H. P. Blavatsky - Studies in Occultism; A Series of Reprints from the Writings of H. P. Blavatsky
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H. P. Blavatsky >> Studies in Occultism; A Series of Reprints from the Writings of H. P. Blavatsky
STUDIES
IN
OCCULTISM
by
H.P. BLAVATSKY
STUDIES IN OCCULTISM
A Series of Reprints from the Writings
of
H.P. BLAVATSKY
NO. 1
PRACTICAL OCCULTISM
OCCULTISM VERSUS THE OCCULT ARTS
THE BLESSINGS OF PUBLICITY
POINT LOMA EDITION
The Aryan Theosophical Press
Point Loma, California
1910
See Book List at the end of this volume for the other numbers of this
Series and also for other Theosophical literature.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Practical Occultism 1
From _Lucifer_, April, 1888
Occultism versus the Occult Arts 17
From _Lucifer_, May, 1888
The Blessings of Publicity 42
From _Lucifer_, August, 1891
Occultism is not magic, though magic is one of its tools.
Occultism is not the acquirement of powers, whether psychic or
intellectual, though both are its servants. Neither is occultism the
pursuit of happiness, as men understand the word; for the first step is
sacrifice, the second, renunciation.
Occultism is the science of life, the art of living.--_Lucifer_, Vol. I,
p. 7.
PRACTICAL OCCULTISM
IMPORTANT TO STUDENTS
As some of the letters in the Correspondence of this month show, there
are many people who are looking for practical instruction in Occultism.
It becomes necessary, therefore, to state once for all:--
(_a_) The essential difference between theoretical and practical
Occultism; or what is generally known as Theosophy on the one hand, and
Occult science on the other, and:--
(_b_) The nature of the difficulties involved in the study of the latter.
It is easy to become a Theosophist. Any person of average intellectual
capacities, and a leaning toward the metaphysical; of pure, unselfish
life, who finds more joy in helping his neighbor than in receiving help
himself; one who is ever ready to sacrifice his own pleasures for the
sake of other people; and who loves Truth, Goodness, and Wisdom for
their own sake, not for the benefit they may confer--is a Theosophist.
But it is quite another matter to put oneself upon the path which leads
to the knowledge of what is good to do, as to the right discrimination
of good from evil; a path which also leads a man to that power through
which he can do the good he desires, often without even apparently
lifting a finger.
Moreover, there is one important fact with which the student should be
made acquainted. Namely, the enormous, almost limitless responsibility
assumed by the teacher for the sake of the pupil. From the Gurus of the
East who teach openly or secretly, down to the few Kabalists in Western
lands who undertake to teach the rudiments of the Sacred Science to
their disciples--those western Hierophants being often themselves
ignorant of the danger they incur--one and all of these "Teachers" are
subject to the same inviolable law. From the moment they begin _really_
to teach, from the instant they confer _any_ power--whether psychic,
mental, or physical--on their pupils, they take upon themselves _all_
the sins of that pupil, in connexion with the Occult Sciences, whether
of omission or commission, until the moment when initiation makes the
pupil a Master and responsible in his turn. There is a weird and mystic
religious law, greatly reverenced and acted upon in the Greek,
half-forgotten in the Roman Catholic, and absolutely extinct in the
Protestant Church. It dates from the earliest days of Christianity and
has its basis in the law just stated, of which it was a symbol and an
expression. This is the dogma of the absolute sacredness of the relation
between the god-parents who stand sponsors for a child.[A]
These tacitly take upon themselves all the sins of the newly baptized
child--(anointed, as at the initiation, a mystery truly!)--until the day
when the child becomes a responsible unit, knowing good and evil. Thus
it is clear why the "Teachers" are so reticent, and why "Chelas" are
required to serve a seven years probation to prove their fitness, and
develop the qualities necessary to the security of both Master and
pupil.
Occultism is not magic. It is _comparatively_ easy to learn the trick of
spells and the methods of using the subtler, but still material, forces
of physical nature; the powers of the animal soul in man are soon
awakened; the forces which his love, his hate, his passion, can call
into operation, are readily developed. But this is Black
Magic--_Sorcery_. For it is the motive, _and the motive alone_, which
makes any exercise of power become black, malignant, or white,
beneficent Magic. It is impossible to employ _spiritual_ forces if there
is the slightest tinge of selfishness remaining in the operator. For,
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 equally be used by the selfish and revengeful, as by the unselfish
and the all-forgiving; the powers and forces of spirit lend themselves
only to the perfectly pure in heart--and this is Divine Magic.
