Theos-Talk Archives (June 2006 Message tt00309)

6/18/2006 6:56 AM



Friends:


More thoughts of value for consideration:

	Answers given on THEOSOPHY by W  Q  J  


HELP MASTERS HELP HUMANITY


In our small way we should imitate the Great Brotherhood in its constant
efforts to help Humanity. 

They know the cycles, and, using that knowledge, can see when the impulse of
a new cycle is beginning. Taking advantage of this prescience, new ideas are
projected among men and all good reforms are fostered. Why should we, merely
because we are ignorant of the cycles, do nothing to help these great
benefactors of the races?

They offer to all men the truths of the Wisdom-Religion, making no
selections but leaving results to the law. Is it for us to assume in our
theosophical work that we, poor, weak, ignorant tyros, are able to select
from the mass of our fellows the one or the many who may be fit to receive
theosophy? Such a position of judge is vain, ridiculous, and untheosophical.
Our plain duty is to present the truths of theosophy to all men, leaving it
to them to accept or reject.



			HIGHER SELF


Q.:	Is it possible by a strong desire before sleep to receive from the
Higher Self in dream an answer to questions respecting right thought and
conduct?


	W.Q.J.?This question is one of deep importance to those who are in
earnest. My answer to it would be ?yes.? Bulwer Lytton says, in the Strange
Story, that man?s first initiation comes in dreams. In The Book of Job it is
written (c. iv, 12.13); ?Now a

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thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. In
thought from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men.? And
(c. xxxiii, 14): ?For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it
not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men,
in slumberings upon the bed.? 

The state spoken of in Job is the same as that called Sushupti by the
Hindus. 

Man has three principal states or conditions?waking, dreaming, and dreamless
or deep slumber. 

In the last it is held that communion is enjoyed with the Spirit, and that
the inner man, returning or changing from that condition, goes into a dream,
short or long, from which he changes into the waking state. The influences
of Sushupti are highly spiritual. They are common to all men. 

The greatest villain on the earth, as well as the most virtuous man, goes
into Sushupti and receives benefit from it. If it were not so, wickedness
would triumph in the earth through the overpowering influence of the body
and its constant downward tendency. 

Now, if this is believed and the reality of the Higher Self admitted, it
follows from what is called the mysterious power of meditation that a
sincerely devoted man who earnestly calls upon the Higher Self for aid in
right conduct will receive in the dream state that succeeds the condition of
Sushupti the aid asked for, in other words, one can make the dream
impressions received out of the highest?or Sushupti?state more clear and
valuable than is usual with those who think nothing about it. 

But the questions asked and impressions desired must be high and altruistic,
because the Higher Self has no concern with material things nor with any
temporal affairs. This power will of course vary with each man according to
his nature and the various combinations between his physical, astral, and
psychical planes.



			CHELASHIP


Q.:	Do the Masters know one?s earnest desires and thoughts? I desire to
become a chela in my next incarnation. What effect will it have upon my
condition and environment in that life? is my desire forgotten or lost, or
is there record made of it?

W.Q.J.?The effect of a desire to become a chela in the next incarnation will
be to place one where the desire may be probably realized. Its effect on the
next condition and environment depends on so many things that no definite
reply could be given. If the desire be held determinedly and unceasingly,
the goal is brought nearer, but that also brings up all the karma of the
past, thus precipitating an immense conflict on the individual: a conflict

9 


which when once begun has only two ways of ending, one, total defeat, the
other, success; there is no half-way. 

As Dante wrote, ?Who enters here leaves hope behind.? Therefore, in general,
the next life, or rather the life of a chela, while full of noble
possibilities, is a constant battle from beginning to end. As to times and
periods, it is said in the East that when the probationary chela steps on
the path he will reach a goal in seven births thereafter. 



			DREAMS


Q.:	In the Path it is stated that ?a dream is the going out of a part of
our principles into the Astral Light.? This raises a desire for in formation
relative to the inspiration?so called?of poets, artists, inventors, and
others.

W.Q.J.?The definition of a dream referred to is not to my mind adequate, for
there are many sorts of dreams all due to different causes. 

Believing, as I do, that in the Astral Light are the pictures of all that
man has ever done or made, and that at this stage of evolution it is not
possible to bring forth anything really new, the so-called inspirations may
often be due to the fact that the organism of those ?inspired? more easily
permits the influx of the pictures in the Astral Light, and then their
production in verse, paintings, inventions, or what not. 

