Theosophy - Occultism versus the Occult Arts by H.P.Blavatsky
OCCULTISM
VERSUS THE OCCULT ARTS
by H.P.BLAVATSKY
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 meagre ghosts 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 multicoloured 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 civilised 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 materialised 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 absolute and exploded “superstition”.
Such words could answer only to ideas which a cultured
man was scarcely supposed to harbour in his mind.“Magic”,
a synonym for jugglery; “Sorcery”, an equivalent
for crass ignorance; and “Occultism”, the sorry
relic of crack-brained, mediaeval Fire-philosophers, of
the Jacob Boehmes and the St. Martins are expressions believed
more than amply sufficient to cover the whole field to “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 acquisitions 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 Pharaoh'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 knowledge [The Yajna”,says
the Brahmans, “exists from eternity, for it proceeded
forth from the Supreme One...in whom it lay dormant from
' no beginning.' It is the key to the TRAIVIDYA,
the thrice sacred science contained in the Rig verses,
which teaches the Yagus or sacrificial mysteries. 'The
Yajna' exists as an invisible thing at all times; it is
like the latent power of electricity in an electrifying
machine, 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
Haug's Aitareya Brahmana.“This Yajna is
again one of the forms of the Akasa; and the mystic word
calling it unto existence and pronounced mentally by the
initiated Priest is the Lost Word receiving impulse
through WILL POWER”—“Isis Unveiled”,
Vol. I, Intr.] of
the occult powers awakened in nature by the performance
of certain religious ceremonies and rites. (2) Mahavidya,
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
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 Kingdoms 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 secret of the above arts.
But clairvoyance, symbolised 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 “Hypnotisers” of
the Faculties of Medicine; the only difference between
the two classes being that the Voodoos and Dugpas are conscious,
and the Charcot-Richet crew unconscious, Sorcerers.
Thus, since both have to reap the fruits of their labours
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 practiced
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.
But
the interest of our readers will probably centre on those
who are invincibly attracted towards the “Occult”,
yet who neither realise the true nature of what they aspire
towards, nor have they become passion-proof, far less,
truly unselfish.
How
about these unfortunates, we shall be asked, who are thus
rent in twain by conflicting forces? For it has been said
too often to need repetition, and the fact itself is patent
to any observer, that when once the desire for Occultism
has really awakened in a man's heart, there remains for
him no hope of peace, no place of rest and comfort in all
the world. He is driven out into the wild and desolate
spaces of life by an ever-gnawing unrest he cannot quell.
His heart is too full of passion and selfish desire to
permit him to pass the Golden Gate; he cannot find rest
or peace in ordinary life. Must he then inevitably fall
into sorcery and black magic, and through many incarnations
heap up for himself a terrible Karma? Is there no other
road for him?
Indeed
there is, we answer. 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. Without ever becoming
a “Mahatma”, a Buddha or a Great Saint, let
him study the philosophy and the “Science of Soul”,
and he can become one of the modest benefactors of humanity,
without any “superhuman” powers. 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. Let them know at once and remember always,
that true Occultism or Theosophy is the “Great
Renunciation of SELF”, unconditionally and absolutely,
in thought as in action. It is ALTRUISM, and it throws
him who practises 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. 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. There are two poles for
him after that, two paths, and no midward place of rest.
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 Bodhisattva condition),
or — he will let himself slide down the ladder
at the first false step, and roll down into Dugpaship...
All
this is either unknown or left out of sight altogether.
Indeed, 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 can be so sublimated and elevated that
their fury, force, and fire can, so to speak, be turned
inwards; that they can be stored and shut up in one's breast,
until their energy is, not expanded, but turned toward
higher and more holy purposes: namely, until their collective
and unexpanded strength enables their possessor to enter
the true Sanctuary of the Soul and stand therein in
the presence of the Master — the HIGHER SELF.
For this purpose they will not struggle with their passions
nor slay them. They will simply, by a strong effort of
will, put down the fierce flames and keep them at bay within
their natures, allowing the fire to smoulder under a thin
layer of ashes. They submit joyfully to the torture of
the Spartan boy who allowed the fox to devour his entrails
rather than part with it. Oh, poor blind visionaries!
As
well hope that a band of drunken chimney-sweeps, hot and
greasy from their work, may be shut up in a Sanctuary hung
with pure white linen, and that instead of soiling and
turning it by their presence into a heap of dirty shreds,
they will become masters in and of the sacred recess, and
finally emerge from it as immaculate as that recess. Why
not imagine that a dozen of skunks imprisoned in the pure
atmosphere of a Dgon-pa (a monastery) can issue
out of it impregnated with all the perfumes of the incenses
used?... Strange aberration of the human mind. Can it be
so? Let us argue.
The “Master” in
the Sanctuary of our souls is “the Higher Self”— the
divine spirit whose consciousness is based upon and derived
solely (at any rate during the mortal life of the man in
whom it is captive) from the Mind, which we have agreed
to call the Human Soul (the “Spiritual Soul” being
the vehicle of the Spirit). In its turn the former (the personal or
human soul) is a compound, in its highest form, of spiritual
aspirations, volitions, and divine love; and in its lower
aspect, of animal desires and terrestrial passions imparted
to it by its associations with its vehicle, the seat of
all these. It thus stands as a link and a medium between
the animal nature of man which its higher reason seeks
to subdue, and his divine spiritual nature to which it
gravitates, whenever it has the upper hand in its struggle
with the inner animal. The latter is the instinctual “animal
Soul”, and is the hotbed of those passions which,
as just shown, are lulled instead of being killed, and
locked up in theirs breasts by some imprudent enthusiasts.
