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Title: The Way of Initiation
or, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Translator: Max Gysi
Release Date: June 13, 2012 [EBook #39986]
Language: English
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THE WAY OF INITIATION
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
INITIATION AND ITS RESULTS
a sequel to the
"WAY OF INITIATION"
By
RUDOLF STEINER, Ph.D.
Translated from the German by Clifford Bax
CONTENTS
A FOREWORD
I. THE ASTRAL CENTERS (CHAKRAS)
II. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ETHERIC BODY
III. DREAM LIFE
IV. THE THREE STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
V. THE DISSOCIATION OF HUMAN PERSONALITY DURING INITIATION
VI. THE FIRST GUARDIAN OF THE THRESHOLD
VII. THE SECOND GUARDIAN OF THE THRESHOLD
SELECTED LIST OF OCCULT WORKS
In same clear print and rich binding as this book
PRICE $1.00 PREPAID
THE WAY OF INITIATION
OR
HOW TO ATTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS
BY RUDOLF STEINER, Ph.D.
FROM THE GERMAN
BY
~MAX GYSI~
WITH SOME BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OF THE AUTHOR BY
~EDOUARD SCHURÉ~
FIRST AMERICANIZED EDITION
MACOY PUBLISHING AND MASONIC SUPPLY CO.
NEW YORK, U.S.A.
Copyright 1910
BY
MACOY PUBLISHING
AND
MASONIC SUPPLY CO.
45-47-49 JOHN ST.
New York, U.S.A.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Personality of Rudolf Steiner and His Development 7
I. The Superphysical World and Its Gnosis 33
II. How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds 50
III. The Path of Discipleship 65
IV. Probation 81
V. Enlightenment 93
VI. Initiation 117
VII. The Higher Education of the Soul 135
VIII. The Conditions of Discipleship 149
List of Occult and Kindred Books 165
Transcriber's Note: Words printed in bold are noted with tildes;
~bold~. There is no corresponding anchor for footnote number 5.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.
(FOR THE ENGLISH EDITION.)
Being deeply interested in Dr. Steiner's work and teachings, and
desirous of sharing with my English-speaking friends the many
invaluable glimpses of Truth which are to be found therein, I decided
upon the translation of the present volume. It is due to the kind
co-operation of several friends who prefer to be anonymous that this
task has been accomplished, and I wish to express my hearty thanks for
the literary assistance rendered by them--also to thank Dr. Peipers of
Munich for permission to reproduce his excellent photograph of the
author.
The special value of this volume consists, I think, in the fact that
no advice is given and no statement made which is not based on the
personal experience of the author, who is, in the truest sense, both
a mystic and an occultist.
If the present volume should meet with a reception justifying a further
venture, we propose translating and issuing during the coming year a
further series of articles by Dr. Steiner in continuation of the same
subject, and a third volume will consist of the articles now appearing
in the pages of The Theosophist, entitled "The Education of Children."
MAX GYSI.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
While the pleasant German vernacular is still discernable in the text
of this work, we wish to state that it has been Americanized in
spelling, phraseology, and definition, to make plainer to the Western
mind the wonderful truths experienced by its distinguished author.
The readers, especially Occult, Theosophic, Masonic, and New Thought
students, we believe, will appreciate the clearness with which his
teachings lead to the simple rich Harmony of Life.
MACOY PUB. & MASONIC SUP. CO.
THE PERSONALITY OF RUDOLF STEINER AND HIS DEVELOPMENT
BY EDOUARD SCHURÉ[1]
Many of even the most cultivated men of our time have a very mistaken
idea of what is a true mystic and a true occultist. They know these two
forms of human mentality only by their imperfect or degenerate types,
of which recent times have afforded but too many examples. To the
intellectual man of the day, the mystic is a kind of fool and visionary
who takes his fancies for facts; the occultist is a dreamer or a
charlatan who abuses public credulity in order to boast of an imaginary
science and of pretended powers. Be it remarked, to begin with, that
this definition of mysticism, though deserved by some, would be as
unjust as erroneous if one sought to apply it to such personalities as
Joachim del Fiore of the thirteenth century, Jacob Boehme of the
sixteenth, or St. Martin, who is called "the unknown philosopher," of
the eighteenth century. No less unjust and false would be the current
definition of the occultist if one saw in it the slightest connection
with such earnest seekers as Paracelsus, Mesmer, or Fabre d'Olivet in
the past, as William Crookes, de Rochat, or Camille Flammarion in the
present. Think what we may of these bold investigators, it is
undeniable that they have opened out regions unknown to science, and
furnished the mind with new ideas.
[1] Translated by kind permission of the author from the
introduction to _Le Mystère Chrétien et les Mystères
Antiques_. Traduit de l'allemand par Edouard Schuré,
Librairie académique, Perrin & Co., 1908, Paris.
