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diff --git a/old/55833-0.txt b/old/55833-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d789f14..0000000 --- a/old/55833-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7306 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Letter That Have Helped Me, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Letter That Have Helped Me - -Author: Various - -Compiler: Jasper Niemand -Compiler: Thomas Green - -Release Date: October 28, 2017 [EBook #55833] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTER THAT HAVE HELPED ME *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. Harrison and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - LETTERS - THAT - HAVE HELPED ME - - COMPILED BY - _JASPER NIEMAND_ - - Reprinted from "The Path" - - SEVENTH EDITION - - THE - UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS - Los Angeles, California - 1920 - - - - - To - Z. L. Z. - the Greatest of - the Exiles, and Friend - of all Creatures, from his - Younger Brother, the Compiler. - JASPER NIEMAND - 1891 - - - - -PREFACE - - "_Seeking for freedom I go to that God who is the light of his own - thoughts. A man who knows him truly passes over death; there is no - other path to go_" - - --UPANISHADS. - - -In the _Path_ for May, 1887, we find these words: "We need a -literature, not solely for highly intellectual persons, but of a more -simple character, which attempts to appeal to ordinary common-sense -minds who are really fainting for such moral and mental assistance as -is not reached by the more pretentious works." - -The experience of one student is, on the whole, the experience of all. -Details differ, however. Some are made more instantly rich than others: -they are those who put forth more vigorous and generous effort; or they -have a Karmic store which brings aid. What Theosophists know as Karma, -or the law of spiritual action and reaction, decides this, as it works -on all the planes, physical, moral, mental, psychical, and spiritual -alike. Our Karma may be worked out on any one of these planes when our -life is chiefly concentrated upon it, no matter upon what other plane -any special initiative impulse or branch of it originated. - -The writer, when first he became a Theosophical student, had the aid -of an advanced occultist in his studies. This friend sent him, among -others, the letters which, in the hope that they may assist others as -they have the original recipient, are here published. They are not -exhaustive treatises; they are hints given by one who knew that the -first need of a student is to learn _how to think_. The true direction -is pointed out, and the student is left to clarify his own perceptions, -to draw upon and enlarge his own intuitions, and to develop, as every -created thing must at last develop, by his own inward exertions. Such -students have passed the point where their external environment can -affect their growth favorably. They may learn from it, but the time has -also come to resist it and turn to the internal adjustment to higher -relations only. - -The brevity of these letters should not mislead the reader. Every -statement in them is a statement of law. They point to causes of which -life is an effect; that life arising from the action of Spirit in -Nature, and which we must understand as it is manifested within us -before we can advance on the Path. There is a scientific meaning within -all these devotional or ethical injunctions, for the Wisdom-Religion -never relaxes her hold upon Science or attempts to dissever an effect -from its cause. Most of these admonitions have their base in the -constitution of the Archæus, or World-Soul, and the correlation of its -energies; others, still, adhere in the Eternal. - -No less should the reader guard himself against a slight estimate -arising from the exquisite modesty of Z. An occultist is never so truly -a man of power as when he has wholly learned and exhibits this truth: - -"And the power the disciple shall desire is that which shall make him -appear as nothing _in the eyes of men_." - -The inner eye, the _power of seeing_, looks deeper into the source -of a man's knowledge and takes it at its true value. Those men who -are sharers in the Divine, whose first office is to give, are often -protected from the demands and curiosity of the careless by a simple -exterior which deceives the worldly sense. Some men are great because -of the Power which stands behind them, the divine energies which flow -through them; they are great through having learned how to receive this -celestial influx from higher spheres of Being; they are the appointed -ministrants, the true servitors of the Law and pupils of Masters whose -office is humanitarian and universal. - -Such aid is never volunteered; it follows the Karmic behest, and, when -given, leaves the student free to follow it or not, as his intuitions -may direct. There is not a shadow or vestige of _authority_ in the -matter, as the world understands the word _authority_. Those who travel -the unknown way send messages back, and he who can receives them. Only -a few of the first steps are here recorded and the first impediments -surmounted. No hints of magic lore are to be found; no formulas -of creed or occult powers; the questions of an awakening soul are -answered, and the pilgrim is shown where lies the entrance to the Path. -The world at large seeks the facts of occult science, but the student -who has resolved to attain desires to find the true road. What may seem -to others as mere ethics is to him practical instruction, for as he -follows it he soon perceives its relation to facts and laws which he -is enabled to verify, and what seemed to him the language of devotion -merely, is found to be that of science; but the science is spiritual, -for the Great Cause is pure Spirit. - -Many students must at some time stand where the writer then stood, at -the beginning of the way. For all these this correspondence is made -public, and they are urged to look within the printed words for their -imperishable meaning. They may be cheered to find the footprints of -a comrade upon the rugged Path, above which the light of Truth ever -shines. Yet even this light is not always a clear splendor. It may -seem "in the daytime a cloud, and by night a pillar of fire." We must -question every external aspect, even that of Faith itself, for the -secret and germ of things lies at their core. Let us purify even our -Faith; let us seek Truth herself, and not our preconceptions of Truth. -In her mirror we shall never see our own familiar face: that which we -see is still ourselves, because our real self is truth. - -As the Theosophical movement gathers new momentum, fresh recruits may -be aided by those letters which so greatly sustained me, or encouraged -by some copartnership of thought, and that, too, in the real issue -confronting them. We first take this issue to be the acquirement of -occult knowledge. Soon we find that the meaning of all really informed -occult writers eludes us. We find that books only serve to remind us of -what we knew in the long past, perhaps when "journeying with Deity", -and the echoes awakened within us are so faint that they are rarely to -be caught. Whether we study philosophies, metaphysics, physics, ethics, -harmony, astrology, natural sciences, astralism, magnetism or what not, -we meet with endless contradiction and differentiation; we forever -require to strike the balance of our own intuition. We discover that -the final word has not yet been _written down_ upon any of the higher -subjects (unless it be on mathematics, and scarcely on that), and that -all our learning is but a finger-post to that supreme knowledge of -Truth which is only found and closely guarded within the human heart. -Thrown back upon our inner perceptions for continual readjustment, on -every side of experience this warning confronts us: _Stand ready to -abandon all thou hast learned!_ Not knowing the one center, we cannot -thoroughly know any sub-center. The cause unknown, effects mislead us. -Then we turn to that mysterious center whereby the One is manifest in -man, and we begin the study of the heart, both in itself and in the -life it has instituted about us. - -To be put into more direct communication with the world of cause -is now the student's most pressing need. One thing alone prevents -this,--himself. He is of such gross fibre that he cannot be "porous -to thought, bibulous of the sea of light". To the refinement and -dispersal of this lower self--of the man he now takes himself to be--he -then directs his will. Each man has a different mode of doing this, but -each who advances at all finds that with every new period of his inner -life a new self rises before him. Looking back over a group of weeks or -months, he is amazed to see what manner of man he was then, and smiles -that pitying smile which we bestow upon the faded letters of our youth. - -Yet some there be who ossify there in their rut; let them struggle -mightily to break up the mass which has resisted all environment, all -change, all the conditions of progressive life. They have done for -themselves what the enemy strives to do for others; they are the rock -in their own path. - -What our Eastern brothers call "the sheaths of the heart" fall away -one by one; when the last bursts open there is a silence, the silence -of the mystic death. But "the dead shall arise," and from that death -springs up the first tender growth of eternal life. - -Up to this point we shall not travel in the ensuing pages. Yet having -realized the real issue so forcibly that his whole strength was at the -start directed towards self-knowledge and the right use of Thought, the -writer offers a part of his first instructions to those of his comrades -who, single-hearted and of royal Faith, hold Truth to be dearer than -all material life and seek it on the hidden way. There is no tie in -the universe equal to that which binds such comrades together. It has -been forged in the fires of unspeakable anguish; it has been rivetted -by a dauntless purpose and a unique, because Divine, Love. The fierce -hatred of seen and unseen worlds cannot tamper with it so long as a -man remains true to himself, for this larger life is himself, and as -he grows towards it his self-imposed fetters fall away and he stands, -at last, a free soul, in the celestial Light which is Freedom itself, -obedient only to the Law of its own divine Being. To reach it, let us -obey the law of our own Being, for, truly, _Being is One_. - -My comrades, wherever you are, I salute you. - - JASPER NIEMAND, F. T. S. - - - - -LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME - - - - -I. - - - MY DEAR JASPER: - -Now let me elevate a signal. Do not think much of me, please. Think -kindly of me; but oh, my friend, direct your thoughts to the Eternal -Truth. I am, like you, struggling on the road. Perhaps a veil might -in an instant fall down from your spirit, and you would be long ahead -of us all. The reason you have had help is that in other lives you -gave it to others. In every effort you made to lighten another mind -and open it to Truth, you were helped yourself. Those pearls you found -for another and gave to him, you really retained for yourself in the -act of benevolence. For when one lives thus to help others, he is -thereby putting in practice the rule to try and "kill out all sense of -separateness," and thus gets little by little in possession of the true -light. - -Never lose, then, that attitude of mind. Hold fast in silence to all -that is your own, for you will need it in the fight; but never, _never_ -desire to get knowledge or power for any other purpose than to give it -on the altar, for thus alone can it be saved to you. - -So many are there around me who are ardent desirers and seekers, -devotees; but they are doing it because the possession seems valuable. -Perhaps I see in you--I hope I mistake not--a pure desire to seek -Knowledge for its own sake, and that all others may be benefitted. So -I would point out to you the only royal road, the one vehicle. Do all -those acts, physical, mental, moral, for the reason that they must be -done, instantly resigning all interest in them, offering them up upon -the altar. What altar? Why, the great spiritual altar, which is, if -one desires it, in the heart. Yet still use earthly discrimination, -prudence, and wisdom. - -It is not that you must rush madly or boldly out _to do_, _to do_. Do -what you find to do. Desire ardently to do it, and even when you shall -not have succeeded in carrying anything out but some small duties, -some words of warning, your strong desire will strike like Vulcan upon -other hearts in the world, and suddenly you will find that done which -you had longed to be the doer of. Then rejoice that another had been so -fortunate as to make such a meritorious Karma. Thus, like the rivers -running into the unswelling, passive ocean, will your desires enter -into your heart. - -I find all your remarks just; and besides, there seems to be a real -spirit behind them. Do not fear nor fail because you feel dark and -heavy. The very rage you feel will break the shrine that covers the -mystery after a while. No one can really help you. No one can open your -doors. You locked them up, and only you can open them. When you open -any door, beyond it you find others standing there who had passed you -long ago, but now, unable to proceed, they are there waiting; others -are there waiting for you. Then you come, and, opening a door, those -waiting disciples perhaps may pass on; thus on and on. What a privilege -this, to reflect that we may perhaps be able to help those who seemed -greater than ourselves! - -O, what a groan Nature gives to see the heavy Karma which man has piled -upon himself and all the creatures of the three worlds! That deep sigh -pierces through my heart. How can the load be lifted? Am I to stand for -myself, while the few strong hands of Blessed Masters and Their friends -hold back the awful cloud? Such a vow I registered ages ago to help -them, and I must. Would to great Karma I could do more! And you! do -what you can. - -Place your only faith, reliance, and trust on Karma. - - Z. - - - - -II. - - - MY DEAR BROTHER: - -Your last long letter came duly to hand and has been read with much -pleasure. It is quite rare to find one willing to enter this movement -on the basis you have laid down for yourself, and my previous letter -was written in order to see what your attitude really was, and also -because I then felt from your writing that you were really in earnest. -And before yours of to-day, I fell to thinking about you and wondering -whether a future of power, a brilliancy of knowledge, was not your -aspiration, and what effect certain occurrences would have upon that. - -Judge, then, my pleasure in reading your words exactly answering my -mental inquiries of yesterday and placing you in the right position. - -It is true, we must aspire ardently, and blessed is the one who, after -the first aspiration, is wise enough to see the Truth. - -Three qualities forever encompass us: _Satwa_ (truth and stability), -_Rajas_ (action, war, aspiration, ambition), _Tamas_ (indifference, -ignorance, darkness). - -None may be ignored. So the path lies from Tamas, up through war, -ambition, and aspiration, to Satwa, or truth and stability. We are now -in Rajasika regions, sometimes lifting our fingers up to the hem of the -garment of Satwa, ever aspiring, ever trying to purify our thoughts -and free ourselves from the attachment to actions and objects. So, of -course, the ardent student naturally aspires for power. This is wise. -But he must soon begin to see what he must do for real progress. For -continual aspiration for power merely is sure to sow for us the giant -weed of self, which is the giant spoken of in _Light on the Path_. - -As to the Theosophical Society, all should be admitted, for we can -refuse _no one_. If this is a Universal Brotherhood, we can make no -distinctions; but we can put ourselves right in the beginning by seeing -that people do not enter with mistaken notions of what we have. And -yet with all our precautions, how often we find persons who are not -really sincere themselves judging us by their standard, unbelieving in -our sincerity. They enter; they find that each must study for himself -and that no guides are told off to each one; then they are disgusted. -They forget that "the kingdom of heaven must be taken by violence." We -have also had to suffer from our friends. People who have joined us in -secret like Nicodemus; they have stood idly by, waiting for the Cause -to get strong or to get fashionable, and leaving all the hard fighting -to be done by a few earnest men who defied the hosts of Materialism -and of Conventionality. Had they spoken for their Cause, more earnest -people would long ago have heard of the movement, instead of being kept -away until now, like yourself, for want of knowledge that it existed. - -You will find that other members care for nothing but Theosophy, and -are yet forced by circumstances to work in other fields as well. What -moments they have left are devoted to the Cause, and in consequence -they have no unoccupied hours; each moment, day and evening, is filled -up, and therefore they are happy. Yet they are unhappy that they -cannot give their entire working time to the Cause in which some have -been from the beginning. They feel, like Claude St. Martin, a burning -desire within them to get these truths to the ears of all men. They -are truths, and you are in the right path. In America it is as easy -to find the Light of Lights as in India, but all around you are those -who do not know these things, who never heard of them, and yet many -of our fellow members are only anxious to study for their own benefit. -Sometimes, if it were not for my reliance on those Great Beings -who beckon me ever on, I would faint, and, leaving these people to -themselves, rush off into the forest. So many people like Theosophy, -and yet they at once wish to make it select and of high tone. It is for -all men. It is for the common people, who are ever with us. Others, -again, come in and wait like young birds for food to be put into them: -they _will not think_, and ages must pass before they will progress. - -You misunderstood a little the words "Do not think much of me." -Underline "much," but not "think." You will please think all the -thoughts you will of me, but do not place me on any pinnacle: that's -all I meant. - -A constant endeavor towards perfecting the mere mortal machine is folly. -Thereby we sometimes fail to live up to our own intuitions. This habit -goes on for some time, but will get weaker as other senses (inner ones) -begin to appear. Yet know the new fully before being off with the old. - -Inasmuch as we learn almost solely from each other--as we are all here -for each other--the question of the effect of affinities upon our acts -and thoughts is enormous and wide. It anon saves us, and anon damns. -For we may meet in our lives a person who has a remarkable effect, -either for good or ill, because of the affinities engendered in past -lives. And now our eyes are open, we act to-day for the future. - -That you may pass beyond the sea of darkness, I offer you my life and -help. - - Z. - - - - -III. - - -Say, Brother Jasper, are you tired? I am. Not tired of fate or of the -great "Leaders of the World," but with all these people who gape and -gape and are (excuse me) so Americanly "independent," as if men were -ever independent of each other. - -You ask about the "moment of choice." It is made up of all moments. -It is not in space or time, but is the aggregation of those moments -flying by us each instant. It is referred to in _Esoteric Buddhism_ -as a period not yet arrived for the race, when it will as a whole be -compelled to make choice for good or evil. But any single individual -can bring on the period for himself. When it will or has come, the -uninstructed cannot tell. For the student of occultism it may come in -the next instant, or it may come one hundred lives after. But it cannot -come this instant unless all the previous lives have led up to it. Yet -as regards the student, even if it be presented to him and he refuse, -he will be brought to the choice in future existences, with the whole -body of his race. Race influences are insidious and powerful. For -instance, my race has its peculiarities deeply seated and inherited -from an extraordinary past. I must be under their influence in this -body as a necessary part of my experience. In another life I might -have been a prosaic Hottentot, or an Englishman, and in a succeeding -one I might be under the influence of other race peculiarities. Those -influences are, then, guiding me every moment, and each thought I have -adds to them now, for either my own future use or for some other person -who will come under the power of part of the force generated now by me. - -As to the sub-conscious mind. It is difficult to explain. I find -constantly that I have ideas that internally I thoroughly understand, -and yet can find no language for them. Call it sub-conscious if you -like. It is there and can be affected; indeed, it is affected every -moment. It is a nearness to the universal mind. So if I desire to -influence--say your mind--I do not formulate your sub-conscious plane, -but firmly and kindly think of you and think of the subject I wish you -to think of. This must reach you. If I am selfish, then it has more -difficulty to get there; but if it be brotherly, then it gets there -more easily, being in harmony with the universal mind and the Law. The -Psychical Society speaks of it, and says that the influence "emerges -into the lower mind" by one or more of the channels. But they do not -know what those "channels" are, or even if they do exist. In fact, the -whole subject of mind is only faintly understood in the West. They say -"mind," meaning the vast range and departments of that which they call -mind, whereas there must be a need for the names of those departments. -When the true ideas are grasped, the names will follow. Meanwhile we -must be satisfied with "mind" as including the whole thing. But it does -not. Certainly it is not ordinary mental motion--ratiocination--to -grasp in an instant a whole subject, premises and conclusions, without -stopping to reason. It cannot be called a _picture_, for with some -it comes as an idea, and not as a picture. Memory. What is that? Is -it brain-impression; or similarity of vibration, recognized upon -being repeated and then producing a picture? If so, then the power to -recognize the vibration as the same as before is separate from the -matter which vibrates. And if the power inhere in the brain cells, -how is it possible, when we know they are constantly being changed? -Yet memory is perfect, no matter what happens. That it is above brain -is clear, because a man may be killed by having his brain blown to -atoms, and yet his "shell" can give all the incidents of his life, and -they are not taken from the brain, for that is dead. Where, then, is -the sub-conscious mind? And where are the channels, and how are they -connected? I think through the heart, and that the heart is the key to -it all, and that the brain is only the servant of the heart,[A] for -remember that there is in it the "small dwarf who sits at the centre." -Think it out on that line now for yourself--or any other line that you -may choose, but _think_. - - As ever, - Z. - -[Footnote A: Not the physical heart, but the real centre of life in -man.--J. N.] - - - - -IV. - - - DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: - -In cogitating lately I thought of you in respect to some of my own -thoughts. I was reading a book and looking around within myself to see -how I could enlarge my idea of brotherhood. Practice in benevolence -will not give it its full growth. I had to find some means of reaching -further, and struck on this, which is as old as old age. - -I am not separate from anything. "I am that which is." That is, I am -Brahma, and Brahma is everything. But being in an illusionary world, -I am surrounded by certain appearances that seem to make me separate. -So I will proceed to mentally state and accept that I am all these -illusions. I am my friends,--and then I went to them in general and in -particular. I am my enemies; then I felt them all. I am the poor and -the wicked; I am the ignorant. Those moments of intellectual gloom are -the moments when I am influenced by those ignorant ones who are myself. -All this in my nation. But there are many nations, and to those I go in -mind; I feel and I am them all, with what they hold of superstition or -of wisdom or evil. All, all is myself. Unwisely, I was then about to -stop, but the whole is Brahma, so I went to the Devas and Asuras;[B] -the elemental world, that too is myself. After pursuing this course -awhile I found it easier to return to a contemplation of all men as -myself. It is a good method and ought to be pursued, for it is a step -toward getting into contemplation of the All. I tried last night to -reach up to Brahma, but darkness is about his pavilion. - -Now what does all this insanity sound like? I'll tell you what: if it -were not for this insanity I would go insane. But shall I not take -heart, even when a dear friend deserts me and stabs me deep, when I -know that he is myself? - - NAMASTAE! - - Z. - - * * * * * - -I found the above letter still more valuable when I remembered that -Brahma is "the universal expansive force of Nature"--from _Brih_, to -expand; and so stated in an article by H. P. Blavatsky in _Five Years -of Theosophy_. In the _Dhammapada_ we are told to think ourselves to be -the sun and stars, the wet and dry, heat and cold; in short, to feel -all experience, for we can live all out in the mind. - - J. N. - -[Footnote B: Gods and demons.--J. N.] - - - - -V. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -I wish I could answer your letter as you ought to have it done. But I -feel my inability. However, our duty is to never consider our ability, -but to do what comes to be done in whatever way we can, no matter how -inadequate the work appears to others. When we stop to consider our -weakness, we think, by comparison, of how another would do it. Our -_only right is in the act itself_. The consequences are in the great -Brahm. So I will just say what comes. - -I feel the sadness in your letter, but know that you will rebound from -that. Do not let the sadness of knowledge create despair; that sadness -is less than the joy of Truth. Abstract Truth, even, has necessarily -in it all the mercy there is in the whole. Its sternness is only a -reflection from our own imperfections, which make us recognize the -stern aspect alone. We are not the only ones to suffer upon the Path. -Like ourselves, Masters have wept, though They do not now weep. One of -them wrote some years ago: "Do you suppose we have not passed through -many times worse trials than you now think you are in?" The Master -often seems to reject and to hide his (spiritual) face, in order that -the disciple may try. On the doors and walls of the temple the word -"TRY" is written. ("The Brothers" is a better designation than Mahâtmas -or Masters.) - -Along the path of the true student is sadness, but also there is -great joy and hope. Sadness comes from a more just appreciation of -the difficulties in one's way, and of the great wickedness of the -individual and collective heart of man. But look at the great fountain -of hope and of joy in the consideration that the Brothers exist, -that They were men too; They had to fight the fight; They triumphed, -and They work for those left after Them. Then beyond Them are "the -Fathers," that is, the spirits of "just men made perfect," those Who -lived and worked for humanity ages ago and Who are now out of our -sphere, but Who nevertheless still influence us in that Their spiritual -forces flow down upon this earth for all pure souls. Their immediate -influence is felt by Masters, and by us through the latter. - -Now, as you say, it is all Faith; but what is Faith? It is the -intuitional feeling--"_that is true_." So formulate to yourself certain -things as true that you feel to be true, and then increase your faith -in them. - -Don't be anxious. Don't get "maddened." Because in the fact that you -are "maddened" (of course in the metaphorical sense) is found the -proof that you are anxious. In a worldly sense it is perhaps well to -be anxious about a highly important matter, but in occultism it is -different, for the Law takes no account of our projects and objects, -or our desire to be ahead or behind. So, if we are anxious, we raise a -barrier against progress, by perturbation and straining harshly. You -wrote to B. that what is his, is his. Then the converse is true; what -is not, is not. Why don't you take your own medicine? - - Yours, - Z. - - - - -VI. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -It is a great advance that you hear the bells, which few hear, and -evidence that you are where you can hear them; that is a great deal -indeed. Do not look for the voice of the bells, but regard the _ideas_ -which thereupon come into the head, and apply to them the touchstone of -your own Soul, just as you advised B. The fact that you feel "dead" is -something you should not worry about. It is likely that you are under -the operation of a law which prevails in nature, that you will find -referred to in an article in _Path_ Magazine for April, '86, page 14. -It is that the soul goes to a new place or new surroundings and becomes -silent there awhile--what you call "dead"--and draws strength there, -begins to get accustomed to its new surroundings, after which it begins -to move about. This is seen in ordinary life in the bashfulness of a -boy. That is, the bashfulness is the shyness felt in new surroundings, -and is just what happens when the soul goes to a new place or into new -surroundings. There can be no loss or detriment to our efforts. Every -aspiration higher brightens up the road connecting the higher and lower -self. No doubt of that. It is not _what_ is done, but the spirit in -which the least thing is done that is counted. Hear the word of the -Master. - -"He who does the best he knows how and that he can do, does enough for -us." - -The mere fact that a man appreciates these truths and feels these -aspirations is proof that he is on the right road. It is well to tread -it _now_. We will not always live. Death must come. How much better, -then, to embrace death while thus at work than to swerve off only to -be brought up with suddenness in after lives. Immediate rebirth is for -those who are always working with their hearts on Master's work and -free from self interest. - -The one Spirit is in all, is the property of each, therefore It is -always there, always with us, and, by reflecting on that, little room -is left for sorrow or delusion. If we believe that the soul of all is -measured by the whole of Time and not by a part, then we care not for -these moments which relate alone to our body. If we live in our hearts -we soon prove that space and time exist not. Nothing foreign to Master -enters there; our faults are not there. The heart reaches Him always, -and no doubt He replies. He does I know. He helps us while He leaves us -to ourselves. He needs not to stoop to see our devotion, for that is of -a supernal quality and reaches anywhere. - -No, I do not say nor have I said that you ought to do something other -than you do. We each do what we can. None of us can be the judge of -any creature existing; so I do not judge you in the least respect. -Your life may in the great sum total be greater than any life I ever -led or that any one has led. Whether you are in America, Europe, or -India makes no difference. This is seeking conditions. I have come -to understand that Masters themselves must have worked themselves up -out of much worse conditions than we are in. No matter where we are, -the same spirit pervades all and is accessible. What need, then, to -change places? We do not change ourselves by moving the body to another -_locus_. We only put it under a different influence. And in order to -change we must have got to dislike the place we moved from. That is -_attachment by opposites_, and that will produce detriment, as does all -that disturbs the equilibrium of the soul. You know the same result is -produced by two exact opposites, and thus extremes meet. - -That hot flame you speak of is one of the experiences, as are also the -sounds. There are so many, many of these things. Often they result -from extreme tension or vibration in the aura of an aspirant of pure -devotion. They are himself, and he should be on his guard against -taking them for wonders. Often they are "apparitions in Brahm." They -are like new lights and sights to a mariner on an unfamiliar coast. -They will go on, or alter, or stop. You are only to carefully note -them, and "do not exhibit wonder nor form association." - -I cannot say more. All help you extend to any other soul is help to -yourself. It is our duty to help all, and we must begin on those -nearest to us, for to run abroad to souls we might possibly help we -again forsake our present duty. It is better to die in our own duty, -however mean, than to try another one. So lift your head and look -around upon the hulks of past imagined faults. They were means and -teachers. Cast all doubt, all fear, all regret aside, and freely take -of truth what you may contain right on every step. It will thus be -well. Eternal Truth is one and indivisible, and we may get from the -Fathers (Pitris) flashes now and then of what is true. - -Words are things. With me and in fact. Upon the lower plane of social -intercourse they are things, but soulless and dead because that -convention in which they have their birth has made abortions of them. -But when we step away from that conventionality they become alive in -proportion to the reality of the thought--and its purity--that is -behind them. So in communication between two students they are things, -and those students must be careful that the ground of intercourse is -fully understood. Let us use with care those living messengers called -words. - -Where I see you mistaken I will speak, to warn my Brother who -temporarily knows not. For did I not call on the bugle, perhaps other -things might switch him off to where perhaps for the time he would be -pleased, but would again be sorry, and then when his mistake was plain -he would justly sigh to me across dark centuries of separation that I -had been false to my duty of warning. - - As ever, - Z. - - * * * * * - -The new plane to which the soul may go, referred to in this letter, -is the astral plane. It is the plane next above the material one, -and consists of a subtile order of matter. When a student turns his -attention to the higher life and desires intensely to find the way, -his soul has begun to awaken and to speak. It has heard the voice of -the spirit. Then the inner senses begin to unfold, at first ever so -gently, so tenderly, we scarce hear their report. But the soul has -then turned its attention to the astral plane, that being the next one -to be learned on the way upward; its energy is transferred from the -material plane to this one, and we have an influx of many confused -dreams and strange experiences, awake and asleep. These may or may not -continue; all depends upon the individual soul and upon Karma. It is a -most confusing plane, and, generally speaking, we may say that those -students are more fortunate who make a marked degree of progress in -spiritual things without having any conscious experience of the astral -plane. For then they can later on learn it _from above_, instead of -from below, and with far less danger to themselves. The whole must -be known, but we may progress in various ways, even by discontinuous -degrees, only then we must go back later on, to what we passed by. -Such a going back does not imply detriment or loss of degree, for such -cannot be lost when once gained in reality. - -With regard to the astral plane being a more subtile order of matter, -this truth is often denied by clairvoyants and untrained seers. They do -not distinguish between the psychic senses and the spiritual. They can -see through gross matter, such as a wall, the human body, and so forth, -as if it were glass, but they cannot see through astral substance, and -hence they believe its forms and all the pictures and shapes in the -astral light to be real. Only the adept sees through these illusions, -which are far more powerful because composed of a subtile order of -matter: subtile energies, fine forces have a highly increased rate -of power over grosser ones. The adept has at his command the rate of -vibration which dispels them or drives them asunder. In speaking of -the astral plane, I mean the lower soul plane, and not that higher and -purified quality which the author of _Light on the Path_ calls the -"divine astral." - -By anxiety we exert the constrictive power of egoism, which densifies -and perturbs our magnetic sphere, rendering us less permeable to the -efflux from above. - - J. N. - - - - -VII. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -I have your letter, Comrade, in which you say how much you wish there -were some Adepts sent to the United States to help all true students. -Yet you know well They do not need to come here in person, in order -to help. By going carefully over your letter there appears to be the -possibility of the seed of doubt in your heart as to the wise ordering -of all things, for all are under the Law, and Masters first of all. -Mind, I only say the "_possibility of the seed of doubt_." For I judge -from my own experience. Well do I remember when I thought as you say, -how much better 'twould be if some one were there. - -If that is allowed to remain it will metamorphose itself into a seed -and afterward a plant of doubt. Cast it right out! It does not now -show as seed of doubt, but it will be a case of metamorphosis, and the -change would be so great as to deceive you into thinking it were never -from the same root. The best stand to take is that it is all right -as it is now, and when the time comes for it to be better it will be -so. Meanwhile we have a duty to see that we do all we can _in our own -place_ as we see best, undisturbed and undismayed by aught. - -How much I have in years gone away said and thought those very words of -yours and to no profit! Why do you care what becomes of a million human -beings? Are not millions going to death daily with no one to tell them -of all this? But did you suppose that all this was not provided for? -"And heavenly death itself is also well provided for." Now, then, you -and I must learn to look on the deaths or the famishing of millions of -beings with unfaltering heart. Else we had better give it all up now. -Consider that at this moment are so many persons in various far distant -places who cannot ever hear these truths. Do you grieve for them? Do -you realize their state? No; you realize only partially the same thing -among those with whom it was your present lot to be born--I mean the -nation. Do you want to do more than your best? Do you covet the work of -another? No; you do not. You will sit calmly where you are, then, and, -with an unaffected heart, picture to yourself the moral and physical -deaths and famines which are now without the possibility of prevention -or amelioration. Your faith will know that _all_ is provided for. - -I do not say that you must attain to that calm _now_ or give up seeking -the Way; but I do say that you must admit that such an attainment must -be absolutely tried for. For of such is the trial, and why should we -care? _We must some day be able to stand any shock_, and to get ready -for that time we must be now triumphant over some smaller things. Among -others is the very position you and I are now in; that is, standing -our ground and feeling ourselves so much and so awfully alone. But -we know that They have left us a commandment. That we keep, although -now and then objects, senses, men, and time conspire to show us that -Masters laugh at us. It is all a delusion. It is only one consequence -of our past Karma now burning itself out before our eyes. The whole -phantasmagoria is only a picture thrown up against the Screen of Time -by the mighty magic of Prakriti (Nature). But you and I are superior -to Nature. Why, then, mind these pictures? Part of that very screen, -however, being our own mortal bodies, we can't help the _sensation_ -derived therefrom through our connection with the body. It is only -another form of cold or heat; and what are they? They are vibrations; -they are _felt_; they do not really exist in themselves. So we can -calmly look on the picture as it passes fragmentarily through those -few square feet contained within the superficial boundaries of our -elementary frame. We _must_ do so, for it is a copy of the greater, of -the universal form. For we otherwise will never be able to understand -the greater picture. Now, then, is there not many a cubic inch of your -own body which is entitled to know and to be the Truth in greater -measure than now? And yet you grieve for the ignorance of so many other -human beings! Grieve on; and I grieve too. Do not imagine that I _am_ -what is there written. Not so. I am grieving just the same outwardly, -but inwardly trying what I have just told you. And what a dream all -this is. Here I am writing you so seriously, and now I see that you -know it all quite well and much better than I do. - -Yet, my dear Jasper, now and then I feel--not Doubt of Masters who -hear any heartbeat in the right direction, but--a terrible Despair of -these people. Oh, my God! The age is black as hell, hard as iron. It -is iron, it is Kali Yuga. Kali is always painted black. Yet Kali Yuga -by its very nature, and terrible, swift momentum, permits one to do -more with his energies in a shorter time than in any other Yuga. But -heavens, what a combat! Demons from all the spheres; waving clouds of -smoky Karma; dreadful shapes; stupefying exhalations from every side. -Exposed at each turn to new dangers. Imagine a friend walking with you -who you see is in the same road, but all at once he is permeated by -these things of death and shows a disposition to obstruct your path, -the path of himself. Yes; the gods are asleep for awhile. But noble -hearts still walk here, fighting over again the ancient fight. They -seek each other, so as to be of mutual help. We will not fail them. To -fail would be nothing, but to stop working for Humanity and Brotherhood -would be awful. We cannot: we will not. Yet we have not a clear road. -No, it is not clear. I am content if I can see the next step in advance -only. You seek _The Warrior_. He is here, somewhere. No one can find -him for you. You must do that. Still He fights on. No doubt He sees you -and tries to make you see Him. Still He fights on and on. - -How plainly the lines are drawn, how easily the bands are seen. Some -want a certificate, or an uttered pledge, or a secret meeting, or -a declaration, but without any of that I see those who--up to this -hour--I find are my "companions." They need no such folly. They are -there; they hear and understand the battle-cry, they recognize the -sign. Now where are the rest? Many have I halted, and spoken the exact -words to them, have exposed to them my real heart, and they heard -nothing: they thought that heart was something else. I sigh to think -how many. Perhaps I overlooked some; perhaps some did not belong to me. -There are some who partly understood the words and the sign, but they -are not sure of themselves; they know that they partake of the nature, -but are still held back. - -Do you not see, Jasper, that your place in the ranks is well known? You -need no assurances because they are _within_ you. Now what a dreadful -letter; but it is all true. - -A student of occultism after a while gets into what we may call a -psychic whirl, or a vortex of occultism. At first he is affected by the -feelings and influences of those about him. That begins to be pushed -off and he passes into the whirl caused by the mighty effort of his -Higher Self to make him remember his past lives. Then those past lives -affect him. They become like clouds throwing shadows on his path. Now -they seem tangible and then fade away, only a cloud. Then they begin to -affect his impulse to action in many various ways. To-day he has vague -calling longings to do something, and, critically regarding himself, -he cannot see in this life any cause. It is the bugle note of a past -life blown almost in his face. It startles him; it may throw him down. -Then it starts before him, a phantom, or, like a person behind you -as you look at a mirror, it looks over his shoulder. Although dead -and past they yet have a power. He gets too a power and a choice. If -all his previous past lives were full of good, then irresistible is -the force for his benefit. But all alike marshal up in front, and he -hastens their coming by his effort. Into this vortex about him others -are drawn, and their germs for good or ill ripen with activity. This is -a phase of the operation of Karmic stamina. The choice is this. These -events arrive one after the other and, as it were, offer themselves. -If he chooses wrong, then hard is the fight. The one chosen attracts -old ones like itself perhaps, for all have a life of their own. Do you -wonder that sometimes in the case of those who rush unprepared into the -"circle of ascetics" and before the ripe moment, insanity sometimes -results? But then that insanity is their safety for the next life, or -for their return to sanity. - -Receive my brotherly assurances, my constant desire to help you. - - * * * * * - -In respect to Karmic action it is well to recall the statement of -Patanjali that "works exist only in the shape of mental deposits." -(Book 2, Aph. 12, A.) By "works" is here meant Karma, the stock of -works, or Action. Its results remain as mental deposits or potential -energies in the higher part of the fifth principle, and when it -reïncarnates those seeds are there to "ripen on the tablets of the -mind" whenever they are exposed to favoring circumstances. Sometimes -they remain dormant for want of something to arouse them, as in the -case of children. "The mental deposits of works, collected from time -without beginning in the ground of the mind, as they by degrees arrive -at maturation, so do they, existing in lesser or greater measure (the -sum of merit being less than that of demerit, or conversely) lead -to their effects in the shape of rank, raised or lowered, ... or -experience of good or ill." (Book 2, Aph. 13, B.) The mind energizes -and impels us to fresh action. The impulse lies within, in germ, and -may be ripened by interior or exterior suggestion. Can we, then, be -too careful to guard the ground of the mind, to keep close watch over -our thoughts? These thoughts are dynamic. Each one as it leaves the -mind has a _vis viva_ of its own, proportionate to the intensity with -which it was propelled. As the force or work done, of a moving body, is -proportionate to the square of its velocity, so we may say that the -force of thoughts is to be measured by the square or quadrupled power -of their spirituality, so greatly do these finer forces increase by -activity. The spiritual force, being impersonal, fluidic, not bound to -any constricting center, acts with unimaginable swiftness. A thought, -on its departure from the mind, is said to associate itself with an -elemental; it is attracted wherever there is a similar vibration, or, -let us say, a suitable soil, just as the winged thistle-seed floats -off and sows itself in this spot and not in that, in the soil of its -natural selection. Thus the man of virtue, by admitting a material or -sensual thought into his mind, even though he expel it, sends it forth -to swell the evil impulses of the man of vice from whom he imagines -himself separated by a wide gulf, and to whom he may have just given a -fresh impulse to sin. Many men are like sponges, porous and bibulous, -ready to suck up every element of the order preferred by their nature. -We all have more or less of this quality: we attract what we love, and -we may derive a greater strength from the vitality of thoughts infused -from without than from those self-reproduced within us at a time when -our nervous vitality is exhausted. It is a solemn thought, this, of our -responsibility for the impulse of another. We live in one another, and -our widely different deeds have often a common source. The occultist -cannot go far upon his way without realizing to what a great extent he -is "his brother's keeper." Our affinities are ourselves, in whatever -ground they may live and ripen. - - J. N. - - - - -VIII. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -I seize a few moments to acknowledge your letter. This is a period of -waiting, of silence. Nothing seems alive. All oracles are silent. But -the great clock of the Universe still goes on, unheeding. On Sunday I -engaged in Meditation and received some benefit. I wished I could see -you to speak of it. Yet these things are too high for words, and when -we approach the subjects we are not able to give expression to our -thoughts. We do not live up to our highest soul possibilities. All that -prevents our reaching up to the high thoughts of the far past is our -own weakness, and not the work of any other. How petty seem the cares -of this earth when we indulge in deep reflection; they are then seen -for what they are, and later on they are obliterated. It is true that -the road to the gods is dark and difficult, and, as you say, we get -nothing from them at first call; we have to call often. But we can on -the way stop to look ahead, for no matter how sombre or howsoever weak -ourselves, the Spectator sees it all and beckons to us, and whispers, -"Be of good courage, for I have prepared a place for you where you will -be with me forever." He is the Great Self; He is ourselves. - -The Leaders of the world are always trying to aid us. May we pass the -clouds and see them ever. All our obstructions are of our own making. -All our power is the storage of the past. That store we all must have; -who in this life feels it near is he who has in this life directed his -thoughts to the proper channel. That others do not feel it is because -they have lived but blindly. That you do not feel it and see it more is -because you have not yet directed all your mental energies to it. This -great root of Karmic energy can be drawn upon by directing the fire -of our minds in that direction. Towards Love of course is the right -way; the Love of the Divine and of all beings. If we feel that after -all we are not yet "Great Souls" who participate in the totality of -those "Souls who wait upon the gods," it need not cast us down: we are -waiting our hour in hope. Let us wait patiently, in the silence which -follows all effort, knowing that thus Nature works, for in her periods -of obscuration she does naught where that obscuration lies, while -doubtless she and we too are then at work on other spheres. - -That described by you is not the soul; it is only a partial experience. -Did you know the Soul, then could you yourself reply to all those -questions, for all knowledge is there. In the soul is every creature -and every thought alike. That sinking down of your thoughts to the -center is practice. It can be done and we cannot explain it; we can -only say "do it." Still do not hunger to do these things. The first -step in _becoming_ is Resignation. Resignation is the sure, true, and -royal road. Our subtle motives, ever changing, elude us when we seek -it. You are near to it; it needs a great care. But while the body may -be requiring time to feel its full results, we can instantly change the -attitude of the mind. After Resignation, follow (in their own order) -Satisfaction, Contentment, Knowledge. Anxiety to do these things is -an obscurant and deterrent. So try to acquire patient Resignation. -The lesson intended by the Karma of your present life is _the higher -patience_. I can tell you nothing on this head; it is a matter for self -and practice. Throw away every wish to get the power, and seek only for -understanding of thyself. Insist on carelessness. Assert to yourself -that it is not of the slightest consequence what you were yesterday, -but in every moment strive for that moment; the results will follow of -themselves. - -The Past! What is it? Nothing. Gone! Dismiss it. You are the past of -yourself. Therefore it concerns you not as such. It only concerns you -as you now are. In you, as now you exist, lies _all_ the past. So -follow the Hindu maxim: "Regret nothing; never be sorry; and cut all -doubts with the sword of spiritual knowledge." Regret is productive -only of error. I care not what I _was_, or what any one _was_. I only -look for what I am each moment. For as each moment is and at once is -not, it must follow that if we think of the past we forget the present, -and while we forget, the moments fly by us, making more past. Then -regret nothing, not even the greatest follies of your life, for they -are gone, and you are to work in the present which is both past and -future at once. So then, with that absolute knowledge that all your -limitations are due to Karma, past or in this life, and with a firm -reliance ever now upon Karma as the only judge, who will be good or -bad as you make it yourself, you can stand anything that may happen -and feel serene despite the occasional despondencies which all feel, -but which the light of Truth always dispels. This verse always settles -everything: - -"In him who knows that all spiritual beings are the same in kind with -the Supreme Being, what room can there be for delusion and what room -for sorrow when he reflects upon the unity of spirit?" - -In all these inner experiences there are tides as well as in the ocean. -We rise and fall. Anon the gods descend, and then they return to -heaven. Do not _think_ of getting them to descend, but strive to raise -_yourself_ higher on the road down which they periodically return, -and thus get nearer to them, so that you shall in fact receive their -influences sooner than before. - -Adios. May you ever feel the surge of the vast deeps that lie beyond -the heart's small ebb. Perhaps our comrades are coming nearer. Who -knows? But even if not, then we will wait; the sun must burst some day -from the clouds. This will keep us strong while, in the company of the -Dweller of the Threshold, we have perforce to stare and sham awhile. - - Z. - - * * * * * - -The "higher patience" alluded to also requires a care. It is the fine -line between pride and humility. Both are extremes and mistakes; -oscillations from one to the other are only a trifle better. How shall -we be proud when we are so small? How dare we be humble when we are so -great? In both we blaspheme. But there is that firm spot between the -two which is the place "neither too high nor too low" on which Krishna -told Arjuna to sit; a spot _of his own_. It is the firm place which our -faith has won from the world. On it we are always to stand calmly, not -overshadowed by any man however great, because each of us contains the -potentialities of every other. "Not overshadowed" does not mean that -we are not to show reverence to those through whom the soul speaks. -It is the great soul we reverence, and not the mortal clay. We are to -examine thoughtfully all that comes to us from such persons, and all -that comes to us from any source wearing the aspect of truth, and try -faithfully to see wherein it may be true, laying it aside, if we fail, -as fruit not ripe for us yet. We are not to yield up our intuitions to -any being, while we may largely doubt our judgment at all times. We -are not to act without the inner asseveration, but we must not remain -ignorant of the serious difficulty of separating this intuitive voice -from the babble and prattle of fancy, desire, or pride. If we are just -to ourselves we shall hold the balance evenly. How can we be just to -any other who are not just to ourselves? In the Law a man suffers as -much from injustice to himself as to another; it matters not in whose -interests he has opposed the universal currents; the Law only knows -that he has tried to deflect them by an injustice. It takes no account -of persons nor even of ignorance of the Law. It is an impartial, -impersonal force, only to be understood by the aid of the higher -patience, which at once dares all and endures all. - -"Never regret anything." Regret is a thought, hence an energy. If we -turn its tide upon the past, it plays upon the seeds of that past and -vivifies them; it causes them to sprout and grow in the ground of the -mind: from thence to expression in action is but a step. A child once -said to me when I used the word "Ghosts," "Hush! Don't think of them. -What we think of always happens." There are no impartial observers like -children when they think away from themselves. - - J. N. - - - - -IX. - - - DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: - -Tell your friend and inquirer this: No one was ever converted into -Theosophy. Each one who _really_ comes into it does so because it is -only "an extension of previous beliefs." This will show you that Karma -is a true thing. For no idea we get is any more than an extension -of previous ones. That is, they are cause and effect in endless -succession. Each one is the producer of the next and inheres in that -successor. Thus we are all different and some similar. My ideas of -to-day and yours are tinged with those of youth, and we will thus -forever proceed on the inevitable line we have marked out in the -beginning. We of course alter a little always, but never until our old -ideas are extended. Those _false_ ideas now and then discarded are -not to be counted; yet they give a shadow here and there. But through -Brotherhood we receive the knowledge of others, which we consider -until (if it fits us) it is ours. As far as your private conclusions -are concerned, use your discrimination always. Do not adopt any -conclusions merely because they are uttered by one in whom you have -confidence, but adopt them when they coincide with your intuition. To -be even unconsciously deluded by the influence of another is to have a -counterfeit faith. - -Spiritual knowledge includes every action. Inquirers ought to read the -_Bhagavad-Gîtâ_. It will give them food for centuries if they read with -spiritual eyes at all. Underneath its shell is the living spirit that -will light us all. I read it ten times before I saw things that I did -not see at first. In the night the ideas contained in it are digested -and returned partly next day to the mind. It is the study of adepts. - -Let no man be unaware that while there is a great joy in this belief -there is also a great sorrow. Being true, being _the Law_, all the -great forces are set in motion by the student. He now thinks he has -given up ambition and comfort. The ambition and comfort he has given -up are those of the lower plane, the mere reflections of the great -ambitions and comforts of a larger life. The rays of truth burn up the -covers time has placed upon those seeds, and then the seeds begin to -sprout and cause new struggles. Do not leave any earnest inquirer in -ignorance of this. It has cost others many years and tears of blood to -self-learn it. - -How difficult the path of action is! I see the future dimly, and -unconsciously in such case one makes efforts either for or against it. -Then Karma results. I could almost wish I did not hear these whispers. -But he who conquers himself is greater than the conquerors of worlds. - -Perhaps you see more clearly now how Karma operates. If one directs -himself to eliminating all old Karma, the struggle very often becomes -tremendous, for the whole load of ancient sin rushes to the front on a -man and the events succeed each other rapidly; the strain is terrific, -and the whole life fabric groans and rocks. As is said in the East, you -may go through the appointed course in 700 births, in seven years, or -in seven minutes. - -The sentence in _Light on the Path_ referred to by so many students is -not so difficult as some others. One answer will do for all. The book -is written on the basis of Reïncarnation, and when it says the soiled -garment will fall again on you, it means that this will happen in some -other life, not necessarily in this, though that may be too. To "turn -away in horror" is _not_ detachment. Before we can hope to prevent any -particular state of mind or events reaching us in this or in another -life, _we_ must in fact be detached from these things. Now _we_ are -not our bodies or mere minds, but the _real_ part of us in which -Karma inheres. Karma brings everything about. It attaches to our real -inner selves by attachment and repulsion. That is, if we love vice or -anything, it seizes on us by attachment thereto; if we hate anything, -it seizes on our inner selves by reason of the strong horror we feel -for it. In order to prevent a thing we must understand it; we cannot -understand while we fear or hate it. We are not to love vice, but are -to recognize that it is a part of the whole, and, trying to understand -it, we thus get above it. This is the "doctrine of opposites" spoken -of in _Bhagavad-Gîtâ_. So if we turn in horror now (we may feel sad -and charitable, though) from the bad, the future life will feel that -horror and develop it by reaction into a reïncarnation in a body and -place where we must in material life go through the very thing we hate -now. As we are striving to reach God, we must learn to be as near like -Him as possible. He loves and hates not; so we must strive to regard -the greatest vice as being something we must not hate while we will not -engage in it, and then we may approach that state where we will know -the greater love that takes in good and evil men and things alike. - -Good and Evil are only the two poles of the one thing. In the Absolute, -Evil is the same thing in this way. One with absolute knowledge can -_see_ both Good and Evil, but he does not _feel_ Evil to be a thing to -flee from, and thus he has to call it merely the other pole. We say -Good or Evil as certain events seem pleasant or unpleasant to us or -our present civilization. And so we have coined those two words. They -are bad words to use. For in the Absolute one is just as necessary -as the other, and often what seem evil and "pain" are not absolutely -so, but only necessary adjustments in the progress of the soul. Read -_Bhagavad-Gîtâ_ as to how the self seems to suffer pain. What is Evil -now? Loss of friends? No; if you are self-centered. Slander? Not if -you rely on Karma. There is only evil when you rebel against immutable -decrees that must be worked out. You know that there must be these -balancings which we call Good and Evil. Just imagine one man who really -was a high soul, now living as a miser and enjoying it. You call it an -evil; he a good. Who is right? You say "Evil" because you are speaking -out of the True; but the True did know that he could never have passed -some one certain point unless he had that experience, and so we see -him now in an evil state. Experience we must have, and if we accept it -at our own hands we are wise. That is, while striving to do our whole -duty to the world and ourselves, we will not live the past over again -by vain and hurtful regrets, nor condemn any man, whatever his deeds, -since we cannot know their true cause. We are not Karma, we are not the -Law, and it is a species of that hypocrisy so deeply condemned by It -for us to condemn any man. That the Law lets a man live is proof that -he is not yet judged by that higher power. Still we must and will keep -our discriminating power at all times. - -As to rising above Good and Evil, that does not mean to do evil, of -course. But, in fact, there can be no _real_ Evil or Good; if our aim -is right our acts cannot be evil. Now all acts are dead when done; it -is in the heart that they are conceived and are already there done; the -mere bodily carrying out of them is a dead thing in itself. So we may -do a supposed good act and that shall outwardly appear good, and yet as -our motive perhaps is wrong the act is naught, but the motive counts. - -The great God did all, good and bad alike. Among the rest are what -appear Evil things, yet he must be unaffected. So if we follow -_Bhagavad-Gîtâ_, second chapter, we must do only those acts we believe -right for the sake of God and not for ourselves, and if we are -regardless of the consequences we are not concerned if they _appear_ to -be Good or Evil. As the heart and mind are the real planes of error, -it follows that we must look to it that we do all acts merely because -they are there to be done. It then becomes difficult only to separate -ourselves from the act. - -We can never as human beings rise above being the instruments through -which that which is called Good and Evil comes to pass, but as that -Good and Evil are the result of comparison and are not in themselves -absolute, it must follow that we (the real "_we_") must learn to rise -internally to a place where these occurrences appear to us merely as -changes in a life of change. Even in the worldly man this sometimes -happens. - -As, say Bismarck, used to moving large bodies of men and perhaps for -a good end, can easily rise above the transient Evil, looking to a -greater result. Or the physician is able to rise above pain to a -patient, and only consider the good, or rather the result, that is to -follow from a painful operation. The patient himself does the same. - -So the student comes to see that he is not to do either "Good" or -"Evil," but to do any certain number of acts set before him, and -meanwhile not ever to regard much his line of conduct, but rather his -line of motive, for his conduct follows necessarily from his motive. -Take the soldier. For him there is nothing better than lawful war. -Query. Does he do wrong in warring or not, even if war is unlawful? He -does not unless he mixes his motive. They who go into war for gain or -revenge do wrong, but not he who goes at his superior's order, because -it is his present duty. - -Let us, then, extend help to all who come our way. This will be true -progress; the veils that come over our souls fall away when we work for -others. Let that be the real motive, and the _quality_ of work done -makes no difference. - - Z. - - * * * * * - -It would seem that Good and Evil are not inherent in things themselves, -but in the uses to which those things are put by us. They are -conditions of manifestation. Many things commonly called immoral -are consequences of the unjust laws of man, of egotistic social -institutions: such things are not immoral _per se_, but relatively so. -They are only immoral in point of time. There are others whose evil -consists in the base use to which higher forces are put, or to which -Life--which is sacred--is put, so that here also evil does not inhere -in them, but in ourselves; in our misuse of noble instruments in lower -work. Nor does evil inhere in us, but in our ignorance; it is one of -the great illusions of Nature. All these illusions cause the soul to -experience in matter until it has consciously learned every part: then -it must learn to know the whole and all at once, which it can only do -by and through reunion with Spirit; or with the Supreme, with the Deity. - -If we take, with all due reverence, so much of the standpoint of the -Supreme as our finite minds or our dawning intuition may permit, we -feel that he stands above unmoved by either Good or Evil. Our good -is relative, and evil is only the limitation of the soul by matter. -From the material essence of the Deity all the myriad differentiations -of Nature (Prakriti, cosmic substance), all the worlds and their -correlations are evolved. They assist the cyclic experience of the -soul as it passes from state to state. How, then, shall we say -that any state is evil in an absolute sense? Take murder. It seems -an evil. True, we cannot _really_ take life, but we can destroy a -vehicle of the divine Principle of Life and impede the course of a -soul using that vehicle. But we are more injured by the deed than any -other. It is the fruit of a certain unhealthy state of the soul. The -deed sends us to hell, as it were, for one or more incarnations; to -a condition of misery. The shock, the natural retribution, our own -resultant Karma, both the penalties imposed by man and that exacted by -occult law, chasten and soften the soul. It is passed through a most -solemn experience which had become necessary to its growth and which -in the end is the cause of its additional purification. In view of -this result, was the deed evil? It was a necessary consequence of the -limitations of matter; for had the soul remained celestial and in free -Being, it could not have committed murder. Nor has the immortal soul, -the spectator, any share in the wrong; it is only the personality, the -elementary part of the soul, which has sinned. All that keeps the soul -confined to material existence is evil, and so we cannot discriminate -either. The only ultimate good is Unity, and in reality nothing but -that exists. Hence our judgments are in time only. Nor have we the -right to exact a life for a life. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord -(Law); I will repay." We become abetters of murder in making such human -laws. I do not say that every experience must be gone through bodily, -because some are lived out in the mind. Nor do I seek to justify any. -The only justification is in the Law. - -The innocent man unjustly murdered is rewarded by Karma in a future -life. Indeed, any man murdered is reimbursed, so to say; for while that -misfortune sprang from his Karma, occult law does not admit of the -taking of life. Some men are the weapons of Karma in their wrong-doing, -but they themselves have appointed this place to themselves in their -past. - -The Great Soul needed just that body, whatever the errors of its -nature, or its physical environment, and to disappoint the soul is -a fearful deed for a man. For it is only man, only the lower nature -under the influence of Tamas (the quality of darkness), which feels -the impulse to take life, whether in human justice, for revenge, for -protection, or so on. "The soul neither kills nor is killed." What we -know as ourselves is only the natural man, the lower principles and -mind, presided over by the false consciousness. Of the soul we have but -brief and partial glimpses--in conscience or intuition--in our ordinary -state. There are, of course, psychic and spiritual states in which -more is known. Thus nature wars against nature, always for the purpose -of bringing about the purification and evolution of the soul. Nature -exists only for the purpose of the soul. If we think out the subject -upon these lines, we can at least see how rash we should be to conclude -that any deed was unmixed evil, or that these distinctions exist in the -Absolute. It alone is; all else is phenomenal and transitory; these -differences disappear as we proceed upward. Meanwhile we are to avoid -all these immoral things and many others not so regarded by the crowd -at all, but which are just as much so because we know to what increased -ignorance and darkness they give rise through the ferment which they -cause in the nature, and that this impedes the entrance of the clear -rays of Truth. - -I doubt that the soul knows the moral or immoral. For just consider for -a moment the case of a disembodied soul. What is sin to it when freed -from that shell--the body? What does it know then of human laws or -moralities, or the rules and forms of matter? Does it even see them? -What lewdness can it commit? So I say that these moralities are of this -plane only, to be heeded and obeyed there, but not to be postulated -as final or used as a balance to weigh the soul which has other laws. -The free soul has to do with essences and powers all impersonal; the -strife of matter is left behind. Still higher and above as within all, -the passionless, deathless spirit looks down, knowing well that, when -the natural has once again subsided into its spiritual source, all -this struggle and play of force and will, this waxing and waning of -forms, this progression of consciousness which throw up coming clouds -and fumes of illusion before the eye of the soul, will have come to an -end. Even now, while we cannot master these high themes, we can have a -patient trust in the processes of evolution and the Law, blaming and -judging no man, but living up to our highest intuitions ourselves. _The -real test of a man is his motive_, which we do not see, nor do his acts -always represent it. - - - - -X. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -You ask me about the "three qualities sprung from Nature," mentioned -in the _Bhagavad-Gîtâ_. They exist potentially (latent) in _Purush_ -(Spirit), and during that time spoken of in the _Bhagavad-Gîtâ_ as the -time when He produces all things after having devoured them (which is -the same thing as Saturn devouring his children), they come forth into -activity, and therefore are found _implicating_ all beings, who are -said not to be free from their influence. - -"Being" here must refer to formed beings in all worlds. Therefore -in these forms the qualities _exist_ [for _form_ is derived from -Nature=Prakriti=Cosmic Substance.--J. N.], and at the same time -_implicate_ the spectator (soul) who is in the form. The Devas are -gods--that is, a sort of spiritual power who are lower than the Ishwara -in man. They are influenced by the quality of Satwa, or Truth. They -enjoy a period of immense felicity of enormous duration, but which -having _duration_ is not an eternity. - -It is written: "Goodness, badness, and indifference--the qualities thus -called--sprung from Nature, influence the imperishable soul within the -body." - -This imperishable soul is thus separated from the body in which the -qualities influence it, and also from the qualities which are not it. -It is Ishwara. The Ishwara is thus implicated by the qualities. - -The first or highest quality is Satwa, which is in its nature pure and -pleasant, and implicates Ishwara by connection with pleasant things and -with knowledge. Thus even by dwelling in Satwa the soul is implicated. - -The second quality is Raja and causes action; it implicates the soul -because it partakes of avidity and propensity, and causing actions thus -implicates the soul. - -The third, Tamo quality, is of the nature of indifference and is the -deluder of all mortals. It is fed by ignorance. - -Here, then, are two great opposers to the soul, _ignorance_ and -_action_. For action proceeding from Raja assisted by Satwa does not -lead to the highest place; while ignorance causes destruction. Yet when -one knows that he is ignorant, he has to perform actions in order to -destroy that ignorance. How to do that without always revolving in the -whirl of action [Karma, causing rebirths.--J. N.] is the question. - -He must first get rid of the idea that he himself really does anything, -knowing that the actions all take place in these three natural -qualities, and not in the soul at all. The word "qualities" must be -considered in a larger sense than that word is generally given. - -Then he must place all his actions on devotion. That is, sacrifice all -his actions to the Supreme and not to himself. He must either (leaving -out indifference) set himself up as the God to whom he sacrifices, or -the other real God--Krishna, and all his acts and aspirations are done -either for himself or for the All. Here comes in the importance of -motive. For if he performs great deeds of valor, or of benefit to man, -or acquires knowledge so as to assist man, and is moved to that merely -because he thinks _he_ will attain salvation, he is only acting for his -own benefit and is therefore sacrificing to himself. Therefore he must -be devoted inwardly to the All; that is, he places all his actions on -the Supreme, knowing that he is not the doer of the actions, but is the -mere witness of them. - -As he is in a mortal body, he is affected by doubts which will spring -up. When they do arise, it is because he is ignorant about something. -He should therefore be able to disperse doubt "by the sword of -knowledge." For if he has a ready answer to some doubt, he disperses -that much. All doubts come from the lower nature, and _never_ in any -case from higher nature. Therefore as he becomes more and more devoted -he is able to know more and more clearly the knowledge residing in his -Satwa part. For it says: - -"A man who, perfected in devotion (or who persists in its cultivation) -finds spiritual knowledge spontaneously in himself in progress of -time." Also: "The man of doubtful mind enjoys neither this world nor -the other (the Deva world), nor final beatitude." - -The last sentence is to destroy the idea that if there is in us this -higher self it will, even if we are indolent and doubtful, triumph over -the necessity for knowledge, and lead us to final beatitude in common -with the whole stream of man. - -The three qualities are lower than a state called Turya, which is a -high state capable of being enjoyed even while in this body. Therefore -in that state, there exists none of the three qualities, but there the -soul sees the three qualities moving in the ocean of Being beneath. -This experience is not only met with after death, but, as I said, it -may be enjoyed in the present life, though of course consciously very -seldom. But even consciously there are those high Yogees who can and -do rise up to Nirvana, or Spirit, while on the earth. This state is -the fourth state, called Turya. There is no word in English which will -express it. In that state the body is alive though in deep catalepsy. -[Self-induced by the Adept.--J. N.] When the Adept returns from it -he brings back _whatever he can_ of the vast experiences of that -Turya state. Of course they are far beyond any expression, and their -possibilities can be only dimly perceived by us. I cannot give any -description thereof because I have not known it, but I perceive the -possibilities, and you probably can do the same. - -It is well to pursue some kind of practice, and pursue it either in a -fixed place, or in a mental place which cannot be seen, or at night. -The fact that what is called Dharana, Dhyana, and Samádhi may be -performed should be known. (See Patanjali's yoga system.) - -Dharana is selecting a thing, a spot, or an idea, to fix the mind on. - -Dhyana is contemplation of it. - -Samâdhi is meditating on it. - -When attempted, they of course are all one act. - -Now, then, take what is called the well of the throat or pit of the -throat. - -1st. Select it.--Dharana. - -2d. Hold the mind on it.--Dhyana. - -3d. Meditate on it.--Samádhi. - -This gives firmness of mind. - -Then select the spot in the head where the Shushumna nerve goes. Never -mind the location; call it the top of the head. Then pursue the same -course. This will give some insight into spiritual minds. At first it -is difficult, but it will grow easy by practice. If done at all, the -same hour of each day should be selected, as creating a habit, not -only in the body, but also in the mind. Always keep the direction of -Krishna in mind: namely, that it is done for the whole body corporate -of humanity, and not for one's self. - -As regards the passions: Anger seems to be the _force_ of Nature; there -is more in it, though. - -Lust (so-called) is the gross symbol of love and desire to create. It -is the perversion of the True in love and desire. - -Vanity, I think, represents in one aspect the illusion--power of -Nature; Maya, that which we mistake for the reality. It is nearest -always to us and most insidious, just as Nature's illusion is ever -present and difficult to overcome. - -Anger and Lust have some of the Rajasika quality; but it seems to me -that Vanity is almost wholly of the Tamogunam. - -May you cross over to the fearless shore. - - Z. - - * * * * * - -As regards the practices of concentration suggested in this letter, -they are only stages in a life-long contemplation; they are means to -an end, means of a certain order among means of other orders, all -necessary, the highest path being that of constant devotion and entire -resignation to the Law. The above means have a physiological value -because the spots suggested for contemplation are, like others, vital -centers. Excitation of these centers, and of the magnetic residue of -breath always found in them, strengthens and arouses the faculties of -the inner man, the magnetic vehicle of the soul and the link between -matter and spirit. This is a form of words necessary for clearness, -because in reality matter and spirit are one. We may better imagine an -infinite series of force correlations which extend from pure Spirit to -its grossest vehicle, and we may say that the magnetic inner vehicle, -or astral man, stands at the halfway point of the scale. The secret -of the circulation of the nervous fluid is hidden in these vital -centers, and he who discovers it can use the body at will. Moreover, -this practice trains the mind to remain in its own principle, without -energizing, and without exercising its tangential force, which is so -hard to overcome. Thought has a self-reproductive power, and when the -mind is held steadily to one idea it becomes colored by it, and, as -we may say, all the correlates of that thought arise within the mind. -Hence the mystic obtains knowledge about any object of which he thinks -constantly in fixed contemplation. Here is the rationale of Krishna's -words: "Think constantly of me; depend on me alone; and thou shalt -surely come unto me." - -The pure instincts of children often reveal occult truths. I heard a -girl of fifteen say recently: "When I was a small child I was always -supposin'. I used to sit on the window seat and stare, stare, at the -moon, and I was supposin' that, if I only stared long enough, I'd get -there and know all about it." - -Spiritual culture is attained through concentration. It must be -continued daily and every moment to be of use. The "Elixir of Life" -(_Five Years of Theosophy_) gives us some of the reasons for this -truth. Meditation has been defined as "the cessation of active, -external thought." Concentration is the entire life-tendency to a given -end. For example, a devoted mother is one who consults the interests -of her children and all branches of their interests in and before -all things; not one who sits down to think fixedly about one branch -of their interests all the day. Life is the great teacher; it is the -great manifestation of Soul, and Soul manifests the Supreme. Hence all -methods are good, and all are but parts of the great aim, which is -Devotion. "Devotion is success in actions," says the _Bhagavad-Gîtâ_. -We must use higher and lower faculties alike, and beyond those of mind -are those of the Spirit, unknown but discoverable. The psychic powers, -as they come, must also be used, for they reveal laws. But their value -must not be exaggerated, nor must their danger be ignored. They are -more subtle intoxicants than the gross physical energies. He who relies -upon them is like a man who gives way to pride and triumph because he -has reached the first wayside station on the peaks he has set out to -climb. Like despondency, like doubt, like fear, like vanity, pride, -and self-satisfaction, these powers too are used by Nature as traps to -detain us. Every occurrence, every object, every energy may be used for -or against the great end: in each Nature strives to contain Spirit, and -Spirit strives to be free. Shall the substance paralyze the motion, or -shall the motion control the substance? The interrelation of these two -is manifestation. The ratio of activity governs spiritual development; -when the great Force has gained its full momentum, It carries us to the -borders of the Unknown. It is a Force intelligent, self-conscious, and -spiritual: its lower forms, or vehicles, or correlates may be evoked by -us, but Itself comes only of Its own volition. We can only prepare a -vehicle for It, in which, as Behmen says, "the Holy Ghost may ride in -Its own chariot." - -"The Self cannot be known by the _Vedas_, nor by the understanding, -nor by much learning. He whom the Self chooses, by him alone the Self -can be gained." - -"The Self chooses him as his own. But the man who has not first turned -aside from his wickedness, who is not calm and subdued, _or whose mind -is not at rest_, he can never obtain the Self, even by knowledge." - -The italics are mine; they indicate the value of that stage of -contemplation hitherto referred to as that in which the mind has ceased -to energize, and when the pure energies of Nature go to swell the -fountain of Spirit. - -In regard to the phrase in the above letter that the Adept "brings back -_what he can_" from Turya, it is to be understood as referring to the -fact that all depends upon the coördination of the various principles -in man. He who has attained perfection or Mahâtmaship has assumed -complete control of the body and informs it at will. But, of course, -while in the body he is still, to some extent, as a soul of power, -limited by that body or vehicle. That is to say, there are experiences -not to be shared by that organ of the soul called by us "the body," and -beyond a certain point its brain cannot reflect or recall them. This -point varies according to the degree of attainment of individual souls, -and while in some it may be a high point of great knowledge and power, -still it must be considered as limited compared with those spiritual -experiences of the freed soul. - -The work upon which all disciples are employed is that of rendering -the body more porous, more fluidic, more responsive to all spiritual -influences which arise in the inner center, in the soul which is an -undivided part of the great Soul of all, and less receptive of the -outside material influences which are generated by the unthinking world -and by those qualities which are in nature. Abstract thought is said -to be "the power of thinking of a thing apart from its qualities;" but -these qualities are the phenomenal, the evident, and they make the most -impression upon our senses. They bewilder us, and they form a part of -that trap which Nature sets for us lest we discover her inmost secret -and rule her. More than this: our detention as individual components -of a race provides time for that and other races to go through -evolutionary experience slowly, provides long and repeated chances for -every soul to amend, to return, to round the curve of evolution. In -this Nature is most merciful, and even in the darkness of the eighth -sphere to which souls of _spiritual_ wickedness descend, her impulses -provide opportunities of return if a single responsive energy is left -in the self-condemned soul. - -Many persons insist upon a perfect moral code tempered by social -amenities, forgetting that these vary with climate, nationalities, and -dates. Virtue is a noble offering to the Lord. But insomuch as it is -mere bodily uprightness and mere mental uprightness, it is insufficient -and stands apart from uprightness of the psychic nature or the virtue -of soul. The virtue of the soul is true Being; its virtue is, to be -free. The body and the mind are not sharers in such experiences, -though they may afterward reflect them, and this reflection may inform -them with light and power of their own kind. Spirituality is not -virtue. It is impersonality, in one aspect. It is as possible to be -spiritually "wicked" as to be spiritually "good." These attributes are -only conferred upon spirituality by reason of its use for or against -the great evolutionary Law, which must finally prevail because it is -the Law of the Deity, an expression of the nature and Being of the -Unknown, which nature is towards manifestation, self-realization, and -reäbsorption. All that clashes with this Law by striving for separate -existence must in the long run fail, and any differentiation which -is in itself incapable of reäbsorption is reduced to its original -elements, in which shape, so to say, it can be reabsorbed. - -Spirituality is, then, a condition of Being which is beyond expression -in language. Call it a rate of vibration, far beyond our cognizance. -Its language is the language of motion, in its incipiency, and its -perfection is beyond words and even thought. - -"The knowledge of the Supreme Principle is a divine silence, and the -quiescence of all the senses."--(_Clavis of Hermes._) - -"Likes and dislikes, good and evil, do not in the least affect the -knower of Brahm, who is bodiless and always existing."--(_Crest Jewel -of Wisdom._) - -"Of that nature which is beyond intellect many things are asserted -according to intellection, but it is contemplated by a cessation of -intellectual energy better than with it."--(_Porphyrios._) - -Thought is bounded, and we seek to enter the boundless. The intellect -is the first production of Nature which energizes for the experience -of the soul, as I said. When we recognize this truth we make use of -that natural energy called Thought for comparison, instruction, and the -removal of doubt, and so reach a point where we restrain the outward -tendencies of Nature, for, when these are resolved into their cause and -Nature is wholly conquered and restrained, that cause manifests itself -both in and beyond Nature. - -"The incorporeal substances in descending are divided and multiplied -about individuals with a diminution of power; but when they ascend by -their energies beyond bodies, they become united and exist as a whole -by and through exuberance of power."