In an article entitled ?GENIUS? by H. P. Blavatsky in Lucifer for November,
1889, the idea is advanced that the great geniuses, of whatever kind, are
examples of the Ego, which is all-knowing, shining through and informing the
physical body inhabited. 

It is not necessary to dream in order to be inspired, for the sudden inrush
of poetical ideas and of new inventions may be due wholly to the previous
state of the organism, while we often hear of such ideas arising in dream,
yet from what is known of the poets, painters, and others, we are forced to
the conclusion that the greater number of inspirations are during the waking
state, and this supports the view put forward by H. P. Blavatsky in the
article upon ?Genius.?

In what manner does entrance on the path of occultism cause the special evil
latent in the individual to express itself in his life and acts? Is it
because early steps in occult knowledge destroy the force of the
conventional ideas of morality and abrogate the laws which society and
formal religion have adopted for their security; and that, therefore, for a
time, 

UNTIL THE PRINCIPLES OF ALTRUISM ASSUME DEFINITE SWAY OVER HIS MIND AND
MOTIVES, THE INDIVIDUAL IS WITHOUT PRACTICAL AND EFFICIENT RESTRAINTS UPON
HIS LOWER SELF?

10




			OCCULTISM  & ALTRUISM


Q.:	Or is it, on the other hand, the operation of a KARMIC LAW upon the
character of the individual, making use of his PERSONAL VANITY as a fulcrum
for forcing the special weakness of his LOWER SELF into a reckless
expression of itself?


	W.Q.J.?While the questioner answers his question himself, it only
gives half of the subject. The real study?on the path?of occultism not only
brings out latent evil but also latent good. The right way to express it is,


?the study of true occultism, or the walking on its path, brings up the
entire latent character of the person.? 

Hence while some in this case suddenly seem to grow worse and worse, others
suddenly grow better, deeper, broader, and finer. It is customary to look at
the shadow in these matters. 

While it is true that the majority of men are inherently bad, there are
examples of the opposite. 

The study of occultism does not destroy rules of right and wrong, but the
student, having opened up the fires below the surface, may be easily carried
away in the sudden heat engendered. 

The dweller of the threshold in Zanoni is no fiction. It is ever with each
student, for it is the baser part of humanity that he begins in real earnest
as never before to fight. At the same time, the brightly shining Adonai is
also there to help and save if we will let that be done. 

Karma that might not operate except after years or lives is called upon and
falls, as H.P.B. has so clearly stated, in one mass upon the head of him who
has called upon immutable law. ?Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,?
and, rushing in before they have the slightest idea of their own character,
even on its surface, they are often destroyed. 

But the practice of altruism is not by itself occultism, and it saves from
danger and prepares one for another incarnation in some body and age when
everything will favor us. We have yet left some few hundred thousand of
mortal years, and ought not to be too precipitous.



			END OF A CYCLE


Q,:	Does the termination of the 19th century of the Christian era
coincide with any of the great cycles referred to in The Secret Doctrine?
And if so, does not that fact strongly corroborate the actual existence and
the divine mission of the man Christ Jesus?

W.Q.J.?The first part of this question could not be answered to the
satisfaction of the questioner, for the reason that the true cycles, their
commencement and termination, are not given out by the Adepts, as that is a
sacred matter pertaining to high initiations. 

But I should like to ask the questioner how he can, by any fair

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logic or argument, take the views of the writer of The Secret Doctrine in
regard to the subject of cycles?about which she is fully informed and he
knows nothing?and then base upon them an argument for the ?actual existence
and divine mission of the man Christ Jesus.? And, as she says that there was
no Christ Jesus as a man with a divine mission, no such conclusion as is
drawn by the questioner could result from an affirmative answer to the first
question.

But suppose we admit that the termination of the 19th century A.D. coincides
with some of the great cycles referred to in The Secret Doctrine, nothing
would be proved respecting the ?actual existence and divine mission of the
man Christ Jesus,? for the reason that there are many other eras, in other
nations and religions, running at the present time, and doubtless it would
be found that the termination of the century of some of them would more
nearly coincide with some of the great eras than the Christian 19th century.