No, these fanciful definitions can at most satisfy that scientific
dilettantism which hides its feebleness under a supercilious mask to
screen its indolence, or the worldly scepticism which ridicules all
that threatens to upset its indifference. But enough of these
superficial opinions. Let us study history, the sacred and profane
books of all nations, and the last results of experimental science; let
us subject all these facts to impartial criticism, inferring similar
effects from identical causes, and we shall be forced to give quite
another definition of the mystic and the occultist.
The true mystic is a man who enters into full possession of his inner
life, and who, having become cognizant of his sub-consciousness, finds
in it, through concentrated meditation and steady discipline, new
faculties and enlightenment. These new faculties and this enlightenment
instruct him as to the innermost nature of his soul and his relations
with that impalpable element which underlies all, with that eternal and
supreme reality which religion calls God, and poetry the Divine. The
occultist, akin to the mystic, but differing from him as a younger from
an elder brother, is a man endowed with intuition and with synthesis,
who seeks to penetrate the hidden depths and foundations of Nature by
the methods of science and philosophy: that is to say, by observation
and reason, methods invariable in principle, but modified in
application by being adapted to the descending kingdoms of Spirit or
the ascending kingdoms of Nature, according to the vast hierarchy of
beings and the alchemy of the creative Word.
The mystic, then, is one who seeks for truth and the Divine directly
within himself, by a gradual detachment and a veritable birth of his
higher soul. If he attains it after prolonged effort, he plunges into
his own glowing centre. Then he immerses himself, and identifies
himself with that ocean of life which is the primordial Force.
The occultist, on the other hand, discovers, studies, and contemplates
this same Divine outpouring given forth in diverse portions, endowed
with force, and multiplied to infinity in Nature and in Humanity.
According to the profound saying of Paracelsus: _he sees in all beings
the letters of an alphabet, which, united in man, form the complete and
conscious Word of life_. The detailed analysis that he makes of them,
the syntheses that he constructs with them, are to him as so many
images and forecastings of this central Divine, of this Sun of Beauty,
of Truth and of Life, which he sees not, but which is reflected and
bursts upon his vision in countless mirrors.
The weapons of the mystic are concentration and inner vision; the
weapons of the occultist are intuition and synthesis. Each corresponds
to the other; they complete and presuppose each other.
These two human types are blended in the Adept, in the higher Initiate.
No doubt one or the other, and often both, are met with in the founders
of great religions and the loftiest philosophies. No doubt also they
are to be found again, in a less, but still very remarkable degree,
among a certain number of personages who have played a great part in
history as reformers, thinkers, poets, artists, statesmen.
Why, then, should these two types of mind, which represent the highest
human faculties, and were formerly the object of universal veneration,
usually appear to us now as merely deformed and travestied? Why have
they become obliterated? Why should they have fallen into such
discredit?
That is the result of a profound cause existing in an inevitable
necessity of human evolution.
During the last two thousand years, but especially since the sixteenth
century, humanity has achieved a tremendous work, namely, the conquest
of the globe and the constitution of experimental science, in what
concerns the material and visible world.
That this gigantic and herculean task should be successfully
accomplished, it was necessary that there should be a temporary eclipse
of man's transcendental faculties, so that his whole power of
observation might be concentrated on the outer world. These faculties,
however, have never been extinct or even inactive. They lay dormant in
the mass of men; they remained active in the elect, far from the gaze
of the vulgar.
Now, they are showing themselves openly under new forms. Before long
they will assume a leading and directing importance in human destinies.
I would add that at no period of history, whether among the nations of
the ancient Aryan cycle, or in the Semitic civilizations of Asia and
Africa--whether in the Græco-Latin world, or in the middle ages and in
modern times, have these royal faculties, for which positivism would
substitute its dreary nomenclature, ever ceased to operate at the
beginning and in the background of all great human creations and of all
fruitful work. For how can we imagine a thinker, a poet, an inventor, a
hero, a master of science or of art, a genius of any kind, without a
mighty ray of those two master-faculties which make the mystic and the
occultist--the inner vision and the sovereign intuition.
* * * * *
Rudolf Steiner is both a mystic and an occultist. These two natures
appear in him in perfect harmony. One could not say which of the two
predominates over the other. In intermingling and blending, they have
become one homogeneous force. Hence a special development in which
outward events play but a secondary part.
Dr. Steiner was born in Upper Austria in 1861. His earliest years were
passed in a little town situated on the Leytha, on the borders of
Styria, the Carpathians, and Hungary. From childhood his character was
serious and concentrated. This was followed by a youth inwardly
illuminated by the most marvellous intuitions, a young manhood
encountering terrible trials, and a ripe age crowned by a mission which
he had dimly foreseen from his earliest years, but which was only
gradually formulated in the struggle for truth and life. This youth,
passed in a mountainous and secluded region, was happy in its way,
thanks to the exceptional faculties that he discovered in himself. He
was employed in a Catholic church as a choir boy. The poetry of the
worship, the profundity of the symbolism, had a mysterious attraction
for him; but, as he possessed the innate gift of _seeing souls_, one
thing terrified him. This was the secret unbelief of the priests,
entirely engrossed in the ritual and the material part of the service.