--(_Porphyrios._) - -These hints may suffice for such minds as are already upon the way. -Others will be closed to them. Language only expresses the experiences -of a race, and since ours has not reached the upper levels of Being -we have as yet no words for these things. The East has ever been the -home of spiritual research; she has given all the great religions -to the world. The Sanscrit has thus terms for some of these states -and conditions, but even in the East it is well understood that the -formless cannot be expressed by form, or the Illimitable by the limits -of words or signs. The only way to know these states is to _be_ them: -we never can _really_ know anything which we are not. - - J. N. - - - - -XI. - - -It has been with regret that I hear of your serious illness, Jasper. -While life hangs in the balance, as it would seem yours does and for -some time will, you will feel much depression. - -Now it is not usual to thus calmly talk to a person of his death, but -you do not mind, so I talk. I do not agree with you that death is well. -Yours is not a case like that of ---- who _was_ to die and decided to -accept life from Great Powers and work on for Humanity amid all the -throes and anguish of that body. Why should you not live now as long as -you can in the present body, so that in it you may make all the advance -possible and by your life do as much good as you can to the Cause and -man? For you have not yet as Jasper Niemand had a chance to entitle -you to _extraordinary_ help after death in getting back again soon, so -that you would die and run the chance of a long Devachan and miss much -that you might do for _Them_. Such are my views. Life is better than -death, for death again disappoints the Self. Death is _not_ the great -informer or producer of knowledge. It is only the great curtain on the -stage to be rung up next instant. Complete knowledge must be attained -in the triune man: body, soul, and spirit. When that is obtained, then -he passes on to other spheres, which to us are unknown and are endless. -By living as long as one can, one gives the Self that longer chance. - -"Atmanam atmana pashya" (Raise the Self by the self--_Gîtâ_) does not -seem to be effective after the threshold of death is passed. The union -of the trinity is only to be accomplished on earth in a body, and -_then_ release is desirable. - -It is not for myself that I speak, Brother, but for thee, because in -death I can lose no one. The living have a greater part in the dead -than the dead have in the living. - -The doubt which you now feel as to success is morbid. Please destroy -it. Better a false hope with no doubt, than much knowledge with doubts -of your own chances. "He that doubteth is like the waves of the sea, -driven by the wind and tossed." Doubt is not to be solely guarded -against when applied to Masters (whom I know you doubt not). It is most -to be guarded and repelled in relation to oneself. Any idea that one -cannot succeed, or had better die than live because an injured body -seems to make success unattainable, is _doubt_. - -We dare not hope, but we _dare_ try to live on and on that we may serve -Them as They serve the Law. We are not to try to be chelas or to do any -one thing in this incarnation, but only to know and to be just as much -as we can, and the possibility is not measured. Reflect, then, that it -is only a question of being overcome--by what? By something outside. -But if you accuse or doubt yourself, you then give the enemy a rest; he -has nothing to do, for you do it all yourself for him, and, leaving you -to your fate, he seeks other victims. Rise, then, from this despondency -and seize the sword of knowledge. With it, and with Love, the universe -is conquerable. Not that I see thee too despondent, Jasper, but I fain -would give thee my ideas, even did something kill thee against our will -next day. - -Am glad that although the body is painful, you yourself are all right. -We have in various ways to suffer, and I do not doubt it is a great -advance if we can in the midst of physical suffering grasp and hold -ourselves calm and away from it. Yet also the body must be rested. -Rest, and let the anxieties to do lie still and dormant. By that they -are not killed, and when the body gets stronger more is known. - -You have been in storms enough. A few moments' reflection will show you -that we make our own storms. The power of any and all circumstances is -a fixed, unvarying quality, but as _we_ vary in our reception of these, -it appears to us that our difficulties vary in intensity. They do not -at all. We are the variants. - -If we admit that we are in the stream of evolution, then each -circumstance must be to us quite right. And in our failures to perform -set acts should be our greatest helps, for we can in no other way learn -that calmness which Krishna insists upon. If all our plans succeeded, -then no contrasts would appear to us. Also those plans we make may -all be made ignorantly and thus wrongly, and kind Nature will not -permit us to carry them out. We get no blame for the plan, but we may -acquire Karmic demerit by not accepting the impossibility of achieving. -Ignorance of the law cannot be pleaded among men, but ignorance of fact -may. In occultism, even if you are ignorant of some facts of importance -you are not passed over by _The Law_, for It has regard for no man, and -pursues Its adjustments without regard to what we know or are ignorant -of. - -If you are at all cast down, or if any of us is, then by just that -much are our thoughts lessened in power. One could be confined in a -prison and yet be a worker for the Cause. So I pray you to remove from -your mind any distaste for present circumstances. If you can succeed in -looking at it all as _just what you in fact desired_, then it will act -not only as a strengthener of your good thoughts, but will reflexly act -on your body and make it stronger. - -All this reminds me of H., of whose failure you now know. And in this -be not disappointed. It could hardly be otherwise. Unwisely he made -his demands upon the Law before being quite ready. That is, unwisely -in certain senses, for in the greater view naught can be unwise. His -apparent defeat, at the very beginning of the battle, is for him quite -of course. He went where the fire is hottest and made it hotter by -his aspirations. All others have and all will suffer the same. For it -makes no difference that his is a bodily affection; as all these things -proceed from mental disturbances, we can easily see the same cause -under a physical ailment as under a mental divagation. Strangely, too, -I wrote you of the few who really do stay, and soon after this news -came and threw a light--a red one, so to say--upon the information of -H's retreat. See how thought interlinks with thought on all planes when -the True is the aim. - -We ourselves are not wholly exempt, inasmuch as we daily and hourly -feel the strain. Accept the words of a fellow traveller; these: Keep -up the aspiration and the search, but do not maintain the attitude -of despair or the slightest repining. Not that you do. I cannot find -the right words; but surely you would know all, were it not that some -defects hold you back. - -The darkness and the desolation are sure to be ours, but it is only -illusionary. Is not the Self pure, bright, bodiless, and free,--and art -thou not that? The daily waking life is but a penance and the trial of -the body, so that _it_ too may thereby acquire the right condition. In -dreams we see the truth and taste the joys of heaven. In waking life it -is ours to gradually distill that dew into our normal consciousness. - -Then, too, remember that the influences of this present age are -powerful for producing these feelings. What despair and agony of doubt -exist to-day in all places. In this time of upturning, the wise man -_waits_. He bends himself, like the reed, to the blast, so that it -may blow over his head. Rising, as you do, into the plane where these -currents are rushing while you try to travel higher still, you feel -these inimical influences, although unknown to you. It is an age of -iron. A forest of iron trees, black and forbidding, with branches of -iron and brilliant leaves of steel. The winds blow through its arches -and we hear a dreadful grinding and crashing sound that silences the -still small voice of Love. And its inhabitants mistake this for the -voice of God; they imitate it and add to its terrors. Faint not, be not -self-condemned. We both are that soundless OM; we rest together upon -the bosom of Master. You are not tired; it is that body, now weak, and -not only weak but shaken by the force of your own powers, physical and -psychical. But the wise man learns to assume in the body an attitude of -carelessness that is more careful really than any other. Let that be -yours. You are judge. Who accepts you, who dares judge but yourself? -Let us wait, then, for natural changes, knowing that if the eye is -fixed where the light shines, we shall presently know what to do. This -hour is not ripe. But unripe fruit gets ripe, and falls or is plucked. -The day must surely strike when you will pluck it down. You are no -longer troubled by vain fears or compromises. When the great thought -comes near enough, you will go. We must all be servants before we can -hope to be masters in the least. - -I have been re-reading the life of Buddha, and it fills me with -a longing desire to give myself for humanity, to devote myself to -a fierce, determined effort to plant myself nearer the altar of -sacrifice. As I do not always know just what ought to be done, I must -stand on what Master says: "Do what you _can_, if you ever expect to -see Them." This being true, and another Adept saying, "Follow the Path -They and I show, but do not follow _my_ path," why then, all we can do, -whether great or small, is to do just what we can, each in his proper -place. It is sure that if we have an immense devotion and do our best, -the result will be right for Them and us, even though we would have -done otherwise had we known more when we were standing on a course of -action. A devoted Chela once said: "I do not mind all these efforts at -explanation and all this trouble, for I always have found that that -which was done in Master's name was right and came out right." What is -done in those names is done without thought of self, and motive is the -essential test. - -So I am sad and not sad. Not sad when I reflect on the great Ishwar, -the Lord, permitting all these antics and shows before our eyes. Sad -when I see our weakness and disabilities. We must be serene and do what -we can. Ramaswamier rushed off into Sikkhim to try and find Master, and -met someone who told him to go back _and do his duty_. That is all any -of us can do; often we do not know our duty, but that too is our own -fault; it is a Karmic disability. - -You ask me how you shall advise your fellow student. The best advice is -found in your own letter to me in which you say that the true monitor -is within. That is so. Ten thousand Adepts can do one no great good -unless we ourselves are ready, and They only act as suggestors to us -of what possibilities there are in every human heart. If we dwell -within ourselves, and must live and die by ourselves, it must follow -that running here and there to see any thing or person does not in -itself give progress. Mind, I do not oppose consorting with those -who read holy books and are engaged in dwelling on high themes. I am -only trying to illustrate my idea that this should not be dwelt on -as an end; it is only a means and one of many. There is no help like -association with those who think as we do, or like the reading of good -books. The best advice I ever saw was to read holy books or whatever -books tend to elevate yourself, as you have found by experience. -There must be some. Once I found some abstruse theological writings -of Plotinus to have that effect on me--very ennobling, and also an -explanation of the wanderings of Ulysses. Then there is the _Gîtâ_. -All these _are instinct with a life of their own_ which changes the -vibrations. Vibration is the key to it all. The different states are -only differences of vibration, and we do not recognize the astral or -other planes because we are out of tune with their vibrations. This is -why we now and then dimly feel that others are peering at us, or as if -a host of people rushed by us with great things on hand, not seeing us -and we not seeing them. It was an instant of synchronous vibration. But -the important thing is to develop the Self in the self, and then the -possessions of wisdom belonging to all wise men at once belong to us. - -Each one would see the Self differently and would yet never see it, -for to see it is to _be_ it. But for making words we say, "See it." It -might be a flash, a blazing wheel, or what not. Then there is the lower -self, great in its way, and which must first be known. When first we -see it, it is like looking into a glove, and for how many incarnations -may it not be so? We look inside the glove and there is darkness; then -we have to _go inside_ and see that, and so on and on. - -The mystery of the ages is man; each one of us. Patience is needed in -order that the passage of time required for the bodily instrument to -be altered or controlled is complete. Violent control is not as good as -gentle control continuous and firmly unrelaxed. The Seeress of Prevorst -found that a gentle current did her more good than a violent one would. -Gentleness is better because an opposition current is always provoked, -and of course if that which produces it is gentle, it will also be the -same. This gives the unaccustomed student more time and gradual strength. - -I think your fellow-student will be a good instrument, but we must not -break the silence of the future lest we raise up unknown and difficult -tribes who will not be easy to deal with. - -Every situation ought to be used as a means. This is better than -philosophy, for it enables us to know philosophy. You do not progress -by studying other people's philosophies, for then you do but get their -crude ideas. Do not crowd yourself, nor ache to puzzle your brains with -another's notions. You have the key to self and that is all; take it -and drag out the lurker inside. You are great in generosity and love, -strong in faith, and straight in perception. Generosity and love are -the abandonment of self. That is your staff. Increase your confidence, -not in your abilities, but in the great All being thyself. - -I would to God you and all the rest might find peace. - - Z. - - - - -XII. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -There are so many questioners who ask about Chelaship[C] that your -letter comes quite apropos to experiences of my own. You say that -these applicants must have some answer, and in that I agree with you. -And whether they are ready or unready, we must be able to tell them -something. But generally they are not ready, nor, indeed, are they -willing to take the first simple step which is demanded. I will talk -the matter over with you for your future guidance in replying to such -questions; perhaps also to clear up my own mind. - -The first question a man should ask himself (and by "man" we mean -postulants of either sex) is: "When and how did I get a desire to know -about chelaship and to become a chela?"; and secondly, "What is a -chela, and what chelaship?" - -There are many sorts of chelas. There are lay chelas and probationary -ones; accepted chelas and those who are trying to fit themselves to be -even lay chelas. Any person can constitute himself a lay chela, feeling -sure that he may never in this life consciously hear from his guide. -Then as to probationary chelas, there is an _invariable_ rule that -they go upon seven years' trial. These "trials" do not refer to fixed -and stated tests, but to all the events of life and the bearing of the -probationer in them. There is no _place_ to which applicants can be -referred where their request could be made, because these matters do -not relate to places and to officials: this is an affair of the inner -nature. We _become_ chelas; we obtain that position in reality because -our inner nature is to that extent opened that it can and will take -knowledge: we receive the guerdon at the hands of the Law. - -In a certain sense every sincere member of the Theosophical Society is -in the way of becoming a chela, because the Masters do some of Their -work with and for humanity through this Society, selected by Them as -Their agent. And as _all_ Their work and aspiration are to the end of -helping the race, no one of Their chelas can hope to remain (or become) -such, if any selfish desire for personal possessions of spiritual -wealth constitutes the motive for trying to be a chela. Such a motive, -in the case of one already a chela, acts instantly to throw him out of -the ranks, whether he be aware of his loss or not, and in the case of -one trying to become a chela it acts as _a bar_. Nor does a real chela -spread the fact that he is such. For this Lodge is not like exoteric -societies which depend upon favor or mere outward appearances. It is -a real thing with living Spirit-men at its head, governed by laws -that contain within themselves their own executioners, and that do -not require a tribunal, nor accusations, nor verdicts, nor any notice -whatever. - -As a general thing a person of European or American birth has extreme -difficulty to contend with. He has no heredity of psychical development -to call upon; no known assembly of Masters or Their chelas within -reach. His racial difficulties prevent him from easily seeing within -himself; he is not introspective by nature. But even he can do much if -he purifies his motive, and either naturally possesses or cultivates -an ardent and unshakeable faith and devotion. A faith that keeps him -a firm believer in the existence of Masters even through years of -non-intercourse. They are generous and honest debtors and always repay. -How They repay, and when, is not for us to ask. Men may say that this -requires as blind devotion as was ever asked by any Church. _It does_, -but it is a blind devotion to Masters who are Truth itself; to Humanity -and to yourself, to your own intuitions and ideals. This devotion to -an ideal is also founded upon another thing, and that is that a man -is hardly ready to be a chela unless he is able to stand _alone_ and -uninfluenced by other men or events, _for he must stand alone_, and he -might as well know this at the beginning as at the end. - -There are also certain qualifications which he must possess. These are -to be found in _Man, a Fragment of Forgotten History_ towards the -close of the book, so we will not dwell upon them here. - -The question of the general fitness of applicants being disposed of, -we come to the still more serious point of the relations of Guru and -Chela, or Master and Disciple. We want to know what it really is to be -a pupil of such a Teacher. - -The relation of Guru and Chela is nothing if it is not a spiritual one. -Whatever is merely outward, or formal, as the relation established by -mere asking and acceptance, is not spiritual, but formal, and is that -which arises between _teacher_ and _pupil_. Yet even this latter is -not in any way despicable, because the teacher stands to his pupil, -in so far forth as the relation permits, in the same way as the Guru -to his Chela. It is a difference of degree; but this difference of -degree is what constitutes the distinction between the spiritual and -the material, for, passing along the different shadings from the -grossest materiality to as far as we can go, we find at last that -matter merges into spirit. (We are now speaking, of course, about what -is commonly called _matter_, while we well know that in truth the thing -thus designated is not really matter, but an enormous illusion which -in itself has no existence. The real matter, called _mulaprakriti_ by -the Hindus, is an invisible thing or substance of which our matter -is a representation. The real matter is what the Hermetists called -_primordial earth_; a, for us, intangible phase of matter. We can -easily come to believe that what is really called _matter_ is not -really such, inasmuch as we find clairvoyants and nervous people seeing -through thick walls and closed doors. Were this _matter_, then they -could not see through it. But when an ordinary clairvoyant comes face -to face with _primordial matter_, he or she cannot see beyond, but is -met by a dead wall more dense than any wall ever built by human hands.) - -So from earliest times, among all but the modern western people, the -teacher was given great reverence by the pupil, and the latter was -taught from youth to look upon his preceptor as only second to his -father and mother in dignity. It was among these people a great sin, a -thing that did one actual harm in his moral being, to be disrespectful -to his teacher even in thought. The reason for this lay then, and no -less to-day does also lie, in the fact that a long chain of influence -extends from the highest spiritual guide who may belong to any man, -down through vast numbers of spiritual chiefs, ending at last even in -the mere teacher of our youth. Or, to restate it in modern reversion -of thought, a chain extends up from our teacher or preceptors to the -highest spiritual chief in whose ray or descending line one may happen -to be. And it makes no difference whatever, in this occult relation, -that neither pupil nor final guide may be aware, or admit, that this is -the case. - -Thus it happens that the child who holds his teacher in reverence and -diligently applies himself accordingly with faith, does no violence -to this intangible but mighty chain, and is benefited accordingly, -whether he knows it or not. Nor again does it matter that a child has -a teacher who evidently gives him a bad system. This is his Karma, and -by his reverent and diligent attitude he works it out, and transcends -erstwhile that teacher. - -This chain of influence is called the _Guruparampara chain_. - -The Guru is the _guide or readjuster_, and may not always combine the -function of teacher with it. - - Z. - -[Footnote C: Chela means disciple. It is a Sanscrit word.--J. N.] - - - - -XIII. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -We now have passed from the mere usual and worldly relations of teacher -and pupil to that which we will call the _Lodge_ for the nonce. - -This Lodge is not to be taken up in the pincers of criticism and -analyzed or fixed. It is at once everywhere and nowhere. It contains -within its boundaries all real Masters, students, guides, and Gurus, of -whatever race or creed or no creed. Of it has been said: - -"Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Lodge. It is the whole body of -Sages in all the world. It cannot be described even by those who are in -it, but the student is not prohibited from imagining what it is like." - -So therefore at any time any one of its real teachers or disciples will -gladly help any other teacher or disciple. But we are not to conclude -that, because all are trying to spread truth and to teach the world, -we, who call ourselves chela-aspirants or known chelas of any certain -person whom we call Guru, can place ourselves at the same moment under -the _direct_ tutelage of more than one Guru. - -Each man who determines in himself that he will enter the Path, has a -Guru. But the time between that determination and the hour when he will -really know The Master may be long indeed; in some cases it is very -short. - -We must now occupy a moment in some consideration of divisions. - -Just as the merest private in the army has a general who guides the -whole but whom he cannot reach except through the others who are -officers, so in this order we find divisions of Gurus as well as -divisions of disciples. - -There is the Great Guru, who is such to many who never know Him or see -Him. Then there are others who know Him, and who are Gurus to a number -of chelas, and so on until we may imagine a chela who may be a known -Guru to another chela below him. - -Then, again, there may be chelas who are acting as -Guru--unacknowledged, because _pro tempore_ in function--to one or more -other chelas. - -Now he who makes the resolution above-mentioned, does thereby make a -bond that rests in the highest Law. It is not a thing to be lightly -done, because its consequences are of a serious nature. Not serious in -the way of disasters or awful torments or such, but serious in respect -to the clearness and brilliancy of those rays of Truth which we wish to -reach us. - -We have thereby in a sense--its degree determined by the sincerity and -power of our motive--taken ourselves out of the common, vast, moving -herd of men who are living--as to this--like dumb animals, and have -knocked at a door. If we have reverenced our teacher we will now revere -our unknown Guru. We must stand interiorly in a faithful attitude. We -must have an abiding, settled faith that nothing may shake. For it is -to mighty Karma we have appealed, and as the Guru _is Karma_ in the -sense that He never acts against Karma, we must not lose faith for an -instant. For it is this faith that clears up the air there, and that -enables us to get help from all quarters. - -Then perhaps this determinant or postulant or neophyte decides for -himself that he will for the time take as teacher or guide some other -chela whose teachings commend themselves. It is not necessary that any -out-spoken words should pass between these two. - -But having done this, even in thought, he should then apply himself -diligently _to the doctrine of that teacher_, not changing until he -really finds he has another teacher or has gone to another class. For -if he takes up one merely to dispute and disagree--whether outwardly or -mentally, he is thereby in danger of totally obscuring his own mind. - -If he finds himself not clearly understanding, then he should with -faith try to understand, for if he by love and faith vibrates into the -higher meaning of his teacher, his mind is thereby raised, and thus -greater progress is gained. - -We now come to the possible case of an aspirant of that royal and -kingly faith who in some way has really found a person who has advanced -far upon _the Path_. To this person he has applied and said: "May I be -accepted, and may I be a chela of either thee or some other?" - -That person applied to then perhaps says: "Not to me; but I refer you -to some other of the same class as yourself, and give you to him to -be his chela: serve him." With this the aspirant goes, say to the one -designated, and deliberately both agree to it. - -Here is a case where the real Master has recommended the aspirant to -a co-worker who perchance is some grade higher than our neophyte, and -the latter is now in a different position from the many others who are -silently striving and working, and learning from any and all teachers, -but having no specialized Guru for themselves. This neophyte and his -"little guru" are connected by a clear and sacred bond, or else both -are mere lying children, playing and unworthy of attention. If the -"little guru" is true to his trust, he occupies his mind and heart with -it, and is to consider that the chela represents Humanity to him for -the time. - -We postulated that this "little guru" was in advance of the chela. It -must then happen that he says that which is sometimes not clear to -his chela. This will all the more be so if his chela is new to the -matter. But the chela has deliberately taken that guru, and must try to -understand _the doctrine of that teacher_. - -The proper function of the Guru is to readjust, and not to pour in vast -masses of knowledge expressed in clear and easily comprehended terms. -The latter would be a piece of nonsense, however agreeable, and not any -whit above what any well-written book would do for its reader. - -The faith and love which exist between them act as a stimulus to both, -and as a purifier to the mind of the chela. - -But if the chela, after a while, meets another person who seems to know -as much as his "little guru," and to express it in very easy terms, and -the chela determines to take him as a teacher, he commits an error. -He may listen to his teaching and admire and profit by it, but the -moment he mentally determines and then in words asks the other to be -his teacher, he begins to rupture the bond that was just established, -and possibly may lose altogether the benefit of both. Not necessarily, -however; but certainly, if he acquaints not his "little guru" with the -fact of the new adoption of teacher, there will be much confusion in -that realm of being wherein both do their real "work"; and when he does -acquaint his "little guru" with the fact of the newly-acquired teacher, -that older guru will retire. - -None of this is meant for those minds which do not regard these matters -as sacred. A Guru is a sacred being in that sense. Not, of course, in a -general sense--yet even if so regarded _when worthy_ it is better for -the chela,--but in all that pertains to the spiritual and real life. To -the high-strung soul this is a matter of _adoption_; a most sacred and -valuable thing, not lightly taken up or lightly dropped. For the Guru -becomes for the time the spiritual _Father_ of the chela; that one who is -destined to bring him into life or to pass him on to Him who will do so. - -So as the Guru is the _adjuster_ in reality, the chela does not--except -where the Guru is known to be a great Sage or where the chela does it -by nature--give slavish attention to every word. He hears the word -and endeavors to assimilate the meaning underneath; and if he cannot -understand he lays it aside for a better time, while he presently -endeavors to understand what he can. And if even--as is often so in -India--he cannot understand at all, he is satisfied to be near the -Guru and do what may properly be done for him; for even then his -abiding faith will eventually clear his mind, of which there are many -examples, and regarding which how appropriate is the line: - -"They also serve who only stand and wait." - - Z. - - - - -XIV. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -What I wrote in my last is what may be properly said to earnest -inquirers who show by their perseverance that they are not mere idle -curiosity-seekers, desirous of beguiling the tedium of life with new -experiments and sensations. It is not _what_ is done, but the spirit in -which the least thing is done for Them who are all, that is counted. - -You ask the names of the seven rays or lodges. The names could not be -given if known to me. In these matters names are always realities, and -consequently to give the name would be to reveal the thing itself. -Besides, if the names were given, the ordinary person hearing them -would not understand them. Just as if I should say that the name of -the first is X, which expresses nothing at all to the mind of the -hearing person. All that can be said is that there exist those seven -rays, districts, or divisions, just as we say that in a town there are -legislators, merchants, teachers, and servants. The difference is that -in this case we know all about the town, and know just what those names -mean. The name only directs the mind to the idea or essential quality. - -Again I must go. But Brothers are never parted while they live for the -True alone. - - Z. - - * * * * * - -The foregoing letters point clearly to one conclusion concerning -that great Theosophist, Madame Blavatsky, though she is unnamed and -perhaps unthought of there. Since she sacrificed--not so calling it -herself--all that mankind holds dear to bring the glad tidings of -Theosophy to the West, that West, and especially the Theosophical -Society, thereby stands to her as a chela to his Guru, in so far as it -accepts Theosophy. Her relation to these Theosophists has its being -in the highest Law, and cannot be expunged or ignored. So those who -regard her personality, and, finding it discordant from theirs, try to -reach The Masters by other means _while disregarding or underrating -scornfully her high services_, violate a rule which, because it is -not made of man, cannot be broken with impunity. Gratitude and the -common sentiment of man for man should have taught them this, without -occult teaching at all. Such persons have not reached that stage of -evolution where they can learn the higher truths. She who accepts the -pains of the rack in the torments of a body sapped of its life force -by superb torrents of energy lavished on her high Cause; she who has -braved the laughter and anger of two continents, and all the hosts of -darkness seen and unseen; she who now lives on, only that she may take -to herself the Karma of the Society and so ensure its well being, has -no need of any man's praise; but even she has need of justice, because, -without that impulse in our hearts and souls toward her, she knows -that we must fail for this incarnation. As the babe to the mother, as -harvest to the earth, so are all those bound to her who enjoy the fruit -of her life. May we try, then, to understand these occult connections -brought about by the workings of Karma, and bring them to bear upon our -diurnal, as well as our theosophical, life. Madame Blavatsky is for -us the next higher link in that great chain, of which no link can be -passed over or missed. - -In further illustration of this letter, I might cite the case of a -friend of mine who was at once fired with Theosophy on first hearing -of it and ardently desired to become a chela. Certainly he had -known these truths in other lives, for all seemed familiar to him, -and, though he was what is called "a man of the world," he accepted -the philosophy, measured some of its possibilities intuitively, and -while careful to do his duty and cause no jars, he ranged his life, -especially his inner life, to suit these views. The question of -chelaship assumed great prominence in his mind. He knew of no chelas; -knew not where to knock or whom to ask. Reflection convinced him that -real chelaship consisted in the inner attitude of the postulant; he -remembered magnetic and energetic laws, and he said to himself that he -could at will constitute himself a chela to the Law, at least so far as -his own attitude went, and if this did not satisfy him, it was a proof -that he desired some personal reward, satisfaction, or powers in the -matter, and that his motive was not pure. He was slow to formulate his -desires, even to his own mind, for he would not lightly make demands -upon the Law; but he at last determined to put his own motives to the -test; to try himself and see if he could stand in the attitude of a -faithful chela, unrecognized and apparently unheard. He then recorded -in his own mind an obligation to serve Truth and the Law as a chela -should, always seeking for light and for further aid if possible, -recognizing meanwhile that the obligation was on his side only, and -that he had no claims on Masters, and only such as he himself could by -the strength of his own purpose institute upon the Law. Wherever he -could hear of chelas and their duties he listened or read; he tried to -imagine himself in the position of an accepted chela, and to fill, so -far as in him lay, the duties of that place, living up to all the light -he had. For he held that a disciple should always think and act towards -the highest possibilities, whether or not he had yet attained these, -and not merely confine himself to that course of action which might be -considered suited to his lower class or spiritual estate. He believed -that the heart is the creator of all real ties, and it alone. To raise -himself by himself was then his task. This attitude he resolved to -maintain life after life, if needs were, until at last his birthright -should be assured, his claim recognized by the Law. - -He met with trials, with coldness from those who felt rather than saw -his changed attitude; he met with all the nameless shocks that others -meet when they turn against the whirlpool of existence and try to -find their way back into the true currents of life. Great sorrows and -loneliness were not slow to challenge his indomitable will. But he -found work to do; and in this he was most fortunate, for to work for -others is the disciple's joy, his share in the Divine life, his first -accolade by which he may know that his service is accepted. This man -had called upon the Law in faith supreme, and he was answered. Karma -sent him a friend, and soon he began to get new knowledge, and after a -time information reached him of a place or person where he might apply -to become a chela on probation. It was not given him as information -usually is; nothing of the sort was told him; but with his extending -knowledge and opening faculties a conviction dawned upon him that he -might pursue such and such a course. He did so, and his prayer was -heard. He said to me afterwards that he never knew whether he would not -have shown greater strength of mind by relying wholly upon the reality -of his unseen, unacknowledged claim, until the moment should come when -Masters should accept and call him. For of course he held the ideal of -Masters clearly before his mind all this while. Perhaps his application -showed him to be weaker than he supposed, in so far as it might -evidence a need on his part for tangible proof of a fact in which his -higher nature prompted him to believe without such proof. Perhaps it -was but natural and right, on the other hand, that after silent service -for some time he should put himself on record at the first opportunity -granted him by Karma. - -He applied, then. I am permitted to give a portion of the answer he -received, and which made clear to him the fact that he was already -accepted in some measure before his application, as his intuition had -told him. The answer may be of untold value to others, both as clearly -setting forth the dangers of forcing one's way ahead of one's race, and -also by its advice, admonitions, and evidence that the Great Beings -of the Orient deal most frankly and gently with applicants. Also it -may mark out a course for those who take the wise plan of testing -themselves in silence before pushing their demands upon the Law. For -this at once heightens their magnetic vibrations, their evolutionary -ratio; their flame burns more brilliantly and attracts all kinds of -shapes and influences within its radius, so that the fire is hot -about him. And not for him alone: other lives coming in contact with -his feel this fierce energy; they develop more rapidly, and, if they -have a false or weak place in their nature, it is soon discovered and -overthrows them for a time. This is the danger of coming into "the -circle of ascetics"; a man must be strong indeed who thus thrusts -himself in; it is better as a rule to place oneself in the attitude of -a disciple and impose the tests oneself: less opposition is provoked. -For forces that are foiled by the Adept may hurl themselves on the -neophyte who cannot be protected unless his Karma permits it, and there -are always those opposing forces of darkness waiting to thin the ranks -of the servitors of the Good Law. - -Up to this point, then, we may follow this student, and then we lose -sight of him; not knowing whether he progressed or failed, or still -serves and waits, because such things are not made known. To tell so -much as this is rare, and, since it is permitted, it must be because -there are many earnest students in this country who need some such -support and information. To these I can say that, if they constitute -themselves faithful, unselfish disciples, they are such in the -knowledge of the Great Law, so long as they are true, in inmost thought -and smallest deed, to the pledges of their heart. - -ANSWER TO Y. Says Master: - - "_Is Y. fully prepared for the uphill work? The way to the goal - he strives to reach is full of thorns and leads through miry - quagmires. Many are the sufferings the chela has to encounter; - still more numerous the dangers to face and conquer._ - - "_May he think over it and choose only after due reflection. No - Master appealed to by a sincere soul who thirsts for light and - knowledge, has ever turned his face away from the supplicant. But - it is the duty of those who call for laborers and need them in - their fields, to point out to those who offer themselves in truth - and trust for the arduous work, the pitfalls in the soil as the - hardship of the task._ - - "_If undaunted by this warning Y. persists in his determination, - he may regard himself as accepted as----. Let him place himself - in such case under the guidance of an older chela. By helping him - sincerely and devotedly to carry on his heavy burden, he shall - prepare the way for being helped in his turn._" - -(Here follow private instructions.) - - "_Verily if the candidate relies upon the Law, if he has patience, - trust, and intuition, he will not have to wait too long. Through - the great shadow of bitterness and sorrow that the opposing powers - delight in throwing over the pilgrim on his way to the Gates of - Light, the candidate perceives that shining Light very soon in his - own soul, and he has but to follow it. Let him beware, however, - lest he mistake the occasional will-o'-the-wisp of the psychic - senses for the reflex of the great spiritual Light; that Light - which dieth not, yet never lives, nor can it shine elsewhere than - on the pure mirror of Spirit...._ - - "_But Y. has to use his own intuitions. One has to dissipate - and conquer the inner darkness before attempting to see into - the darkness without; to know one's self before knowing things - extraneous to one's senses._" - -And now, may the Powers to which my friend Y. has appealed _be -permitted by still greater and much higher Powers_ to help him. This is -the sincere and earnest wish of his truly and fraternally, - - [Symbol: Triangle] - - * * * * * - -This letter also shows incidentally how one Adept may serve another -still higher by reporting or conveying His reply. - - -TO ASPIRANTS FOR CHELASHIP - -Sincere interest in Theosophic truth is often followed by sincere -aspiration after Theosophic life, and the question continually recurs, -What are the conditions and the steps to chelaship; to whom should -applications be made; how is the aspirant to know that it has been -granted? - -As to the conditions and the discipline of chelaship, not a little -has been disclosed in _The Theosophist_, _Man_, _Esoteric Buddhism_, -and other works upon Theosophy; and some of the qualifications, -difficulties, and dangers have been very explicitly set forth by Madame -Blavatsky in her article upon "Theosophical Mahatmas" in the _Path_ of -December, 1886. To everyone cherishing even a vague desire for closer -relations to the system of development through which Masters are -produced, the thoughtful study of this article is earnestly commended. -It will clear the ground of several misconceptions, deepen the sense of -the seriousness of such an effort, and excite a healthy self-distrust -which is better before than after the gate has been passed. - -It is entirely possible, however, that the searching of desire and -strength incited by that article may only convince more strongly -of sincerity, and that not a few readers may emerge from it with -a richer purpose and a deeper resolve. Even where there is not a -distinct intention to reach chelaship, there may be an eager yearning -for greater nearness to the Masters, for some definite assurance of -guidance and of help. In either of these cases the question at once -arises before the aspirant, Who is to receive the application, and how -is its acceptance to be signified? - -The very natural, indeed the instinctive, step of such an aspirant -is to write to an officer of a Theosophical Society. None the less -is this a mistake. For a Theosophical Society is an _exoteric_ body, -the Lodge of Masters wholly _esoteric_. The former is a voluntary -group of inquirers and philanthropists, with avowed aims, a printed -Constitution, and published officers, and, moreover, expressly -disavowing any power, as a Society, to communicate with Masters; the -latter is an Occult Lodge, of whose address, members, processes, -functions, nothing is known. It follows, therefore, that there is no -person, no place, no address to which an aspirant may appeal. - -Let it be supposed, however, that such an inquiry is preferred to a -person advanced in Occult study, versed in its methods and tests and -qualifications. Assuredly his reply would be directly to this effect:-- - -"If you were now fitted to be an accepted chela, you would of yourself -know how, where, and to whom to apply. For the becoming a chela _in -reality_ consists in the evolution or development of certain spiritual -principles latent in every man, and in great measure unknown to your -present consciousness. Until these principles are to some degree -consciously evolved by you, you are not in practical possession of the -means of acquiring the first rudiments of that knowledge which now -seems to you so desirable. Whether it is desired by your mind or by -your heart is still another important question, not to be solved by any -one who has not yet the clew to Self. - -"It is true that these qualities can be developed (or forced) by the -aid of an Adept. And most applicants for chelaship are actuated by a -desire to receive instructions directly from the Masters. They do not -ask themselves what they have done to merit a privilege so rare. Nor -do they consider that, all Adepts being servants of the Law of Karma, -it must follow that, did the applicant now merit Their visible aid, -he would already possess it and could not be in search of it. The -indications of the fulfilment of the Law are, in fact, the partial -unfolding of those faculties above referred to. - -"You must, then, reach a point other than that where you now stand, -before you can even ask to be taken as a chela on probation. All -candidates enter the unseen Lodge in this manner, and it is governed -by Laws containing within themselves their own fulfilment and not -requiring any officers whatever. Nor must you imagine that such a -probationer is one who works under constant and known direction of -either an Adept or another chela. On the contrary, he is tried and -tested for at least seven years, and perhaps many more, before the -point is reached when he is either accepted (and prepared for the first -of a series of initiations often covering several incarnations), or -rejected. And this rejection is not by any body of men just as they -incline, but is the natural rejection by Nature. The probationer -may or may not hear from his Teacher during this preliminary period; -more often he does not hear. He may be finally rejected and not know -it, just as some men have been on probation and have not known it -until they suddenly found themselves accepted. Such men are those -self-developed persons who have reached that point in the natural order -after many incarnations, where their expanded faculties have entitled -them to an entrance into the Hall of Learning or the spiritual Lodge -beyond. And all I say of men applies equally to women. - -"When anyone is regularly accepted as a chela on probation, the first -and only order he receives (for the present) is to work unselfishly -for humanity--sometimes aiding and aided by some older chela--_while -striving to get rid of the strength of the personal idea_. The ways -of doing this are left to his own intuition entirely, inasmuch -as the object is to develop that _intuition_ and to bring him to -_self-knowledge_. It is his having these powers in some degree that -leads to his acceptance as a probationer, so that it is more than -probable that you have them not yet save as latent possibilities. In -order to have in his turn any title to help, he must work for others, -but that must not be his motive for working. He who does not feel -irresistibly impelled to serve the Race, whether he himself fails or -not, is bound fast by his own personality and cannot progress until he -has learned that _the race is himself_ and not that body which he now -occupies. The ground of this necessity for a pure motive was recently -stated in _Lucifer_ to be that 'unless the intention is entirely -unalloyed, the spiritual will transform itself into the psychic, act -on the astral plane, and dire results may be produced by it. The -powers and forces of animal nature can be equally used by the selfish -and revengeful as by the unselfish and all-forgiving; forgiving; the -powers and forces of spirit lend themselves only to the perfectly pure -in heart.' - -"It may be stated, however, that even those natural forces cannot be -discovered by any man who has not obtained the power of getting rid of -his personality in some degree. That an emotional desire to help others -does not imply this freedom from personality may be seen by the fact -that, if you were now perfected in unselfishness in the _real_ sense, -you would have a conscious existence separate from that of the body -and would be able to quit the body at will: in other words, to be free -from all sense of self is to be an Adept, for the limitations of self -inhibit progress. - -"Hear also the words of the Master, taken from Sinnett's _The Occult -World_. 