to the distant heights of perfection. It is a law so -comprehensive in its sweep, embracing at once our physical and our -moral being, that it is only by paraphrase and copious explanation one -can convey its meaning in English. For that reason the Sanscrit term -_Karma_ was adopted to designate it. - -Applied to man’s moral life it is the law of ethical causation, -justice, reward and punishment; the cause for birth and rebirth, yet -equally the means for escape from incarnation. Viewed from another -point it is merely effect flowing from cause, action and reaction, -exact result for every thought and act. It is act and the result of -act; for the word’s literal meaning is action. Theosophy views the -Universe as an intelligent whole, hence every motion in the Universe -is an action of that whole leading to results, which themselves become -causes for further results. Viewing it thus broadly, the ancient Hindus -said that every being up to Brahma was under the rule of Karma. - -It is not a being but a law, the universal law of harmony which -unerringly restores all disturbance to equilibrium. In this the -theory conflicts with the ordinary conception about God, built up -from the Jewish system, which assumes that the Almighty as a thinking -entity, extraneous to the Cosmos, builds up, finds his construction -inharmonious, out of proportion, errant, and disturbed, and then has to -pull down, destroy, or punish that which he created. This has either -caused thousands to live in fear of God, in compliance with his assumed -commands, with the selfish object of obtaining reward and securing -escape from his wrath, or has plunged them into darkness which comes -from a denial of all spiritual life. But as there is plainly, indeed -painfully, evident to every human being a constant destruction going -on in and around us, a continual war not only among men but everywhere -through the whole solar system, causing sorrow in all directions, -reason requires a solution of the riddle. The poor, who see no refuge -or hope, cry aloud to a God who makes no reply, and then envy springs -up in them when they consider the comforts and opportunities of the -rich. They see the rich profligates, the wealthy fools, enjoying -themselves unpunished. Turning to the teacher of religion, they meet -the reply to their questioning of the justice which will permit such -misery to those who did nothing requiring them to be born with no -means, no opportunities for education, no capacity to overcome social, -racial, or circumstantial obstacles, “It is the will of God.” Parents -produce beloved offspring who are cut off by death at an untimely hour, -just when all promised well. They too have no answer to the question -“Why am I thus afflicted?” but the same unreasonable reference to -an inaccessible God whose arbitrary will causes their misery. Thus -in every walk of life, loss, injury, persecution, deprivation of -opportunity, nature’s own forces working to destroy the happiness -of man, death, reverses, disappointment continually beset good and -evil men alike. But nowhere is there any answer or relief save in -the ancient truths that each man is the maker and fashioner of his -own destiny, the only one who sets in motion the causes for his own -happiness and misery. In one life he sows and in the next he reaps. -Thus on and forever, the law of Karma leads him. - -Karma is a beneficent law wholly merciful, relentlessly just, for true -mercy is not favor but impartial justice. - - “My brothers! each man’s life - The outcome of his former living is; - The bygone wrongs bring forth sorrows and woes, - The bygone right breeds bliss.... - This is the doctrine of Karma.” - -How is the present life affected by that bygone right and wrong act, -and is it always by way of punishment? Is Karma only fate under another -name, an already fixed and formulated destiny from which no escape is -possible, and which therefore might make us careless of act or thought -that cannot affect destiny? It is not fatalism. Everything done in a -former body has consequences which in the new birth the Ego must enjoy -or suffer, for, as St. Paul said: “Brethren, be not deceived. God is -not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” For -the effect is in the cause, and Karma produces the manifestation of it -in the body, brain, and mind furnished by reïncarnation. And as a cause -set up by one man has a distinct relation to him as a centre from which -it came, so each one experiences the results of his own acts. We may -sometimes seem to receive effects solely from the acts of others, but -this is the result of our own acts and thoughts in this or some prior -life. We perform our acts in company with others always, and the acts -with their underlying thoughts have relation always to other persons -and to ourselves. - -No act is performed without a thought at its root either at the time -of performance or as leading to it. These thoughts are lodged in that -part of man which we have called _Manas_—the mind, and there remain as -subtle but powerful links with magnetic threads that enmesh the solar -system, and through which various effects are brought out. The theory -put forward in earlier pages that the whole system to which this globe -belongs is alive, conscious on every plane, though only in man showing -self-consciousness, comes into play here to explain how the thought -under the act in this life may cause result in this or the next birth. -The marvellous modern experiments in hypnotism show that the slightest -impression, no matter how far back in the history of the person, may -be waked up to life, thus proving it is not lost but only latent. Take -for instance the case of a child born humpbacked and very short, the -head sunk between the shoulders, the arms long and legs curtailed. Why -is this? His karma for thoughts and acts in a prior life. He reviled, -persecuted, or otherwise injured a deformed person so persistently or -violently as to imprint in his own immortal mind the deformed picture -of his victim. For in proportion to the intensity of his thought will -be the intensity and depth of the picture. It is exactly similar to -the exposure of the sensitive photographic plate, whereby, just as -the exposure is long or short, the impression in the plate is weak or -deep. So this thinker and actor—the Ego—coming again to rebirth carries -with him this picture, and if the family to which he is attracted for -birth has similar physical tendencies in its stream, the mental picture -causes the newly-forming astral body to assume a deformed shape by -electrical and magnetic osmosis through the mother of the child. And -as all beings on earth are indissolubly joined together, the misshapen -child is the karma of the parents also, an exact consequence for -similar acts and thoughts on their part in other lives. Here is an -exactitude of justice which no other theory will furnish. - -But as we often see a deformed human being—continuing the instance -merely for the purpose of illustration—having a happy disposition, an -excellent intellect, sound judgment, and every good moral quality, this -very instance leads us to the conclusion that karma must be of several -different kinds in every individual case, and also evidently operates -in more than one department of our being, with the possibility of being -pleasant in effect for one portion of our nature and unpleasant for -another. - -Karma is of three sorts: - -_First_—that which has not begun to produce any effect in our lives -owing to the operation on us of some other karmic causes. This is -under a law well known to physicists, that two opposing forces tend -to neutrality, and that one force may be strong enough to temporarily -prevent the operation of another one. This law works on the unseen -mental and karmic planes or spheres of being just as it does on the -material ones. The force of a certain set of bodily, mental, and -psychical faculties with their tendencies may wholly inhibit the -operation on us of causes with which we are connected, because the -whole nature of each person is used in the carrying out of this law. -Hence the weak and mediocre furnish a weak focus for karma, and in them -the general result of a lifetime is limited, although they may feel it -all to be very heavy. But that person who has a wide and deep-reaching -character and much force will feel the operation of a greater quantity -of karma than the weaker person. - -_Second_—that karma which we are now making or storing up by our -thoughts and acts, and which will operate in the future when the -appropriate body, mind, and environment are taken up by the incarnating -Ego in some other life, or whenever obstructive karma is removed. - -This bears both on the present life and the next one. For one may in -this life come to a point where, all previous causes being worked out, -new karma, or that which is unexpended, must begin to operate. - -Under this are those cases where men have sudden reverses of fortune -or changes for the better either in circumstances or character. A very -important bearing of this is on our present conduct. While old karma -must work out and cannot be stopped, it is wise for the man to so think -and act now under present circumstances, no matter what they are, that -he shall produce no bad or prejudicial causes for the next rebirth or -for later years in this life. Rebellion is useless, for the law works -on whether we weep or rejoice. The great French engineer, de Lesseps, -is a good example of this class of karma. Raised to a high pitch of -glory and achievement for many years of his life, he suddenly falls -covered with shame through the Panama canal scandal. Whether he was -innocent or guilty, he has the shame of the connection of his name with -a national enterprise all besmirched with bribery and corruption that -involved high officials. This was the operation of old karmic causes on -him the very moment those which had governed his previous years were -exhausted. Napoleon I is another, for he rose to a very great fame, -then suddenly fell and died in exile and disgrace. Many other cases -will occur to every thoughtful reader. - -_Third_—that karma which has begun to produce results. It is the -operating now in this life on us of causes set up in previous lives in -company with other Egos. And it is in operation because, being most -adapted to the family stock, the individual body, astral body, and race -tendencies of the present incarnation, it exhibits itself plainly, -while other unexpended karma awaits its regular turn. - -These three classes of karma govern men, animals, worlds, and periods -of evolution. Every effect flows from a cause precedent, and as all -beings are constantly being reborn they are continually experiencing -the effects of their thoughts and acts (which are themselves causes) of -a prior incarnation. And thus each one answers, as St. Matthew says, -for every word and thought; none can escape either by prayer, or favor, -or force, or any other intermediary. - -Now as karmic causes are divisible into three classes, they must have -various fields in which to work. They operate upon man in his mental -and intellectual nature, in his psychical or soul nature, and in his -body and circumstances. The spiritual nature of man is never affected -or operated upon by karma. - -One species of karma may act on the three specified planes of our -nature at the same time to the same degree, or there may be a mixture -of the causes, some on one plane and some on another. Take a deformed -person who has a fine mind and a deficiency in his soul nature. Here -punitive or unpleasant karma is operating on his body while in his -mental and intellectual nature good karma is being experienced, but -psychically the karma, or cause, being of an indifferent sort the -result is indifferent. In another person other combinations appear. -He has a fine body and favorable circumstances, but the character is -morose, peevish, irritable, revengeful, morbid, and disagreeable to -himself and others. Here good physical karma is at work with very bad -mental, intellectual, and psychical karma. Cases will occur to readers -of persons born in high station having every opportunity and power, yet -being imbecile or suddenly becoming insane. - -And just as all these phases of the law of karma have sway over the -individual man, so they similarly operate upon races, nations, and -families. Each race has its karma as a whole. If it be good that race -goes forward. If bad it goes out—annihilated as a race—though the -souls concerned take up their karma in other races and bodies. Nations -cannot escape their national karma, and any nation that has acted in -a wicked manner must suffer some day, be it soon or late. The karma of -the nineteenth century in the West is the karma of Israel, for even the -merest tyro can see that the Mosaic influence is the strongest in the -European and American nations. The old Aztec and other ancient American -peoples died out because their own karma—the result of their own life -as nations in the far past—fell upon and destroyed them. With nations -this heavy operation of karma is always through famine, war, convulsion -of nature, and the sterility of the women of the nation. The latter -cause comes near the end and sweeps the whole remnant away. And the -individual in race or nation is warned by this great doctrine that if -he falls into indifference of thought and act, thus moulding himself -into the general average karma of his race or nation, that national and -race karma will at last carry him off in the general destiny. This is -why teachers of old cried, “Come ye out and be ye separate.” - -With reïncarnation the doctrine of karma explains the misery and -suffering of the world, and no room is left to accuse Nature of -injustice. - -The misery of any nation or race is the direct result of the thoughts -and acts of the Egos who make up the race or nation. In the dim past -they did wickedly and now suffer. They violated the laws of harmony. -The immutable rule is that harmony must be restored if violated. -So these Egos suffer in making compensation and establishing the -equilibrium of the occult cosmos. The whole mass of Egos must go on -incarnating and reïncarnating in the nation or race until they have -all worked out to the end the causes set up. Though the nation may -for a time disappear as a physical thing, the Egos that made it do -not leave the world, but come out as the makers of some new nation -in which they must go on with the task and take either punishment or -reward as accords with their karma. Of this law the old Egyptians are -an illustration. They certainly rose to a high point of development, -and as certainly they were extinguished as a nation. But the souls—the -old Egos—live on and are now fulfilling their self-made destiny as some -other nation now in our period. They may be the new American nation, -or the Jews fated to wander up and down in the world and suffer much -at the hands of others. This process is perfectly just. Take, for -instance, the United States and the Red Indians. The latter have been -most shamefully treated by the nation. The Indian Egos will be reborn -in the new and conquering people, and as members of that great family -will be the means themselves of bringing on the due results for such -acts as were done against them when they had red bodies. Thus it has -happened before, and so it will come about again. - -Individual unhappiness in any life is thus explained: - -(_a_) It is punishment for evil done in past lives; or (_b_) it is -discipline taken up by the Ego for the purpose of eliminating defects -or acquiring fortitude and sympathy. When defects are eliminated it is -like removing the obstruction in an irrigating canal which then lets -the water flow on. Happiness is explained in the same way: the result -of prior lives of goodness. - -The scientific and self-compelling basis for right ethics is found -in these and in no other doctrines. For if right ethics are to be -practised merely for themselves, men will not see why, and have never -been able to see why, for that reason they should do right. If ethics -are to be followed from fear, man is degraded and