What are then the conditions required to become a student of the "Divina
Sapientia"? For let it be known that no such instruction can possibly be
given unless these certain conditions are complied with, and rigorously
carried out during the years of study. This is a _sine qua non_. No man
can swim unless he enters deep water. No bird can fly unless its wings
are grown, and it has space before it and courage to trust itself to the
air. A man who will wield a two-edged sword, must be a thorough master
of the blunt weapon, if he would not injure himself--or what is
worse--others, at the first attempt.
To give an approximate idea of the conditions under which alone the
study of Divine Wisdom can be pursued with safety, that is without
danger that Divine will give place to Black Magic, a page is given from
the "private rules," with which every instructor in the East is
furnished. The few passages which follow are chosen from a great number
and explained in brackets.
* * * * *
1. The place selected for receiving instruction must be a spot
calculated not to distract the mind, and filled with
"influence-evolving" (magnetic) objects. The five sacred colors gathered
in a circle must be there among other things. The place must be free
from any malignant influences hanging about in the air.
[The place must be set apart, and used for no other purpose. The
five "sacred colors" are the prismatic hues arranged in a certain
way, as these colors are very magnetic. By "malignant influences"
are meant any disturbances through strifes, quarrels, bad feelings,
etc., as these are said to impress themselves immediately on the
astral light, i.e., in the atmosphere of the place, and to hang
"about in the air." This first condition seems easy enough to
accomplish, yet--on further consideration, it is one of the most
difficult ones to obtain.]
2. Before the disciple shall be permitted to study "face to face," he
has to acquire preliminary understanding in a select company of other
lay _upasakas_ (disciples), the number of whom must be odd.
["Face to face" means in this instance a study independent or apart
from others, when the disciple gets his instruction _face to face_
either with himself (his higher, Divine Self) or--his guru. It is
then only that each receives _his due_ of information, according to
the use he has made of his knowledge. This can happen only toward
the end of the cycle of instruction.]
3. Before thou (the teacher) shalt impart to thy Lanoo (disciple) the
good (holy) words of Lamrin, or shalt permit him "to make
ready" for _Dubjed_, thou shalt take care that his mind is thoroughly
purified and at peace with all, especially _with his other Selves_.
Otherwise the words of Wisdom and of the good Law, shall scatter and be
picked up by the winds.
["Lamrin" is a work of practical instructions, by Tson-kha-pa, in
two portions, one for ecclesiastical and exoteric purposes, the
other for esoteric use. "To make ready" for _Dubjed_, is to prepare
the vessels used for seership, such as mirrors and crystals. The
"other selves," refers to the fellow students. Unless the greatest
harmony reigns among the learners, _no_ success is possible. It is
the teacher who makes the selections according to the magnetic and
electric natures of the students, bringing together and adjusting
most carefully the positive and the negative elements.]
4. The _upasakas_ while studying must take care to be united as the
fingers on one hand. Thou shalt impress upon their minds that whatever
hurts one should hurt the others, and if the rejoicing of one finds no
echo in the breasts of the others, then the required conditions are
absent, and it is useless to proceed.
[This can hardly happen if the preliminary choice made was
consistent with the magnetic requirements. It is known that Chelas
otherwise promising and fit for the reception of truth, had to
wait for years on account of their temper and the impossibility
they felt to put themselves _in tune_ with their companions. For--]
5. The co-disciples must be tuned by the guru as the strings of a lute
(_vina_) each different from the others, yet each emitting sounds in
harmony with all. Collectively they must form a key-board answering in
all its parts to thy lightest touch (the touch of the Master). Thus
their minds shall open for the harmonies of Wisdom, to vibrate as
knowledge through each and all, resulting in effects pleasing to the
presiding gods (tutelary or patron-angels) and useful to the Lanoo. So
shall Wisdom be impressed forever on their hearts and the harmony of the
law shall never be broken.
6. Those who desire to acquire the knowledge leading to the _Siddhis_
(occult powers) have to renounce all the vanities of life and of the
world (here follows enumeration of the Siddhis).
7. None can feel the difference between himself and his
fellow-students, such as "I am the wisest," "I am more holy and pleasing
to the teacher, or in my community, than my brother," etc.,--and remain
an upasaka. His thoughts must be predominantly fixed upon his heart,
chasing therefrom every hostile thought to any living being. It (the
heart) must be full of the feeling of its non-separateness from the rest
of beings as from all in Nature; otherwise no success can follow.
8. A _Lanoo_ (disciple) has to dread external living influence alone
(magnetic emanations from living creatures). For this reason while at
one with all, in his _inner nature_, he must take care to separate his
outer (external) body from every foreign influence: none must drink out
of, or eat in his cup but himself. He must avoid bodily contact (i.e.,
being touched or touch) with human, as with animal being.
