Theos-Talk Archives (August 2005 Message tt00149)

Very insightful article. I was always wondering how the Masters had
the ability to revoke certain occult power from their chelas.

-Mark H.

On 8/17/05, W.Dallas TenBroeck <dalval14@earthlink.net> wrote:
> 8/17/2005 4:38 AM
> 
> Dear Mark and friends:
> 
> The following summary from H P B's
> 
>        OCCULTISM VERSUS THE OCCULT ARTS
> 
> may be found helpful, as it directs attention to the real occultism that
> underlies all physical phenomena.
> 
> -------------------------------
> 
> OCCULTISM VERSUS THE OCCULT ARTS  by H. P. Blavatsky
>                        H P B Articles  II  100
> 
> 
> P. 101  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 reflection of the absolute, causeless and unknowable ALL--differs from
> the mortal clay--the human body.
> 
> 
> P 102   There is
> 
> (1) Yajna-Vidya, 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 …but which means far more.          [see also  S D I  168 - 9]
> 
> 
> P. 102-3        This last [ATMA-VIDYA, a term which is translated simply
> "knowledge of the Soul," true Wisdom]  is the only kind of Occultism that
> any theosophist…who would be wise and unselfish, ought to strive
> after…Atma-Vidya… 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.
> 
> 
> F. NOTE "The Yajna," …exists from eternity, for it proceeded forth from the
> Supreme One… in whom it lay dormant from 'no beginning.' It is the key to
> TRAIVIDYA, the thrice sacred science contained in the Rig verses, which
> teaches the Yagus or sacrificial mysteries. 'The Yajna' …is like the latent
> power of electricity…requiring only the operation of a suitable apparatus in
> order to be elicited. It is supposed to extend from the Ahavaniya or
> sacrificial fire to the heavens, forming a bridge or ladder by means of
> which the sacrificer can communicate with the world of gods and spirits, and
> even ascend when alive to their abodes."--Martin Hauge's AITREYA BRAHMANA.
> "This Yajna is again one of the forms of the Akasa; and the mystic word
> calling it into existence and pronounced mentally by the initiated Priest is
> the Lost Word receiving impulse through WILL-POWER."    Isis Unveiled, Vol.
> I, Intro.
> 
> 
> P. 104    [Other road ?]    Let him aspire to no higher than he feels able
> to accomplish. Let him not take a burden upon himself too heavy for him to
> carry…and he can become one of the modest benefactors of humanity, without
> any superhuman powers.   [see p. 109 here]
> 
> 
> P. 104     Siddhis (or the Arhat powers) are only for those who are able to
> "lead the life," to comply with the terrible sacrifices required for such a
> training, and to comply with them to the very letter…remember always, that
> true Occultism or Theosophy is the "Great Renunciation of SELF,"
> unconditionally and absolutely, in thought as in action.
> 
> 
> P. 104     It is ALTRUISM, and it throws him who practices it out of
> calculation of the ranks of the living altogether. "Not for himself, but for
> the world, he lives," as soon as he has pledged himself to the work.
> 
> 
> P. 104     Much is forgiven during the first years of probation. But, no
> sooner is he "accepted" than his personality must disappear, and he has to
> become a mere beneficent force in Nature…He has either to ascend
> laboriously, step by step, often through numerous incarnations and no
> Devachanic break, the golden ladder leading to Mahatmaship (the Arhat or
> Bodhisatva condition), or--he will let himself slide down the ladder at the
> first false step, and roll down into Dugpaship. . . .
> 
> 
> P. 104-5        …one who is able to follow the silent evolution of the
> preliminary aspirations of the candidates, often finds strange ideas quietly
> taking possession of their minds. There are those whose reasoning powers
> have been so distorted by foreign influences that they imagine that animal
> passions…by a strong effort of will [they can] put down the fierce flames
> and keep them at bay within their natures, allowing the fire to smolder
> under a thin layer of ashes.
> 
> 
> P. 105  The "Master" in the Sanctuary of our souls is "the Higher Self"--
> 
> 
> P. 105  …the divine spirit whose consciousness is based upon and derived
> solely (…during the mortal life of the man in whom it is captive) from the
> Mind [Manas], which…the Human Soul (the "Spiritual Soul" [Buddhi-Manas]
> being the vehicle of the Spirit). [Key: pp. 136, 175-6]
> 
> 
> P. 105  In its turn…the personal or human soul [Kama-Manas] is
> 
> 1.  a compound in its highest form, of spiritual aspirations, volition, and
> divine love; and,
> 
> 2.  in its lower aspect, [Kama]of animal desires and terrestrial passions
> imparted to it by its associations with its vehicle, the seat of all these.