In such a case, the founders of those religions or eras would have proof in
the coincidence of the cycles?in case that constitutes any proof at all. 

There are the Christian era, the Mohammedan era, the Hindu era, the Buddhist
era, the Jain era, the Persian era, the Chinese era, and others. Now as some
of the centuries in these various eras must coincide with some of the great
cycles, it should follow from the questioner?s position that there is
corroboration for the ?actual existence and divine mission? of the various
great personages alleged by the various peoples and followers of the several
faiths to be appearances of God upon earth, and the ones from whose births
their respective eras may be reckoned. However, in my opinion, all these
coincidences prove nothing for any great religion, or any Saviour, in any
time or nation.


			ATTAINING ?PERFECTION?


Q.:	A teacher of Theosophy says that not more than one in ten thousand
is immortal. Is the statement correct? if so, what is the use of
reincarnation, and for what are Theosophists working?


	W.Q.J.?The second of the questions would not have been asked if more
attention had been paid to the acquirement of an accurate understanding of
the Theosophical philosophy. 

It has never been a secret doctrine that ?but few among mortals strive for
perfection and out of those only one in ten thousand reaches the end
desired.? These words are to be found in the Bhagavad-Gita, [ p. 56 ] which
was

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printed first in English 100 years ago. But even if we did not have the
direct statement in the Bhagavad-Gita, the fundamental Theosophical
doctrines compel us to the conclusion that many will fail to reach
immortality. 

Since, however, the same doctrines teach us to analyze and determine as to
what ?many? or ?us? means, we find that the theory under discussion applies
solely to the lower or strictly human ego and not to Spirit. 

The object, therefore, of reincarnation is that all the possible egos may
have the chance to become immortal by uniting themselves with Spirit. 

If they do not, they lose. But further yet, it is laid down that the periods
of evolution succeed each other in endless succession, and all who are ?left
over? unsaved at the end of any one of such periods are taken up again, in
the succeeding evolution, for the purpose of working up to perfection. 

Thus in every Manvantara numbers of egos reach perfection, for that period
is very long as mortals count years. I say ?numbers? because in fact the
number is very large, although, if compared to the entire whole, they may
not seem to be many. 

This is what Theosophists are working for? not only to reach perfection
themselves but to help all other men to do so likewise. 

And they should remember that whether they like it or not, the laws of life
will bring them upon earth again and again until they believe in the
doctrine, and acquire aspiration, and turn both into action.

But who is the ?teacher of Theosophy? spoken of by the questioner?




Q.:	The ?Guardians of the Gods? opposite to the entrances to the temples
in India are represented as having one foot on the head of a cobra; is this
typical of the triumph of the Hindu religion over the worship of the
serpent?or not?


W.Q.J.?I should say it is not. The serpent has many meanings, and to stand
with the foot on its head might mean that you have obtained complete mastery
over the lower nature, for the snake then stands for nature and its powers.
And as the Hindu religion has a good deal in it about the serpent, the
figures spoken of can not mean the triumph of that religion over serpent
worship.



			FALL INTO GENERATION


Q.:	Was the ?fall into generation? on the physical plane a normal
feature of human evolution, as stated in some Theosophical books; or was it
abnormal and not intended by nature, as said in other Theosophical books?

13

W.Q.J.?It would be well if every one were to quote when they say, ?as said
in some Theosophical books,? giving names of writer and of book, for it is
very unfair to the FORUM and any writer in it to be compelled to answer to
the purport merely of a statement in some volume. The context of such
statement might put the whole matter in a different light, or we might find
that there was a misquotation.

It cannot be said by a well informed Theosophist that nature has any
?intentions,? nor should any man have the temerity to claim an acquaintance
with those if they existed. If in the writings of some Theosophist a
reference can be found to ?nature?s intentions,? the context will certainly
show that the words were used figuratively in describing apparently settled
natural laws.



		KARMIC LAW  &  ?FALL INTO GENERATION?


It seems to me that the ?fall into generation,? when explained
Theosophically, is not abnormal. 

Since things are as they are under Karmic Law, according to law and not by
chance, there can be no step in it that is abnormal. 