[No pet animals are permitted, and it is forbidden even to touch
certain trees and plants. A disciple has to live, so to say, in his
own atmosphere in order to individualize it for occult purposes.]
9. The mind must remain blunt to all but the universal truths in
nature, lest the "Doctrine of the Heart" should become only the
"Doctrine of the Eye," (i.e., empty exoteric ritualism).
10. No animal food of whatever kind, nothing that has life in it should
be taken by the disciple. No wine, no spirits, or opium should be used;
for these are like the _Lhama-yin_ (evil spirits), who fasten upon the
unwary, they devour the understanding.
[Wine and spirits are supposed to contain and preserve the bad
magnetism of all the men who helped in their fabrication; the meat
of each animal, to preserve the psychic characteristics of its
kind.]
11. Meditation, abstinence in all, the observation of moral duties,
gentle thoughts, good deeds and kind words, as good will to all and
entire oblivion of Self, are the most efficacious means of obtaining
knowledge and preparing for the reception of higher wisdom.
12. It is only by virtue of a strict observance of the foregoing rules
that a Lanoo can hope to acquire in good time the Siddhis of the
Arhats, the growth which makes him become gradually One with the
Universal ALL.
* * * * *
These 12 extracts are taken from among some 73 rules, to enumerate which
would be useless as they would be meaningless in Europe. But even these
few are enough to show the immensity of the difficulties which beset the
path of the would-be "Upasaka," who has been born and bred in Western
lands.[B]
All western, and especially English, education is instinct with the
principle of emulation and strife; each boy is urged to learn more
quickly, to outstrip his companions, and to surpass them in every
possible way. What is mis-called "friendly rivalry" is assiduously
cultivated, and the same spirit is fostered and strengthened in every
detail of life.
With such ideas "educated into" him from his childhood, how can a
Western bring himself to feel towards his co-students "as the fingers on
one hand"? Those co-students, too, are not of his _own selection_, or
chosen by himself from personal sympathy and appreciation. They are
chosen by his teacher on far other grounds, and he who would be a
student must _first_ be strong enough to kill out in his heart all
feelings of dislike and antipathy to others. How many Westerns are ready
even to attempt this in earnest?
And then the details of daily life, the command not to touch even the
hand of one's nearest and dearest. How contrary to Western notions of
affection and good feeling! How cold and hard it seems. Egotistical too,
people would say, to abstain from giving pleasure to others for the sake
of one's own development. Well, let those who think so defer till
another lifetime the attempt to enter the path in real earnest. But let
them not glory in their own fancied unselfishness. For, in reality, it
is only the seeming appearances which they allow to deceive them, the
conventional notions, based on emotionalism and gush, or so-called
courtesy, things of the unreal life, not the dictates of Truth.
But even putting aside these difficulties, which may be considered
"external," though their importance is none the less great, how are
students in the West to "attune themselves" to harmony as here required
of them? So strong has personality grown in Europe and America, that
there is no school of artists even whose members do not hate and are not
jealous of each other. "Professional" hatred and envy have become
proverbial; men seek each to benefit himself at all costs, and even the
so-called courtesies of life are but a hollow mask covering these demons
of hatred and jealousy.
In the East the spirit of "non-separateness" is inculcated as steadily
from childhood up, as in the West the spirit of rivalry. Personal
ambition, personal feelings and desires, are not encouraged to grow so
rampant there. When the soil is naturally good, it is cultivated in the
right way, and the child grows into a man in whom the habit of
subordination of one's lower to one's higher Self is strong and
powerful. In the West men think that their own likes and dislikes of
other men and things are guiding principles for them to act upon, even
when they do not make of them the law of their lives and seek to impose
them upon others.
Let those who complain that they have learned little in the Theosophical
Society lay to heart the words written in an article in the _Path_ for
last February:--"The key in each degree is the _aspirant himself_." It
is not "the fear of God" which is "the beginning of Wisdom," but the
knowledge of SELF which is WISDOM ITSELF.
How grand and true appears, thus, to the student of Occultism who has
commenced to realize some of the foregoing truths, the answer given by
the Delphic Oracle to all who came seeking after Occult Wisdom--words
repeated and enforced again and again by the wise Socrates:--MAN KNOW
THYSELF.