will surely evade; if -the favor of the Almighty, not based on law or justice, be the reason, -then we will have just what prevails to-day—a code given by Jesus to -the west professed by nations and not practised save by the few who -would in any case be virtuous. - -On this subject the Adepts have written the following to be found in -the _Secret Doctrine_: - - Nor would the ways of karma be inscrutable were men to work in union - and harmony instead of disunion and strife. For our ignorance of - those ways—which one portion of mankind calls the ways of Providence - dark and intricate, while another sees in them the action of blind - fatalism, and a third simple chance with neither gods nor devils to - guide them—would surely disappear if we would but attribute all these - to their correct cause. With right knowledge, or at any rate with a - confident conviction that our neighbors will no more work harm to - us than we would think of harming them, two-thirds of the world’s - evil would vanish into thin air. Were no man to hurt his brother, - Karma-Nemesis would have neither cause to work for nor weapons to act - through.... We cut these numerous windings in our destinies daily - with our own hands, while we imagine that we are pursuing a track on - the royal high road of respectability and duty, and then complain of - those ways being so intricate and so dark. We stand bewildered before - the mystery of our own making and the riddles of life that _we will - not_ solve, and then accuse the great Sphinx of devouring us. But - verily there is not an accident in our lives, not a misshapen day or a - misfortune, that could not be traced back to our own doings in this or - another life.... Knowledge of karma gives the conviction that if— - - ‘virtue in distress and vice in triumph - Make atheists of Mankind’, - - it is only because that mankind has ever shut its eyes to the great - truth that man is himself his own saviour as his own destroyer; that - he need not accuse heaven and the gods, fates and providence, of the - apparent injustice that reigns in the midst of humanity. But let him - rather remember and repeat this bit of Grecian wisdom which warns man - to forbear accusing _That_ which - - ‘Just though mysterious, leads us on unerring - Through ways unmarked from guilt to punishment’ - - —which are now the ways and the high road on which move onward the - great European nations. The western Aryans had every nation and tribe - like their eastern brethren of the fifth race, their Golden and their - Iron ages, their period of comparative irresponsibility, or the Satya - age of purity, while now several of them have reached their Iron age, - the _Kali Yuga_, an age _black with horrors_. This state will last ... - until we begin acting from within instead of ever following impulses - from without.... Until then the only palliative is union and harmony—a - Brotherhood in _actu_ and _altruism_ not simply in name. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -Let us now consider the states of man after the death of the body and -before birth, having looked over the whole field of the evolution -of things and beings in a general way. This brings up at once the -questions: Is there any heaven or hell, and what are they? Are they -states or places? Is there a spot in space where they may be found -and to which we go or from where we come? We must also go back to the -subject of the fourth principle of the constitution of man, that called -Kama in Sanscrit and desire or passion in English. Bearing in mind what -was said about that principle, and also the teaching in respect to -the astral body and the Astral Light, it will be easier to understand -what is taught about the two states _ante_ and _post mortem_. In -chronological order we go into kama loka—or the plane of desire—first -on the demise of the body, and then the higher principles, the real -man, fall into the state of _Devachan_. After dealing with kama loka it -will be more easy to study the question of _Devachan_. - -The breath leaves the body and we say the man is dead, but that is only -the beginning of death; it proceeds on other planes. When the frame is -cold and eyes closed, all the forces of the body and mind rush through -the brain, and by a series of pictures the whole life just ended is -imprinted indelibly on the inner man not only in a general outline -but down to the smallest detail of even the most minute and fleeting -impression. At this moment, though every indication leads the physician -to pronounce for death and though to all intents and purposes the -person is dead to this life, the real man is busy in the brain, and -not until his work there is ended is the person gone. When this solemn -work is over the astral body detaches itself from the physical, and, -life energy having departed, the remaining five principles are in the -plane of kama loka. - -The natural separation of the principles brought about by death divides -the total man into three parts: - -_First_, the visible body with all its elements left to further -disintegration on the earth plane, where all that it is composed of is -in time resolved into the different physical departments of nature. - -_Second_, the _kama rupa_ made up of the astral body and the passions -and desires, which also begins at once to go to pieces on the astral -plane. - -_Third_, the real man, the upper triad of _Atma-Buddhi-Manas_, -deathless but now out of earth conditions, devoid of body, begins -in _devachan_ to function solely as mind clothed in a very ethereal -vesture which it will shake off when the time comes for it to return to -earth. - -_Kama loka_—or the place of desire—is the astral region penetrating and -surrounding the earth. As a place it is on and in and about the earth. -Its extent is to a measurable distance from the earth, but the ordinary -laws obtaining here do not obtain there, and entities therein are not -under the same conditions as to space and time as we are. As a state it -is metaphysical, though that metaphysic relates to the astral plane. -It is called the plane of desire because it relates to the fourth -principle, and in it the ruling force is desire devoid of and divorced -from intelligence. It is an astral sphere intermediate between earthly -and heavenly life. Beyond any doubt it is the origin of the Christian -theory of purgatory, where the soul undergoes penance for evil done -and from which it can be released by prayer and other ceremonies or -offerings. The fact underlying this superstition is that the soul may -be detained in _kama loka_ by the enormous force of some unsatisfied -desire, and cannot get rid of the astral and kamic clothing until that -desire is satisfied by some one on earth or by the soul itself. But -if the person was pure minded and of high aspirations, the separation -of the principles on that plane is soon completed, permitting the -higher triad to go into _Devachan_. Being the purely astral sphere, -it partakes of the nature of the astral matter which is essentially -earthly and devilish, and in it all the forces work undirected by soul -or conscience. It is the slag-pit, as it were, of the great furnace of -life, where nature provides for the sloughing off of elements which -have no place in _Devachan_, and for that reason it must have many -degrees, every one of which was noted by the ancients. These degrees -are known in Sanscrit as _lokas_ or places in a metaphysical sense. -Human life is very varied as to character and other potentialities, and -for each of these the appropriate place after death is provided, thus -making _kama loka_ an infinitely varied sphere. In life some of the -differences among men are modified and some inhibited by a similarity -of body and heredity, but in _kama loka_ all the hidden desires and -passions are let loose in consequence of the absence of body, and for -that reason the state is vastly more diversified than the life plane. -Not only is it necessary to provide for the natural varieties and -differences, but also for those caused by the manner of death, about -which something shall be said. And all these various divisions are -but the natural result of the life thoughts and last thoughts of the -persons who die on earth. It is beyond the scope of this work to go -into a description of all these degrees, inasmuch as volumes would be -needed to describe them, and then but few would understand. - -To deal with _kama loka_ compels us to deal also with the fourth -principle in the classification of man’s constitution, and arouses -a conflict with modern ideas and education on the subject of the -desires and passions. It is generally supposed that the desires and -passions are inherent tendencies in the individual, and they have -an altogether unreal and misty appearance for the ordinary student. -But in this system of philosophy they are not merely inherent in the -individual nor are they due to the body _per se_. While the man is -living in the world the desires and passions—the principle _kama_—have -no separate life apart from the astral and inner man, being, so to -say, diffused throughout his being. But as they coalesce with the -astral body after death and thus form an entity with its own term of -life, though without soul, very important questions arise. During -mortal life the desires and passions are guided by the mind and soul; -after death they work without guidance from the former master; while -we live we are responsible for them and their effects, and when we -have left this life we are still responsible, although they go on -working and making effects on others while they last as the sort of -entity I have described, and without our direct guidance. In this is -seen the continuance of responsibility. They are a portion of the -_skandhas_—well known in eastern philosophy—which are the aggregates -that make up the man. The body includes one set of the _skandhas_, the -astral man another, the _kama_ principle is another set, and still -others pertain to other parts. In _kama_ are the really active and -important ones which control rebirths and lead to all the varieties of -life and circumstance upon each rebirth. They are being made from day -to day under the law that every thought combines instantly with one of -the elemental forces of nature, becoming to that extent an entity which -will endure in accordance with the strength of the thought as it leaves -the brain, and all of these are inseparably connected with the being -who evolved them. There is no way of escaping; all we can do is to have -thoughts of good quality, for the highest of the Masters themselves are -not exempt from this law, but they “people their current in space” -with entities powerful for good alone. - -Now in _kama loka_ this mass of desire and thought exists very -definitely until the conclusion of its disintegration, and then the -remainder consists of the essence of these _skandhas_, connected, of -course, with the being that evolved and had them. They can no more be -done away with than we can blot out the universe. Hence they are said -to remain until the being comes out of _devachan_, and then at once by -the law of attraction they are drawn to the being, who from them as -germ or basis builds up a new set of _skandhas_ for the new life. _Kama -loka_ therefore is distinguished from the earth plane by reason of the -existence therein, uncontrolled and unguided, of the mass of passions -and desires; but at the same time earth-life is also a _kama loka_, -since it is largely governed by the principle _kama_, and will be so -until at a far distant time in the course of evolution the races of -men shall have developed the fifth and sixth principles, thus throwing -_kama_ into its own sphere and freeing earth-life from its influence. - -The astral man in _kama loka_ is a mere shell devoid of soul and mind, -without conscience and also unable to act unless vivified by forces -outside of itself. It has that which seems like an animal or automatic -consciousness due wholly to the very recent association with the human -Ego. For under the principle laid down in another chapter, every atom -going to make up the man has a memory of its own which is capable -of lasting a length of time in proportion to the force given it. In -the case of a very material and gross or selfish person the force -lasts longer than in any other, and hence in that case the automatic -consciousness will be more definite and bewildering to one who without -knowledge dabbles with necromancy. Its purely astral portion contains -and carries the record of all that ever passed before the person when -living, for one of the qualities of the astral substance is to absorb -all scenes and pictures and the impressions of all thoughts, to keep -them, and to throw them forth by reflection when the conditions permit. -This astral shell, cast off by every man at death, would be a menace to -all men were it not in every case, except one which shall be mentioned, -devoid of all the higher principles which are the directors. But those -guiding constituents being disjoined from the shell, it wavers and -floats about from place to place without any will of its own, but -governed wholly by attractions in the astral and magnetic fields. - -It is possible for the real man—called the spirit by some—to -communicate with us immediately after death for a few brief moments, -but, those passed, the soul has no more to do with earth until -reïncarnated. What can and do influence the sensitive and the medium -from out of this sphere are the shells I have described. Soulless and -conscienceless, these in no sense are the spirits of our deceased ones. -They are the clothing thrown off by the inner man, the brutal earthly -portion discarded in the flight to _devachan_, and so have always -been considered by the ancients as devils—our personal devils—because -essentially astral, earthly, and passional. It would be strange indeed -if this shell, after being for so long the vehicle of the real man on -earth, did not retain an automatic memory and consciousness. We see the -decapitated body of the frog or the cock moving and acting for a time -with a seeming intelligence, and why is it not possible for the finer -and more subtle astral form to act and move with a far greater amount -of seeming mental direction? - -Existing in the sphere of _kama loka_, as, indeed, also in all parts of -the globe and the solar system, are the elementals or nature forces. -They are innumerable, and their divisions are almost infinite, as they -are, in a sense, the nerves of nature. Each class has its own work just -as has every natural element or thing. As fire burns and as water -runs down and not up under their general law, so the elementals act -under law, but being higher in the scale than gross fire or water their -action seems guided by mind. Some of them have a special relation to -mental operations and to the action of the astral organs, whether these -be joined to a body or not. When a medium forms the channel, and also -from other natural coördination, these elementals make an artificial -connection with the shell of a deceased person, aided by the nervous -fluid of the medium and others near, and then the shell is galvanized -into an artificial life. Through the medium connection is made with -the physical and psychical forces of all present. The old impressions -on the astral body give up their images to the mind of the medium, the -old passions are set on fire. Various messages and reports are then -obtained from it, but not one of them is original, not one is from the -spirit. By their strangeness, and in consequence of the ignorance of -those who dabble in it, this is mistaken for the work of spirit, but -it is all from the living when it is not the mere picking out from the -astral light of the images of what has been in the past. In certain -cases to be noted there is an intelligence at work that is wholly and -intensely bad, to which every medium is subject, and which will explain -why so many of them have succumbed to evil, as they have confessed. - -A rough classification of these shells that visit mediums would be as -follows: - -(1) Those of the recently deceased whose place of burial is not far -away. This