Besides this, the word ?abnormal? is one that is used by us to designate
that which appears to be out of the usual course solely because we do not
know all the facts and factors. As in the case of the eccentric movements of
certain planets, which led to the discovery of another one which had caused
the eccentricity. Before the last one was found the movements of the others
were certainly abnormal, but ceased to be so considered when the discovery
was made. Hence ?abnormal? is a word that describes a thing only relatively
and not absolutely.

But H. P. Blavatsky, who is, we suppose, a good Theosophical authority,
speaks clearly enough upon our question. 

In Vol. 2, The Secret Doctrine, p. 62, she says: 

?Moreover, there are two ?Falls? in Theology: the rebellion of the
Archangels and their ?Fall,? and the ?Fall? of Adam and Eve. Thus the lower
as well as the higher Hierarchies are charged with a supposed crime. The
word ?sup posed? is the true and correct term, for in both cases it is
founded on misconception. Both are considered in Occultism as Karmic
effects, and both belong to the law of Evolution: intellectual and spiritual
on the one hand, physical and psychical on the other. The ?Fall? is a
universal allegory.? 

And on p. 228 of the same book she gives a more detailed view of the fall of
certain of the Dhyanis 

?whose turn it was to incarnate as the Egos of the immortal, but on this
plane senseless, monads,? stating in the second paragraph on the same page:
?the ?fall of man? was no fall, for he was irresponsible.?

14

Then, as if to furnish forth the answer for the question as to the
?intentions? of nature, the same author heads her explanation of Stanza II
(in the 2d Vol., p. 52) 

?Nature unaided fails,? 

and on p. 56, second paragraph, she says: 

?Thus physical nature, when left to herself in the creation of animal and
man, is shown to have failed.? If the second volume of The Secret Doctrine
proves any thing about ?intentions? in the matter of evolution, it is that
nature had none whatever, and, if she had, failure would follow attempt at
realization. This subject is interesting and, studied with the help of
Madame Blavatsky?s book, will be of benefit to the student.?       S D   II
56



				MEDITATION  &  HEALING


Q.:	In an answer to a question in the FORUM in regard to ?Meditation,?
the writer several times refers to the control of the ?vital electric
currents or agents of unconscious mind.? 

By the latter term, I understand, is implied the inner consciousness or the
Will force distinguished from mental effort, and also that the writer is
able not only to recognize the physical expression of this force but also to
control it.

We are conscious of mental effort, but usually the impulse of the Will
produces no physical sensation of itself.

Many of us now groping in a boundless void could at least feel our way in
the darkness, could we thus ascertain that our inner consciousness was
indeed impressed and working in the direction of our convictions. 

Let us have some elementary elucidation on this subject.

Can such consciousness be cultivated, and, if so, what are the initial
steps?


	W.Q.J.?The answer referred to was made by a student who had
discovered that, as far as he was concerned, the vital currents could be
centered upon desired parts of the body, and that in his case, if they were
centered in the head, he would be engaged more in mental works than bodily,
and vice versa. 

Proceeding with this, he found that some ailments could be thus driven away
by centering his vital force upon the place where they existed. It is a form
of will power, which to be used requires a well cultivated and balanced
imagination. 

Much abused word as ?imagination? is, it is the only one that will express
the necessities of the case. If your imagination cannot make a picture of
the spot and of the force, you can never?except by accident?cause the forces
to flow [ 15 ] there

. Hence the initial step is to cultivate the interior image- making power. 

Unless this is done, the will in these planes can hardly be directed to its
end, for with no image the forces have no place to focus upon; and it is a
huge error to suppose that scientists are right in saying that imagination
is a useless, although perhaps pleasant, power. 

As each human being is sui generis, has his own methods interiorly, peculiar
to him and to no other, one should not look for hard and fast rules for all,
but go to work upon himself, find himself out, of whom he is most ignorant,
and proceed upon the lines thereby indicated. 

All methods should be tried, and one?s own processes of thought and feeling
carefully observed. 

Without such inspection, rules and discussions are use less; by it?if truly
pursued?anything can be discovered.



				TATWAS
  

Q.:	Five Years of Theosophy states there are 36 Tatwams. As Shiva
Sanhita says, ?From ether came air; from ether and air, fire; from ether,
air, and fire, water; and from ether, air, fire, and water was produced the
earth, all of them forming the Universe.? Now, I cannot arrange the
combination of these 5 Tatwams so as to make 36. I make 5 primal Tatwams 10
double, 10 triple, 4 quadruple, I quintuple, or 30 in all. Can you supply
the deficiency?