'Perhaps you will better appreciate our meaning when told that -in our view the highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity become -tainted with selfishness if, in the mind of the philanthropist, there -lurks the shadow of a desire for self-benefit or a tendency to do -injustice, even when these exist unconsciously to himself.' - -"While setting forth these facts, as well as the dangers and -difficulties--both those set ones appointed by the laws of the Lodge -and the more innumerable ones adjudged by Karma and hastened by the -efforts of the neophyte, it should also be stated that the Masters -desire to deter no man from entering the path. They are well aware, -however, from the repeated trials and records of centuries, and from -their knowledge of our racial difficulties, how few are the persons who -have any clew to their own real nature, which is the foe they attempt -to conquer the moment they become pupils of the occult. Hence They -endeavor, so far as Karma permits, to hold unfit individuals back from -rash ventures, the results of which would recoil upon their unbalanced -lives and drive them to despair. The powers of evil, inadequately -defied by the ignorant man, revenge themselves upon him as well as upon -his friends, and not upon those who are above their reach. Although -these powers are not hideous objective shapes coming in tangible ways, -they are none the less real and dangerous. Their descent in such -instances cannot be prevented; _it is Karma_. - -"To lose all sense of self, then, implies the loss of all that ordinary -men must value in themselves. It therefore behooves you to seriously -consider these points: - -"1st. What is your motive in desiring to be a chela? You think that -motive is well known to you, whereas it is hidden deep within you, -and by that hidden motive you will be judged. It has flared up from -unseen regions upon men sure of themselves, has belched out in some -lurid thought or deed of which they esteemed themselves incapable, and -has overthrown their life or reason. Therefore test yourself ere Karma -tests you. - -"2d. What the place and duties of a true neophyte are. - -"When you have seriously considered both for twenty-one days, you may, -if your desire remains firm, take a certain course open to you. It is -this. - -"Although you do not now know where you can offer yourself to Masters -themselves as a chela on probation, yet, in forming that desire in -your heart and in re-affirming it (if you do) after due consideration -of these points, you have then to some extent called upon the Law, -and it is within your power to constitute yourself a disciple, so far -as in you lies, through the purity of your motive and effort _if both -are sufficiently sustained_. No one can fix a period when this effort -will bear fruit, and, if your patience and faith are not strong enough -to bear you through an _unlimited_ (so far as you know) period of -unselfish work for humanity, you had better resign your present fancy, -for it is then no more than that. But if otherwise, you are to work for -the spiritual enlightenment of Humanity in and through the Theosophical -Society (which much needs such laborers), and in all other modes and -planes as you best can, remembering the word of Masters: 'He who does -what he can and all that he can, and all that he knows how to do, does -enough for us.' This task includes that of divesting yourself of all -personality through interior effort, because that work, if done in the -right spirit, is even more important to the race than any outward work -we can do. Living as you now are, on the outward plane chiefly, your -work is due there and is to be done there until your growth shall fit -you to pass away from it altogether. - -"In following this course you work towards a fixed point under -observation,--as is, indeed, the whole Theosophic body, which is now, -_as a body_, a chela of Masters, but specialized from other members in -the sense that your definite aim and trust are understood and taken -into consideration by the unseen Founders and the Law. The Theosophical -Society then stands to you, for the time being, as any older chela -might who was appointed for you to aid and to work under. _You are -not_, understand, a chela on probation, since no one without authority -can confer or announce such a privilege. But if you succeed in lifting -yourself and others spiritually, it will be known, _no matter what the -external silence may seem to be_, and you will receive your full dues -from Those who are honest debtors and ministers of the Just and Perfect -Law. You must be ready to work, to wait, and to aspire in _silence_, -just as all do who have fixed their eyes on this goal. Remember that -your truest adviser is to be found, and constantly sought, _within -yourself_. Only by experience can you learn to know its voice from -that of natural instinct or mere logic, and strengthen this power, by -virtue of which the Masters have become what They are. - -"Your choice or rejection of this course is the first test of yourself. -Others will follow, whether you are aware of them or not, for the first -and only right of the neophyte is--_to be tried_. Hence silence and -sorrow follow his acceptance instead of the offer of prompt aid for -which he looks. Yet even that shall not be wanting; those trials and -reverses will come only from the Law to which you have appealed." - - J. N. - - - - -XV. - - - DEAR JASPER: - -I gave your letter to a distressed soul: she returned thanks, saying it -was a cooling draught to one athirst. The thanks of course are yours. -Now this lady says it was refreshment to the weary, that letter. True, -or she would not say it. But it was not so to me nor to you. - -We needed it not. But she illustrates a certain state of progress. -She is not yet where we are; but which is happier? She is happier, -but poorer in hope. We are not all too happy, but are rich in hope, -knowing the prize at the end of time, and not deterred by the clouds, -the storms, the miasms and dreadful beasts of prey that line the road. -Let us, then, at the very outset wash out of our souls all desire for -reward, all hope that we may attain. For so long as we thus hope and -desire, we shall be separated from the Self. If in the Self all things -_are_, then we cannot wish to be something which we can only compass by -excluding something else. - -So being beyond this lady so grateful, we find that everything we -meet on this illusory plane of existence is a lure that in one way or -another has power to draw us out of our path. That is the point we are -at, and we may call it the point where lures of Maya have omnipresent -power. Therefore we must beware of the illusions of matter. - -Before we got to this stage we knew well the fateful lure, the dazzling -mirror of the elemental Self, here and there in well-defined places, -and intrenched as it was, so to say, in strongly-marked defenses. Those -we assaulted; and that was what it desired, for it did think that it -then had no need to exercise the enchantment which is hard because so -subtle, and so distributed here and there that we find no citadels -to take, no battalions in array. But now our dearest friends are -unconsciously in league with the deceptive in nature. How strongly do -I realize the dejection of Arjuna as he let his bow drop from his hand -and sat down on his chariot in despair. But he had a sure spot to rest -upon. He used his own. He had Krishna near, and he might fight on. - -So in passing along those stages where the grateful lady and others -are, we may perhaps have found one spot we may call our own and possess -no other qualification for the task. That spot is enough. It is our -belief in the Self, in Masters: it is the little flame of intuition we -have allowed to burn, that we have fostered with care. - -Then come these dreadful lures. They are, in fact, but mere carcasses, -shells of monsters from past existences, offering themselves that we -may give them life to terrify us as soon as we have entered them either -by fear or love. No matter which way we enter, whether by attachment or -by repugnant horror, it is all one: they are in one case vivified by a -lover; in the other by a slave who would be free but cannot. - -Here it is the lure of enjoyment of natural pleasures, growing out of -life's physical basis; there it is self-praise, anger, vanity, what -not? Even these beautiful hills and river, they mock one, for they live -on untrammelled. Perhaps they do not speak to us because they know the -superiority of silence. They laugh with each other at us in the night, -amused at the wild struggle of this petty man who would pull the sky -down. Ach! God of Heaven! And all the sucklings of Theosophy wish that -some great, well-diplomæd Adept would come and open the secret box; -but they do not imagine that other students have stepped on the spikes -that defend the entrance to the way that leads to the gate of the Path. -But we will not blame them, nor yet wish for the things--the special -lots--that some of them have abstracted, because now that we know the -dreadful power that despair and doubt and violated conscience have, -we prefer to prepare wisely and carefully, and not rush in like fools -where angels do not pass uninvited. - -But, Companion, I remind you of the power of the lure. This Path passes -along under a sky and in a clime where every weed grows a yard in the -night. It has no discrimination. Thus even after weeks or months of -devotion, or years of work, we are surprised at small seeds of vanity -or any other thing which would be easily conquered in other years of -inattentive life, but which seem now to arise as if helped by some -damnable intelligence. This great power of self-illusion is strong -enough to create a roaring torrent or a mountain of ice between us and -our Masters. - -In respect to the question of sex. It is, as you know, given much -prominence by both women and men to the detriment of the one sex or the -other, or of any supposed sex. There are those who say that the female -sex is not to be thought of in the spirit; that all is male. Others say -the same for the female. Now both are wrong. In the True there is no -sex, and when I said "There all men are women and all women are men," -I was only using rhetoric to accentuate the idea that neither one nor -the other was predominant, but that the two were coalesced, so to say, -into _one_. In the same way you might say, "men are animals there and -_vice versa_." Mind, this is in regard to Spirit, and not in regard -to the psychical states. For in the psychical states there are still -distinctions, as the psychical, though higher than the material, is not -as high as Spirit, for it still partakes of matter. For in the Spirit -or Atma _all_ experiences of _all_ forms of life and death are found -at once, and he who is one with the Atma knows the whole manifested -Universe at once. I have spoken of this condition before as the Turya -or fourth state. - -When I say that the female _principle_ represents matter, I do not mean -_women_, for they in any one or more cases may be full of the masculine -principle, and _vice versa_. - -Matter is illusionary and vain, and so the female element is -illusionary and vain, as well as tending to the _established order_.[D] -So in the _Kaballa_ it is said that the woman is a wall about the man. -A balance is necessary, and that balance is found in women, or the -woman element. You can easily see that the general tendency of women -is to keep things as they are and not to have change. Woman--not here -and there women--has never been the pioneer in great reforms. Of course -many single individual women have been, but the tendency of the great -mass of the women has always been to keep things as they are until -the men have brought about the great change. This is why women always -support any established religion, no matter what,--Christian, Jewish, -Buddhist, or Brahmin. The Buddhist women are as much believers in their -religion and averse from changing it as are their Christian sisters -opposed in the mass to changing theirs. - -Now as to telling which element predominates in any single person, -it is hard to give a general test rule. But perhaps it might be -found in whether a person is given to abstract or concrete thought, -and similarly whether given to mere superficial things or to deep -fundamental matters. But you must work that out, I think, for yourself. - -Of course in the spiritual life no organ _disappears_, but we must find -out what would be the mode of operation of any organ in its spiritual -counterpart. As I understand, the spiritual counterparts of the organs -are _powers_, and not organs, as the eye is the power to see, the ear -the power to hear, and so on. The generative organs would then become -the creative power and perhaps the Will. You must not suppose that in -the spirit life the organs are reproduced as we see them. - -One instance will suffice. One may see pictures in the astral light -through the back of the head or the stomach. In neither place is there -any eye, yet we see. It must be by the power of seeing, which in the -material body needs the specialized place or specializing organ known -as the eye. We hear often through the head without the aid of the -auricular apparatus, which shows us that there is the power of hearing -and of transmitting and receiving sounds without the aid of an external -ear or its inside cerebral apparatus. So of course all these things -survive in that way. Any other view is grossly material, leading to a -deification of this unreal body, which is only an image of the reality, -and a poor one at that. - -In thinking over these matters you ought always to keep in mind the -three plain distinctions of _physical, psychical, and spiritual, always -remembering that the last includes the other two_. All the astral -things are of the psychical nature, which is partly material and -therefore very deceptive. But all are necessary, for they are, they -exist. - -The Deity is subject to this law, or rather it is the law of the Deity. -The Deity desires experience or self-knowledge, which is only to be -attained by stepping, so to say, aside from self. So the Deity produces -the manifested universes consisting of matter, psychical nature, and -spirit. In the Spirit alone resides the great consciousness of the -whole; and so it goes on ever producing and drawing into Itself, -accumulating such vast and enormous experiences that the pen falls down -at the thought. How can that be put into language? It is impossible, -for we at once are met with the thought that the Deity must know all -at all times. Yet there is a vastness and an awe-inspiring influence -in this thought of the Day and Night of Brahman. It is a thing to -be thought over in the secret recesses of the heart, and not for -discussion. _It is the All._ - -And now, my Brother, for the present I leave you. May your restored -health enable you to do more work for the world. - -I salute you, my Brother, and wish you to reach the terrace of -enlightenment. - - Z. - -[Footnote D: Through its negative or passive quality.--J. N.] - - - - - _Letters That Have Helped Me_ - - Volume II - - - - - LETTERS - THAT - HAVE HELPED ME - - VOL. II - - COMPILED BY - _THOMAS GREEN and JASPER NIEMAND_ - - THIRD EDITION - - THE - UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS - Los Angeles, California - 1920 - - - - - In Devotion - TO THE IMMORTALS - and in - The Service of Humanity - This little book - is laid - Upon the Altar - - _June, 1905_ - - - - - THE MASTER'S LOVE IS BOUNTIFUL; ITS LIGHT SHINES UPON THY FACE AND - SHALL MAKE ALL THE CROOKED WAYS STRAIGHT FOR THEE. - - _Farewell Book._ - - - - - HITHERTO I HAVE BEEN AN EXILE FROM MY TRUE COUNTRY; NOW I RETURN - THITHER. DO NOT WEEP FOR ME; I RETURN TO THAT CELESTIAL LAND WHERE - EACH GOES IN HIS TURN. - - _Hermes Trismegistos._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - FOREWORD 7 - - LETTERS 11 - - EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS 59 - - AN OCCULT NOVEL 89 - - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE 105 - - - - -FOREWORD - - -One marked difference will be noticed between this, the second volume -of LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME, and the earlier volume. That first -volume had a unity of purpose and development, setting forth, as it -did, in due sequence, the salient points of the eastern teaching. This -unity palpably arose from the fact that the series of letters was -written to one individual, and thus followed along a line suited to the -unfolding needs and the studies of that individual, as to those of all -fellow students pursuing an identical line of thought. - -The present volume, on the contrary, consists of letters, and extracts -from letters, written to a number of people in different parts of the -world. In many instances, an extract only was sent to the compilers -by individuals appealed to, that of their store something might be -given to their fellow-men. In other instances, the entire letter -was sent, but contained personal or other matter, which could not -be published. In still other instances, the entire letter is given. -It has been thought best to omit all headings and endings to these -letters, in order that no discrimination shall be made in respect of -the recipients, thus leaving the truths which the letters embody to -stand out in their own relief, unmarred by a label and a name. Many -of the extracts were published in _The Irish Theosophist_, and others -still in the "Tea-Table" of _The Path_, where "Quickly" stood for Mr. -Judge. It was the wish of Mr. Judge, expressed in writing to one of the -compilers, that the series should be republished (with the addition of -other matter) as a second volume of the earlier work. The compilers -are thus carrying out the direct wishes of Mr. Judge. - -During the lifetime of Mr. Judge, it was possible to rearrange, to -suggest excision or amplification, or the grouping of various extracts -as one letter; and it was possible as well to annotate, since Mr. Judge -read all proof, and was always ready to consider any suggestions, -while he was also pleased to see that his annotator had grasped his -meaning, or to correct errors in this respect. It is evident that such -rearrangement, adding as it would to the completeness and the unity -of a series, is much to be desired. It was hoped to continue this -method with the present volume; but the death of the writer has made it -impossible. We can only publish some letters completely, as they stand, -and group together such extracts as remain. - -One point more. A great number of letters have thus come up. One -compiler alone has many score, all written since the publication of -the first volume, and ranging over that period of years in which the -trials of Mr. Judge became increasingly heavy, a period to which his -unexpected death set a term. How great were these trials, none well -knew except the Master Whom he so devotedly served. The last letter of -all was written but a very short while before his death. In no single -letter out of all these numbers--in no letter that the compilers have -seen--is there a harsh or condemnatory word said of the authors of his -trials. He accepts the bitter, the profound injustice done him without -one word which could impugn the faith he held, the teachings he gave -out. Surprise there is; annoyance once or twice at the waste of time, -the irrational deeds and words. And then he turns him to that wise -compassion which knows that it is not he who is wronged who is in truth -the sufferer, but he who inflicts a wrong. - -Mr. Judge always taught the truest Occultism, the highest path. When -his hour of trial struck, step by step he followed along that path. In -the destiny of the crucified, whether Christs, or Christ-disciples, it -is always seen that the loudest denial comes from those most helped, -most served. It is he who sits "at meat" with them who betrays them. -And of all the long time of martyrs, never one has been exonerated to -his era, justified to his age. This fact alone should make thinking men -pause, remembering further that the crowd always prefers that Barabbas -should be released unto them. - -The great drama ever follows the same lines. The initiate, be he -disciple or be he adept, cannot defend himself; this is the inexorable -law. But he has all the tenderest support that his great predecessors -along the path of thorns can bestow; all the joy of a battle nobly -fought; all the gratitude of those among his fellows whose intuition -can follow him behind the veil which screens the initiate from our -sight. - -So it comes about that these letters breathe the compassion, the -patience, the brotherliness their author lived to inculcate. Sorrow, -indeed, he felt; but he put it bravely by. His great and kind heart -remained sound to the core. He sweetened the hours of bitterness by -profound resignation to The Law. He was one of those of whom it is -written: "He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." - -For the helping of mankind we publish these letters. To the judgment of -posterity we commit them, knowing well that in the eternal spaces the -Truth alone prevails. He who is here seen sustaining and consoling his -fellows during the saddest hours of his life and down to the doors of -the tomb, was in his turn upheld--not alone by a great faith and by an -All-Compassionate Hand--but also by the Love enshrined in his own quiet -heart. To The Master he left the rest. - - THE COMPILERS. - - - - -LETTERS - - -I. - - DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS: - -I do not think that you will take it amiss that I again intrude myself -before you. I am so far off, and the place where my old friend and -teacher--the one who pointed out to me the way that must bring us, if -followed, to the light and peace and power of truth--is so dear to me, -I would fain speak with those, my fellow-workers, who now live where -she worked, and where her mighty soul left the body she used for our -advantage. This is surely sufficient reason. - -Refer to the Master's letter in _The Occult World_ and you will find -him saying that the Masters are philanthropists and care only for -that. Hence, the very oldest F.T.S. who has been selfish, and not -philanthropic, has never come under the notice of the Masters, has -never done anything, in fact, toward the development of the soul in his -possession, nothing for the race of man. It is not membership in the -T.S., or any other mystical body, that brings us near the Masters, but -just such philanthropic work with just the pure motive. - -Then I know, and say plainly--for as so close to each other we should -plainly speak--that some of us, maybe all, have waited and wondered, -and wished and hoped, for what? Variously expressed thus: one wants to -go to the Master, not knowing even if it be fitting; another wants to -know what is the vague longing inside; another says that if the inner -senses were but developed and hopes the Master would develop them, and -so on; all, however, expressed by what the Master has himself written, -"You want to find out about us, of our methods of work, and for that -you seek along the line of occultism." Well, it is right for us to seek -and to try and to want to reach to Them, for otherwise we never will in -any age get where such Beings are. But as wise thinkers we should act -and think wisely. I know many of you and what I am saying should help -some as it does me also. - -You are all on the road to Masters, but as we are now, with the weak -and hereditarily diseased bodies we have, we could not live an hour -with Masters did we jump suddenly past space to Them. Some too have -doubt and darkness, the doubt mostly as to themselves. This should not -be harboured, for it is a wile of the lower man striving to keep you -back among the mediocre of the race. When you have lifted yourself up -over that level of the race, the enemy of man strikes and strives at -all times to bring clouds of doubt and despair. You should know that -all, everyone, down to the most obscure, who are working steadily, -are as steadily creeping on to a change, and yet on and on to other -changes, and all steps to the Master. Do not allow discouragement -to come in. Time is needed for all growth, and all change, and all -development. Let time have her perfect work and do not stop it. - -How may it be stopped? How many have thought of this I do not know, but -here is a fact. As a sincere student works on, his work makes him come -every day nearer to a step, and if it be an advance then it is certain -there is a sort of silence or loneliness all around in the forest of -his nature. Then he may stop all by allowing despair to come in with -various reasons and pretexts; he may thus throw himself to where he -began. This is not arbitrary law but Nature's. It is a law of mind, and -the enemies of man take advantage of it for the undoing of the unwary -disciple. I would never let the least fear or despair come before me, -but if I cannot see the road, nor the goal for the fog, I would simply -sit down and wait; I would not allow the fog to make me think no road -was there, and that I was not to pass it. The fogs must lift. - -What then is the panacea finally, the royal talisman? It is DUTY, -Selflessness. Duty persistently followed is the highest yoga, and is -better than mantrams or any posture, or any other thing. If you can do -no more than duty it will bring you to the goal. And, my dear friends, -I can swear it, the Masters are watching us all, and that without fail -when we come to the right point and really deserve They manifest to us. -At all times I know They help and try to aid us as far as we will let -Them. - -Why, the Masters are anxious (to use a word of our own) that as many -as possible may reach to the state of power and love They are in. Why, -then, suppose they help not? As they are Atman and therefore the very -law of Karma itself, They are in everything in life, and every phase of -our changing days and years. If you will arouse your faith on this line -you come nearer to help from Them than you will recognise. - -I send you my love and hope, and best thoughts that you may all find -the great light shining around you every day. It is there. - - Your brother, - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. - - -II. - -Once more in the absence of ---- I send you a word of brotherly -greeting. I would ask you to read it impersonally in every part, as I -have no reserved thoughts and no ulterior aim in it, and have not had -any letters or news from anyone to lead me to write. We are so far away -from each other that now and then such a greeting is well, and should -be taken in the spirit it is sent. It is not possible to send to any -other household as none other exists in the Society, you being unique -in this, that you are the only one. Here we have no such thing, all -nearly living at other places, and this being merely a centre for work. - -Many times have co-operative households been tried and failed. One was -tried here and is famous. It was called the Brook Farm, but it had -no such high aim and philosophy behind it as you have, and thus the -personal frictions developed at any place of close intimacy broke it -up. That should be a guide to you to enable you to watch and avoid. -Yours may alter in number and in _personnel_, but can never really -be broken up if the aim is high and the self-judgment is strict and -not self-righteous. I am not accusing you of this, but only stating -a common human danger, from which the Theosophist is not at any time -exempt. Indeed, he is in danger in your centre from the fact that -strong force revolves around it. Hence all must be ever careful, for -the personal element is one that ever has a tendency to delude us as it -hides behind various walls and clothes itself in the faults, real or -imaginary, of _others_. - -Your centre being the only one as yet of such size, it is useful to -think how you may best all act as to make it truly international. Each -one has a right to his or her particular "crank," of course, but no one -ought to think that anyone else is to be judged from not being of the -same stripe of "crank." One eats meat, another does not. Neither is -universally right, for the kingdom of heaven does not come from meat, -or from its absence. Another smokes and another does not; these are -neither universally right nor wrong, as smoke for one is good and for -another is bad; the true cosmopolitan allows each to do in such matters -as he likes. Essentials are the only things on which true occultism -and Theosophy require an agreement, and such temporary matters as food -and other habitual daily things are not essentials. One may make -a mistake, too, of parading too much his or her particular line of -life or act. When this is done the whole world is bored, and nothing -effective or lasting is gained except a cranky impression. - -In a place like yours, where so many of all sorts of nature are -together, there is a unique opportunity for gain and good in the -chance it gives one for self-discipline. There friction of personality -is inevitable, and if each one learns the great "give and take," and -looks not for the faults of the others but for the faults he sees in -himself, because of the friction, then great progress can be made. The -Masters have said that the great step is to learn how to get out of -the rut each one has by nature and by training, and to fill up the old -grooves. This has been misconstrued by some who have applied it to mere -outer habits of life, and forgotten that its real application is to the -mental grooves and the astral ones also. Each mind has a groove, and -is not naturally willing to run in the natural groove of another mind. -Hence comes often friction and wrangle. Illustrate it by the flanged -wheel of the steam-engine running on a track. It cannot run off nor -on a track of broader or narrower gauge, and so is confined to one. -Take off the flange and make the face of the wheel broader, and then -it can run on any road that is at all possible. General human nature -is like the engine, it is flanged and run for a certain size of track, -but the occultist or the would-be one should take off the flange and -have a broad-faced wheel that will accommodate itself to the other -mind and nature. Thus in one life even we might have the benefit of -many, for the lives of other men are lived beside us unnoticed and -unused because we are too broad and flanged in wheel, or too narrow and -flanged also. This is not easy, it is true, to change, but there is no -better opportunity than is hourly presented to you in the whole world, -to make the alteration. I would gladly have such a chance, which Karma -has denied me, and I see the loss I incur each day by not having it -there or here. You have it, and from there should go out to all the -earth soon or late, men and women who are broad and free and strong for -the work of helping the world. My reminding you of all this is not a -criticism, but is due to my own want of such an opportunity, and being -at a distance I can get a clearer view of the case, and what you have -for your own benefit and also for all others. - -It is natural for one to ask: "What of the future, and what of the -defined object, if any, for our work?" That can be answered in many ways. - -There is, first, our own work, in and on ourselves, each one. That has -for its object the enlightenment of oneself for the good of others. -If that is pursued selfishly some enlightenment comes, but not the -amount needed for the whole work. We have to watch ourselves so as to -make of each a centre from which, in our measure, may flow out the -potentialities for good that from the adept come in large and affluent -streams. The future then, for each, will come from each present moment. -As we use the moment so we shift the future up or down for good or ill; -for the future being only a word for the present--not yet come--we have -to see to the present more than all. If the present is full of doubt or -vacillation, so will be the future; if full of confidence, calmness, -hope, courage and intelligence, thus also will be the future. - -As to the broader scope of the work, that comes from united effort of -the whole mass of units. It embraces the race, and as we cannot escape -from the destiny of the race we have to dismiss doubt and continue at -work. The race is, as a whole, in a transition state, and many of its -units are kept back by the condition of the whole. We find the path -difficult because, being of the race, the general race tendencies very -strongly affect us. This we cannot do away with in a moment. It is -useless to groan over it; it is also selfish, since we, in the distant -past, had a hand in making it what it now is. The only way we can alter -it is by such action now as makes of each one a centre for good, a -force that makes "for righteousness," and that is guided by wisdom. -From the great power of the general badness we each one have a greater -fight to wage the moment we force our inner nature up beyond the dead -level of the world. So before we attempt that forcing we should, on the -lower plane, accumulate all that we can of merit by unselfish acts, -by kind thoughts, by detaching our minds from the allurements of the -world. This will not throw us out of the world, but will make us free -from the great force which is called by Bœhme the "Turba," by which he -meant the immense power of the unconscious and material basis of our -nature. That material base being devoid of soul is more inclined on -this plane to the lower things of life than to the higher. - -Hence, until we have in some degree conquered that, it is useless for -us to be wishing, as so many of us do, to see the Masters and to be -with Them. They could not help us unless we furnish the conditions, and -a mere desire is not the needed condition. The new condition calls for -a change in thought and nature. - -So the Masters have said this is a transition age, and he who has ears -to hear will hear what has thus been said. We are working for the new -cycles and centuries. What we do now in this transition age will be -like what the great Dhyan Chohans did in the transition point--the -midway point--in evolution at the time when all matter and all types -were in a transition and fluid state. They then gave the new impulse -for the new types, which resulted later in the vast varieties of -nature. In the mental development we are now at the same point and what -we now do in faith and hope for others and for ourselves will result -similarly on the plane to which it is all directed. Thus in other -centuries we will come out again and go on with it. If we neglect it -now, so much the worse for us then. Hence we are not working for some -definite organisation of the new years to come, but for a change in the -Manas and Buddhi of the Race. That is why it may seem indefinite, but -it is, nevertheless, very defined and very great in scope. Let me refer -you to that part of _The Secret Doctrine_, penned by Master Himself, -where the midway point of evolution is explained in reference to the -ungulate mammals. It should give you a glimpse of what we have to do, -and remove all vain longings for a present sojourn with our unseen -guides and brothers. The world is not free from superstition, and -we, a part of it, must have some traces left of the same thing. They -have said that a great shadow follows all innovations in the life of -humanity; the wise one will not bring on that shadow too soon and not -until some light is ready to fall at the same time for breaking up the -darkness. - -Masters could give now all the light and knowledge needed, but there -is too much darkness that would swallow up all the light, except for a -few bright souls, and then a greater darkness would come on. Many of us -could not grasp nor understand all that might be given, and to us would -result a danger and new difficulty for other lives, to be worked out in -pain and sorrow. It is from kindness and love that Masters do not blind -us with the electric flash of truth complete. - -But concretely there is a certain object for our general work. It is -to start up a new force, a new current in the world, whereby great and -long-gone Gnanis, or wise ones, will be attracted back to incarnate -among men here and there, and thus bring back the true life and the -true practices. Just now a pall of darkness is over all that no Gnani -will be attracted by. Here and there a few beams strike through this. -Even in India it is dark, for there, where the truth is hid, the thick -veil of theological dogma hides all; and though there is a great hope -in it the Masters cannot pierce through to minds below. We have to -educate the West so that it may appreciate the possibilities of the -East, and thus on the waiting structure in the East may be built up a -new order of things for the benefit of the whole. We have, each one of -us, to make ourselves a centre of light; a picture gallery from which -shall be projected on the astral light such scenes, such influences, -such thoughts, as may influence many for good, shall thus arouse a new -current, and then finally result in drawing back the great and the good -from other spheres from beyond the earth. This is not spiritualism at -all, for it has no reference to the denizens of spook-land in any way. - -Let us then have great faith and confidence. See how many have gone -out from time to time from your centre to many and distant parts of -the world, and how many will continue to go for the good and the gain -of man of all places. They have gone to all parts, and it must be that -even if the centre should be disrupted from causes outside of you, its -power and reality will not be destroyed at all, but will ever remain, -even after all of it may have gone as far as bricks and mortar are -concerned. - -I give you my best wishes and brotherly greeting for the new year and -for every year that is to come. - - Affectionately yours, - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. - - -III. - -I send you this, and you will keep it, using it later on when I give -the word. It is to be headed by me later. - -The Theosophical movement was begun as a work of the Brotherhood of -which H. P. B. is a member, and in which the great Initiate, who was by -her called Master, is one of the Chiefs. - -It was started among Western people by Western people, the two chief -agents being H. P. B., a Russian, and H. S. Olcott, an American. The -place where it was started was also Western--the City of New York. - -But notwithstanding that the Brotherhood thus had it begun, it must, as -a Society, be kept with a free platform, while, at the same time, its -members are individually free to take and hold what belief they find -approved by conscience, provided that belief does not militate against -Universal Brotherhood. Hence they are at perfect liberty to believe in -the Lodge of that Brotherhood and in its messengers, and also to accept -their doctrines as to man, his nature, powers and destiny as given out -by the messengers on behalf of the Lodge. - -The fact is significant that the Theosophical movement was thus, as -said, begun in the Western world, in the country where the preparations -for the new root race are going on, and where that new root is to -appear. This was not to give precedence to any one race or country over -another, or to reduce any race or country, but was and is according to -the law of cycles, which is a part of evolution. In the eye of that -great Law no country is first or last, new or old, high or low, but -each at the right time is appropriate for whatever the work is that -must be performed. Each country is bound up with all the others and -must assist them. - -This movement has, among others, an object which should be borne in -mind. It is the union of the West with the East, the revival in the -East of those greatnesses which once were hers, the development in the -West of that Occultism which is appropriate for it, so that it may, in -its turn, hold out a helping hand to those of older blood who may have -become fixed in one idea, or degraded in spirituality. - -For many centuries this union has been worked towards and workers have -been sent out through the West to lay the foundations. But not until -1875 could a wide public effort be made, and then the Theosophical -Society came into existence because the times were ripe and the workers -ready. - -Organisations, like men, may fall into ruts or grooves of mental and -psychic action, which, once established, are difficult to obliterate. -To prevent those ruts or grooves in the Theosophical movement, its -guardians provided that necessary shocks should now and then interpose -so as to conduce to solidarity, to give strength such as the oak -obtains from buffetting the storm, and in order that all grooves of -mind, act, or thought, might be filled up. - -It is not the desire of the Brotherhood that those members of the -Theosophical movement who have, under their rights, taken up a belief -in the messengers and the message should become pilgrims to India. To -arouse that thought was not the work nor the wish of H. P. B. Nor is -it the desire of the Lodge to have members think that Eastern methods -are to be followed, Eastern habits adopted, or the present East made -the model or the goal. The West has its own work and its duty, its own -life and development. Those it should perform, aspire to and follow, -and not try to run to other fields where the duties of other men are -to be performed. If the task of raising the spirituality of India, now -degraded and almost suffocated, were easy, and if thus easily raised -could it shine into and enlighten the whole world of the West, then, -indeed, were the time wasted in beginning in the West, when a shorter -and quicker way existed in the older land. But in fact it is more -difficult to make an entry into the hearts and minds of people who, -through much lapse of time in fixed metaphysical dogmatism, have built, -in the psychic and psycho-mental planes, a hard impervious shell around -themselves, than it is to make that entry with Westerners who, although -they may be meat eaters, yet have no fixed opinions deep laid in a -foundation of mysticism and buttressed with a pride inherited from the -past. - -The new era of Western Occultism definitely began in 1875 with the -efforts of that noble woman who abandoned the body of that day not long -ago. This does not mean that the Western Occultism is to be something -wholly different from and opposed to what so many know, or think they -know, as Eastern Occultism. It is to be the Western side of the one -great whole of which the true Eastern is the other half. It has, as its -mission, largely entrusted to the hands of the Theosophical Society, to -furnish to the West that which it can never get from the East; to push -forward and raise high on the circular path of evolution now rolling -West, the light that lighteth every man who cometh into the world--the -light of the true self, who is the one true Master for every human -being; all other Masters are but servants of that true One; in it all -real Lodges have their union. - -Woe is set apart--not by Masters but by Nature's laws--for those who, -having started in the path with the aid of H. P. B. shall in any way -try to belittle her and her work, still, as yet not understood and -by many misunderstood. This does not mean that a mere person is to -be slavishly followed. But to explain her away, to belittle her, to -imagine vain explanations with which to do away with what is not liked -in that which she said, is to violate the ideal, is to spit back in -the face of the teacher through whom the knowledge and the opportunity -came, to befoul the river which brought you sweet waters. She was and -is one of those servants of the universal Lodge sent to the West to -take up the work, well knowing of the pain and obloquy and the insult -to the very soul--worst of all insults--which were certain from the -first to be hers. "Those who cannot understand her had best not try to -explain her: those who do not find themselves strong enough for the -task she plainly outlined from the beginning had best not attempt it." -She knew, and you have been told before, that high and wise servants -of the Lodge have remained with the West since many centuries for the -purpose of helping it on to its mission and destiny. That work it -would be well for the members of the Theosophical movement to continue -without deviating, without excitement, without running to extremes, -without imagining that Truth is a matter of either longitude or -latitude: the truth of the soul's life is in no special quarter of the -compass, it is everywhere round the whole circle, and those who look in -one quarter will not find it. - -(This letter is marked in red pencil, by the hand of Mr. Judge, -"unfinished." In fact, it ends with the word "will," as above, but in -publishing earlier some extracts from this letter, the owner had the -permission of the writer to supply the last