class will be quite coherent in accordance with the life and -thought of the former owner. An unmaterial, good, and spiritualized -person leaves a shell that will soon disintegrate. A gross, mean, -selfish, material person’s shell will be heavy, consistent, and long -lived: and so on with all varieties. - -(2) Those of persons who had died far away from the place where the -medium is. Lapse of time permits such to escape from the vicinity of -their old bodies, and at the same time brings on a greater degree of -disintegration which corresponds on the astral plane to putrefaction on -the physical. These are vague, shadowy, incoherent; respond but briefly -to the psychic stimulus, and are whirled off by any magnetic current. -They are galvanized for a moment by the astral currents of the medium -and of those persons present who were related to the deceased. - -(3) Purely shadowy remains which can hardly be given a place. There -is no English to describe them, though they are facts in this sphere. -They might be said to be the mere mould or impress left in the astral -substance by the once coherent shell long since disintegrated. They -are therefore so near being fictitious as to almost deserve the -designation. As such shadowy photographs they are enlarged, decorated, -and given an imaginary life by the thoughts, desires, hopes, and -imaginings of medium and sitters at the _séance_. - -(4) Definite, coherent entities, human souls bereft of the spiritual -tie, now tending down to the worst state of all, _avitchi_, where -annihilation of the personality is the end. They are known as black -magicians. Having centred the consciousness in the principle of _kama_, -preserved intellect, divorced themselves from spirit, they are the -only damned beings we know. In life they had human bodies and reached -their awful state by persistent lives of evil for its own sake; some -of such already doomed to become what I have described, are among us -on earth to-day. These are not ordinary shells, for they have centred -all their force in _kama_, thrown out every spark of good thought or -aspiration, and have a complete mastery of the astral sphere. I put -them in the classification of shells because they are such in the -sense that they are doomed to disintegration consciously as the others -are to the same end mechanically only. They may and do last for many -centuries, gratifying their lusts through any sensitive they can lay -hold of where bad thought gives them an opening. They preside at nearly -all _séances_, assuming high names and taking the direction so as to -keep the control and continue the delusion of the medium, thus enabling -themselves to have a convenient channel for their own evil purposes. -Indeed, with the shells of suicides, of those poor wretches who die at -the hand of the law, of drunkards and gluttons, these black magicians -living in the astral world hold the field of physical mediumship and -are liable to invade the sphere of any medium no matter how good. -The door once open, it is open to all. This class of shell has lost -higher _manas_, but in the struggle not only after death but as well -in life the lower portion of _manas_ which should have been raised up -to godlike excellence was torn away from its lord and now gives this -entity intelligence which is devoid of spirit but has power to suffer -as it will when its final day shall come. - -In the state of _Kama Loka_ suicides and those who are suddenly shot -out of life by accident or murder, legal or illegal, pass a term -almost equal to the length life would have been but for the sudden -termination. These are not really dead. To bring on a normal death, a -factor not recognized by medical science must be present. That is, the -principles of the being as described in other chapters have their own -term of cohesion, at the natural end of which they separate from each -other under their own laws. This involves the great subject of the -cohesive forces of the human subject, requiring a book in itself. I -must be content therefore with the assertion that this law of cohesion -obtains among the human principles. Before that natural end the -principles are unable to separate. Obviously the normal destruction -of the cohesive force cannot be brought about by mechanical processes -except in respect to the physical body. Hence a suicide, or person -killed by accident or murdered by man or by order of human law, has -not come to the natural termination of the cohesion among the other -constituents, and is hurled into the _kama loka_ state only partly -dead. There the remaining principles have to wait until the actual -natural life term is reached, whether it be one month or sixty years. - -But the degrees of _kama loka_ provide for the many varieties of the -last-mentioned shells. Some pass the period in great suffering, others -in a dreamy sort of sleep, each according to the moral responsibility. -But executed criminals are in general thrown out of life full of hate -and revenge, smarting under a penalty they do not admit the justice of. -They are ever rehearsing in _kama loka_ their crime, their trial, their -execution, and their revenge. And whenever they can gain touch with a -sensitive living person, medium or not, they attempt to inject thoughts -of murder and other crime into the brain of such unfortunate. And that -they succeed in such attempts the deeper students of Theosophy full -well know. - -We have now approached _devachan_. After a certain time in _kama loka_ -the being falls into a state of unconsciousness which precedes the -change into the next state. It is like the birth into life, preluded -by a term of darkness and heavy sleep. It then wakes to the joys of -_devachan_. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -Having shown that just beyond the threshold of human life there is a -place of separation wherein the better part of man is divided from -his lower and brute elements, we come to consider what is the state -after death of the real being, the immortal who travels from life to -life. Struggling out of the body the entire man goes into _kama loka_, -to purgatory, where he again struggles and loosens himself from the -lower _skandhas_; this period of birth over, the higher principles, -_Atma-Buddhi-Manas_, begin to think in a manner different from that -which the body and brain permitted in life. This is the state of -_Devachan_, a Sanscrit word meaning literally “the place of the gods,” -where the soul enjoys felicity; but as the gods have no such bodies -as ours, the Self in _devachan_ is devoid of a mortal body. In the -ancient books it is said that this state lasts “for years of infinite -number”, or “for a period proportionate to the merit of the being”; -and when the mental forces peculiar to the state are exhausted, “the -being is drawn down again to be reborn in the world of mortals”. -_Devachan_ is therefore an interlude between births in the world. The -law of karma which forces us all to enter the world, being ceaseless in -its operation and also universal in scope, acts also on the being in -_devachan_, for only by the force or operation of Karma are we taken -out of _devachan_. It is something like the pressure of atmosphere -which, being continuous and uniform, will push out or crush that -which is subjected to it unless there be a compensating quantity of -atmosphere to counteract the pressure. In the present case the karma of -the being is the atmosphere always pressing the being on or out from -state to state; the counteracting quantity of atmosphere is the force -of the being’s own life-thoughts and aspirations which prevent his -coming out of _devachan_ until that force is exhausted, but which being -spent has no more power to hold back the decree of our self-made mortal -destiny. - -The necessity for this state after death is one of the necessities of -evolution growing out of the nature of mind and soul. The very nature -of _manas_ requires a devachanic state as soon as the body is lost, and -it is simply the effect of loosening the bonds placed upon the mind by -its physical and astral encasement. In life we can but to a fractional -extent act out the thoughts we have each moment; and still less can we -exhaust the psychic energies engendered by each day’s aspirations and -dreams. The energy thus engendered is not lost or annihilated, but is -stored in _Manas_, but the body, brain, and astral body permit no full -development of the force. Hence, held latent until death, it bursts -then from the weakened bonds and plunges _Manas_, the thinker, into -the expansion, use, and development of the thought-force set up in -life. The impossibility of escaping this necessary state lies in man’s -ignorance of his own powers and faculties. From this ignorance delusion -arises, and _Manas_ not being wholly free is carried by its own force -into the thinking of _devachan_. But while ignorance is the cause for -going into this state the whole process is remedial, restful, and -beneficial. For if the average man returned at once to another body in -the same civilization he had just quitted, his soul would be completely -tired out and deprived of the needed opportunity for the development of -the higher part of his nature. - -Now the Ego being minus mortal body and _kama_, clothes itself in -_devachan_ with a vesture which cannot be called body but may be styled -means or vehicle, and in that it functions in the devachanic state -entirely on the plane of mind and soul. Everything is as real then to -the being as this world seems to be to us. It simply now has gotten the -opportunity to make its own world for itself unhampered by the clogs of -physical life. Its state may be compared to that of the poet or artist -who, rapt in ecstacy of composition or arrangement of color, cares not -for and knows not of either time or objects of the world. - -We are making causes every moment, and but two fields exist for the -manifestation in effect of those causes. These are, the objective as -this world is called, and the subjective which is both here and after -we have left this life. The objective field relates to earth life and -the grosser part of man, to his bodily acts and his brain thoughts, as -also sometimes to his astral body. The subjective has to do with his -higher and spiritual parts. In the objective field the psychic impulses -cannot work out, nor can the high leanings and aspirations of his soul; -hence these must be the basis, cause, substratum, and support for the -state of _devachan_. What then is the time, measured by mortal years, -that one will stay in _devachan_? - -This question while dealing with what earth-men call time does not, -of course, touch the real meaning of time itself, that is, of what -may be in fact for this solar system the ultimate order, precedence, -succession, and length of moments. It is a question which may be -answered in respect to our time, but not certainly in respect to the -time on the planet Mercury, for instance, where time is not the same -as ours, nor, indeed, in respect to time as conceived by the soul. As -to the latter any man can see that after many years have slipped away -he has no direct perception of the time just passed, but is able only -to pick out some of the incidents which marked its passage, and as to -some poignant or happy instants or hours he seems to feel them as but -of yesterday. And thus it is for the being in _devachan_. No time is -there. The soul has all the benefit of what goes on within itself -in that state, but it indulges in no speculations as to the lapse of -moments; all is made up of events, while all the time the solar orb -is marking off the years for us on the earth plane. This cannot be -regarded as an impossibility if we will remember how, as is well known -in life, events, pictures, thoughts, argument, introspective feeling -will all sweep over us in perfect detail in an instant, or, as is known -of those who have been drowning, the events of a whole life time pass -in a flash before the eye of the mind. But the Ego remains as said in -_devachan_ for a time exactly proportioned to the psychic impulses -generated during life. Now this being a matter which deals with the -mathematics of the soul, no one but a Master can tell what the time -would be for the average man of this century in every land. Hence we -have to depend on the Masters of wisdom for that average, as it must be -based upon a calculation. They have said, as is well put by Mr. A. P. -Sinnett in his _Esoteric Buddhism_, that the period is fifteen hundred -years in general. From a reading of his book, which was made up from -letters from the Masters, it is to be inferred he desires it to be -understood that the devachanic period is in each and every case fifteen -centuries; but to do away with that misapprehension his informants -wrote at a later date that that is the average period and not a fixed -one. Such must be the truth, for as we see that men differ in respect -to the periods of time they remain in any state of mind in life due to -the varying intensities of their thoughts, so it must be in _devachan_ -where thought has a greater force though always due to the being who -had the thoughts. - -What the Master did say on this is as follows: “The ‘dream of -_devachan_’ lasts until karma is satisfied in that direction. In -_devachan_ there is a gradual exhaustion of force. The stay in -_devachan_ is proportionate to the unexhausted psychic impulses -originated in earth life. Those whose actions were preponderatingly -material will be sooner brought back into rebirth by the force of -_Tanha_.” _Tanha_ is the thirst for life. He therefore who has not -in life originated many psychic impulses will have but little basis -or force in his essential nature to keep his higher principles in -_devachan_. About all he will have are those originated in childhood -before he began to fix his thoughts on materialistic thinking. The -thirst for life expressed by the word _Tanha_ is the pulling or -magnetic force lodged in the _skandhas_ inherent in all beings. In -such a case as this the average rule does not apply, since the whole -effect either way is due to a balancing of forces and is the outcome -of action and reaction. And this sort of materialistic thinker may -emerge out of _devachan_ into another body here in a month, allowing -for the unexpended psychic forces originated in early life. But as -every one of such persons varies as to class, intensity and quantity -of thought and psychic impulse, each may vary in respect to the time -of stay in _devachan_. Desperately materialistic thinkers will remain -in the devachanic condition stupefied or asleep, as it were, as they -have no forces in them appropriate to that state save in a very vague -fashion, and for them it can be very truly said that there is no state -after death so far as mind is concerned; they are torpid for a while, -and then they live again on earth. This general average of the stay in -_devachan_ gives us the length of a very important human cycle, the -Cycle of Reïncarnation. For under that law national development will be -found to repeat itself, and the times that are past will be found to -come again. - -The last series of powerful and deeply imprinted thoughts are those -which give color and trend to the whole life in _devachan_. The last -moment will color each subsequent moment. On those the soul and mind -fix themselves and weave of them a whole set of events and experiences, -expanding them to their highest limit, carrying out all that was not -possible in life. Thus expanding and weaving these thoughts the entity -has its youth and growth and growing old, that is, the uprush of the -force, its expansion, and its dying down to final exhaustion. If the -person has led a colorless life the _devachan_ will be colorless; if a -rich life, then it will be rich in variety and effect. Existence there -is not a dream save in a conventional sense, for it is a stage of the -life of man, and when we are there this present life is a dream. It is -not in any sense monotonous. We are too prone to measure all possible -states of life and places for experience by our present earthly one and -to imagine it to be reality. But the life of the soul is endless and -not to be stopped for one instant. Leaving our physical body is but a -transition to another place or plane for living in. But as the ethereal -garments of _devachan_ are more lasting than those we wear here, the -spiritual, moral, and psychic causes use more time in expanding and -exhausting in that state than they do on earth. If the molecules that -form the physical body were not subject to the general chemical laws -that govern physical earth, then we should live as long in these bodies -as we do in the devachanic state. But such a life of endless strain and -suffering would be enough to blast the soul compelled to undergo it. -Pleasure would then be pain, and surfeit would end but in an immortal -insanity. Nature, always kind, leads us soon again into heaven for a -rest, for the flowering of the best and highest in our natures. - -_Devachan_ is then neither meaningless nor useless. “In it we are -rested; that part of us which could not bloom under the chilling -skies of earth-life bursts forth into flower and goes back with us -to earth-life stronger and more a part of our nature than before. -Why should we repine that Nature kindly aids us in the interminable -struggle, why keep the mind revolving about the present petty -personality and its good and evil fortunes?”