	W.Q.J.?It has been generally understood that the study of the
Tatwams by beginners, including all men of every sort who are still in the
world, is discouraged by the Masters of Occultism, since it may lead to
abuses.

Furthermore, the subject is so mixed up as far as any treatises on it are
concerned, that it is well protected from enquiring minds. 

And as several Hindu writers will differ as to the number of tatwams, none
of the writers at the same time being able to use any of them, or tell how
to do so, one may be justified in leaving the matter untouched for the
present. 

For my part I am willing to confess ignorance of any more than 4 of these
forces, to wit, those of fire, air, earth, and water, and to assume but
slight knowledge of those. Just here it is well to read on page 290 of The
Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, ?So there are seven forces in Man and in all
Nature.?



			PSYCHIC SENSE USAGE


Q.:	Is it right or safe for one who has discovered a lead to a mine by
one of his psychic senses to search for the mine, even if for a noble
purpose? If he does find it, is he not liable to come to grief?


	W.Q.J.?It is not the province of Theosophy to furnish pointers
regarding mines or stocks, but since the question has arisen it does not
seem wrong for one to find a mine by means of psychic [ 16 ] sense. 

The number of successes in that line are very, very few, as psychics
generally grossly overestimate the discovery, and often suppose there is a
deposit worth going after, when in fact there is only a mere speck of metal.
Nor have I ever heard that trouble is likely to result to one who finds a
mine or anything else in that way. 

But at the same time, the search for treasure by using the psychic senses is
an ignoble pursuit. Yet, if accidentally, any sense of that sort revealed to
me a mine and I felt sure of it, I might seek it. Disappointment, however,
generally is the consequence.



			DESTINY  AND  KARMA


Q.:	Is there a wide difference between Karma and destiny?


	W.Q.J.?Destiny is the English word applied to a Karma so strong and
overpowering that its action cannot be counteracted by other Karma; but in
the sense that all happenings are under Karma, then all things are destined
as they occur. 

Men have always found that some events were so inevitable that, for want of
knowledge of the law of Karma, they have said, ?These things were destined.?


But when we grasp the meaning of Karma, we see that destiny is only the
working out in action of causes so powerful that no act of ours and no other
sort of Karma could by any possibility either avert or modify the result. 

This view does not conflict with what some call the ?immutable decrees of
Karma,? because those decrees are the resultant of numerous Karmic factors,
the absence, nullification, or postponement of any one of which would change
the supposable result. 

If, however, we imagine that our life today is only that due to past Karma
from a previous incarnation, we make the error leading to a belief in
destiny or fate. But as we are experiencing the effects of Karma from this
life as well as from many previous ones, it follows that the events in a
man?s life are due to the balancing of Karmic causes.

16 -17

Q.:	If while in the present incarnation we are able to arrive at the
?free? spiritual condition, the great reality, as designated in the tract
?Spirituality,? when during the long interval between reincarnations, while
the spirit is not chained to the body, but experiences that unreal
state??sleep, a sleep of dreams??as stated in Lucifer, what progress is
made?



			ADEPTS  AND  JIVANMUKTAS


W.Q.J.?There is much confusion in this question, and hence I infer a similar
state in the mind of the questioner as to the matter propounded. Two states
or kinds of development are mixed together, one the free or liberated state
of a Jivanmukta, and the [ 17 ] other that of a being who is obliged to
reincarnate. 

Only those are free who are Jivanmuktas; having reached that state they are
no more confined to mortal birth, but may take up a body or not as they see
fit. 


A Jivanmukta participates in the souls of all creatures and works for the
good of the human family. 

To take a known case, IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED THAT THE ADEPT WHO IS HELPING
THE T.S. IS A JIVANMUKTA, but is all the time engaged in the great work of
assisting the great orphan Humanity. 


And it is thought by some that he is waiting for the time to come when the
races have reached a higher state of development, and he can reincarnate as
some great personage to carry on the work now begun.

It could not therefore be possible that, having reached the liberated or
free state referred to, there should be any ?long interval between
reincarnations,? or any interval at all; and thus the question, ?What
progress is made?? is a non sequitur which needs no other specific reply.