three words, which he had -intended to place there when called away, and in his haste for the -post, in returning, had omitted to add.) - - -IV. - -TO THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY: - -It is with great regret that I learn from recent London advices that -the Managers of the Society there think that the Tract, "Epitome of -Theosophy," which appeared in _The Path_, is "too advanced to be -reprinted now, and that what is needed is 'a stepping-stone from -fiction to philosophy.'" - -Permit me to say that I cannot agree with this opinion, nor with the -policy which is outlined by it. The opinion is erroneous, and the -policy is weak as well as being out of accord with that of the Masters. -Those Masters have approved the project of the new Society and are -watching the unfolding of its policy. - -If I had made up that Epitome wholly myself I might have some -hesitation in speaking in this way, but I did not. The general idea of -such a series of tracts was given to me some two years ago, and this -one was prepared by several students who know what the people need. -It is at once comprehensive and fundamental. It covers most of the -ground, and if any sincere reader grasps it he will have food for his -reflection of the sort needed. - -If, however, we are to proceed by a mollified passage from folly (which -is fiction) to philosophy, then we at once diverge from the path -marked out for us by the Masters; and for this statement I can refer -to letters from Them in my hands. I need only draw your attention to -the fact that when those Masters began to cause Their servants to give -out matter in India, They did not begin with fiction, but with stern -facts such as are to be found in the _Fragments of Occult Truth_, which -afterwards became Mr. Sinnett's _Esoteric Buddhism_. We are not seeking -to cater to a lot of fiction readers and curiosity hunters, but to the -pressing needs of earnest minds. Fiction readers never influenced a -nation's progress. And these earnest minds do not desire, and ought not -to be treated to a gruel which the sentence just quoted would seem to -indicate as their fate. - -Then again, I beg to remind my English brothers in this enterprise that -they should remember that the United States contain more theosophists -and possible subscribers and readers than the whole of Europe. They -do not want fiction. They want no padding in their search for truth. -They are perfectly able to grasp that which you call "too advanced." -The Master some years ago said that the U. S. needed the help of the -English body of theosophists. That they did not get, and now do not -require it so much, and their ideas and needs must be considered by us. -We have twenty-one Branches to your three in Great Britain, and each -month, nearly, sees a new Branch. Several have written me that they -understand the T.P.S. is to give them _good_ and _valuable_ reprints -and not weak matters of fiction. - -I therefore respectfully urge upon you that the weak and erroneous -policy to which I have referred shall not be followed, but that strong -lines of action be taken, and that we leave fiction to the writers who -profit by it or who think that thus people's minds can be turned to the -Truth. If a contrary line be adopted then we will not only disappoint -the Master (if that be possible) but we will in a very large sense be -guilty of making false representations to a growing body of subscribers -here as well as elsewhere. - - I am, Fraternally Yours, - WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. - - -V. - -It is a relief to turn from these eternal legal quibbles (of my -business) to say a word or two on eternal matters. - -Now and then there are underlined sentences occurring in _The Path_. -These ought to be studied. One about one yogee not doing anything not -seen in another yogee's mind will open up a subject. Reticence does not -always mean ignorance: if we dig out the knowledge we drag down at the -same time rocks and debris of other sorts, whereas, if a miner hands us -the nugget, that is all we get at the time. So a slight reticence often -results in our going at the digging ourselves. - -In September _Path_ is another. Getting back the memory of other lives -is really the whole of the process, and if some people don't understand -certain things it is either because they have not got to that point in -their other lives or because no glimmer of memory has yet come. - -The communion of saints is a reality, and it often happens that those -brought up in the same school speak the same language. While not -being one, such are very like co-scholars no matter when or where. -Furthermore, there are some peculiar natures in this world who, while -they are like mirrors or sponges that reflect and absorb from others -certain information, still retain a very strong individuality of their -own. So it is with this gentleman whose letter you enclose. There is -scarcely any doubt that he, if he tells true tales, sees in the astral -light. The description of things "moving about like fishes in the sea" -is a real description of one of the manners in which many of these -elemental forms are seen. So it may, as premised above, be settled that -he sees in the astral light. - -He should know that that astral light exists in all places and -interpenetrates everything, and is not simply in the free air alone. -Further should he know that to be able to see as he sees in the light -is not _all_ of the seeing thus. That is, there are many sorts of -such sight, _e.g._, he may see now certain airy shapes and yet not -see many others which at the same time are as really present there -as those he now sees. So it would seem that there are "layers" or -differences of states in the astral light. Another way to state it is -that elementals are constantly moving in the astral light--that is, -everywhere. They, so to say, show pictures to him who looks, and the -pictures they show will depend in great part upon the seer's thoughts, -motives and development. These differences are very numerous. It -therefore follows that in this study _pride_ must be eliminated. That -pride has disappeared from ordinary life does not prove that it has -done any more than retreat a little further within. So one must be -careful of becoming even inwardly vain of being able to see any such -things; for if that happens it will follow that the one limited plane -in which one may be a seer will be accepted as the whole. That, then, -will be falsity. But if recognized as delusive because partial, then -it remains true--so far as it goes. All true things must be total, -and all totalities exist at once, each in all, while these partial -forms exist partially in those that are total. So it follows that only -those that are total reveal entire truth, and those that partake of -lower nature--or are partial--receive but a limited view of truth. The -elementals are partial forms, while the man's individual soul is total, -and according to the power and purity of that form which it inhabits -"waits upon the Gods." - -Now our bodies, and all "false I" powers up to the individual soul, are -"partial forms" in common with the energic centres in astral light. So -that it must follow that no matter how much we and they participate -in each other the resulting view of the one Truth is partial in its -nature because the two partial forms mingling together do not produce -totality. But it intoxicates. And herein lies the danger of the -teaching of such men as P. B. Randolph, who advocates participation -with these partial beings by means of sensual excesses glorified with a -name and gilded with the pretence of a high purpose--_viz._, knowledge: -KNOWLEDGE MUST BE CAREFULLY OBTAINED WITH A PURE MOTIVE. - -This motive is the point for this gentleman to study. He says that he -"will know," and that he "desires to escape from present limitations of -this personality, which is all loneliness." - -As he did go forward on the path of knowledge, he would find that this -imaginary loneliness of which he speaks is by comparison with the utter -loneliness of that path, a howling mob, a tramping regiment. - -As he is fighting alone his own fight let him carefully note his -motive in seeking to know more, and in seeking to escape from his -present "loneliness." Must it not be true that loneliness cannot be -escaped from by abhorrence of it or even by its acceptance, but by its -recognition? What next? Well, this; and perhaps it is too simple. He -ought to assure himself that his motive in knowing and being is that he -may help all creatures. I do not say that this is not now his motive, -but for fear it should not be I refer to it. For as he appears to be on -the borderland of fearful sights and sounds he ought to know the magic -amulet which alone can protect him while he is ignorant. It is that -boundless charity of love which led Buddha to say: "Let the sins of -this dark age fall on me that the world may be saved," and not a desire -for escape or for knowledge. It is expressed in the words: "THE FIRST -STEP IN TRUE MAGIC IS DEVOTION TO THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS." It was -expressed by Krishna when he said: "Near to Renunciation is salvation" -(or the state of a Jivanmukta). - -But he naturally will ask if he should cultivate his powers. Well, -of course he should at some time or other; but he ought to begin at -motives and purification of thought. He may, if he chooses, abandon -the ideas of this large-hearted charity and yet make great progress in -"powers," but surely then death and ashes will be the result. That does -not concern me. - -Why did he have a "horror" when he merely succeeded in going away from -his body; in being for a moment free? That is an important question. -Its solution may be found in many ways. I will mention one. If the -place, or person he wished to go to was one to which he then ought -not to have gone--or if his motive in desiring to go there was not -pure--then a horror might result that drove him back. But if even with -a bad motive he had attempted to go to a place where a similar motive -existed, then no horror would have come. If he will tell himself, or -me, just where he was wanting to go, I may say why he had a horror. But -I do not want to know. - -For it is not necessarily a horror-producing thing to leave the body. -Only lately I know of a friend of mine who went out of his body a -distance of 10,000 miles and had no horror. In that case he desired to -see a friend on a common purpose which had in view the amelioration -of this dark age; and again, who left his body in the country and saw -the surrounding sweeps of wood and vale and had no horror whatever in -either case. - -If one is sure of motive, and that is pure, then going out of the body -is not detrimental. - -An illustration will show the dangers. Take the case of one who is able -to leave the body and who determines to go to one who is sympathetic. -The second one, however, is protected by high motive and great purity: -the first is mixed in motive in waking life, which, as soon as the -other disengaged state comes on, changes into a mere curiosity to -see the second, and perhaps with more or less sensuality, _e.g._, a -desire to see a woman much admired and to pour into her unwilling ear -pretended or real human love. The elementals (and so on) of the second -protect that soul and hurl vague horrors at the first who, if he is not -a skilled black magician is: - -1. Either merely pushed back into the body: Or - -2. Is assailed with fears that prevent him finding his body, and that -may be occupied by an elementary, good, bad or indifferent--and his -friends may say that he waked up insane! - -Well; enough! - - -VI. - -The letters proposed by your friend are a device of the enemy, as you -may have supposed, and which you were warned to expect in unexpected -quarters and ways. Therefore they should not be written. It is the -small rift in the lute that destroys it; in human history small and -unexpected events alter the destiny of nations. - -On this plane the dark powers rely upon their ability to create a -maya. They have seen that you are not to be trapped in the prominent -lines of work and so try their hands where your currents exist in a -prominent place but with a very small matter. Let me point out. - -If you issue these letters they would be an endorsement of all that -your friend might think to do, and neither you nor Y. are free from -mistakes yet. They would amount to a declaration, to the perception of -others, that you were guiding Y. in everything and were at all times -conscious of it. Do you or Y. know where this would end? Do you see -the possibilities flowing from the acceptance in full of those letters -by the others? And what would their action be? Are they free from the -curse of superstition; are they clear in the co-ordination of psychic -with brain thought? No. The result would not only be different from -what you and Y. can see, but worse. Now further. - -It is true--and humanly natural--that the others (like you and _your_ -friends) indulged in some slight critiques on your friend, but they -were small and coupled with sincere and kind thoughts up to their -lights, no matter how large and bitter all this was made by maya to -appear. The dark powers seized on them, enlarged them, dressed them -up, assumed the images of the thinkers, enlivened the thoughts with -elementals, all with an object, _viz._, to make your friend think it -all came from the others. Why, if that were so then those others (poor -weak mortals) are friends. But are they? No. It was wished by the dark -ones to irritate your friend, and you, so as, by the irritation, to -split a breach forever unhealable. In Y.'s very weak state they found -it easy, and hoped by distance to make you blind. - -Tell your friend to remember what was long ago said; that the Master -would manage results. You must not manage, precipitate, nor force. -Beware. Let Y. assume that the others do not think harshly nor -critically, but put it all against the dark powers, and the results -will be managed by Master. As chelâs and students conceal rather than -give out your inner psychic life, for by telling of it your proper -progress is hindered. There must be silence in heaven for a time or -the dark ones rejoice to so easily get good, malleable images for -annoying you. It will be tried again either that way or some other. By -gentleness, detachment, strict attention to duty, and retiring now and -then to the quiet place bring up good currents and keep back all evil -ones. Remember it is the little things the work is done through, for they -are not noticed, while the larger ones draw the eyes and minds of all. - -I think of you always as the brave soldier, made not of mud and soft -things, but made of long pieces of steel and strips of diamond and -flashes of long light that has no harshness, and a big, big spring -all the way through. That is you. And your eyes laugh now and then, -even if you do have a pain in your head. Inside you are all right, as -you know very well, don't you? Then if you are that soldier, it means -that he will spring back as soon as the body has had time to get some -better. The body is like the heart; it has to have time to get to some -other condition. But you will get there. A steady mind and heart stands -still and quiet until the muddy stream rolls clear. Now sleep, I say; -I command you to sleep. I have tried to help you to sleep, and I wish -you to sleep, for sleep will do you good as nothing else can. I hope to -see you drop all when ---- comes, and go to sleep for awhile, and far -enough from the row to be quiet. It is sleep your tired nature on the -outside wants, for sleep knits up the ravelled thread of life and makes -us young again. You have been so awake, that the power of equilibrium -between life and the body is disturbed and needs a chance. This is -fact. One can get wrought up, and then Prana is too strong; so little -children sleep much. _Be a child once._ - -Well, I'm near home, or rather the centre spot, for pilgrims like you -and I have no real house and don't want it; it's too dull and usual for -such to want a home. And perhaps the little brother is good and well? -He shall be ever present, as he always has been, in those little songs -and tales told to oneself in the dark, and is, too, the lone warrior -seen on the plain of stupid infantry, and he rides a horse whose blood -is electricity. Au revoir. Tell ---- I can stand alone; it is the best -way to stand, and what I always was and shall be. Let the ripples and -the foam go on coming and going; the old river and the bed of the river -do not move for all that is on the top. Is it not so? Well, good-bye, -and good luck, and may the devas help you and also karma. Love to all, -as usual. - - As forevermore, - - -VII. - -I was very glad indeed to get your letter, but sorry to read of your -troubles. Strangely, too, a similar trouble with a very dear friend of -mine is now uppermost in my mind, and I would like to crave the favour -from you that you would tell me what kind of place the asylum is you -speak of. The only accessible one here is a mere prison, where men do -nothing, and where I do not think the influence would be other than -depressing. Do you think at the one you have in mind a man of active -mind, who merely wishes to get rid of his present trouble, would be -able to occupy himself? - -I am indeed sorry that you have to tell me such matters, but they -will rest in my confidence; and I thank you and ---- for your renewed -invitation. - -It is best not to inquire into some of the mysteries of life, but -surely a full reliance upon the Spirit within and upon the law that -the hands that smite us are our own, will relieve the pressure of -some events that seem mysteries. I find the greatest consolation in -these reflections, and then I see that each moment is mine, and that -when gone it is passed and merged into the sum of my being: and so I -must strive to Be. Thus I may hope to become in time the conscious -possessor of the whole of Being. So I do not strive after mystery. The -great struggle must be to open up my outer self, that my higher being -may shine through, for I know that in my heart the God sits patient, -and that his pure rays are merely veiled from me by the many strivings -and illusions that I bring on outwardly. This being so, I can only look -at the Society and its work (under my lights) as the best available -channel for my actions in the effort to help others. Its methods, then, -as far as I am concerned, will be only mine, and thus I cannot attach -to it the methods of any other person. - - Believe me sincerely yours. - - -VIII. - -As for me, all that is the matter is my health, not yet full and good. -If that were all right, I would have nothing. What do I care for all -the row? It will soon be over; some will be dead; the sooner the -better, and then we shall have other fun. I look at it all as so much -fun and variety, sure; I am not joking. It is variety, and without -that what would life be? As all these asses bray we learn new notes of -the scale not known before. A heap of letters I got; but I am O.K., -fragile, perhaps, but not brittle. I would like to be with you both and -have some sweet fun without tears or spite, but we have to be apart, -to meet now and then. Poor ----! Don't be hard on him. He had to be -silent, you know. A small matter, but more important than he knew for -him. Let up on him, and don't jeer. He has a hard time enough with -himself, to have any added by massage from others. - -C----'s illusion to "suffering" opens up a vein of thought which I have -had. I have examined myself for the "uses" of this rumpus, to see if I -am properly "suffering." Well, I can't find it. Down in the deeps I may -be; but I find myself cheerful, happy, and anything but morose or sad. -Ergo: can I be suffering? Do you know? Positively, I do not know. Ought -I? Am I a wretch because I do not suffer, or because, being in actual -suffering, I am insensate and do not perceive it? But, on the other -hand, I feel no anger and no resentment. Really, it puzzleth me. Many -nights I do not sleep, and have used the hours (as I now do), when all -is still, in looking over all, and yet I feel all right--everywhere. -Of course, I have committed my human faults and sins, but I mean, on -the Grand Round-Up, I find nothing to "suffer me"; nothing that I shall -rush out to amend by taking the ridiculous and nasty world to my bosom -in confidence upon. - -As for myself. Well. What? Nothing. I know not and care not. I am -joyful and glorious that the work thus goes. My desires are not here, -and all the racket sounds to me far off, as if miles from my ear. I am -acting as a pump-engine, and trying to force a lot on. This is not for -myself. I must find myself alone, as we all are, and then the Law will -say: "Next!" But what next I do not care and don't want to know, for -when "Next" is said I will see what it is to do. Just now the best and -biggest work by us poor children is on this plane with the great aid -of Master, Whose simple single will keeps the whole organisation, and -acts as its support and shield. We are not big enough yet to handle the -Akasa, but we may help Them to, and that is all I want to do. I have -used the present affairs to be as a lesson to me, for it may be used -as a test to me as to pride and ambition; and I find that, no matter -how I turn it, the same result comes. I am seeking other things while -working in this. Try as I may to raise an ambition for power, and to -raise a desire to change a supposed case (non-existent in fact), I -can't do it. So you see, my dear Comrade, I am all right. - -These questions you ask me: - -When the Self is first seen it is like looking into a glove; and for -how many incarnations may it not be so? The material envelope throws up -before the eye of the Soul waving fumes and clouds of illusion. - -The brain is only the focus through which the forces and thoughts are -centralised that are continually coming in through the solar plexus of -the heart. Many such thoughts, therefore, are lost, just as millions of -seeds in nature are lost. It behoves to study them and to guard them -when there; but can we call them our own? Or weep over them? Let us -be as wide as great Nature concerning them, and let each go on to its -own place without colouring them with our own colour and acceptance or -adhesion. - -The spiral movement is the double movement of the astral light, one -spiral inside the other. The diastole and systole of the heart are -caused by that double movement of the Akasa. But do not presumptuously -grasp the movement too soon, for often even the heart moving too -rapidly destroys the life. - -The brutes unconsciously are aware of the general human opposition, -which in each human being they see focalised. - -It is easier to sink back into the Eternal than to dive. The diver -must needs have the power to retain breath against the rush caused by -diving, while to sink gives time to get and keep the breath. - -Nothing else greatly new. Am waiting to hear of your completer health. -Sustained on the wave you will come in with the tide in time. Best love -to ---- and to ---- and to thee. May you all be well sustained. I -think I have now given you all there is. Salute most noble, brave, and -diamond-hearted! May we meet after the dust settles, and we will meet -forever in the long, long manvantaras before us all. Peace! Peace! the -path of peace and not of war: such are the words. - - As forevermore. - - -IX. - -I do not know what to write, for I've been so occupied with people. -I am anxious about my lectures; still unprepared. I cannot naturally -reply to many of your points, because I have a retiring feeling, and -so shall not reply. Indeed, I often think how nice it would be not to -speak or write. I am no hand at those nice phrases that people like. Of -course, that does not alter my real feelings, but chickens are chickens -and often think nonsense. I want to forget and forgive all those -children and childish acts. Let us do it, and try as much as possible -to be real brothers, and thus get nearer the truth. And by work we will -defeat the enemy of Master: by still silently working. - -I hope still you will emerge sooner or later all the better and the -stronger. I know you will and I do not see you dead by any means. You -are less hopeful for yourself than for others. But you have the will -and the fire to fight on to the last bone and the last moment. I only -wish I could see you all to hearten you up a little more: that is, to -talk with you, for you do not need much of the grit.... - -I often hear from Him now. That terrible racket cleared me up. He says -that much haste must be avoided. And that I must not let the flood -carry me off. He asks me to say to you that you have a natural rapidity -that must be guided by yourself and the best way is to wait after a -letter and to sleep on a plan. He also says that ... (I am not aware of -this, but He must be right), that you have a subtle desire to be the -first to make or propose a good plan or act. Do not let this carry -you off, but be slower as to that. It is good advice, I think, for the -additional reason that one can now and then take a plan from the head -of another. - -I see the clans have been gathering. Keep it up and see to it as far as -possible that partisanship is at a low ebb and that only good, steady -loyalty and work are the main motive. _And cast no one out of your -heart._ - -I must ask for a calmer motion at this time. It is absolutely necessary. - -A word of love to ----? I sent it. I sent many. I not only sent it -visible but also the other way. What could I say? I do not know. In -what I sent my whole heart was put. Does not ---- forever stand for -me and with me? How can I use words when the fibres of my heart are -involved? And what good is my philosophy if, when the actual taking of ----- off seemed so near, I indulged in mere words? I cannot do it. If -I try, then the words are mere rubbish, lies and unreal, as I am not -able to do this, no matter how much others can. Our real life is not in -words of love or hate or coldness but in the fiery depths of the heart. -And in those depths ---- is and was. Could I say more? No; impossible. -And even that is small and badly said. - -It is true that day by day the effect of my philosophy is more apparent -on me, as yours is and will be on you, and so with us all. I see it -myself, let alone all I hear of it from others. What a world and what -a life! Yet we are born alone and must die alone, except that in the -Eternal Space all are one, and the One Reality never dies. - -If ambition creeps up slowly higher and higher it will destroy all -things, for the foundations will be weak. In the end, the Master will -win, so let us breathe deep and hold fast there, as we are. And let us -hurry nothing. Eternity is here all the time. I cannot tell you how my -heart turns to you all. You know this, but a single word will do it. -_Trust!_ That was what H. P. B. said. Did she not know? Who is greater -than our old and valiant "old Lady"? Ah, were she here, what a carnage! -Wonder, anyhow, how she, or he, or it, looks at the matter? Smiling, I -suppose, at all our struggles. - -Again, in storm and shine, in heat and cold, near or afar, among -friends or foes, the same in One Work. - - -X. - - MY DEAR COMPANION (CAMPANERO), - -Your long letter and message received. All I can say is that it is -gigantically splendid, marvelously accurate. And let me then return -to you this message ... that this must prove to you that you are not -standing still.... It's all well enough to be out in the rapids as you -say I am, but what of it when I don't hear such a message as yours -myself? Thank you. It is a bugle blast from the past. Perhaps in some -other age I taught you that and now you give it to me again. When I -said in mine that in Kali Yuga more could be done than in any other -age in the same period, I stated all you say but I didn't know it. Now -your clear light falls upon it and I see it well. But fear not. You -got so familiar to me that I permitted myself to let out some of the -things that I now and then feel. But I swear to you that I do not let -them always so rush before me. Truly you have proved that your place is -"where the long roll finds you standing." - -Now don't you begin to see more and more things? Don't you feel things -that you know without anyone to tell you? - -My friend Urban has shown me a letter from ---- in which the latter, -feeling dark in consequence of various causes, sees no light. This is -merely the slough of despond, I tell him. We know the light is ahead, -and the experience of others shows that the darkest hour is just before -the dawn. I tell him also that strong souls are thus tried inevitably -because they rush ahead along the road to the light. In the _Finnish -Epic_ it is said that guarding a certain place are hideous serpents and -glittering spears. And so it really is. - -But although such is the truth, I have also to tell him that he ought, -as far as possible, to try to ameliorate the circumstances. I will make -my meaning clear. He is living now, as you know, among people of an -opposite faith. Around them are elementals who would, if they could, -implant suspicion and distrust about those whom he reveres, or, if they -fail there, will try to cause physical ills or aggravate present ones. -In his case these have succeeded in part in causing darkness.... Now -----, while not just in that case, is surrounded, while not strong, by -those who inwardly deplore his beliefs ... and hence the elementals -are there and they quarrel with those of ---- and bring on despair, -reduce strength, and so on. I tell ---- those circumstances ought to be -ameliorated every now and then: for I know he would at once, if changed -to a better place, get better. And so I have written to him to make a -change as soon as he can. - -It is highly important that no replies should be made to attacks. Get -the people to devote themselves to work and to ignoring attacks. The -opposing forces strain every nerve to irritate some or all of us so -that we may reply in irritation and precipitate more follies. Consider -solely how to improve old work, get up new work and infuse energy into -work. Otherwise the beneficent influences intended for all F.T.S. will -be nullified. - -Cheer up ----, and from your standpoint tell him how to know the -distinction between the intellect and spiritual mind. Tell him how to -find out his spirit-will and to ignore a little the mental attitude -he takes. Do not point to particular instances of his own failure but -detail your own inner experience. It will do him good. - -Upanishads. "Subsisting" here means, not that the self _exists_ by -reason of food, but that as a manifestation, as one causing the body to -be visible and to act, the self subsists in that state by means of the -food which is used. It is really a reversed translation, and ought to -read--as I think--"The self exists in close proximity to the heart and -causes the body to exist by reason of the food which it takes in for -its subsistence." That is, continual reference is had to the doctrine -that if the self were not there the body would not exist. Yes: it also -means that the self procures vital airs from the food which the one -life causes to be digested. For note that which you know, that did -we not take food the material unit of the trinity would die and the -self be disappointed, and then would get another body to try in again. -For is it not permitted to each one to try and set up a habit in that -material unit whereby we may as incarnated beings know the self? Then -when that is done we do not live as others; but all the same, even -then, the self must subsist, so to say, while in manifestation, by -means of food, no matter if that food be of a different character, -corresponding to the new state. Even the Devas subsist by food. -You know "they enter into that colour, or sound, or savour, at the -sacrifice, they rise in that colour, etc., and by it they live." Watch -words, ---- dear; they are traps. Catch ideas and I will understand you -by the context that you are not confined to the ordinary meanings. - -I am swamped in work, but my courage is up, and I feel the help sent -from the right place. - -Let us go on from place to place and from year to year; no matter who -or what claims us outwardly, we are each the property of the self. - - As forevermore and after. - - -XI. - - To ----. - -There is a sentence in your letter not explained by J. Niemand, which, -however, needs explaining, for it is the outgrowth of an erroneous idea -in you. You say: "Can I help these ignorant elementals with mental -instruction? I tried it, but not successfully." - -In all those cases where it is caused by the elementals you _cannot_. -Elementals are not ignorant. They know just as little and just as -much as you do. Most generally more. Do you not know that they are -reflectors? They merely mirror to you either your own mind, or that -mental strata caused by the age, the race, and the nation you may be -in. Their action is invariably automatic and unconscious. They care not -for what is called by you "mental instruction." They hear you not. - -Do you know how they hear, or what language they understand? Not human -speech; nor ordinary human thought clothed in mental speech. That is a -dead letter to them altogether. - -They can only be communicated with through correlations of colours and -sounds. But while you address yourself to them, those thoughts assume -life from elementals rushing in and attaching themselves to those -thoughts. - -Do not, then, try to speak to them too much, because did you make -them know they might demand of you some boon or privilege, or become -attached to you, since in order to make them understand they must -_know_ you, and a photographic plate forgets not. - -Fear them not, nor recoil in horror nor repulsion. The time of trial -must be fulfilled. Job had to wait his period until all his troubles -and diseases passed away. _Before_ that time he could do naught. - -But we are not to idly sit and repine; we are to bear these trials, -meanwhile drawing new and good elementals so as to have--in western -phrase--a capital on which to draw when the time of trial has fully -passed away. - -On all other points Niemand has well explained. Read both together. - -Lastly; know this law, written on the walls of the temple of learning. - -"Having received, freely give; having once devoted your life in -thought, to the great stream of energy in which elementals and souls -alike are carried--and which causes the pulse beat of our hearts--you -can never claim it back again. Seek, then, that mental devotion which -strains to give. For in the law it is written that we must give away -all or we lose it: as you need mental help, so do others who are -wandering in darkness seeking for light." - - -XII. - -To-day I got your wire, "---- very low." This is a shock to me. I -hardly believe it is the end at all. I cannot believe it, there is so -much fire there. But I wired you to ask if I was to tell ----. Also -to read 2nd ch. _Bhag. Gîtâ_. That, my dear fellow, solves all these -troubles for me though it don't kill out immediate pain. Besides, it is -Karma just and wise. Defects are in us all, and if this is the taking -off why it means that a lot of obstructive Karma is thus at once and -forever worked off, and has left ---- free for greater work in better -places. I would I were there with you. Tell him how much I love him -and that in this era of Kali Yuga no sincere one, such as he, remains -long away from the work there is to do. Words are of no use. I have -sent thoughts, and those are useful, whether we are in the body or out -of it. I sent every night lately all the help I could and continued -through the day, not only to ----, but also you. It reached there, I -know, but I can't overcome Karma if it is too strong. - -Tell ---- if it should come to the worst, that no regrets about -the work are needed. What has already been accomplished there will -last, and seethe and do its work for several years to come. So in -that direction there could be nothing to regret. I cannot write ---- -directly: but if able to hear this--or maybe when it arrives--then head -it as if it were to him, and not to you. - -So, dear ----, in the presence of your wire this is all I can write. -You know my feelings, and I need not say any more - - As Ever. - - -XIII. - -You did right to send me that letter. Of course, I am sorry to hear -from you in that way, but am glad that you wrote. Let me tell you -something--will you believe it? You are not in nearly such a bad way -as you think, and your letter, which you sent me unreservedly, shews -it. Can you not, from the ordinary standpoint of worldly wisdom, see -it so? For your letter shews this; a mind and lower nature in a whirl, -not in the ordinary sense, but as though, figuratively speaking, it -were whirling in a narrow circle, seemingly dead, kept alive by its own -motion. And above it a human soul, not in any hurry, but waiting for -its hour to strike. And I tell you that I know it will strike. - -If so far as your personal consciousness goes you have lost all desire -for progress, for service, for the inner life--what has that to do -with it? Do you not think that others have had to go through with -all of that and worse; a positive aversion, may be, with everything -connected with Theosophy? Do you not know that it takes a nature with -some strength in it to sink very low, and that the mere fact of having -the power to sink low may mean that the same person in time may rise to -a proportionately greater height? That is not the highest path to go -but it is one that many have to tread. The highest is that which goes -with little variation, but few are strong enough to keep up the never -ceasing strain. Time alone can give them that strength and many ages of -service. But meanwhile there is that other to be travelled. Travel it -bravely. - -You have got the ----, which of the hells do you think you are in? Try -to find out and look at the corresponding heaven. It is very near. And -I do not say this to bolster you up artificially, for that would be of -no use and would not last, even if I were to succeed in doing it. I -write of facts and I think that somewhere in your nature you are quite -well aware that I do so. - -Now what is to be done: * * * * In my opinion you should deliberately -give yourself a year's trial. Write and tell me at the end of that year -(and meantime as often as you feel called upon to do so, which will -not be very often) how you then feel, and if you do not feel inclined -to go on and stick to it I will help you all I can. But you must do it -yourself, in spite of not wanting to do it. You can. - -Make up your mind that in some part of your nature somewhere there is -that which desires to be of use to the world. Intellectually realise -that that world is not too well off and probably wants a helping hand. -Recognise mentally that you should try to work for it sooner or later. -Admit to yourself that another part of your nature--and if possible see -that it is the lower part--does not care in the least about the world -or its future, but that such care and interest should be cultivated. -This cultivation will of course take time: all cultivation does. Begin -by degrees. Assert constantly to yourself that you intend to work and -that you will do so. Keep that up all the time. Do not put any time -limit to it, but take up the attitude that you are working towards that -end. Begin by doing ten minutes' work every day of any sort, study, -or the addressing of envelopes, or anything, so long as it be done -deliberately and with that object in view. If a day comes when this is -too irksome, knock it off for that day. Give yourself three or four -days' rest and do it deliberately. Then go back to your ten minutes' -work. At the end of six or seven weeks you will know what to add to -that practice: but go slowly, do nothing in a hurry, be deliberate. - -Don't try to feel more friendly to this or that person--more actively -friendly I should have said. Such things must spring up of their own -accord and will do so in time. But do not feel surprised that you -feel _all_ compassion die out of you in some ways. That too is an old -story. It is all right because it does not last. Do not be too anxious -to get results from the practice I have outlined above. Do not look -for any: you have no concern with them if you do all that as a duty. -And finally, do not forget, my dear fellow, that the dead do come to -life and that the coldest thing in the world may be made hot by gentle -friction. So I wish you luck, and wish I could do more for you. But I -will do what I can. - - -XIV. - -Now this is, as I said, an era. I called it that of Western Occultism, -but you may give it any name you like. But it is western. The symbol -is the well-intended American Republic, which was seen by Tom Paine -beforehand "as a new era in the affairs of the world." It was meant as -near as possible to be a brotherhood of nations, and that is the drift -of its declaration and constitution. The T.S. is meant to be the same, -but has for many years been in a state of friction. It has now, if -possible, to come out of that. It cannot be a brotherhood unless each, -or some, of its units becomes a brother in truth. And _brother_ was the -noble name given in 1875 to the Masters. Hence you and I and all of us -must cultivate that. We must forgive our enemies and those who assail -us, for only thus can the great brothers properly help by working -through us. There seems to be a good deal to forgive, but it is easily -done inasmuch as in fifty years we'll all be gone and forgot. - -Cut off, then, thoughts about those "foolish children" until harmonious -vibrations ensue to some extent. That absurdity ... let go. I have -deliberately refrained from jumping at such a grand chance. So you see -forgive, forgive and largely forget. Come along, then, and with me get -up as fast as possible the feeling of brotherhood. - -Now then, you want more light, and this is what you must do. You will -have to "give up" something. To wit: have yourself called half an -hour earlier than is usual and devote it _before_ breakfast to silent -meditation, in which brood upon all great and high ideas. Half an hour! -Surely that you can spare. And don't eat first. If you can take another -half _before_ you go to bed and without any preliminaries of undressing -and making things agreeable or more comfortable, meditate again. -Now don't fail me in this. This is much to give up, but give it up, -recollecting that you are not to make all those preparations indulged -in by people.... "The best and most important teacher is one's seventh -principle centered in the sixth. The more you divest yourself of the -illusionary sense of personal isolation, and the more you are devoted -to the service of others, the more Maya disappears and the nearer you -approach to Divinity." Good-bye, then, and may you find that peace that -comes from the self. - - -XV. - -In answer to your questions: - -(1) Clothes and astral form. - -Answer.--You are incorrect in assuming that clothes have no astral -form. Everything in nature has its double on other planes, the facts -being that nothing visible in matter or space could be produced without -such a basis. The clothes are seen as well as the person because they -exist on the astral plane as well as he. Besides this, the reason why -people are seen on the astral plane with clothes of various cut and -colour, is because of the thought and desire of the person, which -clothes him thus. Hence a person may be seen in the astral light -wearing there a suit of clothes utterly unlike what he has on, because -his thought and desire were on another suit, more comfortable, more -appropriate, or what not. - -(2) What can true and earnest Theosophists do against the Black Age or -Kali Yuga? - -Answer.