[2] - - [2] Letter from Mahatma K. H. See _Path_, p. 192, Vol. 5. - -But it is sometimes asked, what of those we have left behind: do we see -them there? We do not see them there in fact, but we make to ourselves -their images as full, complete, and objective as in life, and devoid of -all that we then thought was a blemish. We live with them and see them -grow great and good instead of mean or bad. The mother who has left a -drunken son behind finds him before her in _devachan_ a sober, good -man, and likewise through all possible cases, parent, child, husband, -and wife have their loved ones there perfect and full of knowledge. -This is for the benefit of the soul. You may call it a delusion if -you will, but the illusion is necessary to happiness just as it often -is in life. And as it is the mind that makes the illusion, it is no -cheat. Certainly the idea of a heaven built over the verge of hell -where you must know, if any brains or memory are left to you under the -modern orthodox scheme, that your erring friends and relatives are -suffering eternal torture, will bear no comparison with the doctrine -of _devachan_. But entities in _devachan_ are not wholly devoid of -power to help those left on earth. Love, the master of life, if real, -pure, and deep, will sometimes cause the happy Ego in _devachan_ to -affect those left on earth for their good, not only in the moral field -but also in that of material circumstance. This is possible under a -law of the occult universe which cannot be explained now with profit, -but the fact may be stated. It has been given out before this by H. P. -Blavatsky, without, however, much attention being drawn to it. - -The last question to consider is whether we here can reach those in -_devachan_ or do they come here. We cannot reach them nor affect them -unless we are Adepts. The claim of mediums to hold communion with the -spirits of the dead is baseless, and still less valid is the claim of -ability to help those who have gone to _devachan_. The Mahatma, a being -who has developed all his powers and is free from illusion, can go -into the devachanic state and then communicate with the Egos there. -Such is one of their functions, and that is the only school of the -Apostles after death. They deal with certain entities in _devachan_ -for the purpose of getting them out of the state so as to return to -earth for the benefit of the race. The Egos they thus deal with are -those whose nature is great and deep but who are not wise enough to be -able to overcome the natural illusions of _devachan_. Sometimes also -the hypersensitive and pure medium goes into this state and then holds -communication with the Egos there, but it is rare, and certainly will -not take place with the general run of mediums who trade for money. But -the soul never descends here to the medium. And the gulf between the -consciousness of _devachan_ and that of earth is so deep and wide that -it is but seldom the medium can remember upon returning to recollection -here what or whom it met or saw or heard in _devachan_. This gulf is -similar to that which separates _devachan_ from rebirth; it is one in -which all memory of what preceded it is blotted out. - -The whole period allotted by the soul’s forces being ended in -_devachan_, the magnetic threads which bind it to earth begin to assert -their power. The Self wakes from the dream, it is borne swiftly off to -a new body, and then, just before birth, it sees for a moment all the -causes that led it to _devachan_ and back to the life it is about to -begin, and knowing it to be all just, to be the result of its own past -life, it repines not but takes up the cross again—and another soul has -come back to earth. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -The doctrine of Cycles is one of the most important in the whole -theosophical system, though the least known and of all the one most -infrequently referred to. Western investigators have for some centuries -suspected that events move in cycles, and a few of the writers in the -field of European literature have dealt with the subject, but all in -a very incomplete fashion. This incompleteness and want of accurate -knowledge have been due to the lack of belief in spiritual things and -the desire to square everything with materialistic science. Nor do -I pretend to give the cyclic law in full, for it is one that is not -given out in detail by the Masters of Wisdom. But enough has been -divulged, and enough was for a long time known to the Ancients to add -considerably to our knowledge. - -A cycle is a ring or turning, as the derivation of the word indicates. -The corresponding words in the Sanscrit are _Yuga_, _Kalpa_, -_Manvantara_, but of these _yuga_ comes nearest to cycle, as it is -lesser in duration than the others. The beginning of a cycle must be -a moment, that added to other moments makes a day, and those added -together constitute months, years, decades, and centuries. Beyond -this the West hardly goes. It recognizes the moon cycle and the great -sidereal one, but looks at both and upon the others merely as periods -of time. If we are to consider them as but lengths of time there is -no profit except to the dry student or to the astronomer. And in -this way to-day they are regarded by European and American thinkers, -who say cycles exist but have no very great bearing on human life -and certainly no bearing on the actual recurrence of events or the -reäppearance on the stage of life of persons who once lived in the -world. The theosophical theory is distinctly otherwise, as it must be -if it carries out the doctrine of reïncarnation to which in preceding -pages a good deal of attention has been given. Not only are the cycles -named actual physical facts in respect to time, but they and other -periods have a very great effect on human life and the evolution of -the globe with all the forms of life thereon. Starting with the moment -and proceeding through a day, this theory erects the cycle into a -comprehensive ring, which includes all in its limits. The moment being -the basis, the question to be settled in respect to the great cycles -is, When did the first moment come? This cannot be answered, but it -can be said that the truth is held by the ancient theosophists to be -that at the first moments of the solidification of this globe the mass -of matter involved attained a certain and definite rate of vibration -which will hold through all variations in any part of it until its hour -for dissolution comes. These rates of vibration are what determine the -different cycles, and, contrary to the ideas of western science, the -doctrine is that the solar system and the globe we are now on will -come to an end when the force behind the whole mass of seen and unseen -matter has reached its limit of duration under cyclic law. Here our -doctrine is again different from both the religious and scientific one. -We do not admit that the ending of the force is the withdrawal by a God -of his protection, nor the sudden propulsion by him of another force -against the globe, but that the force at work and determining the great -cycle is that of man himself considered as a spiritual being; when he -is done using the globe he leaves it, and then with him goes out the -force holding all together; the consequence is dissolution by fire or -water or what not, these phenomena being simply effects and not causes. -The ordinary scientific speculations on this head are that the earth -may fall into the sun, or that a comet of density may destroy the -globe, or that we may collide with a greater planet known or unknown. -These dreams are idle for the present. - -Reïncarnation being the great law of life and progress, it is -interwoven with that of the cycles and karma. These three work -together, and in practice it is almost impossible to disentangle -reïncarnation from cyclic law. Individuals and nations in definite -streams return in regularly recurring periods to the earth, and thus -bring back to the globe the arts, the civilization, the very persons -who once were on it at work. And as the units in nation and race are -connected together by invisible strong threads, large bodies of such -units moving slowly but surely all together reunite at different times -and emerge again and again together into new race and new civilization -as the cycles roll their appointed rounds. Therefore the souls who -made the most ancient civilizations will come back and bring the old -civilization with them in idea and essence, which being added to what -others have done for the development of the human race in its character -and knowledge will produce a new and higher state of civilization. This -newer and better development will not be due to books, to records, to -arts or mechanics, because all those are periodically destroyed so far -as physical evidence goes, but the soul ever retaining in _Manas_ the -knowledge it once gained and always pushing to completer development -the higher principles and powers, the essence of progress remains and -will as surely come out as the sun shines. And along this road are the -points when the small and large cycles of Avatars bring out for man’s -benefit the great characters who mould the race from time to time. - -The Cycle of Avatars includes several smaller ones. The greater are -those marked by the appearance of Rama and Krishna among the Hindus, -of Menes among the Egyptians, of Zoroaster among the Persians, and -of Buddha to the Hindus and other nations of the East. Buddha is -the last of the great Avatars and is in a larger cycle than is Jesus -of the Jews, for the teachings of the latter are the same as those -of Buddha and tinctured with what Buddha had taught to those who -instructed Jesus. Another great Avatar is yet to come, corresponding -to Buddha and Krishna combined. Krishna and Rama were of the -military, civil, religious, and occult order; Buddha of the ethical, -religious, and mystical, in which he was followed by Jesus; Mohammed -was a minor intermediate one for a certain part of the race, and -was civil, military, and religious. In these cycles we can include -mixed characters who have had great influence on nations, such as -King Arthur, Pharaoh, Moses, Charlemagne reïncarnated as Napoleon -Buonaparte, Clovis of France reborn as Emperor Frederic III of Germany, -and Washington the first President of the United States of America -where the root for the new race is being formed. - -At the intersection of the great cycles dynamic effects follow and -alter the surface of the planet by reason of the shifting of the poles -of the globe or other convulsion. This is not a theory generally -acceptable, but we hold it to be true. Man is a great dynamo, making, -storing, and throwing out energy, and when masses of men composing a -race thus make and distribute energy, there is a resulting dynamic -effect on the material of the globe which will be powerful enough -to be distinct and cataclysmic. That there have been vast and awful -disturbances in the strata of the world is admitted on every hand -and now needs no proof; these have been due to earthquakes and ice -formation so far as concerns geology; but in respect to animal forms -the cyclic law is that certain animal forms now extinct and also -certain human ones not known but sometimes suspected will return again -in their own cycle; and certain human languages now known as dead will -be in use once more at their appointed cyclic hour. - -“The Metonic cycle is that of the Moon. It is a period of about -nineteen years, which being completed the new and the full moons return -on the same days of the month.” - -“The cycle of the Sun is a period of twenty eight years, which having -elapsed the Dominical or Sunday letters return to their former place -and proceed in the former order according to the Julian calendar.” - -The great Sidereal year is the period taken by the equinoctial points -to make in their precession a complete revolution of the heavens. It -is composed of 25,868 solar years almost. It is said that the last -sidereal year ended about 9,868 years ago, at which time there must -have been on this earth a violent convulsion or series of such, as well -as distributions of nations. The completion of this grand period brings -the earth into newer spaces of the cosmos, not in respect to its own -orbit, but by reason of the actual progress of the sun in an orbit of -its own that cannot be measured by any observer of the present day, but -which is guessed at by some and located in one of the constellations. - -Affecting man especially are the spiritual, psychic, and moral cycles, -and out of these grow the national, racial, and individual cycles. Race -and national cycles are both historical. The individual cycles are -of reïncarnation, of sensation, and of impression. The length of the -individual reïncarnation cycle for the general mass of men is fifteen -hundred years, and this in its turn gives us a large historical cycle -related closely to the progress of civilization. For as the masses of -persons return from _devachan_, it must follow that the Roman, the -Greek, the old Aryan, and other Ages will be seen again and can to -a very great extent be plainly traced. But man is also affected by -astronomical cycles because he is an integral part of the whole, and -these cycles mark the periods when mankind as a whole will undergo a -change. In the sacred books of all nations these are often mentioned, -and are in the Bible of the Christians, as, for instance, in the story -of Jonah in the belly of the whale. This is an absurdity when read -as history, but not so as an astronomical cycle. “Jonah” is in the -constellations, and when that astronomical point which represents man -reaches a point in the Zodiac which is directly opposite the belly of -Cetus or the whale on the other side of the circle, by what is known -as the process of opposition, then Jonah is said to be in the centre -of the fish and is “thrown out” at the expiration of the period when -that man-point has passed so far along in the Zodiac as to be out -of opposition to the whale. Similarly as the same point moves thus -through the Zodiac it is brought by opposition into the different -constellations that are exactly opposite from century to century while -it moves along. During these progresses changes take place among men -and on earth exactly signified by the constellations when those are -read according to the right rules of symbology. It is not claimed -that the conjunction causes the effect, but that ages ago the Masters -of Wisdom worked out all the problems in respect to man and found in -the heavens the means for knowing the exact dates when events are -sure to recur, and then by imprinting in the minds of older nations -the symbology of the Zodiac were able to preserve the record and the -prophecy. Thus in the same way that a watchmaker can tell the hour by -the arrival of the hands or the works