Do they still hope to turn thereby the muddy stream of
the animal sewer into the crystalline waters of life? And
where, on what neutral ground, can they be imprisoned so
as not to affect man? The fierce passions of love and lust
are still alive, and they are allowed to still remain in
the place of their birth — that same animal soul; for
both the higher and the lower portions of the “Human
Soul” or Mind reject such inmates, though they cannot
avoid being tainted with them as neighbours. The “Higher
Self” or Spirit is as unable to assimilate such feelings
as water to get mixed with oil or unclean liquid tallow.
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 incessant danger
of being dragged down by those passions that may be reawakened
at any moment, and perish in the abyss of matter. And how
can it 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 desire of the bodily senses,
or even of the “Astral Man”?
For
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 and
the Body, and is the vehicle of transitory, not of immortal
life. Like the shadow projected by man, it follows
his movements and impulses slavishly and mechanically,
and leans therefore to matter without ever ascending to
Spirit. 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. Then 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, can vibrate in conscious harmony with
both the poles of the human Entity — the man of matter
purified, and the ever pure Spiritual Soul — and
stand in the presence of MASTER SELF, the Christos of the
mystic Gnostic, blended, merged into, and one with IT for
ever. [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 ]
How,
then, can it be thought possible for a man to enter the “straight
gate” of occultism when his daily and hourly thoughts
are bound up with worldly things, desires of possession
and power, with lust, ambition, and duties which, however
honourable, are still of the earth earthy? Even the love
for wife and family — the purest as the most unselfish
of human affections — is a barrier to real occultism.
For whether we take as an example the holy love of a mother
for her child, or that of a husband for his wife, even
in these feelings, when analyzed to the very bottom, and
thoroughly sifted, there is still selfishness in
the first, and an égoisme a deux in the second instance.
What mother would not sacrifice without a moment's hesitation
hundreds and thousands of lives for that of the child of
her heart? and what lover or true husband would not break
the happiness of every other man and woman around him to
satisfy the desire of one whom he loves? This is but natural,
we shall be told. Quite so, in the light of the code of
human affections; less so, in that of divine universal
love. For, while the heart is full of thoughts for a little
group of selves, near and dear to us, how shall
the rest of mankind fare in our souls? What percentage
of love and care will there remain to bestow on the “great
orphan”? And how shall the “still small voice” make
itself heard in a soul entirely occupied with its own privileged
tenants? What room is there left for the needs of Humanity en
bloc to impress themselves upon, or even receive a
speedy response? And yet, he who would profit by the wisdom
of the universal mind, has to reach it through thewhole
of Humanity without distinction of race, complexion,
religion, or social status. 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.
The
aspirant has to choose absolutely between the life of the
world and the life of occultism. 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; for he will either lend his ear to the '“still
small voice” and fail to hear the cries of his little
ones, or, he will listen but to the wants of the latter
and remain deaf to the voice of Humanity. It would be a
ceaseless, a maddening struggle for almost any married
man, who would pursue true practical Occultism,
instead of its theoretical philosophy. For he would
find himself ever hesitating between the voice of the impersonal
divine love of Humanity, and that of the personal, terrestrial
love. And this could only lead him to fail in one or the
other, or perhaps in both his duties. Worse than this.
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; the voice of the
MASTER can no longer be distinguished from that of one's
passions, or even that of a Dugpa; the right from
wrong; sound morality from mere casuistry. The Dead Sea
fruit assumes the most glorious mystic appearance, only
to turn to ashes on the lips, and to gall in the heart,
resulting in:
Depth
ever deepening,
Darkness darkening still;
Folly
for wisdom, guilt for innocence;
Anguish for rapture, And
for hope despair.
And
once being mistaken and having acted on their mistakes,
most men shrink from realizing their error, and thus descend
deeper and deeper into the mire. And, although it is the
intention that decides primarily whether white or black
magic is exercised, yet the results even of involuntary,
unconscious sorcery cannot fail to be productive of bad
Karma. Enough has been said to show that sorcery is
any kind of evil influence exercised upon other persons,
who suffer, or make other persons suffer, in consequence.
Karma is a heavy stone splashed in the quiet waters of
Life; and it must produce ever widening circles or 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.
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. There are “natural
born magicians”; Mystics and Occultists by birth,
and by right of direct inheritance from a series of incarnations
and aeons 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. But they can be met
only far and wide, and 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, and the golden,
but narrow gate is thrown open before them. Not so with
those who have to carry yet for several incarnations the
burden of sins committed in previous lives, and even in
their present existence. For such, unless they proceed
with great caution, the golden gate of Wisdom may get transformed
into the wide gate and the broad way “that leadeth
unto destruction”, and therefore “many be they
that enter in thereby”. This is the Gate of the Occult
arts, practised for selfish motives and in the absence
of the restraining and beneficent t influence of ATMA-VIDYA.
We are in the Kali Yuga and its fatal influence is a thousandfold
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. One of these is the relative
facility with which men fancy they can get at the “Gate” and
cross the threshold of Occultism without any great sacrifice.
It is the dream of most Theosophists, one inspired by desire
for power and personal selfishness, and it is not such
feelings that can ever lead them to the coveted goal. For,
as well said by one believed to have sacrified himself
for Humanity — “narrow is the gate and straightened
the way that leadeth unto life eternal”, and therefore “few
be they that find it”. So straight indeed, that at
the bare mention of some of the preliminary difficulties
the affrighted Western candidates turn back and retreat
with a shudder....
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,
woe to them! It can lead only to Dugpa-ship, and they will
be sure to find themselves very soon landed on that Via
Fatale 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....