--Nothing _against_ it but a great deal _in_ it; for it is to -be remembered that the very fact of its being the iron or foundation -age gives opportunities obtained in no other. It is only a quarter as -long as the longest of the other ages, and it is therefore crammed -four times as full of life and activity. Hence the rapidity with which -all things come to pass in it. A very slight cause produces gigantic -effects. To aspire ever so little now will bring about greater and more -lasting effects for good than at any other time. And similarly evil -intent has greater powers for evil. These great forces are visibly -increased at the close of certain cycles in the Kali Yuga. The present -cycle, which closes Nov. 17th, 1897-Feb. 18th, 1898, is one of the most -important of any that have been. Opportunities for producing permanent -effects for good in themselves and in the world as a whole, are given -to Theosophists at the present time, which they may never have again if -these are scattered. - - -XVI. - -The Masters have written that we are all bound together in one living -whole. Hence the thoughts and acts of one react upon all. - -Experience has shewn that it is true, as said by Masters, that any -sincere member in any town can help the T.S. and benefit his fellow -townsmen. It is not high learning that is needed, but solely devotion -to humanity, faith in Masters, in the Higher Self, a comprehension -of the fundamental truths of Theosophy and a little, only a little, -sincere attempt to present those fundamental truths to a people who are -in desperate need of them. That attempt should be continuous. No vain -striving to preach or prove phenomena will be of any value, for, as -again Masters have written, one phenomenon demands another and another. - -What the people want is a practical solution of the troubles besetting -us, and that solution you have in Theosophy. Will you not try to give -it to them more and more and save ---- from the slough it is in? - -I would distinctly draw your attention to Brother ----. There is not -that complete sympathy and toleration between him and you there ought -to be, and for the sake of the work it should be otherwise. You may say -that it is his fault. It is not wholly, for you must also be somewhat -to blame, if not in this life then from another past one. Can you deny -that for a long period he has held up the Branch there? for if he had -not it would have died out, even though you also were necessary agents. - -Have any of you had unkind or revengeful feelings to him? If so, ought -you not to at once drive them out of your hearts. For I swear to you -on my life that if you have been troubled or unfortunate it is by the -reaction from such or similar thoughts about him or others. Drive them -all out of your hearts, and present such kindliness and brotherliness -to him that he shall, by the force of your living kindness, be drawn -into full unity and co-operation with you. - -Discussion or proofs to shew that you are all right and he wrong avail -nothing. We are none of us ever in the right, there is always that in -us that causes another to offend. The only discussion should be to the -end that you may find out how to present to the world in your district, -one simple, solid, united front. - -As to the expression "seeing sounds," this you understand, of course, -so far as the statement goes. It records the fact that at one time -the vibrations which cause a sound now were then capable of making a -picture, and this they do yet on the astral plane. - - -XVII. - - In reply to your question: - -Neither the general law nor the Lodge interferes to neutralise the -effect of strain upon the disciple's physical energies when caused by -undue exertion or want of regularity, except in certain cases. Hence -the Theosophist is bound to see that his arrangement of hours for -sleep, work and recreation are properly arranged and adjusted, as he -has no right to so live as to break himself down, and thus deprive the -cause he works for of a useful and necessary instrument. - -Your friend's energies have been disarranged and somewhat exhausted by -irregularities as to rest and recreation, since work has been hard and -required rest--whether asleep or awake--has not been had. This causes -excitement, which will (or has) react in many different ways in the -system and upon the organs. It causes mental excitement which again -raises other disturbance. He, like anyone else, should take measures -so as to insure regularity as to rest, so that what work he does shall -be better and the present excitement subside in the system. It is not -wise to remain up late unless for good purposes, and it is not that to -merely remain with others to late hours when nothing good or necessary -can be accomplished. Besides other reasons, that is a good one. - -Excitement is heat; if heat be applied to heat, more is produced. -Coolness must be applied so as to create an equilibrium. This applies -in that case, and the establishment of regularity in the matter of -rest is the application of coolness. Second, the various exciting and -"wrongful" acts or thoughts of others are heat; coolness is to be -produced by discharging the mind of those and ceasing to refer to them -in words, otherwise the engendered heat will continue. It is needless -to refer to reasons resting on the points of conduct and example, for -those anyone is capable of finding and applying. - -As there is no hurry, it is easy to divest the mind of anxiety and the -irritation arising from hurry. Again, comparison of one's own work or -ways of doing things better than others is wrong and also productive of -the heat above spoken of. - - -XVIII. - -You are right in thinking that the essential principles of Theosophy -are often stated without the use of that name, for it is the only -universal fundamental system which underlies the religions of every -age. The New Testament, rightly understood, teaches Theosophy, and -we know that both Jesus and St. Paul were initiates. Of course, in -Theosophy, as in any other Science, one understands more as one reads -more, and I recommend you to read and digest such of our books as you -can conveniently procure. - -Now in respect to the questions you ask, let me say that Theosophy -requires no man to abandon a mode of life which is not in itself wrong. -The use of meat diet is not a sin; it is not even an offence; it is -a habit which the race has now largely conformed to, and is not a -question of morals or right. At a certain stage of advance as a chela -or disciple, the use of meat food has to be abandoned because of its -psychical and physiological effects. But you have not reached that -stage, nor is it likely that you will for a long time. As the use of -meat is not an offence, so neither can be the supply of it to others, -so that your assisting in killing hogs for market is in no way opposed -to your duty as a man or as a Theosophist. That being your duty in -present circumstances, I should recommend you to perform it without -hesitation. - -Men and women are complementary in character, and therefore adapted -to each other. It is natural that each sex should enjoy the company -of the other, and what is natural cannot be wrong. Moreover, it is -perfectly proper that when a suitable mate is found a man should marry -and settle down as a householder, bringing up a family with right views -and high purposes. He contributes a service to humanity, who puts -to take his place after his death, children who reproduce his true -and altruistic life. Consequently, if you find a suitable match and -desire matrimony, there can be no possible reason why you should not -carry out such a purpose. Like the abstention from meat, celibacy is -essential to advance after a certain stage, but that stage has not yet -been reached by you, and you cannot, therefore, be subjected to its -conditions. There can be no one rule laid down for all human beings, -inasmuch as the temperaments and desires are so different. Each must -work out the problem of life in his own way. If your aspirations are so -set on higher things that you find the lower a hindrance, it is evident -that you should not indulge in the latter; but if you are not so -hindered, then no less a duty is yours. You are right in thinking that -the essential to all true progress is a wish to conform utterly to the -Divine Will, we being certain that we shall be helped in proportion, as -is our need. - - -XIX. - -Yes, you are right. I am in danger, but that danger is not on the -outside, although it is on the outside that attempts are brought -forward. And in some sense all those with me are in danger too. It is a -danger from ---- which ever tries to forestall the steps of those who -travel forward. So too, my Dear, you are in the same sort of danger. -But while the danger is there, yet there is encouragement in the fact -itself. For we would not be so placed if we had not been so fortunate -as to have progressed through work and patience to the point where ---- -sees enough in us to try and stop progress and hinder our work. Hence, -if they see they cannot stop us, they try all plans to get up strife, -so as to nullify our work. But we will win, for knowing the danger we -take measures against it. I am determined not to fail. Others may; but ----- and I will not. Let us then await all suffering with confidence -and hope. The very fact that you suffer so much is objective evidence -of progress, even though so painful, not only to you but to those who -love you. So while I do not say "suffer on," I am comforted by the -knowledge that it will be for great good in the future. So I am writing -this, instead of machining it, in order that you may feel the force of -my love and comradeship. - -Let us all draw closer together in mind and heart, soul and act, -and try thus to make that true brotherhood through which alone our -universal and particular progress can come. - -To thee, oh holder of the flame, my love I send. Well, I go again, but -never do I forget. My best love and blessing to thee. I cannot speak of -these things, but thou knowest. - -And now, as formerly, and as now, and as forever and forevermore. - - -XX. - -Doubts and questions have arisen as to some things since the present -cloud gathered. Among others it has been said that it were better that ----- had left the chair: it would be well for him to go, and so on. -These views should not be held. If held, they should be dismissed. -There are two forces at work in the T.S., as well as in the world and -in man. These are the good and the bad. We cannot help this: it is -the Law. But we have rules, and we have preached of love and truth -and kindness; and above all, we have spoken of gratitude, not only -of Masters, but among us. Now this applies to this question of ----. -Again, he may be incompetent ... and yet be competent for the little he -has to do.... Now let me tell you: the work must not fail because here -and there personalities fall, and sin, and are unwise. TRUTH remains, -and IT IS, whoever falls: but the multitude look to the visible leader. -If he falls apart like an unjointed puzzle, at once they say, "there -is no truth there, nothing which is": and the work of a century is -ruined and must be rebuilt again from its foundations, and years of -backward tendency must come between the wreck of one undertaking and -the beginning of another. Let me say one thing I KNOW: only the feeling -of true brotherhood, of true love towards humanity aroused in the soul -of someone strong enough to stem this tide, can carry us through. -For LOVE and TRUST are the only weapons that can overcome the REAL -enemies against which the true theosophist must fight. If I, or you, -go into this battle from pride, from self-will, from desire to hold -our position in the face of the world, from anything but the purest -motives, we shall fail. Let us search ourselves well and look at it -as we never looked before: see if there is in us the reality of the -brotherhood which we preach and which we are supposed to represent. - -Let us remember those famous words: "Be ye wise as serpents and harmless -as doves." Let us remember the teaching of the Sages that death in the -performance of our duty is preferable to the doing by us of the duty of -another, however well we may do the latter: the duty of another is full -of danger. Let us be of and for peace, and not for war alone. - - -XXI. - -It is true ---- suffered through my cold and hard feelings. But it was -her fault, for I say now as then to ---- that she, absorbed in ----, -neglected my members, who are my children, and for whom I wanted her -best and got her worst. That made me cold, of course, and I had to -fight it, and didn't care if ---- did not like it: I have no time to -care. I am glad she has gone to ----. It is her trial and her chance -and when she sets back she can see for herself if she is able to -prevent the "big head" from coming on as has happened with others. If -she does, then she will have stood the reaction and I have faith she -will stand; but still it has to be met. Time comes on sure, and with it -trial. H. P. B. was her preparer and comfort, but men are not made into -steel by comfort, and note that H. P. B. then died off. - -My trip all over this country shows me that it is of more consequence -that I should now work up the U. S., where the Masters first worked in -this century. It needs all I can do.... So when I have fulfilled my -engagement on the English stage I shall skip back here quickly and do -this work. The field is even greater than I thought, although I had a -big idea of it. From the United States we can affect the world and they -will come to us from all places either for solid work or for help in -their need.... - -Well now, of you: I feel it all. It is up, and down. It is well you -are courageous, and to endure you are able. Indeed endure is the best -word, for that is what the oak does when the storms rage, for it is -better to endure when we can do nothing than to faint and fall. The -facts are to be faced. I hope they may turn out otherwise, but if not, -it is Karma. Aside from pain, it is the same as anything else. If it -comes, it will not last long. Still, I hope it cometh not. I think much -of it, but know the bravery of you and the high soul that dwells there. -All the time of pain and dogged fighting I know your real self sits up -above it all unaffected, and so does mine, and from that let us take -comfort. All things in this age move like lightning and so with all -our Karma, though mine has so often seemed slow, so far as concerns -me. Well, I cannot go on with this: I feel as you do: I stand by you -in heart and have often of late sent you messages of hope and power to -help you. - -I advised ---- to do her part to lessening the constant bringing -forward of the name of H. P. B., instead of independent thought on -Theosophy. We have too much of it and it is no proof of loyalty, and -it gives rise to much of the foolish talk of our dogmatism. You will -understand, and may be able to influence some to a more moderate though -firm attitude that will not lessen their loyalty and devotion. One good -point is that the true chêla does not talk much of his Master and often -does not refer to that Master's existence. It has almost become the -same as unnecessarily waving the red flag to a bull. Those of us who -have experience do not do it; but the younger ones do. X ---- does it -here in his speeches and I am going to speak to him of it. If it be not -avoided the first thing we know there will be a split between the H. P. -B.'ers and the theosophists _pur sang_, the latter claiming to be the -real thing because devoid of any personal element. You and I and ---- -do not find it necessary all the time to be flinging her (H. P. B.) in -the faces of others, and it is well now to take the warning offered -from the outside. Besides, I have had a very strong inside warning on -it. My best love now that we are near Christmas and New Year, and may -there be some sunshine to light the path. I send you my love unsullied -by a mere gift. - -I hope ---- will be firm and proceed as indicated, but she, like us -all, must meet her own old enemies in herself. - -Again I go, as for evermore. - - -XXII. - -Great excitement last night. It was the regular night of ---- T.S. and ----- was to speak. We got there at 8:15, and it was full. He began and -had just been fifteen minutes when it was discovered that the building -was on fire. We stopped and let 1,000 people in the various halls get -out, then quietly went and none were hurt, only two, ---- and ----, -getting a few quarts of water from a burst hose. - -It was a queer exit, for we went downstairs beside the elevator, and -glass, bricks and water were falling down the light well, while the -fire on the top stories of it roared and made a fine light, and streams -of fire ran down the oily elevator pipes on the other side; and firemen -pulled up hose neck or nothing as we got away. It was ----'s own -meeting, and it ended in fire! None of the great psychics present had -had the remotest premonition, but one invented afterwards an _ex post -facto_ sense of terror. - -Tell ---- the time has passed for him to vacillate; he knows his guru: -she was and is H. P. B.; let him reflect ere he does that which, in -wrecking her life and fame, will wreck his own life by leaving him -where nothing that is true may be seen.... Silence is useful now and -then, but silence sometimes is a thing that speaks too loud. I am his -friend and will help. No one can hurt him but himself; his work and -sacrifice were noble and none can point at him. - -See what I said in the opening vol. of _The Path_: that the study of -what is now called "practical occultism" was not the object of that -journal. "We regard it as incidental to the journey along the path. -The traveller, in going from one city to another, has perhaps to cross -several rivers; maybe his conveyance fails him and he is obliged to -swim, or he must, in order to pass a great mountain, know engineering -in order to tunnel through it, or is compelled to exercise the art of -locating his exact position by observation of the sun: but all that -is only incidental to his main object of reaching his destination. We -admit the existence of hidden, powerful forces in nature, and believe -that every day greater progress is made towards an understanding of -them. Astral body formation, clairvoyance, looking into the astral -light, and controlling elementals is all possible, but not all -profitable. The electrical current, which when resisted in the carbon -produces intense light, may be brought into existence by any ignoramus -who has the key to the engine-room and can turn the crank that starts -the dynamo, but is unable to prevent his fellow man or himself from -being instantly killed, should that current accidentally be diverted -through his body. The control of these hidden forces is not easily -obtained, nor can phenomena be produced without danger, and in our view -the attainment of true wisdom is not by means of phenomena, but through -the development which begins within. True occultism is clearly set -forth in the _Bhagavat Gita_ and _Light on the Path_, where sufficient -stress is laid upon practical occultism, but after all, Krishna says, -the kingly science and the kingly mystery is devotion to and study -of the light which comes from within. The very first step in true -mysticism and true occultism is to try and apprehend the meaning of -Universal Brotherhood, without which the very highest progress in the -practise of magic turns to ashes in the mouth. - -"We appeal, therefore, to all who wish to raise themselves and their -fellow creatures--man and beast--out of the thoughtless jog-trot of -selfish everyday life. It is not thought that Utopia can be established -in a day: but through the spreading of the idea of Universal -Brotherhood, the truth in all things may be discovered. What is wanted -is true knowledge of the spiritual condition of man, his aim and -destiny. Such a study leads us to accept the utterance of Prajapati to -his sons: 'Be restrained, be liberal, be merciful,' it is the death of -selfishness." - -This is the line for us to take and to persevere in, that all may in -time obtain the true light. - - * * * * * - - THE LIGHT OF THE EYE FADETH, THE HEARING LEAVETH THE EAR, BUT THE - POWER TO SEE AND TO HEAR NEVER DESERTETH THE IMMORTAL BEING, WHICH - LIVETH FOREVER UNTOUCHED AND UNDIMINISHED.-- - - _Book of Items._ - - - - -EXTRACTS - - -XXIII. - -ON THEOSOPHY AND THE T.S. - -All the work that any of us do anywhere redounds to the interest and -benefit of the whole T.S., and for that reason we know that we are -united. - -The Self is one and all-powerful, but it must happen to the seeker -from time to time that he or she shall feel the strangeness of new -conditions; this is not a cause for fear. If the mind is kept intent -on the Self and not diverted from it, and comes to see the Self in all -things, no matter what, then fear should pass away in time. I would -therefore advise you to study and meditate over the _Bhagavat Gita_, -which is a book that has done me more good than all others in the whole -range of books, and is the one that can be studied all the time. - -This will do more good than anything, if the great teachings are -silently assimilated and put into action, for it goes to the very root -of things and gives the true philosophy of life. - -If you try to put into practice what in your inner life you hold to be -right, you will be more ready to receive helpful thoughts and the inner -life will grow more real. I hope with you that your home may become a -strong centre of work for Theosophy. - - * * * * * - -You want to know the inner situation of the T.S., well, it is just -this: we have all worked along for eighteen years, and the T.S. as a -body has its karma as well as each one in it. Those in it who have -worked hard, of course, have their own karma, and have brought -themselves to a point ahead of the T.S. Now, if the branches are -weak in their knowledge of Theosophy, and in their practise of its -precepts and their understanding of the whole thing, the body is in the -situation of the child who has been growing too fast for its strength, -and if that be the case it is bound to have a check. For my part I do -not want any great rush, since I too well know how weak even those -long in it are. As to individuals, say you, ... and so on. By reason -of hard and independent work you have got yourselves in the inner -realm just where you may soon begin to get the attention of the Black -Magicians, who then begin to try to knock you out, so beware. Attempts -will be silently made to arouse irritation, and to increase it where -it now exists. So the only thing to do is to live as much as possible -in the higher nature, and each one to crush out the small and trifling -ebullitions of the lower nature which ordinarily are overlooked, and -thus strength is gained in the whole nature, and the efforts of the -enemy made nil. This is of the highest importance, and if not attended -to it will be sad. This is what I had in view in all the letters I have -sent to you and others. I hope you will be able to catch hold of men, -here and there, who will take the right, true, solid view, and be left -thus behind you as good men and good agents. - - * * * * * - -When I was in ---- I broached to you and others the plan of getting -Theosophy to the working people. Has anything been done? It must be -simply put. It can be understood. It is important. Let us see if this -thing cannot be done; you all promised to go to work at it. Why not -turn, like the Bible man, to the byways and hedges from all these -people who will not come? Then I feel sure that, if managed right, a -lot of people who believe in Theosophy but don't want to come out for -it, would help such a movement, seeing that it would involve talking -to the poor and giving them sensible stuff. If need be, I'd hold a -meeting every night, and not give them abstractions. Add music, if -possible, etc. Now let me hear your ideas. Time rolls on and many queer -social changes are on the way. - - * * * * * - -I have your long letter from ---- and you are right as to conduct of -Branches. No Branch should depend on one person, for, if so, it will -slump, sure; nor on two or three either. Here they depended on me for -a long time, and my bad health in voice for a year was a good thing as -it made the others come forward. ---- is right enough in his way, but -certainly he ought to be fitting himself for something in addition to -speaking, as the T.S. has to have a head as well as a tongue; and if a -man knows he is bad at business, he should mortify himself by making -himself learn it, and thus get good discipline. We sadly need at all -places some true enthusiasts. But all that will come in time. The main -thing is for the members to study and know Theosophy, for if they do -not know it how can they give any of it to others? Of course, at all -times most of the work falls upon the few, as is always the case, but -effort should be made, as you say, to bring out other material. - - * * * * * - -... I am abundantly sure that you are quite correct in saying that it -is the Branches which work that flourish, and that those addicted to -"Parlour Talks" soon squabble and dwindle. You have gone right to the -root of the matter. So, also, I agree with you, heart and soul, in -what you say as to the policy of a timid holding and setting forth of -Theosophy. Nothing can be gained by such a policy, and all experience -points to energy and decision as essential to any real advance. - - * * * * * - -You are, I think, quite right to attempt to get all members to work -for their individual advance, by working for their Branches. By -doing things in this way, they provide an additional safeguard for -themselves, while forming a centre from which Theosophical thought can -radiate out to help and encourage others who are only beginning their -upward way. - - * * * * * - -I find that you state my view exactly. That view is that the A B C of -Theosophy should be taught all the time, and this not only for the -sake of outsiders, but also for the sake of the members who are, I -very well know, not so far along as to need the elaborate work all the -time. And it is just because the members are not well grounded that -they are not able themselves to get in more inquirers. Just as you say, -if the simple truths practically applied as found in Theosophy are -presented, you will catch at last some of the best people, real workers -and valuable members. And Theosophy can best be presented in a simple -form by one who has mastered the elements as well as "the nature of -the Absolute." It is just this floating in the clouds which sometimes -prevents a Branch from getting on. And I fully agree, also, that if -the policy I have referred to should result temporarily in throwing -off some few persons it would be a benefit, for you would find others -coming to take their places. And I can agree with you, furthermore, out -of actual experience. - - * * * * * - -You by no means need to apologise for asking my attention to the matter -of your joining the Theosophical Society. It is my great desire and -privilege to give to all sincere enquirers whatever information I may -possess, and certainly there can be no greater pleasure than to further -the internal progress of any real student and aspirant. I think you -quite right in wishing to identify yourself with the Theosophical -Society, not only because that is the natural and obvious step for -anyone sincerely interested; but also because each additional member -with right spirit strengthens the body for its career and work. - - * * * * * - -In taking advantage of an opportunity to introduce Theosophy into the -secular press you are doing exactly the work which is so invaluable to -the Society, and which I so constantly urge upon our members. It is -in this way that so very many persons are reached who would otherwise -be quite inaccessible, and the amount of good which seed thus sown -can accomplish is beyond our comprehension. You have my very hearty -approval of and encouragement in your work and I am very sure that that -work will not be without fruit. - - * * * * * - -NEW YORK, _October 11th, 1892_.--This is the era of _Western -Occultism_. We are now to stand shoulder to shoulder in the U.S. to -present it and enlarge it in view of coming cussedness, attacks which -will be in the line of trying to impose solely Eastern disciples on us. -The Masters are not Eastern or Western, but universal. - - * * * * * - -I shall be glad to give you any information possible respecting -Theosophy and the Theosophical Society, but I think you err in -supposing that the purpose of either is to encourage the study of -what is known as the Occult Arts. Knowledge concerning, and control -of, the finer forces of nature are not things which should be sought -after at our elementary stage of progress, nor would such attainment -be appropriate, even if possible, to anyone who had not thoroughly -mastered the principles of Theosophy itself. - -Mere desire for powers is a form of selfishness, and receives no -encouragement from our Teachers. Mme. Blavatsky stated this matter -very clearly indeed in an article published in _Lucifer_, entitled -"Occultism _versus_ the Occult Arts." When persons without a large -preliminary training in the real Wisdom-Religion seek knowledge on -the Occult plane they are very apt, from inexperience and inadequate -culture, to drift into black magic. I have no power to put you into -communication with any adept to guide you in a course of Occult study, -nor would it be of service to you if the thing was possible. The -Theosophical Society was not established for any such purpose, nor -could anyone receive instructions from an adept until he was ripe for -it. In other words, he must undergo a long preliminary training in -knowledge, self-control, and the subjugation of the lower nature before -he would be in any way fit for instruction on the higher planes. What I -recommend you to do is to study the elementary principles of Theosophy -and gain some idea of your own nature as a human being and as an -individual, but drop entirely all ambition for knowledge or power which -would be inappropriate to your present stage, and to correct your whole -conception of Theosophy and Occultism. - - -XXIV. - -ON MASTERS. - -I think the way for all western theosophists is through H. P. B. I -mean that as she is the T.S. incarnate, its mother and guardian, its -creator, the Karmic laws would naturally provide that all who drew this -life through her belonged to her, and if they denied her, they need not -hope to reach ...: for how can they deny her who gave this doctrine -to the western world? They share her Karma to little purpose, if they -think they can get round this identification and benefit, and ... want -no better proof that a man does not comprehend their philosophy. This -would, of course, bar him from ... by natural laws (of growth). I do -not mean that in the ordinary business sense she must forward their -applications or their merits; I mean that they who do not understand -the basic mutual relation, who under value _her_ gift and _her_ -creation, have not imbibed the teaching and cannot assimilate its -benefits. - -She must be understood as being what she is to the T.S., or Karma (the -law of compensation, or of cause and effect) is not understood, or the -first laws of occultism. People ought to _think_ of this: we are too -much given to supposing that events are chances, or have no connection -with ourselves: each event is an effect of the Law. - - * * * * * - -What should be done is to realise that "the Master-Soul is one" with -all that that implies; to know the meaning of the old teaching, -"Thou art That." When this is done we may with impunity identify our -consciousness with that of anything in nature; not before. But to do -this is a lifetime's work, and beforehand we have to exhaust all Karma, -which means duty; we must live for others and then we will find out all -we _should_ know, not what we would _like_ to know. - -Devotion and aspiration will, and do, help to bring about a proper -attitude of mind, and to raise the student to a higher plane, and -also they secure for the student help which is unseen by him, for -devotion and aspiration put the student into a condition in which aid -can be given to him, though he may, as yet, be unconscious of it. But -conscious communication with one's Master can only be accomplished -after _long_ training and study. What a student has to do, and is able -to do, is to fit himself to receive this training. - - * * * * * - -The recognition from a Guru will come when you are ready, and my advice -to you is that, if possible, you put away from yourself the desire for -such recognition; for such desire will hinder you. If you will read -the _Bhagavat Gîtâ_, especially chapters ii. and iii., I think you -will find much to help you. There it says: "Let, then, the motive for -action be in the action itself, not in the event. Do not be incited -to actions by the hope of their reward ... perform thy duty ... and -laying aside all desire for any benefit to thyself from action, make -the event equal to thee, whether it be success or failure." It is but -natural that a student should hope for recognition from a Master, but -this desire is to be put aside, and that work is to be done which lies -before each. At the same time each one knows that the effect follows -the cause, hence whatever our due, we shall receive it at the right -time. - - * * * * * - -Every Chêla (and we are all that once we determine to be) has these -same difficulties. Patience and fortitude! For an easy birth is not -always a good one. The kingdom of heaven is only taken by violence, -and not by weakness of attack. Your constant aspiration persevered in -secret has led you to that point where just these troubles come to all. -Console yourself with the thought that others have been in the same -place and have lived through it by patience and fortitude.... Fix your -thoughts again on Those Elder Brothers, work for Them, serve Them, and -They will help through the right appropriate means and no other. To -meditate on the Higher Self is difficult. Seek then, the bridge, the -Masters. "Seek the truth by strong search," by doing service, and by -enquiry, and Those who know the Truth will teach it. Give up doubt, and -arise in your place with patience and fortitude. Let the warrior fight, -the gentle yet fierce Krishna, who, when he finds thee as his disciple -and his friend, will tell thee the truth and lighten up the darkness -with the lamp of spiritual knowledge. - - * * * * * - -Attacks cannot hurt, they must needs come, but all we have to do is to -keep right on, working steadily, and Masters will see after the rest. -For, that which is done in Their name will come right; and this whole -thing has arisen because I have chosen to proclaim my personal belief -in the existence of these beings of grandeur. So, let us shake again -with the confidence born from the knowledge of the wisdom of the Unseen -Leaders, and we go forth separately once more, again to the work, if -even not to meet until another incarnation is ours. But meeting then, -we shall be all the stronger for having kept faith now. - - * * * * * - -I am glad that you have such a faith in the Great Workers who are -behind us. They _are_ behind us, to my personal knowledge, and not -behind me only, but behind all sincere workers. I know that their -desire is that each should listen to the voice of his inner self and -not depend too much on outside people, whether they be Masters, Eastern -disciples or what not. By a dependence of that kind you become at last -thoroughly independent, and then the unseen helpers are able to help -all the more. - - * * * * * - -We are all human and thus weak and sinful. In that respect in which -we are better than others, they are better than we are in some other -way. We would be self-righteous to judge others by our own standard.... -Are we so wise as never to act foolishly? Not at all.... Indeed I have -come to the conclusion that in this nineteenth century a pledge is no -good, because everyone reserves to himself the right to break it if he -finds after a while that it is galling, or that it puts him in some -inconsistent attitude with something he may have said or done at some -other time.... In ----'s case, ... everyone should never think but the -very best, no matter what the evidences are. Why, if the Masters were -to judge us exactly as They must know we are, then good-bye at once. -We would all be sent packing. But Masters deal kindly with us in the -face of greater knowledge of our thoughts and evil thoughts from which -none are yet exempt. This is my view, and you will please me much if -you will be able to turn into the same, and to spread it among those -on the inside who have it not. It is easy to do well by those we like, -it is our duty to make ourselves do and think well by those we do not -like. Masters say we think in grooves, and but few have the courage to -fill those up and go on other lines. Let us who are willing to make the -attempt try to fill up these grooves, and make new and better ones. - -... Keep up your courage, faith and charity. _Those who can to -any extent assimilate the Master, to that extent they are the -representatives of the Master, and have the help of the Lodge in its -work...._ Bear up, firm heart, be strong, be bold and kind, and spread -your strength and boldness. - - * * * * * - -H. P. B. then said that it is by falling and by failing that we learn, -and we cannot hope at once to be great and wise and wholly strong. -She and the Masters behind expected this from all of us; she and They -never desired any of us to work blindly, but only desired that we work -unitedly. - - * * * * * - -H. P. B. wrote me in 1890: "Be more charitable for others than for -yourself, and more severe on yourself than on others." This is good -advice. A strain always weakens the fibres and produces friction. I -hope all misunderstandings will fly away. - - -XXV. - -ON OCCULT PHILOSOPHY. - -Begin by trying to conquer the habit, almost universal, of pushing -yourself forward. This arises from personality. Do not monopolise the -conversation. Keep in the background. If someone begins to tell you -about himself and his doings, do not take first chance to tell him -about yourself, but listen to him and talk solely to bring him out. -And when he has finished suppress in yourself the desire to tell about -yourself, your opinions and experiences. Do not ask a question unless -you intend to listen to the answer and inquire into its value. Try -to recollect that you are a very small affair in the world, and that -the people around do not value you at all and grieve not when you are -absent. Your only true greatness lies in your inner true self and it is -not desirous of obtaining the applause of others. If you will follow -these directions for one week you will find they will take considerable -effort, and you will begin to discover a part of the meaning of the -saying, "Man, know thyself." - -It is not necessary to be conscious of the progress one has made. -Nor is the date in any sense an extinguisher, as some have styled -it. In these days we are too prone to wish to know everything all at -once, especially in relation to ourselves. It may be desirable and -encouraging to be thus conscious, but it is not necessary. We make a -good deal of progress in our inner, hidden life of which we are not at -all conscious. We do not know of it until some later life. So in this -case many may be quite beyond the obstacles and not be conscious of -it. It is best to go on with duty, and to refrain from this trying to -take stock and measuring of progress. All of our progress is in the -inner nature, and not in the physical where lives the brain, and from -which the present question comes. The apparent physical progress is -evanescent. It is ended when the body dies, at which time, if the inner -man has not been allowed to guide us, the natural record against us -will be a cipher, or "failure." Now, as the great Adepts live in the -plane of our inner nature, it must follow that they might be actively -helping every one of us after the date referred to, and we, as physical -brain men, not be conscious of it on this plane. - -... I strongly advise you to give up all yoga practices, which in -almost all cases have disastrous results unless guided by a competent -teacher. The concussions and explosions in your head are evidences that -you are in no fit condition to try yoga practices, for they result -from lesions of the brain, _i.e._, from the bursting of the very -minute brain cells. I am glad you have written to me upon this matter, -that I may have an opportunity of warning you. Also I advise you to -discontinue concentration on the vital centres, which again may prove -dangerous unless under the guidance of a teacher. You have learnt, to a -certain degree, the power of concentration, and the greatest help will -now come to you from concentration upon the Higher Self, and aspiration -toward the Higher Self. Also if you will take some subject or sentence -from the _Bhagavat Gîtâ_, and concentrate your mind upon that and -meditate upon it, you will find much good result from it, and there is -no danger in such concentration. - - * * * * * - -As to the question about the disintegration of the astral body and -the length of time beforehand when it could be seen. My answer was -not meant to be definite as to years, except that I gave a period -of two years as a long one before the death of the physical body. -There are cases--perhaps rare--in which five years before the death -of the physical, a clairvoyant has seen the disintegration of the -astral beginning. The idea intended to be conveyed is, that regardless -of periods of time, if the man is going to die naturally (and that -includes by disease), the corruption, disintegrating or breaking up of -the astral body may be perceived by those who can see that way. Hence -the question of years is not involved. Violent deaths are not included -in this, because the astral in such cases does not disintegrate -beforehand. And the way of seeing such a death in advance is by another -method altogether. Death from old age--which is the natural close of a -cycle--is included in the answer as to death by disease, which might be -called the disease of inability to fight off the ordinary breaking up -of the cohesive forces. - - * * * * * - -You cannot develop the third eye. It is too difficult, and until you -have cleared up a good deal more on philosophy it would be useless, and -a useless sacrifice is a crime of folly. But here is advice given by -many Adepts: every day and as often as you can, and on going to sleep -and as you wake, think, think, think, on the truth that you are not -body, brain, or astral man, but that you are THAT, and "THAT" is the -Supreme Soul. For by this practice you will gradually kill the false -notion which lurks inside that the false is the true, and the true is -the false. By persistence in this, by submitting your daily thoughts -each night to the judgment of your Higher Self, you will at last gain -light. - - * * * * * - -Now as to _The Voice of the Silence_ and the cycles of woe (undergone -by the Arhan who remains to help mankind) it is easy to understand. You -must always remember when reading such things, that terms must be used -that the reader will understand. Hence speaking thus, it must be said -that there are such cycles of woe--from our standpoint--just as the -fact that I have no amusements but nothing but work in the T.S. seems -a great penance to those who like their pleasures. I, on the contrary, -take pleasure and peace in the "self-denial" as they call it. Therefore -it must follow that he who enters the secret Path finds his peace and -pleasure in endless work for ages for Humanity. But, of course, with -his added sight and knowledge, he must always be seeing the miseries -of men self-inflicted. The mistake you make is to give the person thus -"sacrificed" the same small qualities and longings as we now have, -whereas the wider sweep and power of soul make what we call sacrifice -and woe seem something different. Is not this clear, then? If it were -stated otherwise than as the _Voice_ has it, you would find many making -the vow and then breaking it; but he who makes the vow with the full -idea of its misery will keep it. - - * * * * * - -... If we can all accumulate a fund of good for all the others we will -thus dissipate many clouds. The follies and the so-called sins of -people are really things that are sure to come to nothing if we treat -them right. We must not be so prone as the people of the day are, of -whom we are some, to criticise others and forget the beam in our own -eye. The _Bhagavad Gîtâ_ and Jesus are right in that they both shew -us how to do our own duty and not go into that of others. Every time -we think that someone else has done wrong we should ask ourselves two -questions: - -(1) Am I the judge in this matter who is entitled to try this person? - -(2) Am I any better in my way, do I or do I not offend in some other -way just as much as they do in this? - -This will settle the matter I think. And in ... there ought to be no -judgments and no criticism. If some offend then let us ask what is -to be done, but only when the offence is against the whole. When an -offence is against _us_, then let it go. This is thought by some to be -"goody-goody," but I tell you the heart, the soul, and the bowels of -compassion are of more consequence than intellectuality. The latter -will take us all sure to hell if we let it govern only. Be sure of this -and try as much as you can to spread the true spirit in all directions, -or else not only will there be individual failure, but also the circle -H. P. B. made as a nucleus for possible growth will die, rot, fail, and -come to nothing. - -It is not possible to evade the law of evolution, but that law need -not always be carried out in _one_ way. If the same result is produced -it is enough. Hence in any one hour or minute the being attaining -adeptship could pass through countless experiences _in effect_. But, -as a fact, no one becomes an adept until he has in some previous time -gone through the exact steps needed. If you and I, for instance, miss -adeptship in this _Manvantara_, we will emerge again to take up the -work at a corresponding point in the much higher development of the -next, although then we may seem low down in the scale, viewing us from -the standard then to prevail. - - * * * * * - -The law is this. No man can rush on and fail to escape the counter -current, and in proportion as he rushes so will be the force of the -current. All members who work hard come at last to the notice of the -Lodge, and the moment they do so, the Black Lodge also takes notice, -and hence questions arise, and we are tried in subtle ways that surpass -sight, but are strong for the undoing of him who is not prepared by -right thought and sacrifice to the higher nature for the fight. I tell -you this. It may sound mysterious, but it is the truth, and at this -time we are all bound to feel the forces at work, for as we grow, so -the other side gets ready to oppose. - - * * * * * - -... Be sure that you understand me right about the Black side. I -mean this: that when men work along a good while, and really raise -themselves up by that, they get the attention of the Black if they are -of sufficient importance for it. I have their attention, and it makes -a trouble now and then. What we all want to have, then, is the best -armour for such a fight, and that is patience. Patience is a great -thing, and will work in more ways than one, not only in personal life, -but in wider concerns. - -The difficulty of remembering the things you read, and the like, may -be due to one or many causes. First, it indicates the need of mental -discipline in the way of compelling yourself to serious reading and -thinking, even