There was another peculiarity: no one, either then or later, allowed
himself to talk of any gross superstition in his presence, or to utter
any blasphemy, as if those calm and penetrating eyes compelled the
speaker to serious thought. In this child, almost always silent, there
grew up a quiet and inflexible will, to master things through
understanding. That was easier for him than for others, for he
possessed from the first that self-mastery, so rare even in the adult,
which gives the mastery over others. To this firm will was added a
warm, deep and almost painful sympathy; a kind of pitiful tenderness to
all beings and even to inanimate nature. It seemed to him that all
souls had in them something divine. But in what a stony crust is hidden
the shining gold! In what hard rock, in what dark gloom lay dormant the
precious essence! Vaguely as yet did this idea stir within him--he was
to develop it later--that the divine soul is present in all men, but in
a latent state. It is a sleeping captive that has to be _awakened from
enchantment_.
To the sight of this young thinker, human souls became transparent,
with their troubles, their desires, their paroxysms of hatred or of
love. And it was probably owing to the terrible things he saw, that he
spoke so little. And yet, what delights, unknown to the world, sprang
from this involuntary clairvoyance! Among the remarkable inner
revelations of this youth, I will instance only one which was extremely
characteristic.
The vast plains of Hungary, the wild Carpathian forests, the old
churches of those mountains in which the monstrance glows brightly as a
sun in the darkness of the sanctuary, were not there for nothing, but
they were helpful to meditation and contemplation.
At fifteen years of age, Steiner became acquainted with a herbalist at
that time staying in his country. The remarkable thing about this man
was that he knew not only the species, families, and life of plants in
their minutest details, but also their secret virtues. One would have
said that he had spent his life in conversing with the unconscious and
fluid soul of herbs and flowers. He had the gift of seeing the vital
principle of plants, their etheric body, and what Occultism calls the
elementals of the vegetable world. He talked of it as of a quite
ordinary and natural thing. The calm and coolly scientific tone of his
conversation still further excited the curiosity and admiration of the
youth. Later on, Steiner knew that this strange man was a messenger
from the Master, whom as yet he knew not, but who was to be his real
initiator, and who was already watching over him from afar.
What the curious, double-sighted botanist told him, young Steiner found
to be in accordance with the logic of things. That confirmed an inner
feeling of long standing, and which more and more forced itself on his
mind as the fundamental Law, and as the basis of the Great All. That is
to say: _the two-fold current which constitutes the very movement of
the world_, and which might be called _the flux and reflux of the
universal life_.
We are all witnesses and are conscious of the outward current of
_evolution_, which urges onward all beings of heaven and of earth--stars,
plants, animals and humanity--and causes them to move forward towards
an infinite future, without our perceiving the initial force which
impels them and makes them go on without pause or rest. But there is in
the universe _an inverse current_, which interposes itself and
perpetually breaks in on the other. It is that of _involution_, by
which the principles, forces, entities and souls which come from the
invisible world and the kingdom of the Eternal infiltrate and
ceaselessly intermingle with the visible reality. No evolution of
matter would be comprehensible without this occult and astral current,
which is the great propeller of life, with its hierarchy of powers.
Thus the Spirit, which contains the future in germ, _involves_ itself
in matter; thus matter, which receives the Spirit, _evolves_ towards
the future. While, then, we are moving on blindly towards the unknown
future, this future is approaching us consciously, infusing itself in
the current of the world and man who elaborate it. _Such is the
two-fold movement of time, the out-breathing and the in-breathing of
the soul of the world, which comes from the Eternal and returns
thither._
From the age of eighteen, young Steiner possessed the spontaneous
consciousness of this two-fold current--a consciousness which is the
condition of all spiritual vision. This vital axiom was forced upon him
by a direct and involuntary seeing of things. Thenceforth he had the
unmistakable sensation of occult powers which were working behind and
through him for his guidance. He gave heed to this force and obeyed its
admonitions, for he felt in profound accordance with it.
This kind of perception, however, formed a separate category in his
intellectual life. This class of truths seemed to him something so
profound, so mysterious, and so sacred, that he never imagined it
possible to express it in words. He fed his soul thereon, as from a
divine fountain, but to have scattered a drop of it beyond would have
seemed to him a profanation.