of the watch at certain fixed -points, the Sages can tell the hour for events by the Zodiacal clock. -This is not of course believed to-day, but it will be well understood -in future centuries, and as the nations of the earth have all similar -symbols in general for the Zodiac, and as also the records of races -long dead have the same, it is not likely that the vandal-spirit of -the western nineteenth century will be able to efface this valuable -heritage of our evolution. In Egypt the Denderah Zodiac tells the same -tale as that one left to us by the old civilization of the American -continent, and all of these are from the same source; they are the -work of the Sages who come at the beginning of the great human cycle -and give to man when he begins his toilsome ascent up the road of -development those great symbols and ideas of an astronomical character -which will last through all the cycles. - -In regard to great cataclysms occurring at the beginning and ending -of the great cycles, the main laws governing the effects are those of -Karma and Reëmbodiment, or Reïncarnation, proceeding under cyclic rule. -Not only is man ruled by these laws, but every atom of matter as well, -and the mass of matter is constantly undergoing a change at the same -time with man. It must therefore exhibit alterations corresponding to -those through which the thinker is going. On the physical plane effects -are brought out through the electrical and other fluids acting with -the gases on the solids of the globe. At the change of a great cycle -they reach what may be termed the exploding point and cause violent -convulsions of the following classes: (_a_) Earthquakes, (_b_) Floods, -(_c_) Fire, (_d_) Ice. - -Earthquakes may be brought on according to this philosophy by two -general causes; _first_, subsidence or elevation under the earth-crust -due to heat and steam, _second_, electrical and magnetic changes which -affect water and earth at the same time. These last have the power -to instantaneously make the earth fluidic without melting it, thus -causing immense and violent displacements in large or small waves. And -this effect is sometimes seen now in earthquake districts when similar -electrical causes are at work in a smaller measure. - -Floods of general extent are caused by displacement of water from the -subsidence or elevation of land, and by those combined with electrical -change which induces a copious discharge of moisture. The latter is -not a mere emptying of a cloud, but a sudden turning of vast bodies of -fluids and solids into water. - -Universal fires come on from electrical and magnetic changes in the -atmosphere by which the moisture is withdrawn from the air and the -latter turned into a fiery mass; and, secondly, by the sudden expansion -of the solar magnetic centre into seven such centres, thus burning the -globe. - -Ice cataclysms come on not only from the sudden alteration of the poles -but also from lowered temperature due to the alteration of the warm -fluid currents in the sea and the hot magnetic currents in the earth, -the first being known to science, the latter not. The lower stratum of -moisture is suddenly frozen, and vast tracts of land covered in a night -with many feet of ice. This can easily happen to the British Isles if -the warm currents of the ocean are diverted from its shores. - -Both Egyptians and Greeks had their cycles, but in our opinion derived -them from the Indian Sages. The Chinese always were a nation of -astronomers, and have recorded observations reaching far back of the -Christian era, but as they belong to an old race which is doomed to -extinction—strange as the assertion may appear—their conclusions will -not be correct for the Aryan races. On the coming of the Christian era -a heavy pall of darkness fell on the minds of men in the West, and -India was for many centuries isolated so as to preserve these great -ideas during the mental night of Europe. This isolation was brought -about deliberately as a necessary precaution taken by that great -Lodge to which I adverted in Chapter I, because its Adepts, knowing -the cyclic laws perfectly, wished to preserve philosophy for future -generations. As it would be mere pedantry and speculation to discuss -the unknown Saros and Naros and other cycles of the Egyptians, I will -give the Brahmanical ones, since they tally almost exactly with the -correct periods. - -A period or exhibition of universal manifestation is called a -Brahmanda, that is a complete life of Brahma, and Brahma’s life is -made of his days and years, which, being cosmical are each of immense -duration. His day is as man’s 24 odd hours long, his year 360 odd days, -the number of his years is 100. - -Taking now this globe—since we are concerned with no other—its -government and evolution proceed under _Manu_ or _man_, and from -this is the term _Manvantara_ or “between two _Manus_.” The course -of evolution is divided into four _Yugas_ for every race in its own -time and way. These _Yugas_ do not affect all mankind at one and the -same time, as some races are in one of the _Yugas_ while others are -in a different cycle. The Red Indian, for instance, is in the end of -his stone age, while the Aryans are in quite a different state. These -four _Yugas_ are: _Krita_, or _Satya_, the golden; _Treta_; _Dvapara_; -and _Kali_ or the black. The present age for the West and India is -_Kali Yuga_, especially in respect to moral and spiritual development. -The first of these is slow in comparison with the rest, and the -present—_Kali_—is very rapid, its motion being accelerated precisely -like certain astronomical periods known to-day in regard to the Moon, -but not fully worked out. - - - TABLE. - ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— - MORTAL YEARS. - ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— - 360 (odd) mortal days make 1 - _Krita Yuga_ has 1,728,000 - _Treta Yuga_ “ 1,296,000 - _Dvapara Yuga_ “ 864,000 - _Kali Yuga_ “ 432,000 - _Maha Yuga_, or the four preceding, has 4,320,000 - 71 _Maha Yugas_ form the reign of one _Manu_, or 306,720,000 - 14 _Manus_ are 4,294,080,000 - Add the dawns or twilights between each _Manu_ 25,920,000 - These reigns and dawns make 1000 _Maha Yugas_, - a _Kalpa_, or Day of _Brahma_ 4,320,000,000 - _Brahma’s_ Night equals his Day and Day and - Night together make 8,640,000,000 - 360 of these Days make _Brahma’s_ Year 3,110,400,000,000 - 100 of these Years make _Brahma’s_ Life 311,040,000,000,000 - - -The first 5000 years of _Kali Yuga_ will end between the years 1897 and -1898. This _Yuga_ began about 3102 years before the Christian era, at -the time of Krishna’s death. As 1897-98 are not far off, the scientific -men of to-day will have an opportunity of seeing whether the close -of the five thousand year cycle will be preceded or followed by any -convulsions or great changes political, scientific, or physical, or all -of these combined. Cyclic changes are now proceeding as year after year -the souls from prior civilizations are being incarnated in this period -when liberty of thought and action are not so restricted in the West as -they have been in the past by dogmatic religious prejudice and bigotry. -And at the present time we are in a cycle of transition, when, as a -transition period should indicate, everything in philosophy, religion, -and society is changing. In a transition period the full and complete -figures and rules respecting cycles are not given out to a generation -which elevates money above all thoughts and scoffs at the spiritual -view of man and nature. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -Between Science and Theosophy there is a wide gulf, for the present -unbridged, on the question of the origin of man and the differentiation -of species. The teachers of religion in the West offer on this -subject a theory, dogmatically buttressed by an assumed revelation, -as impossible as the one put forward by scientific men. And yet the -religious expounders are nearer than science to the truth. Under the -religious superstition about Adam and Eve is hidden the truth, and in -the tales of Cain, Seth, and Noah is vaguely shadowed the real story of -the other races of men, Adam being but the representative of one single -race. The people who received Cain and gave him a wife were some of -those human races which had appeared simultaneously with the one headed -by Adam. - -The ultimate origin or beginning of man is not to be discovered, -although we may know when and from where the men of this globe came. -Man never was not. If not on this globe, then on some others, he ever -was, and will ever be in existence somewhere in the Cosmos. Ever -perfecting and reaching up to the image of the Heavenly Man, he is -always becoming. But as the human mind cannot go back to any beginning, -we shall start with this globe. Upon this earth and upon the whole -chain of globes of which it is a part seven races of men appeared -simultaneously, coming over to it from other globes of an older chain. -And in respect to this earth—the fourth of this chain—these seven -races came simultaneously from another globe of this chain. This -appearance of seven races together happens in the first and in part of -the second round of the globes. In the second round the seven masses -of beings are amalgamated, and their destiny after that is to slowly -differentiate during the succeeding rounds until at the seventh round -the seven first great races will be once more distinct, as perfect -types of the human race as this period of evolution will allow. At the -present time the seven races are mixed together, and representatives of -all are in the many so-called races of men as classified by our present -science. The object of this amalgamation and subsequent differentiation -is to give to every race the benefit of the progress and power of the -whole derived from prior progress in other planets and systems. For -Nature never does her work in a hasty or undue fashion, but, by the -sure method of mixture, precipitation, and separation, brings about the -greatest perfection. And this method was one known to the Alchemists, -though not fully understood in all its bearings even by them. - -Hence man did not spring from a single pair. Neither did he come -from any tribe or family of monkey. It is hopeless to look to either -religion or science for a solution of the question, for science -is confused on her own admission, and religion is tangled with a -revelation that in its books controverts the theory put forward by -the priest. Adam is called the first man, but the record in which the -story is found shows that other races of men must have existed on the -earth before Cain could have founded a city. The Bible, then, does not -support the single pair theory. If we take up one of the hypotheses of -Science and admit for the moment that man and monkey differentiated -from one ancestor, we have then to decide where the first ancestor -came from. The first postulate of the Lodge on this subject is that -seven races of men appeared simultaneously on the earth, and the first -negative assumption is that man did not spring from a single pair or -from the animal kingdom. - -The varieties of character and capacity which subsequently appear in -man’s history are the forthcoming of the variations which were induced -in the Egos in other and long anterior periods of evolution upon other -chains of globes. These variations were so deeply impacted as to be -equivalent to inherent characteristics. For the races of this globe the -prior period of evolution was passed on the chain of globes of which -our moon is the visible representative. - -The burning question of the anthropoid apes as related to man is -settled by the Masters of Wisdom, who say that instead of those being -our progenitors they were produced by man himself. In one of the early -periods of the globe the men of that time begot from large females -of the animal kingdom the anthropoids, and in anthropoid bodies were -caught a certain number of Egos destined one day to be men. The -remainder of the descendants of the true anthropoid are the descendants -of those illegitimate children of men, and will die away gradually, -their Egos entering human bodies. Those half-ape and half-man bodies -could not be ensouled by strictly animal Egos, and for that reason they -are known to the Secret Doctrine as the “Delayed Race”, the only one -not included in the fiat of Nature that no more Egos from the lower -kingdoms will come into the human kingdom until the next _Manvantara_. -But to all kingdoms below man except the anthropoids, the door is now -closed for entry into the human stage, and the Egos in the subordinate -forms must all wait their turn in the succeeding great Cycle. And as -the delayed Egos of the Anthropoid family will emerge into the man -stage later on, they will thus be rewarded for the long wait in that -degraded race. All the other monkeys are products in the ordinary -manner of the evolutionary processes. - -On this subject I cannot do better than quote the words of one of those -Masters of Wisdom, giving the esoteric anthropology from the secret -volumes, thus: - - The anatomical resemblance between Man and the higher Ape, so - frequently cited by the Darwinists as pointing to some former ancestor - common to both, presents an interesting problem the proper solution of - which is to be sought for in the esoteric explanation of the genesis - of the pithecoid stocks. We have given it so far as was useful by - stating that the bestiality of the primeval mindless races resulted - in the production of huge man-like monsters—the offspring of human - and animal parents. As time rolled on and the still semi-astral forms - consolidated into the physical, the descendants of these creatures - were modified by external conditions until the breed, dwindling in - size, culminated in the lower Apes of the Miocene period. With these - the later Atlanteans renewed the sin of the “Mindless”—this time with - full responsibility. The resultants of their crime were the species - now known as the Anthropoid.... Let us remember the esoteric teaching - which tells us of Man having had in the Third Round a gigantic - Ape-like form on the astral plane. And similarly at the close of the - Third Race in this Round. Thus it accounts for the human features - of the Apes, especially of the later Anthropoids,—apart from the - fact that these latter preserved by heredity a resemblance to their - Atlanto-Lemurian sires. - -The same teachers furthermore assert that the mammalian types were -produced in the fourth round, subsequent to the appearance of the -human types. For this reason there was no barrier against fertility, -because the root-types of those mammals were not far enough removed -to raise the natural barrier. The unnatural union in the third race, -when man had not yet had the light of _Manas_ given to him, was not a -crime against Nature, since, no mind being present save in the merest -germ, no responsibility could attach. But in the fourth round, the -light of _Manas_ being present, the renewal of the act by the new -race was a crime, because it was done with a full knowledge of the -consequences and against the warning of conscience. The karmic effect -of this, including as it does all races, has yet to be fully felt and -understood—at a much later day than now. - -As man came to this globe from another planet, though of course then a -being of very great power before being completely enmeshed in matter, -so the lower kingdoms came likewise in germ and type from other -planets, and carry on their evolution step by step upward by the aid -of man, who is, in all periods of manifestation, at the front of the -wave of life. The Egos in these lower kingdoms could not finish their -evolution in the preceding globe-chain before its dissolution, and -coming to this they go forward age after age, gradually approaching -nearer the man stage. One day they too will become men and act as the -advance guard and guide for other lower kingdoms of this or other -globes. And in the coming from the former planet there are always -brought with the first and highest class of beings some forms of animal -life, some fruits and other products, as