though for a short time each day. If persisted in, -this will gradually change the mental action, just as one can alter -the taste for different sorts of food taken into the body. Again, if -you have been dealing in what is known as Mind Cure or Metaphysical -Healing, you should avoid it, because it will increase the difficulty -you mention. It is different from good, ordinary, mental discipline. -And also if you have been in any way following Spiritualism or -indulging in psychic thoughts or visions or experiences, these would be -a cause for the trouble, and should be abandoned. - - * * * * * - -There is no need for you to be a despairer. Reflect on that old verse, -"What room is there for sorrow and what room for doubt in him who knows -that the Self is one, and that all things are the Self, only differing -in degree." This is a free rendering but is what it means. Now, it is -true that a man cannot force himself at once into a new will and into -a new belief but by thinking much on the same thing--such as this--he -soon gets a new will and a new belief, and from it will come strength -and also light. Try this plan. It is purely occult, simple, and -powerful. I hope all will be well, and that as we are shaken up from -time to time we shall grow strong. - - * * * * * - -----'s article strove to show that H. P. B. did not teach the doctrine -of reincarnation in '77 as she did later, which is quite true so far as -the public was then concerned, but she did to me and others teach it -then as now, and further it seems clear what she meant, to wit, that -there is no reincarnation for the astral monad, which is the astral -man; and it being a theosophical doctrine that the astral man does not -reincarnate save in exceptional cases, she taught then the same thing -as she did later. Personally H. P. B. told me many times of the real -doctrine of reincarnation, enforced by the case of the death of my own -child, so I know what she thought and believed. - - * * * * * - -I am not able to give you the definition which you ask for, as it seems -to me spirit cannot be defined except in this way, that the whole -universe is made of spirit and matter, both constituting together the -Absolute. What is not in matter is spirit, and what is not in spirit -is matter; but there is no particle of matter without spirit, and no -particle of spirit without matter. If this attempted definition is -correct, you will see that it is impossible to define the things of the -spirit, and that has always been said by the great teachers of the past. - - * * * * * - -What a petty lot of matter we spend time on, when so much is -transitory. After a hundred years what will be the use of all this? -Better that a hundred years hence a principle of freedom and an impulse -of work should have been established. The small errors of a life are -nothing, but the general sum of thought is much.... I care everything -for the unsectarianism that H. P. B. died to start, and now threatened -in its own house. Is it not true that Masters have forbidden Their -chelâs to tell under what orders they act for fear of the black shadow -that follows innovations? Yes.... - - * * * * * - -Am very sorry to hear that your health is not good. In reply to your -question: A sound body is not expected, because our race is unsound -everywhere. It is Karma. Of course a correct mental and moral position -will at last bring a sound body, but the process may, and often does, -involve sickness. Hence sickness may be a blessing on two planes: (1) -the mental and moral by opening the nature, and (2) on the physical as -being the discharge into this plane of an inner sickness of the inner -being. - - * * * * * - -The question of sex is not the most difficult. The personal one is -still harder. I mean the purely personal, that relating to "me." The -sexual relates really only to a low plane gratification. If Nature can -beat you there, then she need not try the other, and _vice versa_; if -she fails on the personal she may attempt the other, but then with -small chance of success. - - * * * * * - -We all differ and must agree to disagree, for it is only by balancing -contrary things that equilibrium (harmony) is obtained. Harmony does -not come through likeness. If people will only let each other alone and -go about their own business quietly all will be well.... It is one's -duty to try and find one's own duty and not to get into the duty of -another. And in this it is of the highest importance that we should -detach our _minds_ (as well as our tongues) from the duties and acts of -others whenever those are outside of our own. If you can find this fine -line of action and inaction you will have made great progress. - - * * * * * - -Do not stop to consider your progress at all, because that is the way -to stop it; but take your mind off the question of your progress and do -the best you can. I hope you will be able to acquire in no long time -that frame of mind which you so much desire. I think you will acquire -that if you will take your mind off yourself as much as possible, and -throw it into something for someone else, which would, in course of -time, destroy the self impression. - - * * * * * - -I regret exceedingly all your troubles and difficulties. They are all, -it goes without saying, matters of Karma, and must right themselves -in process of time. Meantime, your work and duty lie in continuing -patient and persevering throughout. The troubles of your friends and -relatives are not your Karma, though intimately associated with it by -reason of the very friendship and relation. In the lives of all who -aspire to higher things there is a more or less rapid precipitation -of old Karma, and it is this which is affecting you. It will go off -shortly, and you will have gained greatly in having gotten rid of a -troublesome piece of business. - - * * * * * - -As it will take many a life for one to overcome the personal nature, -there is no good in imagining what things and thoughts would then -be like. It is certain that, in that long journey, the whole nature -changing, it is adjusted to all conditions. Many of those matters which -we call the woes of others are really nothing at all, and only "skin -deep"; the real woe of the race is not that. - - * * * * * - -By setting apart a _particular_ time for meditation a habit is formed, -and as the time comes round the mind will, after a while, become -trained, so that meditation at the particular time will become natural. -Hence, as far as possible, it will be well for you to keep to the same -hour. - - * * * * * - -You ask if I was at ---- where you saw me. Let me tell you something -in confidence. I am around at all places, but, of course, most at such -as where you ... and others like that are, but it is not necessary for -me to remember it at all, as it is done without that since this brain -has enough to do here. To remember I should have to retire and devote -myself to that, and it would make things no better. - - * * * * * - -A college course is not necessary for occultism. One of the best -occultists I know was never in college. But if a man adds good learning -to intuition and high aspiration he is naturally better off than -another. I am constantly in the habit of consulting the dictionary -and of thinking out the meanings and the correlations of words. Do the -same. It is good. - - * * * * * - -The old mission of the Rosicrucians, though dead on the outside, is not -dead, for the Masters were in that as They are in this, and it may be -possible to usher in a new era of western occultism devoid of folly. We -should all be ready for that if it be possible. - - * * * * * - -In regard to the pictures which you see, observe them with -indifference, relying always on the Higher Self, and looking to it for -knowledge and light, pictures or no pictures. - - -XXVI. - -ON WORK. - -Yes, that business is already a "back number," stale and unprofitable. -I have found that work tells. While others fume and fret and sleep, and -now and then start up to criticise, if you go right on and work, and -let time, the great devourer, do the other work, you will see that in -a little while that others will wake up once more to find themselves -"left," as they say in the land of slang. Do, then, that way. Your own -duty is hard enough to find out, and by attending to that you gain, -no matter how small the duty may be. The duty of another is full of -danger. May you have the light to see and to do! Tell ---- to work to -the end to make himself an instrument for good work. Times change, men -go here and there, and places need to be filled by those who can do the -best sort of work and who are full of the fire of devotion and who have -the right basis and a sure and solid one for themselves. My love to all. - - * * * * * - -I am very sorry that so many efforts on your part to influence the -public press have been unsuccessful, but I feel sure that you will -ultimately be successful. I am inclined to think that you will almost -certainly find that articles written by Theosophists on the spot will -obtain more ready admission than if you send them articles which have -already been printed. - -They have a more local colouring, and therefore a greater local -interest.... I feel sure that by persistent and steady work, such -as you are doing, you will win your way, and that even the most -conservative papers will find it to their interest to insert articles. - - * * * * * - -Both ---- and ---- are two weak, half-corroded spots. It is due to -(_a_) gossip about others, including me and others in the three lands; -(_b_) to the personal element; (_c_) most of all to the absence of real -faith in the Masters, for wherever that is not strong the work goes -down; (_d_) to a sort of fear of public opinion; (_e_) to incomplete -grasp of the elementary truths; and so on. - -Stick to it that the way is to do all you can and let the results go. -You have nothing to do with results; the other side will look out -for that. This is really the culmination of the work of ages, and it -would be a poor thing, indeed, if the Lodge had to depend alone on our -puny efforts. Hence, go on and keep the spirit that you have only to -proceed, and leave the rest to time and the Lodge. If all the other -members had the same idea, it would be better for the old T.S. But let -us hope on, for we have some any way, and that is more than none. - -You are right, too, about _The Secret Doctrine_, it is a mine, and is -the magazine for the warrior Theosophists, which is the description of -you and me and some others. - - * * * * * - -Let us all be as silent as we may be, and work, work; for as the enemy -rages, they waste time, while work shines forth after all is over, and -we will see that as they fought we were building. Let that be our -watchword.... I hope no weak souls will be shaken off their base. If -they get on their _own_ base they will not be shaken off. - - -XXVII. - -ON WISDOM IN ACTION. - -This is the right conclusion, to let all talk and other people's -concerns slip by and not meddle. No one should be taking information to -another, for it fans a flame, and now we have to ignore everything and -just work on, be good and kind and, like St. Paul's charity, overlook -all things. Retire into your own silence and let all others be in the -hands of Karma, as we all are. "Karma takes care of its own." It is -better to have no side, for it is all for the Master and He will look -out for all if each does just right, even if, to their view, another -seems not to do so. By our not looking at their errors too closely the -Master will be able to clear it all off and make it work well. The plan -of quiet passive resistance, or rather, laying under the wind, is good -and ought to work in all attacks. Retreat within your own heart and -there keep firmly still. Resist without resisting. It is possible and -should be attained. Once more, _au revoir_ only, no matter what may -happen, even irresistible Death itself. Earthquakes here yesterday: -these signify some souls of use have come into the world somewhere; -but where? - - * * * * * - -Well, now, just at this minute I do not know exactly what to say. Why -not take up an easy and fluidic position in the matter? An occultist -is never fixed to any particular mortal plan. Wait. All things come to -him who waits in the right way. Make yourself in every way as good an -instrument for any sort of work as you can. Every little thing I ever -learned I have now found out to be of use to me in this work of ours. -Ease of manner and of speech are of the best to have. Ease of mind -and confidence are better than all in this work of dealing with other -men--that is, with the human heart. The more wise one is the better -he can help his fellows, and the more cosmopolitan he is the better, -too.... When the hour strikes it will then find you ready; no man knows -when the hour will strike. But he has to be ready. You see Jesus was -in fact an occultist, and in the parable of the foolish virgins gave a -real occult ordinance. It is a good one to follow. Nothing is gained, -but a good deal is lost by impatience--not only strength, but also -sight and intuition. So decide nothing hastily. Wait; make no set plan. -Wait for the hour to make the decision, for if you decide in advance -of the time you tend to raise a confusion. So have courage, patience, -hope, faith, and cheerfulness. - -The very first step towards being positive and self-centered is in the -cheerful performance of duty. Try to take pleasure in doing what is -your duty, and especially in the _little_ duties of life. When doing -any duty put your whole heart into it. There is much in this life that -is bright if we would open our eyes to it. If we recognize this then we -can bear the troubles that come to us calmly and patiently, for we know -that they will pass away. - -... You can solidify your character by attending to small things. By -attacking small faults, and on every small occasion, one by one. This -will arouse the inner attitude of attention and caution. The small -faults and small occasions being conquered, the character grows strong. -Feelings and desires are not wholly of the body. If the _mind_ is -deliberately taken off such subjects and placed on other and better -ones, then the whole body will follow the mind and grow tractable. This -struggle must be kept up, and after awhile it will be easier. Old age -only makes this difference--the machine of body is less strong; for in -old age the thoughts are the same if we let them grow without pruning. - - * * * * * - -There is never any need to worry. The good law looks out for all -things, and all we have to do is our duty as it comes along from day -to day. Nothing is gained by worrying about matters and about the way -people do not respond. In the first place you do not alter people, -and in the second, by being anxious as to things, you put an occult -obstacle in the way of what you want done. It is better to acquire a -lot of what is called carelessness by the world, but is in reality a -calm reliance on the law, and a doing of one's own duty, satisfied -that the results must be right, no matter what they may be. Think that -over, and try to make it a part of your inner mind that it is no use to -worry; that things will be all right, no matter what comes, and that -you are resolved to do what you see before you, and trust to Karma for -all the rest. - - * * * * * - -I am sorry to hear that you are passing through what you mention. Yet -you knew it would have to come, and one learns, and the purpose of life -is to learn. It is all made up of learning. So though it is hard it is -well to accept it as you say. - -Do you know what it is to resist without resistance? - -That means, among other things, that too great an expenditure of -strength, of "fortitude," is not wise. If one fights one is drawn into -the swirl of events and thoughts instead of leaning back on the great -ocean of the Self which is never moved. Now you see that, so lean -back and look on at the ebb and flow of life that washes to our feet -and away again many things that are not easy to lose or pleasant to -welcome. Yet they all belong to Life, to the Self. The wise man has no -personal possessions. - -Anyway you are right that struggling is wrong. Do it quietly, that is -the way the Masters do it. The reaction the other way is just as you -say, but the Master has so much wisdom He is seldom if ever, the prey -of reactions. That is why He goes slowly. But it is sure.... I know how -the cloud comes and goes. That is all right; just wait, as the song -says, till they roll by. - -Arouse, arouse in you the meaning of "Thou art That." Thou art the -Self. This is the thing to think of in meditation, and if you believe -it then tell others the same. You have read it before, but now try -to realise it more and more each day and you will have the light you -want.... If you will look for wisdom you will get it sure, and that is -all you want or need. Am glad all looks well. It would always look well -if each and all minded their own things and kept the mind free from all -else. - -Patience is really the best and most important thing, for it includes -many. You cannot have it if you are not calm and ready for the -emergency, and as calmness is the one thing necessary for the spirit to -be heard, it is evident how important patience is. It also prevents one -from precipitating a thing, for by precipitation we may smash a good -egg or a good plan, and throw the Karma, for the time, off and prevent -certain good effects flowing. So, keep right on and try for patience in -all the very smallest things of life every day, and you will find it -growing very soon, and with it will come greater strength and influence -on and for others, as well as greater and clearer help from the inner -side of things. - - * * * * * - -For the love of heaven do not take any tales or informations from any -person to any other. The man who brought news to the king was sometimes -killed. The surest way to make trouble out of nothing is to tell about -it from one to another. Construe the words of the _Gîtâ_ about one's -own duty to mean that you have nothing to do in the smallest particular -with other people's fancies, tales, facts, or other matters, as you -will have enough to do to look out for your own duty.... Too much, -too much, trying to force harmony. Harmony comes from a balancing of -diversities, and discord from any effort to make harmony by force.... -In all such things I never meddle, but say to myself it is none of my -affair at all, and wait till it _comes to me_--and thank God if it -never arrives! And that is a good rule for you. - - * * * * * - -Think of these points: - -(_a_) Criticism should be abandoned. It is no good. Co-operation is -better than criticism. The duty of another is dangerous for one whose -duty it is not. The insidious coming of unbrotherly criticism should be -warned against, prevented, stopped. By example you can do much, as also -by word in due season. - -(_b_) Calmness is now a thing to be had, to be preserved. No irritation -should be let dwell inside. It is a deadly foe. Sit on all the small -occasions that evoke it and the greater ones will never arise to -trouble you. - -(_c_) Solidarity. - -(_d_) Acceptation of others. - - * * * * * - -It is not wise to be always analysing our faults and failures; to -regret is waste of energy: if we endeavour to use all our energy in the -service of the Cause, we shall find ourselves rising above our faults -and failures, and though these must perhaps occur, they will lose their -power to drag us down. Of course we do have to face our faults and -fight them, but our strength for such a struggle will increase with -our devotion and unselfishness. This does not mean that vigilance over -one's thoughts and acts is ever to be relaxed. - -If you will rely upon the truth that your inner self is a part of the -great Spirit, you will be able to conquer these things that annoy, and -if you will add to that a proper care of your bodily health, you will -get strength in every department. Do not look at things as failures, -but regard every apparent failure after real effort as a success, for -the real test is in the effort and motive, and not in the result. If -you will think over this idea on the lines of _The Bhagavat Gîtâ_ you -will gain strength from it. - - * * * * * - -As before so now I will do all I can for you, which is not much, as -each must do for himself. Just stay loyal and true, and look for the -indications of your own duty from day to day, not meddling with others, -and you will find the road easier. It is better to die in one's own -duty than to do that of another, no matter how well you do it. Look for -peace that comes from a realisation of the true unity of all and the -littleness of oneself. Give up in mind and heart all to the Self and -you will find peace. - - * * * * * - -The deadening dullness you speak of is one of the trials of the age, -but we have some good and earnest people, and they may act as the -righteous men in the cities of old, for our ideas are more mighty -than all the materialism of the age, which is sure to die out and be -replaced by the truth. You will have to take care that the spirit of -the time, and the wickedness and apathy of the people, do not engender -in you a bitter spirit. This is always to be found in the beginning, -but now, being forewarned, you are forearmed. - - * * * * * - -Do not allow bitterness to come up; keep off all personalities all -the time; let the fight be for a cause and not against anyone. Let no -stones be thrown. Be charitable. Do not let people be asked to step -out, no matter what they do; when they want to go they may go, but -don't have threats nor discipline, it does no good but a lot of harm. - - * * * * * - -Say, look here, never growl at anything you have to do. If you have -to go, just take it as a good thing you have to do, and then it will -redound to the good of them and yourself, but if it is a constant cross -then it does no good and you get nothing. Apply your theories thus.... -It is a contest of smiles if we really know our business.... Never be -afraid, never be sorry, and cut all doubts with the sword of knowledge. - - * * * * * - -I think that you will be helped if you will try to aid some poor, -distressed person by merely talking and expressing your sympathy if -you are not able to help in money, though the very fact of giving five -cents to someone who needs it is an act which, if done in the right -spirit, that of true brotherliness, will help the one who gives. I -suggest this because you will, by doing so, set up fresh bonds of -sympathy between you and others, and by trying to alleviate the sorrows -or sufferings of others, you will find strength come to you when you -most need it. - - * * * * * - -Let them croak, and if we keep silent it will have no effect and as -there has been trouble enough it is better not to make it any worse by -referring to it. The only strength it has is when we take notice. It is -better policy for all of us who are in earnest and united to keep still -in any matter that has any personal bearing. - - * * * * * - -_Silentio_, my dear, is almost as good as patience. He laughs best who -does it last, and time is a devil for grinding things.... Use the time -in getting calmness and solid strength, for a deep river is not so -because it has a deep bed, but because it has _volume_. - -Rely within yourself on your Higher Self always, and that gives -strength, as the Self uses whom it will. Persevere, and little by -little _new ideals_ and thought-forms will drive out of you the old -ones. This is the eternal process. - - * * * * * - -Troubles are ahead, of course, but I rather think that the old -war-horse of the past will not be easily frightened or prevented from -the road. Do your best to make and keep good thought and feeling of -solidarity.... Our old lion of the Punjab is not so far off, but all -the same is not in the place some think, or in the condition either. - - * * * * * - -The way gets clearer as we go on, but as we get clearer we get less -anxious as to the way ahead. - - * * * * * - -There is service objective and its counterpart within, which being -stronger will at last manifest without. - - * * * * * - -Do not judge in anger, for though the anger passes the judgment remains. - - * * * * * - -The promises I made to myself are just as binding as any others. - - * * * * * - -Be true lovers, but of God, and not of each other. Love each the other -in that to one another ye mirror God, for that God is in you each. - - * * * * * - -We all are; I too. We never _were_ anything, but only continually are. -What we are now determines what we will be. - - * * * * * - -In order to off-set the terribly cold effect of perceiving the -littleness of human affairs, one must inculcate in oneself a great -compassion which will include oneself also. If this is not done, -contempt comes on, and the result is dry, cold, hard, repellent and -obstructive to all good work. - -I know that his absence is a loss to you, but I think if you will -regard all things and events as being in the Self and It in them, -making yourself a part of the whole, you will see there is no real -cause for sorrow or fear. Try to realise this and thus go in confidence -and even joy. - - * * * * * - -There are valleys in which the greatest shadows are due to old lives in -other bodies, and yet the intensity of universal love and of aspiration -will dissipate those in an instant of time. - - - - -AN OCCULT NOVEL - - -A tireless worker, Mr. Judge, was always proposing new modes of -activity. One never knew what fresh idea would not emanate from his -indefatigable mind. One idea with which he occupied some of his lighter -moments, was that of an occult novel. It was his idea that a friend -of his should write this, from incidents and material to be furnished -by himself, and to this idea he adhered, even having the title -copyrighted, with the name of his author, despite the laughing protests -of this friend, to whose outcries and statements that she never could, -and never should, write a novel, Mr. Judge would smilingly reply: "Oh, -yes! You will do it when the time comes." From time to time he sent to -this friend suggestions, incidents and other material for this novel, -the same being on odds and ends of paper, often rough wrapping paper, -and being jotted down under a lamp-post at night while he waited for -his tram, or in court while he waited for the case in which he was -engaged to come up. On these scraps are also marginal notes, as he -accepted or rejected the ideas of his own prolific mind. These notes -are given here as such. It has been suggested that the recipient of -these materials should still write the novel as proposed, but setting -aside the fact that she could not be sure of properly rendering the -real ideas of Mr. Judge, it is also thought that readers will much -prefer to have the notes precisely as Mr. Judge set them down. - -The printed title-page runs as follows: - - IN A BORROWED BODY. - _The Journey of a Soul._ - BY - J. CAMPBELL VER-PLANCK, F.T.S. - 1891. - -The name is filled in in the writing of Mr. Judge, and there is this -marginal note. "Copyright gone to Washngn." - -(All "Notes" are to be understood as being marginal ones made by Mr. -Judge unless otherwise stated.) - - -MEMO. ABOUT _Borrowed Body_. - -The point on which it should all turn is not so much reincarnation as -the use of a borrowed body, which is a different kind of reincarnation -from that of Arnold's _Phra the Phœnician_. - -This will also give chance to show the other two sorts of -reincarnation, _e.g._:-- - -(_a_) Ordinary reincarnation in which there is no memory of the old -personality, as the astral body is new; and: - -(_b_) Exception as to astral body; but similarity of conception to that -of ordinary cases, where the child retains the old astral body and -hence memory of old personality and acquaintance with old knowledge and -dexterity. - - -A CHAPTER. - -_The Assembling of the Skandhas._ - -On the death of body the Kama principle collects the Skandhas in space, -or at the rebirth of the Ego the Skandhas rush together and assemble -about it to go with it in the new life. - - -ANOTHER. - -_The Unveiling of the Sun._ - -There is the real and unreal sun. The real one is hidden by a golden -vase, and the devotee prays: - -"Unveil, O Pushan, the true Sun's face," etc. A voice (or other) says -"thou art that vase" and then he knows that he alone hides the true Sun -from himself. - -Pushan is the guide and watches on the path to the Sun. - -The eulogy of the Sun and the Soul are enshrined in a golden rose or -lotus in the heart which is impregnable. - -The theme of the book is not always teacher and pupil. - -He first strives for some lives ordinarily and then in one he grows old -and wise, and sitting before a temple one day in Madura he dies slowly, -and like a dissolving view he sees the adepts round him aiding him; -also a small child which seems to be himself, and then thick darkness. -He is born then in the usual way. - -Twice this is repeated, each time going through the womb but with the -same astral body. - -Then he lives the third life to forty-nine, and comes again to die and -with same aid he selects a foreign child who is dying. - -Child dying. Skandhas collecting, child's Ego going--left, spark of -life low: relatives about bed. - -He enters by the way the mind went out and revivifies the body. -Recovery, youth, etc., etc. - -This is his borrowed body. - - -MEMO. NO. 2 - -_A couple of Incidents for the Book._ - -A round tower used by the fire worshippers in Ireland and other isles -in early ages. A temple is attached to it; quaint structure--one priest -and one neophyte. - -People below the tower coming into the temple grounds as the religion -is in its decadence. - -On the top of the tower is the neophyte, who in the face of the -prevailing scepticism clings to the dead faith and to the great priest. -His duty is to keep a fire on the tower burning with aromatic woods. -He leans over the fire; it burns badly; the wood seems green; he blows -it up; it burns slightly; he hears the voices of the disputers and -sellers below; goes to the tower and gazes over while the fire goes -slowly out. He is a young man of singular expression, not beautiful -but powerful face; intense eyes, long dark hair, and far gazing eyes -of a greyish colour unusual for such hair. Skin clear with a shifting -light flowing from it. Sensitive face; blushes easily but now and then -stern. As he still gazes the fire goes out. Just then a tall old man -comes up the stairs and stands upon the tower top at opposite side, -looking at the fire and then at the young man and withdraws not his -gaze for an instant. It is a sternly powerful drawing look. He is very -tall, dark brown eyes, grey hair, long beard. The young man feels his -look and turns about and sees the fire out completely, while its last -small cloud of smoke is floating off beyond the tower. They look at -each other. In the young man's face you see the desperate first impulse -to excuse, and then the sudden thought that excuses are useless because -childish, for he knew his duty--to keep the small spiral of smoke ever -connecting heaven with earth, in the hope, however vain, that thus the -old age might be charmed to return. The old man raises his hand, points -away from the tower and says "go." Young man descends. - -_II. A battle._--In the hottest a young soldier armed to the teeth, -fighting as if it made no matter whether he win or lose, die or live. -Strange weapons, sounds and clouds. - -Wounded, blood flowing. It is the young man of the tower. He sinks -down taken prisoner. In a cell condemned, for they fear his spiritual -power. Conflict between the last remnant of the old religion and the -new, selfish faith. - -Taken to his execution. Two executioners. They bind him standing and -stand behind and at side; each holds a long straight weapon with a -curved blunt blade, curved to (fit?) about the neck. They stand at -opposite sides, place those curved blunt blades holding his neck like -two crooks. They pull--a sickening sound: his head violently pulled out -close to the shoulder leaves a jagged edge. The body sways and falls. -It was the way they made such a violent exit for a noble soul as they -thought would keep it bound in the astral earth sphere for ages. - -III. That young man again. He approaches an old man (of the tower). -Young one holds parchments and flowers in his hand, points to -parchments and asks explanation. Old one says, "Not now; when I come -again I will tell you." - -_Note._--Keep this, Julius. - - W. Q. J. - Z. L. Z. - -The next batch of notes is headed by the single word: "_Book_." Then -follow four lines of shorthand. After these the words: - -"Incidents showing by picture his life in other ages; the towers; the -battle; the death; the search for knowledge and the sentiment expressed -in the flowers." - -Eusebio Rodigues de Undiano was a notary in Spain who found among -the effects of his father many old parchments written in a language -which was unknown to him. He discovered it was Arabic, and in order to -decipher them learned that tongue. They contained the story. - -_Note._--No initiates; Lytton only. - -Eusebio de Undiano is only one of the old comrades reborn in Spain who -searches like Nicodemus for the light. - -_Note._--Yes. - -Eusebio de Undiano finds in his father's parchments confirmation of -what the possession of the body has often told him. - -_Note._--Yes. - -This person in the body never gave his name to anyone and has no name. - -An autobiographical story? No? _Yes!_ Related by one who was struck; -by an admirer who suspected something? No; because that is hearsay -evidence; the proof is incomplete, whereas he relating it himself is -either true, or a mere insane fancy. It is better to be insane than be -another's tool. - -Stick to the tower and the head-chopping business. Let him be that -young man and after the head loss he wanders in Kama Loca and there he -sees the old man who was killed on the tower soon after the fire went -out. The old man tells him that he will tell all when they return to -earth. - -He wanders about the tower vicinity seeking a birth, until one day he -sees vague shapes suddenly appearing and disappearing. They are not -dressed like his countrymen down below on the earth. This goes on. They -seem friendly and familiar, the one requesting him to go with them, -he refuses. They are more powerful than he is yet they do not compel -him but show him their power. One day one was talking to him; he again -refuses unless something might show him that he ought to go. Just then -he hears a bell sound, such as he never heard before. It vibrates -through him and seems to open up vistas of a strange past and in a -moment he consents to go. - -They reach Southern India and there he sees the old man of the tower, -whom he addresses, and again asks the burning question about the -parchment. The old man says again the same as before and adds that he -had better come again into the world in that place. - -The darkness and silence. The clear, hot day. The absence of rain. -After listening to the old man he consents inwardly to assume life -there and soon a heavy storm arises, the rain beats, he feels himself -carried to the earth and in deep darkness. A resounding noise about -him. It is the noise of the growing plants. This is a rice field with -some sesamum in it. The moisture descends and causes the expanding; -sees around, all is motion and life. Inclosed in the sphere of some -rice, he bemoans his fate. He is born in a Brahmin's house. - - * * * * * - -_Note._--Shall the question of reincarnation through cloud and rain and -seed and thus from the seed of the man, be gone into? - -He is the young man. He knows much. He dies at nineteen. Strange forms -around his bed who hold him. They carry him back to the land of the -towers. He recognizes it again and sees that ages have passed since -the fire went out, and in the air he perceives strange shapes and sees -incessantly a hand as of Fate, pointing to that Island. The towers are -gone, the temples and the monuments. All is altered. They take him to -a populous city and as he approaches he sees over one house a great -commotion in the air. Shapes moving. Bright flashes, and puffs as of -smoke. They enter the room, and on the bed is the form of a young boy -given up to die, with relatives weeping. His guides ask him if he will -borrow that body about to be deserted and use it for the good of their -Lodge. He consents. They warn him of the risks and dangers. - -The boy's breathing ceases and his eyes close, and a bright flash is -seen to go off from it (the body). He sees the blood slowing down. THEY -push him, and he feels dark again. Boy revives. Physician takes hope. -"Yes; he will recover, with care." He recovers easily. Change in his -character. Feels strange in his surroundings, etc. - -The place in India where he went after death which was again sudden -(how?). A large white building. Gleaming marble. Steps. Pillars. A hole -that has yellowish glow that looks like water. Instruction as to the -work to be done, and the journey to the land of the tower, in search -of a body to borrow. As to bodies being deserted by the tenant that -might live if well understood and well connected with a new soul. The -difference between such a birth and an ordinary birth where the soul -really owns the body, and between those bodies of insane people which -are not deserted, but where the owner really lives outside. Bodies of -insane are not used because the machine itself is out of order, and -would be useless to the soul of a sane person. - - * * * * * - -_Note._--Julius; keep these. I will send them now and then. But before -you go away, return to me so I can keep the run of it. May change the -scheme. The motive is in the title I gave you. - - * * * * * - -_Note._--No one who has not consciously lived the double life of a man -who is in the use and possession of a body not his own can know the -agony that so often falls to one in such a case. I am not the original -owner of this body that I now use. It was made for another, and for -some little time used by him, but in the storm of sickness he left it -here to be buried, and it would have been laid away in the earth if -I had not taken it up, vivified its failing energies and carried it -through some years of trial by sickness and accident. But the first -owner had not been in it long enough to sow any troublesome seeds -of disease; he left a heritage of good family blood and wonderful -endurance. That he should have left this form so well adapted for -living, at least seems inconceivable, unless it was that he could not -use it, sick or well, for any of his own purposes. At any rate it is -mine now, but while at first I thought it quite an acquisition there -are often times when I wish I had not thus taken another man's frame, -but had come into life in the ordinary way. - - -A COUPLE OF INCIDENTS FOR THE BOOK. - -Incident of the letter and picture. - -There was a very curious old man (sufficient description to add). - -Sent a small cardboard in which was a picture, a head, and over it -appeared to be placed a thin sheet of paper, gummed over the sides -to the back. He asked if I could tell him anything of the picture -which was visible through the thin paper. Having great curiosity, I -lifted up the thin paper, and at once there seemed to be printed off -from its underside a red circle surrounding the head on the board. In -one instance this circle turned black and so did the entire inside -space including the head which was then obliterated. In the other the -red circle seemed to get on fire inward, and then the whole included -portion burned up. On examining the thin paper on underside there were -traces of a circle, as if with paste. - -He laughed and said that curiosity was not always rewarded. - -Took it to several chemists in Paris, who said that they knew of no -substance that would do this. The old chemist in Ireland said a very -destructive thing called Flourine might be liberated thus and do it, -but that it was only a thing with chemists and analysts. - -(_Note by the compiler._--In his travels Mr. Judge met many strange -people and saw some extraordinary sights. Now and again he would tell -one of these to be included in the novel, but just in this unfinished -and vague way. When asked to tell more, he would smile and shake his -head, saying: "No, No; little brothers must finish it.") - -_Another Incident._ - -The temple on the site of the present city of Conjeveram was about to -be consecrated and the regular priests were all ready for the ceremony. -Minor ceremonies had taken place at the laying of the cornerstone, -but this was to exceed that occasion in importance. A large body of -worshippers were gathered not for the gratification of curiosity, but -in order to receive the spiritual benefits of the occasion and they -filled the edifice so that I could not get inside. I was thus compelled -to stand just at the edge of the door, and that was, as I afterwards -found out, the best place I could have selected if I had known in -advance what was to take place. A few days before a large number of -wandering ascetics had arrived and camped on a spot near the temple, -but no one thought much of it because used to seeing such people. -There was nothing unnatural about these men, and all that could be -said was that a sort of mysterious air hung about them, and one or two -children declared that on one evening none of the visitors could be -found at their camp nor any evidence that men had been there, but they -were not believed, because the ascetics were there as usual the next -morning. Two old men in the city said that the visitors were Devas in -their "illusionary form," but there was too much excitement about the -dedication to allow of much thought on the subject. The event, however, -proved the old men right. - -At the moment when the people in the temple were expecting the priests -to arrive, the entire body of ascetics appeared at the door with -a wonderful looking sage-like man at their head, and they entered -the edifice in the usual formal way of the priests and the latter -on arriving made no disturbance, but took what places they could, -simply saying: "they are the Devas." The strangers went on with the -ceremonies, and all the while a light filled the building and music -from the air floated over the awestruck worshippers. - -When the time came for them to go they all followed the leader in -silence to the door. I could see inside, and as I was at the door -could also see outside. All the ascetics came to the entrance but not -one was seen to go beyond it, and none were ever perceived by any man -in the city again. They melted away at the threshold. It was their -last appearance, for the shadow of the dark age was upon the people, -preventing such sights for the future. The occurrence was the topic of -conversation for years, and it was all recorded in the archives of the -city. - - -IN A BORROWED BODY. - -I MUST tell you first what happened to me in this present life since it -is in this one that I am relating to you about many other lives of mine. - -I was a simple student of our high Philosophy for many lives on earth -in various countries, and then at last developed in myself a desire for -action. So I died once more as so often before and was again reborn in -the family of a Rajah, and in time came to sit on his throne after his -death. - -Two years after that sad event one day an old wandering Brahmin came to -me and asked if I was ready to follow my vows of long lives before, and -go to do some work for my old master in a foreign land. Thinking this -meant a journey only I said I was. - -"Yes," said he, "but it is not only a journey. It will cause you to be -here and there all days and years. To-day here, to-night there." - -"Well," I replied, "I will do even that, for my vows had no conditions -and master orders." - -I knew of the order, for the old Brahmin gave me the sign marked on my -forehead. He had taken my hand, and covering it with his waist-cloth, -traced the sign in my palm under the cloth so that it stood out in -lines of light before my eyes. - -He went away with no other word, as you know they so often do, leaving -me in my palace. I fell asleep in the heat, with only faithful Gopal -beside me. I dreamed and thought I was at the bedside of a mere child, -a boy, in a foreign land unfamiliar to me only that the people looked -like what I knew of the Europeans. The boy was lying as if dying, and -relatives were all about the bed. - -A strange and irresistible feeling drew me nearer to the child, and for -a moment I felt in this dream as if I were about to lose consciousness. -With a start I awoke in my own palace--on the mat where I had fallen -asleep, with no one but Gopal near and no noise but the howling of -jackals near the edge of the compound. - -"Gopal," I said, "how long have I slept?' - -"Five hours, master, since an Old Brahmin went away, and the night is -nearly gone, master." - -I was about to ask him something else when again sleepiness fell upon -my senses, and once more I dreamed of the small dying foreign child. - -The scene had changed a little, other people had come in, there was -a doctor there, and the boy looked to me, dreaming so vividly, as if -dead. The people were weeping, and his mother knelt by the bedside. The -doctor laid his head on the child's breast a moment. As for myself I -was drawn again nearer to the body and thought surely the people were -strange not to notice me at all. They acted as if no stranger were -there, and I looked at my clothes and saw they were eastern and bizarre -to them. A magnetic line seemed to pull me to the form of the child. - -And now beside me I saw the old Brahmin standing. He smiled. - -"This is the child," he said, "and here must you fulfil a part of your -vows. Quick now! There is no time to lose, the child is almost dead. -These people think him already a corpse. You