Beside this inner and contemplative life, his rational and philosophic
mind was powerfully developing. From sixteen to seventeen years of age,
Rudolf Steiner plunged deeply into the study of Kant, Fichte and
Schelling. When he came to Vienna some years after, he became an ardent
admirer of Hegel, whose transcendental idealism borders on Occultism;
but speculative philosophy did not satisfy him. His positive mind
demanded the solid basis of the sciences of observation. So he deeply
studied mathematics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany and zoology. "These
studies," he said "afford a surer basis for the construction of a
spiritual system of the universe than history and literature. The
latter, wanting in exact methods, would then throw no side-lights on
the vast domain of German science." Inquiring into everything, enamored
of high art, and an enthusiast for poetry, Steiner nevertheless did not
neglect literary studies. As a guide therein he found an excellent
professor in the person of Julius Schröer, a distinguished scholar of
the school of the brothers Grimm, who strove to develop in his pupils
the art of oratory and of composition. To this distinguished man the
young student owed his great and refined literary culture. "In the
desert of prevailing materialism," says Steiner, "his house was to me
an oasis of idealism."
But this was not yet the Master whom he sought. Amidst these varied
studies and deep meditations, he could as yet discern the building of
the universe but in a fragmentary way; his inborn intuition prevented
any doubt of the divine origin of things and of a spiritual Beyond. A
distinctive mark of this extraordinary man was that he never knew any
of those crises of doubt and despair which usually accompany the
transition to a definite conviction in the life of mystics and of
thinkers. Nevertheless, he felt that the central light which illumines
and penetrates the whole was still lacking in him. He had reached young
manhood, with its terrible problems. What was he going to do with his
life? The sphinx of destiny was facing him. How should he solve its
problem?
It was at the age of nineteen that the aspirant to the mysteries met
with his guide--the Master--so long anticipated.
It is an undoubted fact, admitted by occult tradition and confirmed by
experience, that those who seek the higher truth from an impersonal
motive find a master to initiate them at the right moment: that is to
say, when they are ripe for its reception. "Knock, and it shall be
opened to you," said Jesus. That is true with regard to everything, but
above all with regard to truth. Only, the desire must be ardent as a
flame, in a soul pure as crystal.
The Master of Rudolf Steiner was one of those men of power who live,
unknown to the world, under cover of some civil state, to carry out a
mission unsuspected by any but their fellows in the Brotherhood of
self-sacrificing Masters. They take no ostensible part in human events.
To remain unknown is the condition of their power, but their action is
only the more efficacious. For they inspire, prepare and direct those
who will act in the sight of all. In the present instance the Master
had no difficulty in completing the first and spontaneous initiation of
his disciple. He had only, so to speak, to point out to him his own
nature, to arm him with his needful weapons. Clearly did he show him
the connection between the official and the secret sciences; between
the religious and the spiritual forces which are now contending for the
guidance of humanity; the antiquity of the occult tradition which holds
the hidden threads of history, which mingles them, separates, and
re-unites them in the course of ages.
Swiftly he made him clear the successive stages of inner discipline, in
order to attain conscious and intelligent clairvoyance. In a few months
the disciple learned from oral teaching the depth and incomparable
splendor of the esoteric synthesis. Rudolf Steiner had already sketched
for himself his intellectual mission: "To re-unite Science and
Religion. To bring back God into Science, and Nature into Religion.
Thus to re-fertilize both Art and Life." But how to set about this vast
and daring undertaking? How conquer, or rather, how tame and transform
the great enemy, the materialistic science of the day, which is like a
terrible dragon covered with its carapace and couched on its huge
treasure? How master this dragon of modern science and yoke it to the
car of spiritual truth? And, above all, how conquer the bull of public
opinion?
Rudolf Steiner's Master was not in the least like himself. He had not
that extreme and feminine sensibility which, though not excluding
energy, makes every contact an emotion and instantly turns the
suffering of others into a personal pain. He was masculine in spirit, a
born ruler of men, looking only at the species, and for whom
individuals hardly existed. He spared not himself, and he did not spare
others. His will was like a ball which, once shot from the cannon's
mouth, goes straight to its mark, sweeping off everything in its way.
To the anxious questioning of his disciple he replied in substance:
"If thou wouldst fight the enemy, begin by understanding him. Thou wilt
conquer the dragon only by penetrating his skin. As to the bull, thou
must seize him by the horns. It is in the extremity of distress that
thou wilt find thy weapons and thy brothers in the fight. I have shown
thee who thou art, now go--and _be_ thyself!"
Rudolf Steiner knew the language of the Masters well enough to
understand the rough path that he was thus commanded to tread; but he
also understood that this was the only way to attain the end. He
obeyed, and set forth.
* * * * *
From 1880 the life of Rudolf Steiner becomes divided into three quite
distinct periods: from twenty to thirty years of age (1881-1891), the
Viennese period, a time of study and of preparation; from thirty to
forty (1891-1901), the Weimar period, a time of struggle and combat;
from forty to forty-six (1901-1907), the Berlin period, a time of
action and of organization, in which his thought crystallized into a
living work.