Chelaship has nothing _whatever_ to do with means of subsistence or
anything of the kind, for a man can isolate his mind entirely from his
body and its surroundings. Chelaship is a _state of mind_, rather than a
life according to hard and fast rules, on the physical plane. This
applies especially to the earlier, probationary period, while the rules
given in _Lucifer_ for April last pertain properly to a later stage,
that of actual occult training and the development of occult powers and
insight. These rules indicate, however, the mode of life which ought to
be followed by all aspirants _so far as practicable_, since it is the
most helpful to them in their aspirations.
It should never be forgotten that Occultism is concerned with the _inner
man_, who must be strengthened and freed from the dominion of the
physical body and its surroundings, which must become his servants.
Hence the _first_ and chief necessity of Chelaship is a spirit of
absolute unselfishness and devotion to Truth; then follow self-knowledge
and self-mastery. These are all-important; while outward observance of
fixed rules of life is a matter of secondary moment.--_Lucifer_: IV,
348, note.
OCCULTISM VERSUS THE OCCULT ARTS
"I oft have heard, but ne'er believed till now,
There are, who can by potent magic spells
Bend to their crooked purpose Nature's laws."
_Milton_
In this month's Correspondence several letters testify to the strong
impression produced on some minds by our last month's article "Practical
Occultism." Such letters go far to prove and strengthen two logical
conclusions:--
(_a_) There are more well-educated and thoughtful men who believe in the
existence of Occultism and Magic (the two differing vastly) than the
modern materialist dreams of; and:--
(_b_) That most of the believers (comprising many theosophists) have no
definite idea of the nature of Occultism and confuse it with the Occult
sciences in general, the "Black art" included.
Their representations of the powers it confers upon man, and of the
means to be used to acquire them are as varied as they are fanciful.
Some imagine that a master in the art, to show the way, is all that is
needed to become a Zanoni. Others, that one has but to cross the Canal
of Suez and go to India to bloom forth as a Roger Bacon or even a Count
St. Germain. Many take for their ideal Margrave with his ever-renewing
youth, and care little for the soul as the price paid for it. Not a few,
mistaking "Witch-of-Endorism" pure and simple, for Occultism--"through
the yawning Earth from Stygian gloom, call up the meager ghost to walks
of light," and want, on the strength of this feat, to be regarded as
full blown Adepts. "Ceremonial Magic" according to the rules mockingly
laid down by Eliphas Levi, is another imagined _alter ego_ of the
philosophy of the Arhats of old. In short, the prisms through which
Occultism appears, to those innocent of the philosophy, are as
multicolored and varied as human fancy can make them.
Will these candidates to Wisdom and Power feel very indignant if told
the plain truth? It is not only useful, but it has now become
_necessary_ to disabuse most of them and before it is too late. This
truth may be said in a few words: There are not in the West half-a-dozen
among the fervent hundreds who call themselves "Occultists," who have
even an approximately correct idea of the nature of the Science they
seek to master. With a few exceptions, they are all on the highway to
Sorcery. Let them restore some order in the chaos that reigns in their
minds, before they protest against this statement. Let them first learn
the true relation in which the Occult Sciences stand to Occultism, and
the difference between the two, and then feel wrathful if they still
think themselves right. Meanwhile, let them learn that Occultism differs
from Magic and other secret Sciences as the glorious Sun does from a
rush-light, as the immutable and immortal Spirit of Man--the reflection
of the absolute, causeless, and unknowable all,--differs from the mortal
clay--the human body.
In our highly civilized West, where modern languages have been formed,
and words coined, in the wake of ideas and thoughts--as happened with
every tongue--the more the latter became materialized in the cold
atmosphere of Western selfishness and its incessant chase after the
goods of this world, the less was there any need felt for the production
of new terms to express that which was tacitly regarded as obsolete and
exploded "superstition." Such words could answer only to ideas which a
cultured man was scarcely supposed to harbor in his mind. "Magic," a
synonym for jugglery; "Sorcery," an equivalent for crass ignorance; and
"Occultism," the sorry relic of crack-brained, medieval
Fire-philosophers, of the Jacob Boehmes and the St. Martins, are
expressions believed more than amply sufficient to cover the whole field
of "thimble-rigging." They are terms of contempt, and used generally
only in reference to the dross and residues of the Dark Ages and its
preceding aeons of paganism. Therefore have we no terms in the English
tongue to define and shade the difference between such abnormal powers,
or the sciences that lead to the acquisition of them, with the nicety
possible in the Eastern languages--pre-eminently the Sanskrit. What do
the words "miracle" and "enchantment" (words identical in meaning after
all, as both express the idea of producing wonderful things by _breaking
the laws of nature_ [!!] as explained by the accepted authorities)
convey to the minds of those who hear, or who pronounce them? A
Christian--_breaking_ "of the laws of nature," notwithstanding--while
believing firmly in the _miracles_, because said to have been produced
by God through Moses, will either scout the enchantments performed by
Pharoah's magicians, or attribute them to the devil. It is the latter
whom our pious enemies connect with Occultism, while their impious foes,
the infidels, laugh at Moses, Magicians, and Occultists, and would
blush to give one serious thought to such "superstitions." This, because
there is no term in existence to show the difference; no words to
express the lights and shadows and draw the line of demarcation between
the sublime and the true, the absurd and the ridiculous. The latter are
the theological interpretations which teach the "breaking of the laws of
Nature" by man, God, or devil; the former--the _scientific_ "miracles"
and enchantments of Moses and the Magicians _in accordance with natural
laws_, both having been learned in all the Wisdom of the Sanctuaries,
which were the "Royal Societies" of those days--and in true OCCULTISM.