> 
> It [the Mind - Manas] thus stands as a link and a medium between the animal
> nature of man…and his divine spiritual nature to which it gravitates,
> whenever it has the upper hand in its struggle with the inner animal.
> 
> P. 105-6    …[the inner animal - Kama] is the instinctual "animal Soul"
> [Kama-Manas] and is the hotbed of those passions
> 
> 
> P. 106  The "HIGHER SELF" or Spirit is as unable to assimilate such feelings
> as water to get mixed with oil... It is thus the Mind alone, the sole link
> and medium between the man of earth and the Higher Self--that is the only
> sufferer, and which is in the incessant danger of being dragged down by
> those passions that may be re-awakened,… and perish in the abyss of matter.
> 
> P. 106  …how can it [Manas] ever attune itself to the divine harmony of the
> highest Principle, when that harmony is destroyed by the mere presence,
> within THE SANCTUARY IN PREPARATION, of such animal passions? How can
> harmony prevail and conquer, when the soul is stained and distracted with
> the turmoil of passions and the terrestrial desires of the bodily senses, or
> even of the "Astral man"?  [S D  II  110]
> 
> P. 107   F-note    Those who would feel inclined to see three Egos in one
> man will show themselves unable to perceive the metaphysical meaning. Man is
> a trinity composed of Body, Soul and Spirit; but man is nevertheless one,
> and is surely not his body. It is the latter which is the property, the
> transitory clothing of the man. The three "Egos" are MAN in his three
> aspects on the astral, intellectual or psychic, and the Spiritual planes, or
> states.
> 
> P. 106  …this "Astral"--the shadowy "double" (in the animal as in man) is
> not the companion of the divine Ego but of the earthly body. It is the link
> between the personal SELF, the lower consciousness of Manas [Kama-Manas] and
> the Body, and is the vehicle of transitory, not of immortal life. Like the
> shadow,…it follows his …impulses slavishly and mechanically, and leans
> therefore to matter without ever ascending to Spirit.
> 
> P. 106  It is only when the power of the passions is dead altogether, and
> when they have been crushed and annihilated in the retort of an unflinching
> will; when not only all the lusts and longings of the flesh are dead, but
> also the recognition of the personal Self is killed out and the "astral" has
> been reduced in consequence to a cipher, that the UNION WITH THE "HIGHER
> SELF" can take place.  [ see Glos. pp 170-1 ]
> 
> P. 106  …when the "Astral" reflects only the conquered man, the still living
> but no more the longing, selfish personality, then the brilliant Augoeides,
> the divine SELF [ATMA], can vibrate in conscious harmony with both the poles
> of the human Entity--the man of matter purified [Kamadeva ? ], and the ever
> pure Spiritual Soul  [Buddhi-Manas]--and stand in the presence of the MASTER
> SELF [ATMAN], the Christos of the mystic Gnostic, blended, merged into, and
> one with IT forever. [ see Glos. pp 170-1 ]
> 
> P. 107  …he who would profit by the wisdom of the Universal Mind, has to
> reach it through the whole of Humanity without distinction of race,
> complexion, religion or social status.
> 
> 
> P. 107  It is altruism, not ego-ism even in its most legal and noble
> conception, that can lead the unit to merge its little Self in the Universal
> Selves. It is to these needs and to this work that the true disciple of true
> Occultism has to devote himself, if he would obtain theo-sophy, divine
> Wisdom and Knowledge.
> 
> P. 107    The aspirant has to choose absolutely between the life of the
> world and the life of Occultism.
> 
> P. 107-8        It is useless and vain to endeavour to unite the two, for no
> one can serve two masters and satisfy both. No one can serve his body and
> the higher Soul, and do his family duty and his universal duty, without
> depriving either one or the other of its rights…
> 
> P. 108  For, whoever indulges after having pledged himself to OCCULTISM in
> the gratification of a terrestrial love or lust, must feel an almost
> immediate result; that of being irresistibly dragged from the impersonal
> divine state down to the lower plane of matter. Sensual, or even mental
> self-gratification, involves the immediate loss of the powers of spiritual
> discernment…
> 
> P. 108  …it is the intention that decides primarily whether white or black
> magic is exercised
> 
>  P. 108 …SORCERY is any kind of evil influence exercised upon other persons,
> who suffer, or make other persons suffer, in consequence.
> 
> P. 109  …the Gate of the Occult arts, practised for selfish motives and in
> the absence of the restraining and beneficent influence of ATMA-VIDYA. We
> are in the Kali Yuga and its fatal influence is a thousand-fold more
> powerful in the West than it is in the East; hence the easy preys made by
> the Powers of the Age of Darkness in this cyclic struggle, and the many
> delusions under which the world is now labouring.