I pass rapidly over the Vienna period, in which Steiner took the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy. He afterwards wrote a series of scientific
articles on zoology, geology, and the theory of colors, in which
theosophical ideas appear in an idealist clothing. While acting as
tutor in several families, with the same conscientious devotion that he
gave to everything, he conducted as chief editor a weekly Viennese
paper, the _Deutsche Wochenschrift_. His friendship with the Austrian
poetess, Marie Eugénie delle Grazie, cast, as it were, into this period
of heavy work a warm ray of sunshine, with a smile of grace and poetry.
In 1890 Steiner was summoned to collaborate in the archives of Goethe
and Schiller at Weimar, to superintend the re-editing of Goethe's
scientific works. Shortly after, he published two important works,
_Truth and Science_ and _The Philosophy of Liberty_. "The occult powers
that guided me," he says, "forced me to introduce spiritualistic ideas
imperceptibly into the current literature of the time." But in these
various tasks he was but studying his ground while trying his strength.
So distant was the goal that he did not dream of being able to reach it
as yet. To travel round the world in a sailing vessel, to cross the
Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, in order to return to a
European port, would have seemed easier to him. While awaiting the
events that would allow him to equip his ship and to launch it on the
open sea, he came into touch with two illustrious personalities who
helped to determine his intellectual position in the contemporary
world.
These two persons were the celebrated philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche,
and the no less famous naturalist, Ernst Haeckel.
Rudolf Steiner had just written an impartial treatise on the author of
_Zarathustra_. In consequence of this, Nietzsche's sister begged
the sympathetic critic to come and see her at Naumburg, where her
unhappy brother was slowly dying. Madame Foerster took the visitor to
the door of the apartment where Nietzsche was lying on a couch in a
comatose condition, inert, stupified. To Steiner there was something
very significant in this melancholy sight. In it he saw the final act
in the tragedy of the would-be superman.
Nietzsche, the author of _Beyond Good and Evil_, had not, like the
realists of Bismarckian imperialism, renounced idealism, for he was
naturally intuitive; but in his individualistic pride he sought to cut
off the spiritual world from the universe, and the divine from human
consciousness. Instead of placing the superman, of whom he had a poetic
vision, in the spiritual kingdom, which is his true sphere, he strove
to force him into the material world, which alone was real in his eyes.
Hence, in that splendid intellect arose a chaos of ideas and a wild
struggle which finally brought on softening of the brain. To explain
this particular case, it is needless to bring in atavism or the theory
of degeneracy. The frenzied combat of ideas and of contradictory
sentiments, of which this brain was the battlefield, was enough.
Steiner had done justice to all the genius that marked the innovating
ideas of Nietzsche, but this victim of pride, self-destroyed by
negation, was to him none the less a tragic instance of the ruin of a
mighty intellect which madly destroys itself in breaking away from
spiritual intelligence.
Madame Foerster did her utmost to enrol Dr. Steiner under her brother's
flag. For this she used all her skill, making repeated offers to the
young publicist to become editor and commentator of Nietzsche's works.
Steiner withstood her insistence as best he could, and ended by taking
himself off altogether, for which Madame Foerster never forgave him.
She did not know that Rudolf Steiner bore within him the consciousness
of a work no less great and more valuable than that of her brother.
Nietzsche had been merely an interesting episode in the life of the
esoteric thinker on the threshold of his battlefield. His meeting with
the celebrated naturalist, Ernst Haeckel, on the contrary, marks a most
important phase in the development of his thought. Was not the
successor of Darwin apparently the most formidable adversary of the
spiritualism of this young initiate, of that philosophy which to him
was the very essence of his being and the breath of his thought?
Indeed, since the broken link between man and animal has been
re-joined, since man can no longer believe in a special and
supernatural origin, he has begun altogether to doubt his divine origin
and destiny. He no longer sees himself as anything but one phenomenon
among so many phenomena, a passing form amidst so many forms, a frail
and chance link in a blind evolution. Steiner, then, is right in
saying: "The mentality deduced from natural sciences is the greatest
power of modern times." On the other hand, he knew that this system
merely reproduces a succession of external forms among living beings,
and not the inner and acting forces of life. He knew it from personal
initiation, and a deeper and vaster view of the universe. So also he
could exclaim with more assurance than most of our timid spiritualists
and startled theologians: "Is the human soul then to rise on the wings
of enthusiasm to the summits of the True, the Beautiful and the Good,
only to be swept away into nothingness, like a bubble of the brain?"
Yes, Haeckel was the Adversary. It was materialism in arms, the dragon
with all his scales, his claws, and his teeth.
Steiner's desire to understand this man, and to do him justice as to
all that was great in him, to fathom his theory so far as it was
logical and plausible, was only the more intense. In this fact one sees
all the loyalty and all the greatness of his comprehensive mind.
The materialistic conclusions of Haeckel could have no influence on his
own ideas which came to him from a different science; but he had a
presentment that in the indisputable discoveries of the naturalist he
should find the surest basis of an evolutionary spiritualism and a
rational theosophy.