If by ?that unreal state, ?sleep, a sleep of dreams,? ? is meant the state
of devachan, the answer is that he who is liberated does not experience
devachan, since that is a state possible only while one is still subject to
delusion.

But on examining the tract on Spirituality, I do not find the statement made
which the questioner quotes. I must infer, then, that some lesser, lower
view of ?free? and ?spiritual? states was in the mind of the person, some
idea that one might in this present incarnation reach to the state of
Jivanmukta, and that one who is free could still be obliged to reincarnate.
>From having referred to an intermediate state of sleep and dream, such might
be inferred to be the case. But a study of the philosophical basis of all
these Theosophical ideas would prevent such confusion as I have attempted to
point out and to cure. 

Indeed, on the third page of the very tract spoken of, on line 19 et seq. I
find a direct claim that we are really only aspiring to the state referred
to, and that we can begin now that training which shall lead us up to the
heights on which the liberated stand. No reference at all is made to ?long
intermediate periods of reincarnation.?

====================================


17 ? 18

				KARMA AND ASTROLOGY


Q,:	If all our sufferings in this life are caused by the misdeeds of a
former life, how can any combination of sidereal influences at birth effect
our fate?

W.Q.J.?A thorough acquaintance with the doctrine of Karma and with what is
actually claimed for Astrology by those qualified

18

to speak, would result in an answer to this question. 

Astrology is not soothsaying nor card-reading; reading omens is soothsaying;
reading cards is a form of divination: Astrology is neither of these. 

All that is claimed for it is that the whole assemblage of stars indicate,
as being a vast machine or clockwork, just exactly what is the state or
condition of any one spot in the whole mass. Is this any more absurd than to
say that a watchmaker can tell from the movements of a watch just where the
hands will be at any particular moment, and likewise from the hands alone
where the different cogs and other parts are within? 

If common minds, and ignorant as well as venal practitioners of Astrology,
make a stock of their imitations, wrong conceptions, and base uses of it,
that is no reason why the FORUM should sweepingly denounce Astrology. As
well denounce real Christianity because of the base coinage labeled with its
name. 

Taking now the oft-made assertion that ?Karma governs all worlds up to that
of Brahma,? we reply to the question that our Karma and the stars are
inextricably linked together, for if we had no Karma there would for us be
no stars. 

It is just because the Karma of any being at birth is fixed from his prior
one that the great clockwork of the skies shows unerringly to the sage?but
not to the dabbler nor to the modern abusers of Astrology?the Karma or
present fate of the being. But if, as so often done by even the best of
Theosophists, we separate any part of our universe from any other portion,
putting one under the influence of Karma and another not, then of course
such questions as this one cannot be answered. 

The doctrines of the Wisdom-Religion are nought if not all-embracing, are
useless and misleading if not applicable to the greatest as well as the very
least of circumstances or worlds; and so we answer that not only do sidereal
positions indicate our Karma, but even the very clouds, the wind, and the
hour of the day or night in which we may be born, do the same.


				ATMA


Q.:	Is the seventh principle, the Atma, ever incarnated, or are our
bodies simply projections of that principle and formed by it, as was the
statue Galat?a by Pygmalion? From some Theosophical books I gather that the
seven principles are all incarnated from the beginning, and that each
principle is evolved in turn. From others it would seem that the higher
principles are never incarnated.

W.Q.J.?The fiction of the formation of Galataea by Pygmalion is such a faint
and inadequate symbol or illustration that there is

19

nothing to be gained by its use, as it will surely mislead.

The evolution of the bodily form came about in the same way as that of all
other forms; as said in the Bhagavad-Gita, ?All is due to the mystic power
of self-ideation, the eternal thought in the eternal mind,? and only in the
sense that all forms are projections from the eternal can we say that ?our
bodies are projections of that principle? (Atma). 

The second sentence of the question shows that here is another case in which
the very materialistic view of the sevenfold constitution of man given in
Esoteric Buddhism and used by so many thereafter has resulted in inducing
the notion that there is a separation between the so-called ?principles.? 

This idea of seven distinct things, entities, or principles in man ought to
be abandoned, and is due almost wholly to erroneous nomenclature, as was
strongly urged in several papers published in the Path. 