> 
> P. 108  KARMA is a heavy stone splashed in the quiet waters of Life; and it
> must produce ever widening circles of ripples, carried wider and wider,
> almost ad infinitum. Such causes produced have to call forth effects, and
> these are evidenced in the just laws of Retribution.
> 
> P. 108  Much of this may be avoided if people will only abstain from rushing
> into practices neither the nature nor importance of which they understand.
> No one is expected to carry a burden beyond his strength and powers.
> 
> P. 108-9        There are "Natural-Born Magicians"; Mystics and Occultists
> by birth, and by right of direct inheritance from a series of incarnations
> and æons of suffering and failures. These are passion-proof, so to say. No
> fires of earthly origin can fan into a flame any of their senses or desires;
> no human voice can find response in their souls, except the great cry of
> Humanity.  These only may be certain of success…they pass through the narrow
> gates of Occultism because they carry no personal luggage of human
> transitory sentiments along with them. They have got rid of the feeling of
> the lower personality, paralyzed thereby the "astral" animal…  [H P B and W
> Q J  as examples]
> 
> P. 109     [Cause of failures] …the relative facility with which men fancy
> they can get at the "Gate" and cross the threshold of Occultism without any
> great sacrifice… one [dream] inspired by desire for Power and personal
> selfishness, and it is not such feelings that can ever lead…to the coveted
> goal.
> 
> P. 109  …said by one [who] sacrificed himself for Humanity--"narrow is the
> gate and straightened the way that leadeth unto life" eternal, and therefore
> "few be they that find it."
> 
> P. 109     So straight indeed, that at the…mention of …the preliminary
> difficulties the affrighted Western candidates turn back. . . Let them stop
> here and attempt no more in their great weakness. For if, while turning
> their backs on the narrow gate, they are dragged by their desire for the
> Occult one step in the direction of the broad and more inviting Gates of
> that golden mystery which glitters in the light of illusion… It can lead
> only to Dugpa-ship, and they will be sure to… land on that Via Fatale
> [Fatal Path] of the Inferno, over whose portal Dante read the words:--
> 
>  Per me si va nella citta dolente
>     Per me si va nell'eterno dolore
>     Per me si va tra la perduta gente. . . . .
> 
> Rough translation:
> 
> Through me pass the sorrowful, …those in eternal pain, -- all the "lost"
> souls.
> 
> ===========================
> p. 106  X refrence
>        "...the human brain is simply the canal between two planes--the
> psycho-spiritual and the material--through which every abstract and
> metaphysical idea filters from the Manasic down to the lower human
> consciousness.  Therefore the ideas about the infinite and the absolute are
> not, nor can they be, within our brain capacities.  They can be faithfully
> mirrored only by our Spiritual consciousness, thence to be more of less
> faintly projected on to the tables of our perceptions on this plane.  Thus
> while the records of even important events are often obliterated from our
> memory, not the most trifling action of our lives can disappear from the
> "Soul's" memory, because it is no memory for it, but an ever-present reality
> on the plane which lies outside our conceptions of space and time.  "Man is
> the measure of all things," said Aristotle;  and surely he did not mean by
> man, the form of flesh, bones and muscles ? ... As our world is mostly
> formed of imperceptible beings which are the real constructors of its
> continents, so likewise is man."
> 
> HPB--Memory in the Dying --  HPB Art. II 378-9
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------
> 
> Dallas
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Mark Hamilton Jr.
> Sent: Monday, August 15, 2005 2:45 PM
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: Theos-World Modern movement of the Occult
> 
> > This material is well known and has been for some time.
> 
> Almost every study I see on the occult is news to me.
> 
> What struck me as strange is the woman in the book who was performing
> Psychokinetics had severe physical repercussions afterwards. She ended
> up losing 3 pounds or more during relatively short sessions, and went
> temporarily blind at times (as well as having other problems, such as
> partial paralysis and pains). It appeared to them as if she was
> generating and directing electromagnetic fields by using her own
> nervous system. This was later backed up by non-subjective sensory
> data from a computer.
> 
> Instead of hotwiring her entire nervous system she could've just used
> one of the other available techniques. I've ementioned this before,
> but it's much better to use fine skill than brute strength.
> 
> -Mark H.
> 
> --
> Mark Hamilton Jr.
> waking.adept@gmail.com
> 
> 
> 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
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> Yahoo! Groups Links
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> 


-- 
Mark Hamilton Jr.
waking.adept@gmail.com