He began, then, to study eagerly the _History of Natural Creation_. In
it Haeckel gives a fascinating picture of the evolution of species,
from the amoeba to man. In it he shows the successive growth of organs,
and the physiological process by which living beings have raised
themselves to organisms more and more complex and more and more
perfect. But in this stupendous transformation, which implies millions
and millions of years, he never explains the initial force of this
universal ascent, nor the series of special impulses which cause beings
to rise step by step. To these primordial questions, Haeckel has never
been able to reply except by admitting spontaneous generation,[2] which
is tantamount to a miracle as great as the creation of man by God from
a clod of earth. To a theosophist like Steiner, on the other hand, the
cosmic force which elaborates the world comprises in its spheres,
fitted one into another, the myriads of souls which crystallize and
incarnate ceaselessly in all beings. He, who saw the _underside_ of
creation, could but recognize and admire the extent of the all-round
gaze with which Haeckel surveyed his _above_. It was in vain that the
naturalist would deny the divine Author of the universal scheme: he
proved it in spite of himself, in so well describing His work. As to
the theosophist, he greeted, in the surging of species and in the
breath which urges them onward--Man in the making, the very thought of
God, the visible expression of the planetary Word.[3]
[2] A speech delivered in Paris, 28th August 1878. See also
Haeckel's _History of Natural Creation_, 13th lecture.
[3] This is how Dr. Steiner himself describes the famous
German naturalist: "Haeckel's personality is captivating. It
is the most complete contrast to the _tone_ of his writings.
If Haeckel had but made a slight study of the philosophy of
which he speaks, not even as a dilettante, but like a child,
he would have drawn the most lofty spiritual conclusions from
his phylogenetic studies. Haeckel's doctrine is grand, but
Haeckel himself is the worst of commentators on his doctrine.
It is not by showing our contemporaries the weak points in
Haeckel's doctrine that we can promote intellectual progress,
but by pointing out to them the grandeur of his phylogenetic
thought." Steiner has developed these ideas in two works:
_Welt und Lebensanschauungen im 19ten Jahrhundert_ (Theories
of the Universe and of Life in the Nineteenth Century), and
_Haeckel und seine Gegner_ (Haeckel and his Opponents).
While thus pursuing his studies, Rudolf Steiner recalled the saying of
his Master: "To conquer the dragon, his skin must be penetrated." While
stealing within the carapace of present-day materialism, he had seized
his weapons. Henceforth he was ready for the combat. He needed but a
field of action to give battle, and a powerful aid to uphold him
therein. He was to find his field in the Theosophical Society, and his
aid in a remarkable woman.
In 1897 Rudolf Steiner went to Berlin to conduct a literary magazine
and to give lectures there.
On his arrival, he found there a branch of the Theosophical Society.
The German branch of this Society was always noted for its great
independence, which is natural in a country of transcendental
philosophy and of fastidious criticism. It had already made a
considerable contribution to occult literature through the interesting
periodical, _The Sphinx_, conducted by Dr. Hübbe-Schleiden, and Dr.
Carl du Prel's book--_Philosophie der Mystik_. But, the leaders having
retired, it was almost over with the group. Great discussions and petty
wranglings divided the theosophists beyond the Rhine. Should Rudolf
Steiner enter the Theosophical Society? This question forced itself
urgently upon him, and it was of the utmost gravity, both for himself
and for his cause.
Through his first Master, through the brotherhood with which he was
associated, and by his own innermost nature, Steiner belongs to another
school of Occultism, I mean to the esoteric Christianity of the West,
and most especially to the Rosicrucian initiation.
After mature consideration he resolved to join the Theosophical Society
of which he became a member in 1902. He did not, however, enter it as a
pupil of the Eastern tradition, but as an initiate of Rosicrucian
esotericism who gladly recognized the profound depth of the Hindu
Wisdom and offered it a brotherly hand to make a magnetic link between
the two. He understood that the two traditions were not meant to
contend with each other, but to act in concert, with complete
independence, and thus to work for the common good of civilization. The
Hindu tradition, in fact, contains the greatest treasure of occult
science as regards cosmogony and the prehistoric periods of humanity,
while the tradition of Christian and Western esotericism looks from its
immeasurable height upon the far-off future and the final destinies of
our race. For the past contains and prepares the future, as the future
issues from the past and completes it.
Rudolf Steiner was assisted in his work by a powerful recruit and one
of inestimable value in the propagandist work that he was about to
undertake.