see the doctor has told -them the fatal words, 'he is dead!'" - -Yes, they were weeping. But the old Brahmin put his hands on my head, -and submitting to his touch, I felt myself in my dream falling asleep. -A dream in a dream. But I woke in my dream, but not on my mat with -Gopal near me. I was that boy I thought. I looked out through his eyes, -and near me I heard, as if his soul had slipped off to the ether with a -sigh of relief. The doctor turned once more and I opened my eyes--his -eyes--on him. - -The physician started and turned pale. To another I heard him whisper -"automatic nerve action." He drew near, and the intelligence in that -eye startled him to paleness. He did not see the old Brahmin making -passes over this body I was in and from which I felt great waves of -heat and life rolling over me--or the boy. - -And yet this all now seemed real as if my identity was merged in the boy. - -I was that boy and still confused, vague dreams seemed to flit through -my brain of some other plane where I thought I was again, and had a -faithful servant named Gopal; but that must be dream, this the reality. -For did I not see my mother and father, the old doctor and the nurse so -long in our house with the children. Yes; of course this is the reality. - -And then I feebly smiled, whereon the doctor said: - -"Most marvellous. He has revived. He may live." - -He was feeling the slow moving pulse and noting that breathing began -and that vitality seemed once more to return to the child, but he did -not see the old Brahmin in his illusionary body sending air currents of -life over the body of this boy, who dreamed he had been a Rajah with a -faithful servant named Gopal. Then in the dream sleep seemed to fall -upon me. A sensation of falling; falling came to my brain, and with a -start I awoke in my palace on my own mat. Turning to see if my servant -was there I saw him standing as if full of sorrow or fear for me. - -"Gopal, how long have I slept again?" - -"It is just morning, master, and I feared you had gone to Yamâ's -dominions and left your own Gopal behind." - -No, I was not sleeping. This was reality, these my own dominions. So -this day passed as all days had except that the dream of the small boy -in a foreign land came to my mind all day until the night when I felt -more drowsy than usual. Once more I slept and dreamed. - -The same place and the same house, only now it was morning there. What -a strange dream I thought I had had; as the doctor came in with my -mother and bent over me, I heard him say softly: - -"Yes, he will recover. The night sleep has done good. Take him, when he -can go, to the country, where he may see and walk on the grass." - -As he spoke behind him I saw the form of a foreign looking man with a -turban on. He looked like the pictures of Brahmins I saw in the books -before I fell sick. Then I grew very vague and told my mother: "I had -had two dreams for two nights, the same in each. I dreamed I was a king -and had one faithful servant for whom I was sorry as I liked him very -much, and it was only a dream, and both were gone." - -My mother soothed me, and said: "Yes, yes, my dear." - -And so that day went as days go with sick boys, and early in the -evening I fell fast asleep as a boy in a foreign land, in my dream, -but did no more dream of being a king, and as before I seemed to fall -until I woke again on my mat in my own palace with Gopal sitting near. -Before I could rise the old Brahmin, who had gone away, came in and I -sent Gopal off. - -"Rama," said he, "as boy you will not dream of being Rajah but now -you must know that every night as sleeping king you are waking boy in -foreign land. Do well your duty and fail not. It will be some years, -but Time's never-stopping car rolls on. Remember my words," and then he -passed through the open door. - -So I knew those dreams about a sick foreign boy were not mere dreams -but that they were recollections, and I condemned each night to animate -that small child just risen from the grave, as his relations thought, -but I knew that his mind for many years would not know itself, but -would ever feel strange in its surroundings, for, indeed, that boy -would be myself inside and him without, his friends not seeing that he -had fled away and another taken his place. Each night I, as sleeping -Rajah who had listened to the words of sages, would be an ignorant -foreign boy, until through lapse of years and effort unremittingly -continued I learned how to live two lives at once. Yet horrible at -first seemed the thought that although my life in that foreign land as -a growing youth would be undisturbed by vague dreams of independent -power as Rajah, I would always, when I woke on my mat, have a clear -remembrance of what at first seemed only dreams of being a king, with -vivid knowledge that while my faithful servant watched my sleeping form -I would be masquerading in a borrowed body, unruly as the wind. Thus as -a boy I might be happy, but as a king miserable maybe. And then after I -should become accustomed to this double life, perhaps my foreign mind -and habits would so dominate the body of the boy that existence there -would grow full of pain from the struggle with an environment wholly at -war with the thinker within. - -But a vow once made is to be fulfilled, and Father Time eats up all -things and ever the centuries. - - - - -WILLIAM QUAN JUDGE - - -William Quan Judge, son of Alice Mary Quan and Frederick H. Judge, -was born at Dublin, Ireland, on April 13th, 1851. His mother died in -early life at the birth of her seventh child. The lad was brought up -in Dublin until his thirteenth year, when the father removed to the -United States with his motherless children, taking passage on the -Inman Liner, "City of Limerick," which arrived in New York harbour -on July 14th, 1864. Of the years of his childhood there is little to -be said, though we hear of a memorable illness of his seventh year; -an illness supposed to be mortal. The physician declared the small -sufferer to be dying, then dead; but in the outburst of grief which -followed the announcement, it was discovered that the child had -revived, and that all was well with him. During convalescence the -boy shewed aptitudes and knowledge never before displayed, exciting -wonderment and questioning among his elders as to when and how he had -learned all these new things. He seemed the same, and yet not the -same; had to be studied anew by his family, and while no one knew that -he had ever learned to read, from his recovery in his eighth year we -find him devouring the contents of all the books he could obtain, -relating to Mesmerism, Phrenology, Character-Reading, Religion, Magic, -Rosicrucianism, and deeply absorbed in the Book of Revelation, trying -to discover its real meaning. The elder Judge, with his children, lived -for a brief period at the old Merchants' Hotel, in Cortland Street, -New York: then in Tenth Street, and afterward settled in Brooklyn. -William began work in New York as a clerk, afterwards entering the -Law Office of George P. Andrews, who afterwards became Judge of the -Supreme Court of New York. There the lad studied law, living with his -father, who died soon after. On coming of age, William Q. Judge was -naturalised a citizen of the United States, in April, 1872. In May -of that year he was admitted to the Bar of New York. His conspicuous -traits as a lawyer, in the practice of Commercial Law, which became his -specialty, were his thoroughness, his inflexible persistence, and his -industry, which won the respect of employers and clients alike. As was -said of him, then and later: "Judge would walk over hot ploughshares -from here to India to do his duty." In 1874 he married Ella M. Smith, -of Brooklyn, by whom he had one child, a daughter, whose death in early -childhood was long a source of deep, though quiet, sorrow to both. -Mr. Judge in especial was a great lover of children, and had the gift -of attracting them around him, whether in public--as on the steamer -deck--or in private, and this without any apparent notice or effort on -his part. Wherever he went, one would see the children begin to sidle -up to him, soon absorbed in the new friend. - -Living in Brooklyn until 1893, Mr. and Mrs. Judge then removed to New -York in order to be nearer to the Theosophical Headquarters, Mr. Judge -at that date, and for the first time, giving up his arduous labours at -the law, in order to devote himself wholly to Theosophical work. - -Soon after his marriage Mr. Judge heard of Madame Blavatsky in this -wise. He came across a book which greatly interested him. This was -_People from the Other World_, by H. S. Olcott. Mr. Judge wrote to -Colonel Olcott, asking for the address of a good medium, for at this -time the tide of occult inquiry and speculation had just set in, -and the experiences of numbers of people, including those of Madame -Blavatsky, at the "Eddy Homestead," were the talk of all the world. -Mr. Judge was invited to call upon H. P. B. while no medium was -forthcoming, and thus the conjunction was formed, in this incarnation, -which H. P. B. later on declared to have existed "for æons past." -Henceforward, Mr. Judge spent much of his time with H. P. B. at Irving -Place, New York: he was one of a number of people present at her rooms -one evening when she turned to him, saying: "Ask Col. Olcott to form -a Society." This was done at once. Mr. Judge was called to the Chair, -nominating Col. Olcott as permanent Chairman, and was himself nominated -as Secretary. This was the beginning of the Theosophical Society, on -the date of 7th September, 1875. - -When Madame Blavatsky went to India, Mr. Judge was left to carry on -the T.S. in New York as best he could; a difficult task indeed when -she who was then the one great exponent had left the field, and the -curiosity and interest excited by her original and striking mission -had died down. The T.S. was henceforth to subsist on its philosophical -basis, and this, after long years of toil and unyielding persistence, -was the point attained by Mr. Judge. From his twenty-third year until -his death, his best efforts and all the fiery energies of his undaunted -soul were given to this Work. We have a word picture of him, opening -meetings, reading a chapter of the _Bhagavat Gîtâ_, entering the -Minutes, and carrying on all the details of the same, as if he were not -the only person present; and this he did time after time, determined -to have a Society. Little by little he gathered about him a number of -earnest seekers, some of whom still work in the New York and other -Branches, and through his unremitting labour he built up the T.S. in -America, aiding the Movement as well in all parts of the world, and -winning from The Master the name of "Resuscitator of Theosophy in -America." His motto in those days was, "Promulgation, not Speculation." -"Theosophy," said he, "is a cry of the Soul." - -The Work went slowly at first, and the eager disciple passed through -even more than the usual suffering, sense of loneliness and desolation, -as we see H. P. B. pointing out in regard to him that "he of all -chelas, suffers most, and asks, or even expects, the least." But the -shadow lifted, and in 1888 we find H. P. B. writing of him as being -then "a chela of thirteen years' standing," with "trust reposed in -him"; and as "the chief and sole Agent of The Dzyan in America." (This -is the Thibetan name of what we call The Lodge.) - -Mr. Judge also went to South America, where he saw many strange things, -and contracted Chagres fever, that terrible scourge whose effects dog -the victim through a lifetime. To India as well, where he was for some -time with H. P. B. Later on he was with her in France and in England, -always intent on the Work of the T.S. He lectured in both countries; -instituted _The Path_ magazine, meeting all its deficits and carrying -on its various activities, as well as those of the T.S. He wrote -incessantly; opened the doors of the Press at length to a serious -consideration of Theosophy; he lectured all over the States and did -the work of several men. His health was frail; a day free from pain -was a very rare thing with him. He had his sorrows too, of which the -death of his only child was the deepest. But the cheerfulness of his -aspect, his undaunted energy, never failed him, and he was the cause -of activity among all his fellow members. To those who would ask his -advice in the crises which were wont to shake the tree of the T.S. he -would make answer: "Work! Work! Work for Theosophy!" And when at last -the Great Betrayal came to him, and some of those whom he had lifted -and served and taught _how_ to work, strove to cast him down and out of -the Society, in their ignorance of their own limitations, he kept the -due silence of the Initiate; he bowed his defenceless head to The Will -and The Law, and passing with sweet and serene heart through the waters -of bitterness, consoled by the respect and trust of the Community in -which his life had been spent, and by the thousands of students who -knew and loved him: he exhorted all to forgiveness and renewed effort: -he reminded us that there were many committed by the unbrotherliness of -his opponents who would in time come themselves to see and comprehend -the wrong done to the Work by action taken which they did not at the -time understand in all its bearings; he begged us to be ready to meet -that day and to take the extended hands which would then be held out to -us by those who ignorantly shared the wrong done to him, and through -him, to us all. In this trust he passed behind the veil. On the 21st of -March, 1896, he encountered "Eloquent, Just and Mighty Death." - - * * * * * - -So much for the open and material facts of his life. There is much more -that must be left unsaid. His claim upon us was that of The Work. The -Work was his Ideal. He valued men and women only by their theosophical -Work, and the right spirit in which that Work was done. He held Right -Thought to be of the best Work. He worked with anyone who was willing -to do Work in the real sense, careless whether such were personal -friends, strangers, or active or secret foes. Many a time he was known -to be energetically working with those who were attacking him, or -planning attack in supposed concealment, and his smile, as this was -commented upon, was a thing to be always remembered; that whimsical and -quaint smile, followed by some Irish drollery. But in order to leave -behind us some adequate idea of the broadness and the catholicity of -his nature, it seems best to append to this brief and unworthy sketch, -some few of the thoughts of his life-long friends, nearly all published -soon after he had left us. - - * * * * * - -On page 75 of the first volume of _Letters_ is a letter from an Adept, -from which a certain portion ("private instruction") is omitted. That -omitted portion runs as follows: - - "_Is the choice made? Then Y. will do well to see W. Q. J. and to - acquaint him with this letter. For the first year or two no better - guide can be had._ For when the 'PRESENCE' _is upon him, he knows - well that which others only suspect and 'divine.' ... is useful to - 'Path,' but greater services may be rendered to him, who, of all - chêlas, suffers most and demands, or even expects the least._" - -(If this extract be fitted into the original letter its immense -importance in respect to Mr. Judge may be realised by the intuitive -student.) - -"In answer to your letter I can only say as follows: If W. Q. Judge, -the man who has done most for Theosophy in America, who has worked most -unselfishly in your country, and has ever done the biddings of Master, -the best he knew how, is left alone in ... and if the ... Society in -general and its Esotericists especially leave him alone, without their -unanimous _moral support_, which is much more than their money--then I -say--let them go! They are no theosophists;--and if such a thing should -happen, and Judge be left to fight his battles alone, then shall I -bid all of them an eternal good-bye. I swear on MASTER'S holy name to -shake off the dust of my feet from everyone of them.... I am unable to -realise that at the hour of trouble and supreme fight ... any _true_ -theosophist should hesitate for one moment to back W. Q. J. _publicly_ -and lodge in his or her protest. Let them read Master's letter in the -preliminary----. All that which I said about W. Q. J. was from HIS -words in HIS letter to me.... Do with this letter what you like. Show -it to anyone you please as my firm determination...."--H. P. B. - -"It is necessary that just those souls in whom we have felt most of -reality should disappear from us into the darkness, in order that we -may learn that not seeing, but inwardly touching, is the true proof -that our friend is there; in order that we may learn that the vanishing -and dissipation of the outward, visible part, is no impairing or -detriment to the real part, which is invisible. This knowledge, and the -realising of it in our wills, are gained with the utmost difficulty, -at a cost not less than the loss of the best of our friends; yet if -the cost be great, the gain is great and beyond estimating, for it is -nothing less than a first victory over the whole universe, wherein -we come to know that there is that in us which can face and conquer -and outlast anything in the universe, and come forth radiant and -triumphant from the contest. Yet neither the universe nor death are -real antagonists, for they are but only Life everywhere, and we are -Life."--C. J. - -"He was never narrow, never selfish, never conceited. He would drop -his own plan in a moment if a better were suggested, and was delighted -if someone would carry on the work he had devised, and immediately -inaugurate other lines of work. To get on with the work and forward -the movement seemed to be his only aim in life.... For myself, knowing -Mr. Judge as I did, and associating with him day after day, at home, -in the rush of work, in long days of travel over desert wastes or over -the trackless ocean, having travelled with him a distance equal to -twice around the globe, ... there is not the slightest doubt of his -connection with and service of the Great Lodge. He did the Master's -work to the best of his ability, and thus carried out the injunction of -H. P. B. to "keep the link unbroken."--J. D. BUCK. - -"There is not one act in the life of William Q. Judge that has come -under my observation, that savours of selfishness or of a desire to -further any personal end.... Perhaps I am not qualified to pass on the -merits as an occultist, of the man whose memory I hold in such grateful -esteem; but I can, at least, speak of what passed before my eyes in the -ordinary affairs of life, and in these affairs I have invariably found -him to be the soul of unselfishness, honour, generosity, and all the -other virtues that men hold so dear in other men."--E. B. PAGE. - -"In the summer of 1894 we were privileged to have him stay at our -house for several weeks, and since then he spent at least one evening -a week with us until his illness forced him to leave New York.... Day -after day he would come back from the office utterly exhausted in -mind and body, and night after night he would lie awake fighting the -arrows of suspicion and doubt that would come at him from all over the -world. He said they were like shafts of fire piercing him, and in the -morning he would come down stairs wan and pale and unrested, and one -step nearer the limit of his strength, but still with the same gentle -and forgiving spirit.... Perhaps the most striking evidence of his -greatness was the wisdom with which he treated different people, and -the infinite knowledge of character shown by him in his guidance of his -pupils. I do not believe he was the same to any two people.... His most -lovable trait was his exquisite sympathy and gentleness. It has been -said of him that no one ever touched a sore spot with such infinite -tenderness, and I know many that would rather have been scolded and -corrected by Mr. Judge than praised by anyone else. It was the good -fortune of a few of us to know something of the real Ego who used -the body known as Wm. Q. Judge. He once spent some hours describing -to my wife and me the experience the Ego had in assuming control of -the instrument it was to use for so many years. The process was not a -quick nor an easy one and indeed was never absolutely perfected, for -to Mr. Judge's dying day, the physical tendencies and heredity of the -body he used would crop up and interfere with the full expression of -the inner man's thoughts and feelings. An occasional abruptness and -coldness of manner was attributable to this lack of co-ordination. Of -course Mr. Judge was perfectly aware of this and it would trouble him -for fear his real friends would be deceived as to his real feeling. He -was always in absolute control of his thoughts and actions, but his -body would sometimes slightly modify their expression.... Mr. Judge -told me in December, 1894, that the Judge body was due by its Karma to -die the next year and that it would have to be tided over this period -by extraordinary means. He then expected this process to be entirely -successful, and that he would be able to use that body for many years, -but he did not count upon the assaults from without, and the strain and -exhaustion.... This, and the body's heredity, proved too much for even -his will and power. Two months before his death he knew he was to die, -but even then the indomitable will was hard to conquer and the poor -exhausted, pain-racked body was dragged through a miserable two months -in one final and supreme effort to stay with his friends. And when he -did decide to go, those who loved him most were the most willing for -the parting. I thank the Gods that I was privileged to know him. It was -a benediction to call him friend."--G. HIJO. - -"To a greater extent than I have ever realised I know he entered into -my life and I am equally sure into the lives of thousands, and this -fact I see we are to acknowledge as time passes more and more.... He -swore no one to allegiance, he asked for no one's love or loyalty; but -his disciples came to him of their own free will and accord, and then -he never deserted them, but gave more freely than they asked and often -in greater measure than they could or would use. He was always a little -ahead of the occasion, and so was truly a leader."--E. B. RAMBO. - -"Judge was the best and truest friend a man ever had. H. P. B. told -me I should find this to be so, and so it was of him whom she, too, -trusted and loved as she did no other. And as I think of what those -missed who persecuted him, of the loss in their lives, of the great -jewel so near to them which they passed by, I turn sick with a sense -of their loss: the immense mystery that Life is, presses home to me. -In him his foes lost their truest friend out of this life of ours in -the body, and though it was their limitations which hid him from them, -as our limitations do hide from us so much Spiritual Good, yet we must -remember, too, that these limitations have afforded to us and to the -world this wonderful example of unselfishness and forgiveness. Judge -made the life portrayed by Jesus realisable to me."--A. KEIGHTLEY. - -"William Q. Judge was the nearest approach to my ideal of a MAN that -I have known. He was what I want to be. H. P. B. was something more -than human: She was a cosmic power. W. Q. J. was splendidly human: -and he manifested in a way delightfully refreshing and all his own -that most rare of human characteristics--genuineness. His influence is -continuingly present and powerful, an influence tending steadily, as -ever, in one direction--work for the Masters' Cause."--THOS. GREEN. - -"His last message to us was this 'There should be calmness. Hold fast. -Go slow.' And if you take down those words and remember them, you -will find that they contain an epitome of his whole life struggle. He -believed in Theosophy and lived it. He believed because he knew that -the great Self of which he so often spoke was the eternal Self, was -himself. Therefore he was always calm. He held fast with unwavering -tenacity to his purpose and to his ideal. He went slow, and never -allowed himself to act hastily. He made time his own, and he was -justice itself on that account. And he had the power to act with the -rapidity of lightning when the time for action came. We can now afford -to console ourselves because of the life he lived, and should also -remember that this man, William Quan Judge, had more devoted friends, -I believe, than any other living man; more friends who would literally -have died for him at a moment's notice; would have gone to any part of -the world on the strength of a hint from him. And never once did he use -that power and influence for his own personal ends;--never once did he -use that power, great as it was, not only in America, but in Europe, -Australasia and elsewhere as well, for anything but the good of the -Theosophical movement. - -"Poor Judge. It was not the charges that stung him, they were too -untrue to hurt. It was the fact that those who had once most loudly -proclaimed themselves his debtors and his friends were among the -first to turn against him. He had the heart of a little child and -his tenderness was only equalled by his strength.... He never cared -what people thought of him or his work so long as they would work for -brotherhood.... His wife has said that she never knew him to tell a -lie, and those most closely connected with him theosophically agree -that he was the most truthful man they ever knew."--E. T. H. - -"I knew him with some degree of intimacy for the past eight years, -meeting him often and under varied conditions, and never for one moment -did he fail to command my respect and affection, and that I should have -had the privilege of his acquaintance I hold a debt to Karma. A good -homely face and unpretentious manner, a loving disposition, full of -kindliness and honest friendship, went with such strong common sense -and knowledge of affairs that his coming was always a pleasure and his -stay a delight. The children hung about him fondly as he would sit -after dinner and draw them pictures."--A. H. SPENCER. - -"His life was an example of the possibility of presenting new ideas -with emphasis, persistence and effect, without becoming eccentric or -one-sided, without losing touch with our fellows, in short, without -becoming a 'crank.'... The quality of 'common sense' was Mr. Judge's. -Those who have heard him speak, know the singular directness with which -his mind went to the marrow of a subject, the unaffected selflessness -that radiated from the man. The quality of 'common sense' was Mr. -Judge's pre-eminent characteristic."--WILLIAM MAIN. - -"For to the mystical element in the personality of Mr. Judge was united -the shrewdness of the practised lawyer, the organising faculty of a -great leader, and that admirable common sense, which is so uncommon -a thing with enthusiasts.... In his teaching was embodied most -emphatically that received by the prophet Ezekiel when the Voice said -to him: 'Stand upon thy feet and I will speak to thee.' He was the -best of friends, for he held you firmly, yet apart. He realised the -beautiful description Emerson gives of the ideal friend, in whom meet -the two most essential elements of friendship, tenderness and truth. -'I am arrived at last,' says Emerson, 'in the presence of a man so -real and equal ... that I may deal with him with the simplicity and -wholeness with which one chemical atom meets another.... To a great -heart he will still be a stranger in a thousand particulars, that he -may come near in the holiest ground.' And upon that 'holiest ground' of -devotion to the highest aim, of desire alone for the welfare of others, -the Chief was always to be approached. And blended with the undaunted -courage, the keen insight, the swift judgment, the endless patience, -that made his personality so powerful, were the warm affections, the -ready wit, the almost boyish gaiety that made it so lovable.... One -of the Chief's last messages to us said: 'They must aim to develop -themselves in daily life in small duties.'... There was a beautiful -story of Rhoecus, who could not recognise in the bee that buzzed about -his head the messenger of the Dryad, and so lost her love." - - KATHERINE HILLARD. - -"If my memory serves me rightly, we met first upon an occasion when H. -P. Blavatsky was induced to try, in the presence of some reporters, -if she could open up communication with the diaphanous remainder of -a night watchman who had been drowned in an East River dock. Olcott -was present, in command, prominent and authoritative, and Judge, in -attendance, reserved and quiet. The spook was shy and the reporters -sarcastic. The only one apparently annoyed by their humour was the -Colonel. Mr. Judge's placidity and good nature commended him to the -liking of the reporters, and made a particularly favourable impression -upon me, which was deepened by the experiences of an acquaintance that -continued while he lived. In all that time, though I have seen him -upon a good many occasions when he would have had excellent excuse for -wrath, his demeanour was uniformly the same--kindly, considerate and -self-restrained, not merely in such measure of self-control as might -be expected of a gentleman, but as if inspired by much higher regards -than mere respect for the convenances of good society. He always seemed -to look for mitigating circumstances in even the pure cussedness of -others, seeking to credit them with, at least, honesty of purpose and -good intentions, however treacherous and malicious their acts toward -him might have been. He did not appear willing to believe that people -did evil through preference for it, but only because they were ignorant -of the good, and its superior advantages; consequently he was very -tolerant."--J. H. CONNELLY. - -"What he was to one of his pupils, I believe he was to all, ... so wide -reaching was his sympathy, so deep his understanding of each heart; ... -and I but voice the feeling of hundreds all over the world when I say -that we mourn the tenderest of friends, the wisest of counsellors, the -bravest and noblest of leaders. What a man was this, to have been such, -to people of so widely varying nationalities, opinions and beliefs -... to have drawn them all to him by the power of his love, ... and -in so doing, to have brought them closer to each other. There was no -difficulty he would not take infinite pains to unravel, no sore spot in -the heart he did not sense and strive to heal."--G. L. G. - -In truth, we might pile up these evidences from the hearts of those -who knew him best and longest, and who were well fitted to judge of -the solidity and the truth of any character. But of this there is no -need. It is for those to say who were influenced by their bugbear of -"authority" whether they have not exchanged the substance for the -shadow; have not retained the dogmatism and lost the free and noble -spirit which W. Q. Judge ever exercised, and which he strove to retain -in the T.S. Summing up his life, one must still say what was written -soon after his departure: "In thinking of this helper and teacher of -ours, I find myself thinking almost wholly of the future. He was -one who never looked back; he looked forward always.... We think of -him not as of a man departed from our midst, but as a soul set free -to work its mighty mission, rejoicing in that freedom, resplendent -in compassion and power. His was a nature that knew no trammels, but -acknowledged the divine laws in all things. He was, as he himself said, -'rich in hope.'... That future as he saw and sees it is majestic in -its harmonious proportions. It presaged the liberation of the race. -It struck the shackles from the self-imprisoned and bade the souls of -men be free. It evokes now, to-day, the powers of the inner man.... -Death, the magician, opened a door to show us these things. If we are -faithful, that door shall never close. If we are faithful; only that -proviso. Close up the ranks, and let Fidelity be the agent of heavenly -powers. To see America, the cradle of the new race, fit herself to help -and uplift that race and to prepare here a haven and a home for Egos -yet to appear ... for this he worked; for this will work those who came -after him. And he works with them." - - JULIA W. L. KEIGHTLEY. - - "A STRONG LIGHT SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS; THOUGH REACHING FAR AND - MAKING CLEAR THE NIGHT, WILL ATTRACT THE THINGS THAT DWELL IN - DARKNESS. A PURE SOUL BROUGHT TO THE NOTICE OF MEN WILL ILLUMINE - THE HEARTS OF THOUSANDS; BUT WILL ALSO CALL FORTH FROM THE CORNERS - OF THE EARTH THE HOSTILITY OF THOSE WHO LOVE EVIL." (_Book of - Items._) - - - - -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 - 504 Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth Street - - - "_To Spread Broadcast the Teachings of Theosophy, as Recorded in - the Writings of H. P. Blavatsky and Wm. Q. Judge._" - -THEOSOPHY - - _A Magazine Devoted to the Theosophical Movement, the Brotherhood - of Humanity, the Study of Occult Science and Philosophy, and Aryan - Literature._ - - THEOSOPHY is a Monthly Magazine devoted to the promulgation of - Theosophy as it was given by those who brought it. Established in - 1912 by the United Lodge of Theosophists, the magazine is now in - the front rank of Theosophical publications and its circulation - extends to every civilized country. The first eight volumes of - the magazine contain reprints of the numerous original articles - written by H. P. Blavatsky and William Q. Judge in explanation, - exemplification and application of the philosophy recorded in their - published books. These precious articles, replete with Occult - instruction, were first published in _The Theosophist_, _Lucifer_, - and _The Path_, now for many years out of print, so that their - surpassing value was lost and inaccessible to Students of the - present generation. THEOSOPHY has made them once more available. - In addition to these reprints the magazine contains many original - articles written by Robert Crosbie and other devoted Pupils and - Students of the Messengers of the Theosophical Movement of the - nineteenth century. Not the least of the contents of the magazine - are the Studies of the Teachings, the historical articles relating - to the Theosophical Movement, the Parent Theosophical Society, and - the many allied and related organizations and societies of the - present day. The entire contents of the magazine are universal - in scope and application, unbiased in treatment, and free from - sectarian or partisan influence. In order to preserve at all times - the impersonality of its tone, and that readers may form their - judgment from the inherent value perceived in the articles and not - from the names signed to them, the Editors and Contributors remain - anonymous, no living person's name being mentioned in connection - with the authorship of any article published. - - Back Volumes and Back Numbers can be supplied at $5.00 per Volume - and 50 cents per Number. - - Subscriptions can begin with any desired Number of the current - Volume. Subscription price, $2.00 per annum; single copies 25 cents - each. - - _Address all communications and remittances to_ - - METROPOLITAN THEOSOPHY LOS ANGELES, - BUILDING CALIFORNIA - - -Students interested in obtaining a clear and correct understanding of -the actual Teachings of THEOSOPHY, as recorded in the writings of the -Messengers of the Theosophical Movement of the nineteenth century or in -writings recommended by Them, should have the following books: - - KEY TO THEOSOPHY, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY, $2.50 - An Exposition in the form of question and answer. The - best Manual for daily study and reference. A _verbatim_ - reprint of the Original Edition. Large type, durably and - artistically bound in Buckram. - - THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY, _By_ WILLIAM Q. JUDGE, $1.25 - A succinct presentation of the philosophy free from - technical expressions; a perfect condensation of the - Secret Doctrines of Man and Nature. Cloth. - - THE OCCULT WORLD ESOTERIC BUDDHISM _By_ A. P. SINNETT, _Each_ $2.00 - The two earliest popular presentations of Theosophical - Teachings, containing extracts from Letters written by - the _Mahatma_ K. H. From the Plates of the Original - American Editions. Cloth. - - ISIS UNVEILED, Two Volumes, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY, $10.00 - Volume I, Science; Volume II. Theology. A reprint of the - Original Edition of 1877. This, the first great work of - H. P. B., contains a vast wealth of information and - instruction not to be had elsewhere. Cloth. - - THE SECRET DOCTRINE, Two Volumes, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY, $15.00 - Volume I, Cosmogenesis; Volume II, Anthropogenesis. The - Original Edition, published in 1888, is now out of - print. This Edition, published in London, contains some - unwarrantable changes, but is in the main accurate and - is the only one available. Written "_for the instruction - of students of Occultism_," it is _sui generis_ and - absolutely invaluable to the true student of the - mysteries of Life and Being. Cloth. - - ABRIDGMENT OF THE SECRET DOCTRINE, _By_ KATHERINE HILLARD, $3.00 - A very good condensation of the major teachings of - Madame Blavatsky's "Secret Doctrine" in the language of - the Author. Cloth. - - THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY, $5.00 - A reprint of the Original Edition, containing an - exhaustive and scholarly treatment of the Sanskrit - and other technical terms employed in Theosophical - literature. Cloth. - - -Those who find the Teachings of Theosophy to be comprehensive, -self-explanatory, and a complete solution of all the problems of Life -from a philosophical, logical and scientific standpoint, and who -may desire to follow the Path shown in order to realize in and for -themselves the noble Ideal of Brotherhood exemplified by the MASTERS OF -WISDOM, are urged to read, ponder and assimilate to the utmost extent -possible to them, the following Treatises on the _Heart Doctrine_: - - THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE. Chosen Fragments from The - Book of the Golden Precepts. Translated and - annotated by H. P. Blavatsky. - - Leather, $1.50 - Cloth, 1.25 - - THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, The Book of Devotion. Containing - the Dialogue between _Krishna_, the Supreme - Master of Devotion, and _Arjuna_, his Disciple. - Rendered into exquisite parallel terms in the - English tongue by William Q. Judge. - - Leather, 1.50 - Cloth, 1.25 - - NOTES ON THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. Commentaries - of the greatest service to sincere students - of to-day. The first Seven Chapters by - W. Q. Judge; the remainder by his friend and - colleague Robert Crosbie. - - Leather, 1.50 - - YOGA APHORISMS OF PATAJALI. The _Thought_ of this - Ancient Master, whose Aphorisms have been the - guide of Disciples in the East for untold - thousands of years. Done into English terms - with Notes, by William Q. Judge. - - Leather, 1.50 - Cloth, 1.25 - - LIGHT ON THE PATH. A treatise for the personal use - of those who are ignorant of the Eastern Wisdom, - and who desire to enter within its influence. An - exact reprint of the Original Edition of 1885, - together with the Comments originally published - in _Lucifer_. Written down by M. C. - - Leather, 1.50 - Cloth, 1.25 - - LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME. Actual Letters, - by William Q. Judge, embodying Lessons - and Guidance of direct personal value to - every Student and Disciple. - - Volume I, Cloth, 1.00 - Volume II, Cloth, 1.00 - - The Two Volumes bound in One, Cloth, 1.50 - - THE VOICE of the SILENCE, THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, - And PATAJALI'S YOGA APHORISMS, Bound in - One Volume. - - Leather, 3.00 - - -Parents and others interested in the Spiritual and Moral welfare of -Children and averse to the sectarian dogmas and false ideas prevalent -under the name of religious teachings, have long felt the necessity -for literature which should impart true fundamental conceptions of -Nature, of Life and of Duty to the growing generation. As a portion -of its Fraternal activities the United Lodge of Theosophists has -long maintained a _Children's School of Theosophy_. To this School -come children of all ages, Theosophists and Non-Theosophists as to -Parentage. There are taught the primary truths common to all religions -and philosophies, dealing with Birth, Life, Death, Law, Action and -Duty. The Eternal Verities thus inculcated make for clean, sturdy, -wholesome physical, mental, as well as moral and spiritual happiness -and well-being. The experience thus gained in actual practice has been -embodied in two books, wherein the lessons and instructions found -helpful and formative to the highest character are plainly and clearly -outlined, with all necessary suggestions and directions to enable -Parents, Teachers and others to fit themselves to be the better able to -help and guide the plastic minds of the Children to true perceptions of -Life and Action. - - BECAUSE--FOR THE CHILDREN WHO ASK WHY. Interesting, - comprehensible and assimilable, in clear and - reverent fashion this Book presents to Children - the answers to those questions of Self that - Parents find it most difficult to meet, and - affords a common basis of understanding to - Parent and Child. - - Cloth, $1.25 - - THE ETERNAL VERITIES. A Series of Lessons in basic - truths and ideas, with complete chart and - programme so that its full value may be availed - of in the instruction of Children of all ages, - whether in the School or the Home. Original - Songs, Chants, Music, Allegories and Tales of - Symbolism, in a manner not only to interest but - to carry the Lessons into the Hearts and Minds - of the Learners. - - Cloth, $1.50 - -In order, further, to afford the maximum possible assistance to Parents -and others interested in the proper education of Children, The United -Lodge of Theosophists maintains a Bureau of Correspondence to which -particular problems connected with the bringing-up of Children may be -addressed. Replies to enquiries are in all cases by Women Associates -of the Lodge who are themselves Mothers and Teachers and gladly give -their time and experience to benefit their perplexed Sisters. There are -no fees or charges of any description in connection with this labor -of love, and all Mothers and Teachers are invited to benefit by it. -Address, - - CHILDREN'S SCHOOL OF THEOSOPHY - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - 504 Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth Street - - -No more important work exists for the Theosophical Student than to be -in a position to direct inquirers to channels where they may inform -themselves of the leading Principles of the teachings of THEOSOPHY in -their philosophical, ethical and scientific bearings. The following are -recommended for their exact accuracy, their simplicity and clarity in -the presentation of the Wisdom-Religion. - - ECHOES FROM THE ORIENT, _By_ WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. A Series - of Chapters written in the most admirable style, - giving an outline of Theosophy and the Theosophical - Movement, and treating of the great Subject of - Masters, Karma, Reincarnation and Evolution. - - Cloth, $0.60 - Paper, .35 - - CONVERSATIONS ON THEOSOPHY. A Pamphlet - giving the fundamental teachings of the Secret - Doctrine. From the writings of H. P. Blavatsky - and William Q. Judge. - - Paper, envelope size, .10 - - In quantities for propaganda purposes, 50 copies - for 2.50 - - KARMA AND REINCARNATION. A large and attractively - bound pamphlet, envelope size, containing the - famous _Aphorisms on Karma_, and a notably - clear and comprehensive treatment of the - subjects of Karma and Reincarnation. .15 - - In quantities for propaganda purposes, 50 copies - for 4.00 - - CULTURE OF CONCENTRATION, And OF OCCULT POWERS. Two - related Essays by William Q. Judge on subjects - of supreme importance. .10 - - EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER THAT HAS - HELPED ME. Being a statement of the _Gospel of - Hope and Responsibility_. This Letter has brought - consolation and the comfort of understanding to - many regarding the Great Mystery. .10 - - THOUGHTS FOR THINKERS. A Pamphlet designed for the - "man in the street," who is often an open-minded - practical philosopher and thinker of the first - rank. These THOUGHTS are undogmatic, - non-argumentative and very suggestive. .10 - -The foregoing and other Books advertised in the preceding pages may all -be obtained on order through your local Bookseller, or orders may be -sent direct to the undersigned. - -Inquiries are invited regarding any Theosophical Books and Publications -not specifically mentioned herein. Correspondence and questions are -also invited on Theosophical problems and subjects from all interested. - - _Address all orders and inquiries and make all remittances - payable to_ - - UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - 504 Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth Street - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - This is a "2-volume-in-1" ebook. Each volume has been paginated - separately. - - Footnotes have been placed at end of their respective chapter. - - Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been repaired. - - Pg. 76: Removed extraneous word "relates" from "The sexual relates - relates really only...." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Letter That Have Helped Me, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTER THAT HAVE HELPED ME *** - -***** This file should be named 55833-0.txt or 55833-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/8/3/55833/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. 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