models or types for use here. -It will not be profitable to go into this here with particularity, -for being too far ahead of the time it would evoke only ridicule from -some and stupidity from others. But the general forms of the various -kingdoms being so brought over, we have next to consider how the -differentiation of animal and other lower species began and was carried -on. - -This is the point where intelligent aid and interference from a mind -or mass of minds is absolutely necessary. Such aid and interference -was and is the fact, for Nature unaided cannot do the work right. But -I do not mean that God or angel interferes and aids. It is Man who -does this. Not the man of the day, weak and ignorant as he is, but -great souls, high and holy men of immense power, knowledge, and wisdom. -Just such as every man would now know he could become, if it were not -that religion on one hand and science on the other have painted such -a picture of our weakness, inherent evil and purely material origin -that nearly all men think they are puppets of God or cruel fate without -hope, or remain with a degrading and selfish aim in view both here and -after. Various names have been given to these beings now removed from -our plane. They are the _Dhyanis_, the Creators, the Guides, the Great -Spirits, and so on by many titles. In theosophical literature they are -called the _Dhyanis_. - -By methods known to themselves and to the Great Lodge they work on the -forms so brought over, and by adding here, taking away there, and often -altering, they gradually transform by such alteration and addition -the kingdoms of nature as well as the gradually forming gross body of -man. This process is carried on chiefly in the purely astral period -preceding the gross physical stage, as the impulses thus given will -surely carry themselves forward through the succeeding times. When -the midway point of evolution is reached the species emerge on to the -present stage and not showing the connection to the eye of man nor to -our instruments. The investigations of the day have traced certain -species down to a point where, as is confessed, it is not known to what -root they go back. Taking oxen on one side and horses on the other, -we see that both are hoofed, but one has a split hoof and the other -but one toe. These bring us back, when we reach the oldest ancestor -of each, to the midway point, and there science has to stop. At this -spot the wisdom of the Masters comes in to show that back of this is -the astral region of ancient evolution, where were the root-types in -which the Dhyanis began the evolution by alteration and addition which -resulted in the differentiation afterwards on this gross plane into the -various families, species, and genera. - -A vast period of time, about 300,000,000 years, was passed by earth -and man and all the kingdoms of nature in an astral stage. Then there -was no gross matter such as we now know. This was in the early rounds -when Nature was proceeding slowly with the work of perfecting the -types on the astral plane, which is matter, though very fine in its -texture. At the end of that stretch of years the process of hardening -began, the form of man being the first to become solid, and then some -of the astral prototypes of the preceding rounds were involved in -the solidification, though really belonging to a former period when -everything was astral. When those fossils are discovered it is argued -that they must be those of creatures which coëxisted with the gross -physical body of man. - -While that argument is proper enough under the other theories of -Science, it becomes only an assumption if the existence of the astral -period be admitted. It would be beyond the scope of this work to go -further into particulars. But it may incidentally be said that neither -the bee nor the wheat could have had their original differentiation in -this chain of globes, but must have been produced and finished in some -other from which they were brought over into this. Why this should be -so I am willing to leave for the present to conjecture. - -To the whole theory it may be objected that Science has not been able -to find the missing links between the root-types of the astral period -and the present fossils or living species. In the year 1893 at Moscow -Professor Virchow said in a lecture that the missing link was as far -off as ever, as much of a dream as ever, and that no real evidence was -at hand to show man as coming from the animals. This is quite true, -and neither class of missing link will be discovered by Science under -her present methods. For all of them exist in the astral plane and -therefore are invisible to the physical eye. They can only be seen by -the inner astral senses, which must first be trained to do their work -properly, and until Science admits the existence of the astral and -inner senses she will never try to develop them. Always, then, Science -will be without the instruments for discovering the astral links left -on the astral plane in the long course of differentiation. The fossils -spoken of above, which were, so to say, solidified out of date, form an -exception to the impossibility of finding any missing links, but they -are blind alleys to Science because she admits none of the necessary -facts. - -The object of all this differentiation, amalgamation, and separation is -well stated by another of the Masters, thus: - - Nature consciously prefers that matter should be indestructible in - organic rather than inorganic forms, and works slowly but incessantly - towards the realization of this object—the evolution of conscious life - out of inert material. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -The field of psychic forces, phenomena, and dynamics is a vast one. -Such phenomena are seen and the forces exhibited every day in all -lands, but until a few years ago very little attention was given to -them by scientific persons, while a great deal of ridicule was heaped -upon those who related the occurrences or averred belief in the -psychic nature. A cult sprang up in the United States some forty years -ago calling itself quite wrongly “spiritualism”, but having a great -opportunity it neglected it and fell into mere wonder-seeking without -the slightest shadow of a philosophy. It has accomplished but little -in the way of progress except a record of many undigested facts which -for four decades failed to attract the serious attention of people in -general. While it has had its uses, and includes in its ranks many good -minds, the great dangers and damages coming to the human instruments -involved and to those who sought them more than offset the good done in -the opinion of those disciples of the Lodge who would have man progress -evenly and without ruin along his path of evolution. But other Western -investigators of the accepted schools have not done much better, and -the result is that there is no Western Psychology worthy of the name. - -This lack of an adequate system of Psychology is a natural consequence -of the materialistic bias of science and the paralyzing influence of -dogmatic religion; the one ridiculing effort and blocking the way, -the other forbidding investigation. The Roman Catholic branch of the -Christian Church is in some respects an exception, however. It has -always admitted the existence of the psychic world—for it is the -realm of devils and angels, but as angels manifest when they choose -and devils are to be shunned, no one is permitted by that Church to -meddle in such matters except an authorized priest. So far as that -Church’s prohibiting the pernicious practice of necromancy indulged -in by “spiritualists” it was right, but not in its other prohibitions -and restrictions. Real psychology is an Oriental product to-day. Very -true the system was known in the West when a very ancient civilization -flourished in America, and in certain parts of Europe anterior to the -Christian era, but for the present day psychology in its true phase -belongs to the Orient. - -Are there psychic forces, laws, and powers? If there are, then there -must be the phenomena. And if all that has been outlined in preceding -chapters is true, then in man are the same powers and forces which are -to be found anywhere in Nature. He is held by the Masters of Wisdom to -be the highest product of the whole system of evolution, and mirrors in -himself every power, however wonderful or terrible, of Nature; by the -very fact of being such a mirror he is man. - -This has long been recognized in the East, where the writer has seen -exhibitions of such powers which would upset the theories of many a -Western man of science. And in the West the same phenomena have been -repeated for the writer, so that he knows of his own knowledge that -every man of every race has the same powers potentially. The genuine -psychic—or, as they are often called, magical—phenomena done by the -Eastern faquir or yogee are all performed by the use of natural forces -and processes not even dreamed of as yet by the West. Levitation of the -body in apparent defiance of gravitation is a thing to be done with -ease when the process is completely mastered. It contravenes no law. -Gravitation is only half of a law. The Oriental sage admits gravity, -if one wishes to adopt the term; but the real term is attraction, -the other half of the law being expressed by the word repulsion, and -both being governed by the great laws of electrical force. Weight and -stability depend on polarity, and when the polarity of an object is -altered in respect to the earth immediately underneath it, then the -object may rise. But as mere objects are devoid of the consciousness -found in man, they cannot rise without certain other aids. The human -body, however, will rise in the air unsupported, like a bird, when its -polarity is thus changed. This change is brought about consciously by -a certain system of breathing known to the Oriental; it may be induced -also by aid from certain natural forces spoken of later, in the cases -of those who without knowing the law perform the phenomena, as with the -saints of the Roman Catholic Church. - -A third great law which enters into many of the phenomena of the East -and West is that of Cohesion. The power of Cohesion is a distinct power -of itself, and not a result as is supposed. This law and its action -must be known if certain phenomena are to be brought about, as, for -instance, what the writer has seen, the passing of one solid iron ring -through another, or a stone through a solid wall. Hence another force -is used which can only be called dispersion. Cohesion is the dominating -force, for, the moment the dispersing force is withdrawn, the cohesive -force restores the particles to their original position. - -Following this out the Adept in such great dynamics is able to disperse -the atoms of an object—excluding always the human body—to such a -distance from each other as to render the object invisible, and then -can send them along a current formed in the ether to any distance on -the earth. At the desired point the dispersing force is withdrawn, when -immediately cohesion reässerts itself and the object reäppears intact. -This may sound like fiction, but being known to the Lodge and its -disciples as an actual fact, it is equally certain that Science will -sooner or later admit the proposition. - -But the lay mind infected by the materialism of the day wonders how all -these manipulations are possible, seeing that no instruments are spoken -of. The instruments are in the body and brain of man. In the view of -the Lodge “the human brain is an exhaustless generator of force”, and -a complete knowledge of the inner chemical and dynamic laws of Nature, -together with a trained mind, give the possessor the power to operate -the laws to which I have referred. This will be man’s possession in -the future, and would be his to-day were it not for blind dogmatism, -selfishness, and materialistic unbelief. Not even the Christian lives -up to his Master’s very true statement that if one had faith he could -remove a mountain. A knowledge of the law when added to faith gives -power over matter, mind, space, and time. - -Using the same powers, the trained Adept can produce before the eye, -objective to the touch, material which was not visible before, and -in any desired shape. This would be called creation by the vulgar, -but it is simply evolution in your very presence. Matter is held -suspended in the air about us. Every particle of matter, visible or -still unprecipitated, has been through all possible forms, and what -the Adept does is to select any desired form, existing, as they all -do, in the Astral Light and then by effort of the Will and Imagination -to clothe the form with the matter by precipitation. The object so -made will fade away unless certain other processes are resorted to -which need not be here described, but if these processes are used the -object will remain permanently. And if it is desired to make visible a -message on paper or other surface, the same laws and powers are used. -The distinct—photographically and sharply definite—image of every line -of every letter or picture is formed in the mind, and then out of the -air is drawn the pigment to fall within the limits laid down by the -brain, “the exhaustless generator of force and form”. All these things -the writer has seen done in the way described, and not by any hired or -irresponsible medium, and he knows whereof he speaks. - -This, then, naturally leads to the proposition that the human Will -is all powerful and the Imagination is a most useful faculty with a -dynamic force. The Imagination is the picture-making power of the human -mind. In the ordinary average human person it has not enough training -or force to be more than a sort of dream, but it may be trained. -When trained it is the Constructor in the Human Workshop. Arrived at -that stage it makes a matrix in the Astral substance through which -effects objectively will flow. It is the greatest power, after Will, -in the human assemblage of complicated instruments. The modern Western -definition of Imagination is incomplete and wide of the mark. It is -chiefly used to designate fancy or misconception and at all times -stands for unreality. It is impossible to get another term as good -because one of the powers of the trained Imagination is that of making -an image. The word is derived from those signifying the formation or -reflection of an image. This faculty used, or rather suffered to act, -in an unregulated mode has given the West no other idea than that -covered by “fancy”. So far as that goes it is right but it may be -pushed to a greater limit, which, when reached causes the Imagination -to evolve in the Astral substance an actual image or form which may be -then used in the same way as an iron moulder uses a mould of sand for -the molten iron. It is therefore the King faculty, inasmuch as the Will -cannot do its work if the Imagination be at all weak or untrained. For -instance, if the person desiring to precipitate from the air wavers in -the least with the image made in the Astral substance, the pigment -will fall upon the paper in a correspondingly wavering and diffused -manner. - -To communicate with another mind at any distance the Adept attunes all -the molecules of the brain and all the thoughts of the mind so as to -vibrate in unison with the mind to be affected, and that other mind and -brain have also to be either voluntarily thrown into the same unison -or fall into it voluntarily. So though the Adept be at Bombay and his -friend in New York, the distance is no obstacle, as the inner senses -are not dependent on an ear, but may feel and see the thoughts and -images in the mind of the other person. - -And when it is desired to look into the mind and catch the thoughts -of another and the pictures all around him of all he has thought and -looked at, the Adept’s inner sight and hearing are directed to the mind -to be seen, when at once all is visible. But, as said before, only a -rogue would do this, and the Adepts do not do it except in strictly -authorized cases. The modern man sees no misdemeanor in looking into -the secrets of another by means of this power, but