Mlle. Marie von Sivers, a Russian by birth, and of an unusually varied
cosmopolitan education (she writes and speaks Russian, French, German,
and English equally well), had herself also reached Theosophy by other
roads, after long seeking for the truth which illumines all because it
illumines the very depths of our own being. The extreme refinement of
her aristocratic nature, at once modest and proud, her great and
delicate sensitiveness, the extent and balance of her intelligence, her
artistic and mental endowments, all made her wonderfully fitted for the
part of an agent and an apostle. The Oriental theosophy had attracted
and delighted her without altogether convincing her. The lectures of
Dr. Steiner gave her the light which convinces by casting its beams on
all sides, as from a transplendent centre. Independent and free, she,
like many Russians in good society, sought for some ideal work to which
she could devote all her energies. She had found it. Dr. Steiner having
been appointed General Secretary of the German Section of the
Theosophical Society, Mlle. Marie von Sivers became his assistant. From
that time, in spreading the work throughout Germany and the adjacent
countries, she displayed a real genius for organization, maintained
with unwearied activity.
As for Rudolf Steiner, he had already given ample proof of his profound
thought and his eloquence. He knew himself, and he was master of
himself. But such faith, such devotion must have increased his energy a
hundredfold, and given wings to his words. His writings on esoteric
questions followed one another in rapid succession.[4]
[4] _Die Mystik, im Aufgange des neuzeitlichen Geisteslebens_
(1901); _Das Christentum als mystische Tatsache_ (1902);
_Theosophie_ (1904). He is now preparing an important book,
which will no doubt be his chief work, and which is to be
called _Geheimwissenschaft_ (Occult Science).
He delivered lectures in Berlin, Leipzig, Cassel, Munich, Stuttgart,
Vienna, Budapest, etc. All his books are of a high standard. He is
equally skilled in the deduction of ideas in philosophical order, and
in rigorous analysis of scientific facts. And when he so chooses, he
can give a poetical form to his thought, in original and striking
imagery. But his whole self is shown only by his presence and his
speech, private or public. The characteristic of his eloquence is a
singular force, always gentle in expression, resulting undoubtedly from
perfect serenity of soul combined with wonderful clearness of mind.
Added to this at times is an inner and mysterious vibration which makes
itself felt by the listener from the very first words. Never a word
that could shock or jar. From argument to argument, from analogy to
analogy, he leads you on from the known to the unknown. Whether
following up the comparative development of the earth and of man,
according to occult tradition, through the Lemurian, Atlantean, Asiatic
and European periods; whether explaining the physiological and psychic
constitution of man as he now is; whether enumerating the stages of
Rosicrucian initiation, or commenting on the Gospel of St. John and the
Apocalypse, or applying his root-ideas to mythology, history and
literature, that which dominates and guides his discourse is ever this
power of synthesis, which co-ordinates facts under one ruling idea and
gathers them together in one harmonious vision. And it is ever this
inward and contagious fervor, this secret music of the soul, which is,
as it were, a subtle melody in harmony with the Universal Soul.
Such, at least, is what I felt on first meeting him and listening to
him two years ago. I could not better describe this undefinable feeling
than by recalling the saying of a poet-friend to whom I was showing the
portrait of the German theosophist. Standing before those deep and
clear-seeing eyes, before that countenance, hollowed by inward
struggles, moulded by a lofty spirit which has proved its balance on
the heights and its calm in the depths, my friend exclaimed: "Behold a
master of himself and of life!"
THE WAY OF INITIATION
I
THE SUPERPHYSICAL WORLD AND ITS GNOSIS
In this practical age and because of the many various claims of the
day, it is but natural that people, who hear of transcendentalism
should at once ask the question: "How may we for ourselves know the
truth of such statements?" Indeed, it is noticeable, as a
characteristic of the majority, that they will accept nothing on faith,
or mere "authority," but wish rather to rely entirely upon their own
judgment. Therefore, when a mystic undertakes to explain something of
the superphysical nature of man, and of the destiny of the human soul
and spirit before birth and after death, he is at once confronted with
that fundamental demand. Such doctrine, they seem to think is important
only when you have shown them the way by which they may convince
themselves of its truth.
[5] Translated from _Lusifer-Gnosis_ (May to Dec. 1904), a
theosophical magazine, published by M. Altmann, Leipzig, and
edited by Dr. Rudolph Steiner (17 Motzstrasse, Berlin, W.).
This translation appeared first in the _Theosophist_ (October
1907-June 1908), a magazine of Brotherhood, of Comparative
Religion, Philosophy and Science, and of Occultism. Edited by
Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society, Adyar,
Madras.
This critical inquiry is quite justified; and no true mystic or
occultist will dispute its fairness, yet it is unfortunate that with
many who make the demand, there exists a feeling of skepticism or
antagonism toward the mystic or any attempt on his part to explain
anything occult. This feeling becomes especially marked when the mystic
intimates how the truths which he has described may be attained. For
they say, "Whatever is true may be demonstrated; therefore, prove to us
what you assert." They demand that the truth must be something clear
and simple, something which an ordinary intellect may comprehend.