This last word is certainly misleading, translated as it stands from the
compound word _Gupta-Vidya_, "Secret Knowledge." But the knowledge of
what? Some of the Sanskrit terms may help us.
There are four (out of the many other) names of the various kinds of
Esoteric Knowledge or Sciences given, even in the exoteric Puranas.
There is (1) _Yajna-Vidya_,[C] knowledge of the occult powers awakened
in Nature by the performance of certain religious ceremonies and rites.
(2) _Maha-Vidya_, the "great knowledge," the magic of the Kabalists and
of the _Tantrika_ worship, often Sorcery of the worst description. (3)
_Guhya-Vidya_, knowledge of the mystic powers residing in Sound (Ether),
hence in the _Mantras_ (chanted prayers or incantations) and depending
on the rhythm and melody used; in other words a magical performance
based on Knowledge of the Forces of Nature and their correlation; and
(4) Atma-Vidya, a term which is translated simply "Knowledge of
the Soul," _true Wisdom_ by the Orientalists, but which means far more.
This last is the only kind of Occultism that any Theosophist who admires
_Light on the Path_, and who would be wise and unselfish, ought to
strive after. All the rest is some branch of the "Occult Sciences,"
i.e., arts based on the knowledge of the ultimate essence of all things
in the Kingdom of Nature--such as minerals, plants, and animals--hence
of things pertaining to the realm of _material_ Nature, however
invisible that essence may be, and howsoever much it has hitherto eluded
the grasp of Science. Alchemy, Astrology, Occult Physiology, Chiromancy
exist in Nature, and the _exact_ Sciences--perhaps so called because
they are found in this age of paradoxical philosophies the reverse--have
already discovered not a few of the secrets of the above _arts_. But
clairvoyance, symbolized in India as the "Eye of Siva," called in
Japan, "Infinite Vision," is _not_ Hypnotism, the illegitimate son of
Mesmerism, and is not to be acquired by such arts. All the others may be
mastered and results obtained, whether good, bad, or indifferent; but
_Atma-Vidya_ sets small value on them. It includes them all, and may
even use them occasionally, but it does so after purifying them of their
dross, for beneficent purposes, and taking care to deprive them of every
element of selfish motive. Let us explain: Any man or woman can set
himself or herself to study one or all of the above specified "Occult
Arts" without any great previous preparation, and even without adopting
any too restraining mode of life. One could even dispense with any lofty
standard of morality. In the last case, of course, ten to one the
student would blossom into a very decent kind of sorcerer, and tumble
down headlong into black magic. But what can this matter? The _Voodoos_
and the _Dugpas_ eat, drink and are merry over hecatombs of victims of
their infernal arts. And so do the amiable gentlemen vivisectionists and
the _diploma-ed_ "Hypnotizers" of the Faculties of Medicine; the only
difference between the two classes being that the Voodoos and the Dugpas
are _conscious_, and the Charcot-Richet crew _unconscious_ Sorcerers.
Thus, since both have to reap the fruits of their labors and
achievements in the black art, the Western practitioners should not have
the punishment and reputation without the profits and enjoyments they
may get therefrom. For we say it again, _hypnotism_ and _vivisection_ as
practised in such schools, are _Sorcery_ pure and simple, _minus_ a
knowledge that the Voodoos and Dugpas enjoy, and which no Charcot-Richet
can procure for himself in fifty years of hard study and experimental
observation. Let then those who will dabble in magic, whether they
understand its nature or not, but who find the rules imposed upon
students too hard, and who, therefore, lay Atma-Vidya or Occultism
aside--go without it. Let them become magicians by all means, even
though they do become _Voodoos_ and _Dugpas_ for the next ten
incarnations.