the Adepts say -it is an invasion of the rights of the other person. No man has the -right, even when he has the power in his hand, to enter into the mind -of another and pick out its secrets. This is the law of the Lodge to -all who seek, and if one sees that he is about to discover the secrets -of another he must at once withdraw and proceed no further. If he -proceeds his power is taken from him in the case of a disciple; in the -case of any other person he must take the consequence of this sort of -burglary. For Nature has her laws and her policemen, and if we commit -felonies in the Astral world the great Law and the guardians of it, for -which no bribery is possible, will execute the penalty, no matter how -long we wait, even if it be for ten thousand years. Here is another -safeguard for ethics and morals. But until men admit the system of -philosophy put forward in this book, they will not deem it wrong to -commit felonies in fields where their weak human law has no effect, but -at the same time by thus refusing the philosophy they will put off the -day when all may have these great powers for the use of all. - -Among phenomena useful to notice are those consisting of the moving of -objects without physical contact. This may be done, and in more than -one way. The first is to extrude from the physical body the Astral -hand and arm, and with those grasp the object to be moved. This may -be accomplished at a distance of as much as ten feet from the person. -I do not go into argument on this, only referring to the properties -of the Astral substance and members. This will serve to some extent -to explain several of the phenomena of mediums. In nearly all cases -of such apportation the feat is accomplished by thus using the unseen -but material Astral hand. The second method is to use the elementals -of which I have spoken. They have the power when directed by the inner -man to carry objects by changing the polarity, and then we see, as with -the fakirs of India and some mediums in America, small objects moving -apparently unsupported. These elemental entities are used when things -are brought from longer distances than the length to which the Astral -members may be stretched. It is no argument against this that mediums -do not know they do so. They rarely if ever know anything about how -they accomplish any feat, and their ignorance of the law is no proof of -its non-existence. Those students who have seen the forces work from -the inside will need no argument on this. - -Clairvoyance, clairaudience, and second-sight are all related very -closely. Every exercise of any one of them draws in at the same time -both of the others. They are but variations of one power. Sound is -one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Astral sphere, and -as light goes with sound, sight obtains simultaneously with hearing. -To see an image with the Astral senses means that at the same time -there is a sound, and to hear the latter infers the presence of a -related image in Astral substance. It is perfectly well known to the -true student of occultism that every sound produces instantaneously -an image, and this, so long known in the Orient, has lately been -demonstrated in the West in the production to the eye of sound pictures -on a stretched tympanum. This part of the subject can be gone into -very much further with the aid of occultism, but as it is a dangerous -one in the present state of society I refrain at this point. In the -Astral Light are pictures of all things whatsoever that happened to any -person, and as well also pictures of those events to come the causes -for which are sufficiently well marked and made. If the causes are yet -indefinite, so will be the images of the future. But for the mass of -events for several years to come all the producing and efficient causes -are always laid down with enough definiteness to permit the seer to see -them in advance as if present. By means of these pictures, seen with -the inner senses, all clairvoyants exercise their strange faculty. Yet -it is a faculty common to all men, though in the majority but slightly -developed; but occultism asserts that were it not for the germ of this -power slightly active in every one no man could convey to another any -idea whatsoever. - -In clairvoyance the pictures in the Astral Light pass before the inner -vision and are reflected into the physical eye from within. They then -appear objectively to the seer. If they are of past events or those to -come, the picture only is seen; if of events actually then occurring, -the scene is perceived through the Astral Light by the inner sense. -The distinguishing difference between ordinary and clairvoyant vision -is, then, that in clairvoyance with waking sight the vibration is -communicated to the brain first, from which it is transmitted to the -physical eye, where it sets up an image upon the retina, just as the -revolving cylinder of the phonograph causes the mouthpiece to vibrate -exactly as the voice had vibrated when thrown into the receiver. In -ordinary eye vision the vibrations are given to the eye first and -then transmitted to the brain. Images and sounds are both caused -by vibrations, and hence any sound once made is preserved in the -Astral Light from whence the inner sense can take it and from within -transmit it to the brain, from which it reaches the physical ear. So -in clairaudience at a distance the hearer does not hear with the ear, -but with the centre of hearing in the Astral body. Second-sight is -a combination of clairaudience and clairvoyance or not, just as the -particular case is, and the frequency with which future events are seen -by the second-sight seer adds an element of prophecy. - -The highest order of clairvoyance—that of spiritual vision—is very -rare. The usual clairvoyant deals only with the ordinary aspects and -strata of the Astral matter. Spiritual sight comes only to those who -are pure, devoted, and firm. It may be attained by special development -of the particular organ in the body through which alone such sight -is possible, and only after discipline, long training, and the -highest altruism. All other clairvoyance is transitory, inadequate, -and fragmentary, dealing, as it does, only with matter and illusion. -Its fragmentary and inadequate character results from the fact that -hardly any clairvoyant has the power to see into more than one of the -lower grades of Astral substance at any one time. The pure-minded and -the brave can deal with the future and the present far better than -any clairvoyant. But as the existence of these two powers proves the -presence in us of the inner senses and of the necessary medium—the -Astral Light, they have, as such human faculties, an important bearing -upon the claims made by the so-called “spirits” of the _séance_ room. - -Dreams are sometimes the result of brain action automatically -proceeding, and are also produced by the transmission into the brain -by the real inner person of those scenes or ideas high or low which -that real person has seen while the body slept. They are then strained -into the brain as if floating on the soul as it sinks into the body. -These dreams may be of use, but generally the resumption of bodily -activity destroys the meaning, perverts the image, and reduces all -to confusion. But the great fact of all dreaming is that some one -perceives and feels therein, and this is one of the arguments for the -inner person’s existence. In sleep the inner man communes with higher -intelligences, and sometimes succeeds in impressing the brain with what -is gained, either a high idea or a prophetic vision, or else fails in -consequence of the resistance of brain fibre. The karma of the person -also determines the meaning of a dream, for a king may dream that which -relates to his kingdom, while the same thing dreamed by a citizen -relates to nothing of temporal consequence. But, as said by Job: “In -dreams and visions of the night man is instructed.” - -Apparitions and doubles are of two general classes. The one, astral -shells or images from the astral world, either actually visible to the -eye or the result of vibration within thrown out to the eye and thus -making the person think he sees an objective form without. The other, -the astral body of living persons and carrying full consciousness or -only partially so endowed. Laborious attempts by Psychical Research -Societies to prove apparitions without knowing these laws really -prove nothing, for out of twenty admitted cases nineteen may be -the objectivization of the image impressed on the brain. But that -apparitions have been seen there is no doubt. Apparitions of those just -dead may be either pictures made objective as described, or the Astral -Body—called _Kama Rupa_ at this stage—of the deceased. And as the -dying thoughts and forces released from the body are very strong, we -have more accounts of such apparitions than of any other class. - -The Adept may send out his apparition, which, however, is called by -another name, as it consists of his conscious and trained astral body -endowed with all his intelligence and not wholly detached from his -physical frame. - -Theosophy does not deny nor ignore the physical laws discovered -by science. It admits all such as are proven, but it asserts the -existence of others which modify the action of those we ordinarily -know. Behind all the visible phenomena is the occult cosmos with its -ideal machinery; that occult cosmos can only be fully understood by -means of the inner senses which pertain to it; those senses will not be -easily developed if their existence is denied. Brain and mind acting -together have the power to evolve forms, first as astral ones in astral -substance, and later as visible ones by accretions of the matter on -this plane. Objectivity depends largely on perception, and perception -may be affected by inner stimuli. Hence a witness may either see an -object which actually exists as such without, or may be made to see one -by internal stimulus. This gives us three modes of sight: (_a_) with -the eye by means of light from an object, (_b_) with the inner senses -by means of the Astral Light, and (_c_) by stimulus from within which -causes the eye to report to the brain, thus throwing the inner image -without. The phenomena of the other senses may be tabulated in the same -manner. - -The Astral substance being the register of all thoughts, sounds, -pictures, and other vibrations, and the inner man being a complete -person able to act with or without coördination with the physical, all -the phenomena of hypnotism, clairvoyance, clairaudience, mediumship, -and the rest of those which are not consciously performed may be -explained. In the Astral substance are all sounds and pictures, and -in the Astral man remain impressions of every event, however remote -or insignificant; these acting together produce the phenomena which -seem so strange to those who deny or are unaware of the postulates of -occultism. - -But to explain the phenomena performed by Adepts, Fakirs, Yogees, -and all trained occultists, one has to understand the occult laws of -chemistry, of mind, of force, and of matter. These it is obviously not -the province of such a work as this to treat in detail. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -In the history of psychical phenomena the records of so-called -“spiritualism” in Europe, America, and elsewhere hold an important -place. Advisedly I say that no term was ever more misapplied than -that of “spiritualism” to the cult in Europe and America just -mentioned, inasmuch as there is nothing of the spirit about it. The -doctrines given in preceding chapters are those of true spiritualism; -the misnamed practices of modern mediums and so-called spiritists -constitute the Worship of the Dead, old-fashioned necromancy, in fact, -which was always prohibited by spiritual teachers. They are a gross -materializing of the spiritual idea, and deal with matter more than -with its opposite. This cult is supposed by some to have originated -about forty years ago in America at Rochester, N. Y., under the -mediumship of the Fox sisters, but it was known in Salem during the -witchcraft excitement, and in Europe one hundred years ago the same -practices were pursued, similar phenomena seen, mediums developed, and -_séances_ held. For centuries it has been well known in India where -it is properly designated “_bhuta_ worship”, meaning the attempt to -communicate with the devil or Astral remnants of deceased persons. This -should be its name here also, for by it the gross and devilish, or -earthly, parts of man are excited, appealed to, and communicated with. -But the facts of the long record of forty years in America demand a -brief examination. These facts all studious Theosophists must admit. -The theosophical explanation and deductions, however, are totally -different from those of the average spiritualist. A philosophy has not -been evolved in the ranks or literature of spiritualism; nothing but -theosophy will give the true explanation, point out defects, reveal -dangers, and suggest remedies. - -As it is plain that clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought-transference, -prophecy, dream and vision, levitation, apparitional appearance, are -all powers that have been known for ages, the questions most pressing -in respect to spiritualism are those relating to communication with -the souls of those who have left this earth and are now disembodied, -and with unclassified spirits who have not been embodied here but -belong to other spheres. Perhaps also the question of materialization -of forms at _séances_ deserves some attention. Communication includes -trance-speaking, slate and other writing, independent voices in the -air, speaking through the physical vocal organs of the medium, and -precipitation of written messages out of the air. Do the mediums -communicate with the spirits of the dead? Do our departed friends -perceive the state of life they have left, and do they sometimes return -to speak to and with us? - -The answers are intimated in foregoing chapters. Our departed do not -see us here. They are relieved from the terrible pang such a sight -would inflict. Once in a while a pure-minded, unpaid medium may ascend -in trance to the state in which a deceased soul is, and may remember -some bits of what was there heard; but this is rare. Now and then in -the course of decades some high human spirit may for a moment return -and by unmistakable means communicate with mortals. At the moment of -death the soul may speak to some friend on earth before the door is -finally shut. But the mass of communications alleged as made day after -day through mediums are from the astral unintelligent remains of men, -or in many cases entirely the production of, invention, compilation, -discovery, and collocation by the loosely attached Astral body of the -living medium. - -Certain objections arise to the theory that the spirits of the dead -communicate. Some are: - -I. At no time have these spirits given the laws governing any of -the phenomena, except in a few instances, not accepted by the cult, -where the theosophical theory was advanced. As it would destroy such -structures as those erected by A. J. Davis, these particular spirits -fell into discredit. - -II. The spirits disagree among themselves, one stating the after-life -to be very different from the description by another. These -disagreements vary with the medium and the supposed theories of the -deceased during life. One spirit admits reïncarnation and others deny -it. - -III. The spirits have discovered nothing in respect to history, -anthropology, or other important matters, seeming to have less ability -in that line than living men; and although they often claim to be men -who lived in older civilizations, they show ignorance thereupon or -merely repeat recently published discoveries. - -IV. In these forty years no _rationale_ of phenomena nor of development -of mediumship has been obtained from the spirits. Great philosophers -are reported as speaking through mediums, but utter only drivel and -merest commonplaces. - -V. The mediums come to physical and moral grief, are accused of fraud, -are shown guilty