There can only be one principle, and all the rest are but aspects of it, or
vehicles for it to work and manifest through. 

Therefore but the one principle is involved in generation, when it takes to
itself six sheaths or vehicles, or shows itself under six aspects. But as it
is Theosophic doctrine that this one principle? call it Atma?is in essence
the Supreme, then its involution in matter is but partial. 


In order to understand nature and to reach self-consciousness, it is
necessary that the six vehicles be found to work through, and what is meant
in some Theosophical books by the statement that each ?principle evolves in
turn? is that from the beginning of a Manvantara the six material vehicles
have to be evolved one after the other in due order and in correspondence
with the rest of nature, none lagging behind and none ahead. 


For instance, at that period in evolution when we might assume that but one
vehicle had been fully evolved, then man (so-called) would not be man as we
know him. So we. see in the Secret Doctrine that man, strictly as such, is
not spoken of until several races or vehicles had been first fully evolved
in due order and proportion.

>From these considerations the old Hindu idea that what we see of man is but
the inner (or outer) hard core?the material body?and that he, in fact, in
his whole nature reaches even to the moon, would seem to gain some support.
And I should incline to the opinion that Atma is never incarnated, but
overshadows and shines into the being called man whom it has chosen to
connect itself with.

[  W Q J ART  I  298

 
THE SEVENFOLD DIVISION
WHY NOT CHANGE THE DESIGNATION?







20
				WHITE MAGIC  /  BLACK


Q.:	Would true Occultists and sincere Theosophists countenance or
practice any lawful arts of White Magic for pay?

W.Q.J.?My reply to this would be that the taking of pay for any act of
?White Magic? is untheosophical and injurious to the taker. 

The example of all great men known to history or Scripture is against the
taking of pay in such cases. Jesus would not take it, nor Apollonius, nor
Buddha, although, if persons insisted, they were allowed to donate food or
for food. 

Buddha depended upon voluntary contributions of food, and accepted the gift
of a garden or park from a rich man for the use of the disciples, but not
for himself. 

A ?right means of livelihood? does not permit the practice of powers
belonging to another plane than this for pay. If we have to starve unless we
take pay for what the querist calls ?arts of White Magic,? then, I say,
starve, and you will be the better off.


The accepting of pay at once takes away the character of White Magic from
the act and makes it Black, for there is a selfish purpose in receiving the
pay which no amount of argument or self-cheating can remove. 

There are many degrees of ?Black Magic,? running all the way from effort to
get money for food up to deliberate, conscious work for self alone. 


				GIFT  OF   HEALING

If one has the natural gift of healing and then takes pay for its use, he is
cheating. This is wide apart from the practise of medicine, which you have
to give effort, time, and money to acquire.

But if a natural healer or a ?spiritual healer??to use a most absurd term
now in vogue in America?practices healing, and takes of alms only enough for
sustenance, there is no Black Magic. 

But all such healers can ask themselves if they have made money, saved
money, bought property, lived in luxury on the proceeds of their art or
practice?or whatever they call it?and, if they have, then certainly they
have ?robbed the gods,? who gave freely a power and compelled no pay. The
?gods? see these things, and have a time and place when and where the stolen
property has to be accounted for.


			CORRESPONDENCE  &  ANALOGY

Q.:	In what sense is the word ?correspond? used in Theosophical writings
and the works of Swedenborg? In the sense of ?cause and effect,? and that
things never ?correspond? unless this relation exists between them?

W.Q.J.?I presume the questioner refers to the use of the words ?it
corresponds,? ?there is a correspondence.? This does not refer [21] to cause
and effect, but rather to similarity or likeness, as: ?Good corresponds to
light, and evil to darkness?; ?Selfishness corresponds to frigidity and
iciness, and generosity to heat.? 

There is no relation of cause and effect between these, for generosity is
not the effect of heat nor its cause, nor is the light the effect or cause
of goodness. You are therefore essentially wrong in supposing the word
?correspondence? is used to express cause and effect. An examination of a
good dictionary discloses the meaning to be ?fitness, agreement,
proportion,? hence ?similarity.? 

The questioner should study this word and obtain a clear understanding of
its meaning and use, for if the conception of it remains so confused as the
question indicates, many other errors will result. A more or less complete
knowledge of correspondences gives the power to gain knowledge gradually
from one plane to another.