of trickery, but the spirit guides and controls do not -interfere to either prevent or save. - -VI. It is admitted that the guides and controls deceive and incite to -fraud. - -VII. It is plainly to be seen through all that is reported of the -spirits that their assertions and philosophy, if any, vary with the -medium and the most advanced thought of living spiritualists. - -From all this and much more that could be adduced, the man of -materialistic science is fortified in his ridicule, but the theosophist -has to conclude that the entities, if there be any communicating, are -not human spirits, and that the explanations are to be found in some -other theories. - -Materialization of a form out of the air, independent of the medium’s -physical body, is a fact. But it is not a spirit. As was very well -said by one of the “spirits” not favored by spiritualism, one way to -produce this phenomenon is by the accretion of electrical and magnetic -particles into one mass upon which matter is aggregated and an image -reflected out of the Astral sphere. This is the whole of it; as much -a fraud as a collection of muslin and masks. How this is accomplished -is another matter. The spirits are not able to tell, but an attempt -has been made to indicate the methods and instruments in former -chapters. The second method is by the use of the Astral body of the -living medium. In this case the Astral form exudes from the side of -the medium, gradually collects upon itself particles extracted from -the air and the bodies of the sitters present until at last it becomes -visible. Sometimes it will resemble the medium; at others it bears a -different appearance. In almost every instance dimness of light is -requisite because a high light would disturb the Astral substance in -a violent manner and render the projection difficult. Some so-called -materializations are hollow mockeries, as they are but flat plates of -electrical and magnetic substance on which pictures from the Astral -Light are reflected. These seem to be the faces of the dead, but they -are simply pictured illusions. - -If one is to understand the psychic phenomena found in the history of -“spiritualism” it is necessary to know and admit the following: - -I. The complete heredity of man astrally, spiritually, and psychically, -as a being who knows, reasons, feels, and acts through the body, the -Astral body, and the soul. - -II. The nature of the mind, its operation, its powers; the nature and -power of imagination; the duration and effect of impressions. Most -important in this is the persistence of the slightest impression as -well as the deepest; that every impression produces a picture in the -individual aura; and that by means of this a connection is established -between the auras of friends and relatives old, new, near, distant, and -remote in degree: this would give a wide range of possible sight to a -clairvoyant. - -III. The nature, extent, function, and power of man’s inner Astral -organs and faculties included in the terms Astral body and _Kama_. -That these are not hindered from action by trance or sleep, but are -increased in the medium when entranced; at the same time their action -is not free, but governed by the mass chord of thought among the -sitters, or by a predominating will, or by the presiding devil behind -the scenes; if a sceptical scientific investigator be present, his -mental attitude may totally inhibit the action of the medium’s powers -by what we might call a freezing process which no English terms will -adequately describe. - -IV. The fate of the real man after death, his state, power, activity -there, and his relation, if any, to those left behind him here. - -V. That the intermediary between mind and body—the Astral body—is -thrown off at death and left in the Astral light to fade away; and that -the real man goes to _Devachan_. - -VI. The existence, nature, power, and function of the Astral light -and its place as a register in Nature. That it contains, retains, and -reflects pictures of each and every thing that happened to anyone, and -also every thought; that it permeates the globe and the atmosphere -around it; that the transmission of vibration through it is practically -instantaneous, since the rate is much quicker than that of electricity -as now known. - -VII. The existence in the Astral light of beings not using bodies -like ours, but not human in their nature, having powers, faculties, -and a sort of consciousness of their own; these include the elemental -forces or nature sprites divided into many degrees, and which have to -do with every operation of Nature and every motion of the mind of man. -That these elementals act at _séances_ automatically in their various -departments, one class presenting pictures, another producing sounds, -and others depolarizing objects for the purposes of apportation. -Acting with them in this Astral sphere are the soulless men who live -in it. To these are to be ascribed the phenomenon, among others, of -the “independent voice”, always sounding like a voice in a barrel just -because it is made in a vacuum which is absolutely necessary for an -entity so far removed from spirit. The peculiar _timbre_ of this sort -of voice has not been noticed by the spiritualists as important, but it -is extremely significant in the view of occultism. - -VIII. The existence and operation of occult laws and forces in nature -which may be used to produce phenomenal results on this plane; that -these laws and forces may be put into operation by the subconscious man -and by the elementals either consciously or unconsciously, and that -many of these occult operations are automatic in the same way as is the -freezing of water under intense cold or the melting of ice under heat. - -IX. That the Astral body of the medium, partaking of the nature of -the Astral substance, may be extended from the physical body, may -act outside of the latter, and may also extrude at times any portion -of itself such as hand, arm, or leg and thereby move objects, indite -letters, produce touches on the body, and so on _ad infinitum_. And -that the Astral body of any person may be made to feel sensation, -which, being transmitted to the brain, causes the person to think he is -touched on the outside or has heard a sound. - -Mediumship is full of dangers because the Astral part of the man is -now only normal in action when joined to the body; in distant years it -will normally act without a body as it has in the far past. To become a -medium means that you have to become disorganized physiologically and -in the nervous system, because through the latter is the connection -between the two worlds. The moment the door is opened all the unknown -forces rush in, and as the grosser part of nature is nearest to us it -is that part which affects us most; the lower nature is also first -affected and inflamed because the forces used are from that part of us. -We are then at the mercy of the vile thoughts of all men, and subject -to the influence of the shells in _Kama Loka_. If to this be added the -taking of money for the practice of mediumship, an additional danger -is at hand, for the things of the spirit and those relating to the -Astral world must not be sold. This is the great disease of American -spiritualism which has debased and degraded its whole history; until -it is eliminated no good will come from the practice; those who wish -to hear truth from the other world must devote themselves to truth and -leave all considerations of money out of sight. - -To attempt to acquire the use of the psychic powers for mere curiosity -or for selfish ends is also dangerous for the same reasons as in the -case of mediumship. As the civilization of the present day is selfish -to the last degree and built on the personal element, the rules for -the development of these powers in the right way have not been given -out, but the Masters of Wisdom have said that philosophy and ethics -must first be learned and practised before any development of the -other department is to be indulged in; and their condemnation of -the wholesale development of mediums is supported by the history of -spiritualism, which is one long story of the ruin of mediums in every -direction. - -Equally improper is the manner of the scientific schools which -without a thought for the true nature of man indulge in experiments -in hypnotism in which the subjects are injured for life, put into -disgraceful attitudes, and made to do things for the satisfaction of -the investigators which would never be done by men and women in their -normal state. The Lodge of the Masters does not care for Science unless -it aims to better man’s state morally as well as physically, and no -aid will be given to Science until she looks at man and life from the -moral and spiritual side. For this reason those who know all about the -psychical world, its denizens and laws, are proceeding with a reform in -morals and philosophy before any great attention will be accorded to -the strange and seductive phenomena possible for the inner powers of -man. - -And at the present time the cycle has almost run its course for this -century. Now, as a century ago, the forces are slackening; for that -reason the phenomena of spiritualism are lessening in number and -volume; the Lodge hopes by the time the next tide begins to rise that -the West will have gained some right knowledge of the true philosophy -of Man and Nature, and be then ready to bear the lifting of the veil a -little more. To help on the progress of the race in this direction is -the object of this book, and with that it is submitted to its readers -in every part of the world. - - * * * * * - - - - - The United Lodge of Theosophists - - DECLARATION. - - -The policy of this Lodge is independent devotion to the cause -of Theosophy, without professing attachment to any Theosophical -organization. It is loyal to the great Founders of the Theosophical -Movement, but does not concern itself with dissensions or differences -of individual opinion. - -The work it has on hand and the end it keeps in view are too absorbing -and too lofty to leave it the time or inclination to take part in side -issues. That work and that end is the dissemination of the Fundamental -Principles of the philosophy of Theosophy, and the exemplification in -practice of those principles, through a truer realization of the SELF; -a profounder conviction of Universal Brotherhood. - -It holds that the unassailable _Basis for Union_ among Theosophists, -wherever and however situated, is “_similarity of aim, purpose and -teaching_,” and therefore has neither Constitution, By-Laws nor -Officers, the sole bond between its associates being that _basis_. And -it aims to disseminate this idea among Theosophists in the furtherance -of Unity. - -It regards as Theosophists all who are engaged in the true service -of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, condition or -organization, and - -It welcomes to its association all those who are in accord with its -declared purposes and who desire to fit themselves, by study and -otherwise, to be the better able to help and teach others. - - “_The true Theosophist belongs to no cult or sect, yet belongs to each - and all._” - - Being in sympathy with the purposes of this Lodge, as set forth in - its “Declaration”, I hereby record my desire to be enrolled as an - Associate; it being understood that such association calls for no - obligation on my part other than that which I, myself, determine. - -The foregoing is the Form signed by Associates of The United Lodge of -Theosophists. - -Inquiries are invited from all persons to whom this Movement may -appeal. Cards for signature will be sent upon request, and every -possible assistance furnished Associates in their studies and in -efforts to form local Lodges. There are no dues of any kind, and no -formalities to be complied with. - -Correspondence should be addressed to - - GENERAL REGISTRAR, _United Lodge of Theosophists_, - Los Angeles, California. - - Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth St. - - - - - THEOSOPHY - -A Magazine Devoted to The Theosophical Movement, The Brotherhood -of Humanity, The Study of Occult Science and Philosophy, and Aryan -Literature. - - -“THEOSOPHY” is published by The United Lodge of Theosophists. Like the -Association of Free and Independent Theosophists which has sponsored -it, this monthly magazine is devoted to the promulgation of Theosophy -as it was given by Those who brought it. Theosophy is reprinting in -every issue the wonderful magazine articles of H. P. Blavatsky, and -Wm. Q. Judge, first printed in _Lucifer_, _The Theosophist_ and _The -Path_ by these writers, many years ago. Old workers for Theosophy -have for the most part quite forgotten these articles, which are of -inestimable value to the sincere student. To most Theosophists of later -years they are quite unknown. Other articles concerning the history of -the Theosophical Movement and related subjects appear monthly; but the -writers for and editors of the magazine remain anonymous, as it is the -desire of the publishers of “THEOSOPHY” that its readers should judge -the value of its original matter from the inherent quality perceived in -the articles themselves, and not from the names signed to them. - - * * * * * - -Subscription price, $2.00 yearly. Single copies 25 cents. Sample copy -(back number) will be sent for a limited time upon receipt of ten cents -in stamps. - - * * * * * - - ——_ADDRESS_—— - - METROPOLITAN BLDG. - THEOSOPHY - LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - -Students interested in obtaining a clear and correct understanding of -the actual Teachings known under the name of THEOSOPHY should have the -following books. They can be ordered of any local bookseller, or orders -may be sent direct to The United Lodge of Theosophists. The prices -given include postage. - - OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY $.75 - - A succinct presentation of the Teachings, by W. Q. Judge. - - - KEY TO THEOSOPHY 2.00 - - A complete outline of the philosophy in the form of questions and - answers, by H. P. Blavatsky. - - - CONVERSATIONS ON THEOSOPHY .10 - - A brief but clear statement of principles, in question and answer; pp. - 16. In quantities for propaganda, 50 copies for $1.00. - - - ISIS UNVEILED (2 Volumes) 6.50 - - A Master Key to Science and Theology, the work that “broke the moulds - of men’s minds”. By H. P. Blavatsky. - - - THE SECRET DOCTRINE (2 Volumes and Index) 12.50 - - The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy containing “all that - can be given out in this century”. By H. P. Blavatsky. - - - “THEOSOPHY” (Per Volume) 4.00 - - Back Volumes, bound in half leather, 576 pages each, filled with - reprints of invaluable writings of H. P. B. and W. Q. J. hitherto out - of print, and containing also many excellent original articles. - - * * * * * - -Those who find the Teachings of Theosophy expressive of their highest -ideals and conformable to reason and experience, and who are desirous -of entering the _PATH_, are urged to read, ponder and assimilate to the -utmost possible extent: - - THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE $.75 - - Chosen Fragments from the Book of Golden Precepts. By H. P. Blavatsky. - - - THE BHAGAVAD-GITA .75 - - The Book of Devotion, rendered by W. Q. Judge. - - - LIGHT ON THE PATH .75 - - Rules for Disciples, with Comments, and the Treatise on Karma, written - down by M. C. - - - LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME - - Volume 1 .50 - Volume 2 .75 - - Letters written by “Z. L. Z.”, “Greatest of the Exiles”, to Jasper - Niemand and others. By W. Q. Judge. - - - YOGA APHORISMS OF PATANJALI .75 - - Rendered into English, with an Introduction and Notes. By W. Q. Judge. - - - THEOSOPHY AND THE MOVEMENT .25 - - Extracts from the writings of H. P. B. and W. Q. J., including the - Epitome of Theosophy. - - * * * * * - -Orders should be addressed and all remittances made payable to The -United Lodge of Theosophists, Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth -St., Los Angeles, California. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. 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