"Surely," they add, "this knowledge cannot be the possession of a
chosen few, to whom it is given by a special revelation." And in this
way the real messenger of transcendental truth is frequently confronted
with people who reject him, because--unlike the scientist, for example,
he can produce no proofs for his assertions, of such a nature as they
are able to understand. Again, there are those who cautiously reject
any information pertaining to the superphysical because to them it does
not seem reasonable. Thereupon they partially satisfy themselves, by
claiming that we cannot know anything of what lies beyond birth or
death, or of anything which cannot be perceived through our five
ordinary physical senses.
These are but a few of the arguments and criticisms with which to-day
the messenger of a spiritual philosophy is confronted; but they are
similar to all those which compose the key-note of our time, and he who
puts himself at the service of a spiritual movement must recognize this
condition quite clearly.
For his own part, the mystic is aware that his knowledge rests upon
superphysical facts; which to him are just as tangible, for example, as
those that form the foundation of the experiences and observations
described by a traveller in Africa or any strange land. To the mystic
applies what Annie Besant has said in her manual, "Death and After?"
"A seasoned African explorer would care but little for the
criticisms passed on his report by persons who had never been
there; he might tell what he saw, describe the animals whose habits
he had studied, sketch the country he had traversed, sum up its
products and its characteristics. If he was contradicted, laughed
at, set right, by untravelled critics, he would be neither ruffled
nor distressed, but would merely leave them alone. Ignorance cannot
convince knowledge by repeated asseveration of its nescience. The
opinion of a hundred persons on a subject of which they are wholly
ignorant is of no more weight than the opinion of one such person.
Evidence is strengthened by many consenting witnesses, testifying
each to his knowledge of a fact, but nothing multiplied a thousand
times remains nothing."
Here is expressed the mystic's view of his own situation. He hears the
objections which are raised on every side, yet he knows that for
himself he has no need to dispute them. He realizes that his certain
knowledge is being criticized by those who have not had his experience,
that he is in the position of a mathematician who has discovered a
truth which can lose no value though a thousand voices are raised in
opposition.
Then again will arise the objection of the skeptics: "Mathematical
truths may be proven to anyone," they will say, "and though perhaps you
have really found something, we shall accept it only when we have
learned of its truth through our own investigation." Such then have
reason to consider themselves to be in the right, because it is clear
to them that anyone who acquires the necessary knowledge can prove a
mathematical truth, while the experiences professed by the mystic if
true depend upon the special faculties of a few elect mystics, in whom
they assume they are expected to blindly believe.
For him, who rightly considers this objection, all justification for
the doubt immediately vanishes; and mystics can here use the very
logical reasoning of the skeptics themselves, by emphasizing the truth
that the way to Higher Knowledge is open to anyone who will acquire for
himself the faculties by which he may prove the spiritual truths herein
claimed. The mystic asserts nothing which his opponents would not also
be compelled to assert, if they did but fully comprehend their own
statements. They, however, in making an assertion, often formulate a
claim which constitutes a direct contradiction of that assertion.
Skeptics are seldom willing to acquire the necessary faculties to test
the assertions of the mystic, but prefer to judge him offhand, without
regard to their own lack of qualification. The sincere mystic says to
them: "I do not claim to be 'chosen' in the sense that you mean. I have
merely developed within myself, some of man's additional senses in
order to acquire the faculties through which it is possible to speak of
glimpses into superphysical regions." These senses are dormant within
you and every other person, until they are developed, (as is necessary
with the usual senses and faculties more noticeable in the growth of a
child). Yet his opponents answer: "You must prove your truths to us as
we now are!" This at once appears a difficult task, for they have not
complied with the necessity of developing the dormant powers within
them, they are still unwilling to do so, and yet they insist that he
shall give them proofs; nor do they see that this is exactly as if a
peasant at his plough should demand of the mathematician the proof of a
complicated problem, without his undergoing the trouble of learning
mathematics.
This mixed mental condition appears to be so general and its solution
so simple that one almost hesitates to speak of it. And yet it
indicates a delusion under which millions of people continue living at
the present time. When explained to them they always agree in theory,
since it is quite as plain as, that two and two make four; yet in
practice they continually act in contradiction. The mistake has grown
to be second nature with many; they indulge it without realizing that
they do so without desiring to be convinced of its error; just as they
set themselves against other laws which they should and would at all
times recognize as embodying a principle of the simplest nature, if
they but gave it an unbiased consideration. It matters not whether the
mystic of to-day moves among thinking artisans, or in a more educated
circle, wherever he goes he meets with the same prejudice, the same
self-contradiction. One finds it in popular lectures, in the newspapers
and magazines, and even in the more learned works or treatises.
Here we must recognize quite clearly that we are dealing with a
consensus of opinion that amounts to a sign of the times, which we may
not simply pronounce as incompetent, nor deal with as possibly a
correct but unjust criticism. We must understand that this prejudice
against the higher truths, lies deep in the very being of our age. We
must understand clearly that the great successes, the immense advance
marking our time, necessarily encourages this condition. The nineteenth
century especially had in the above respect a dark side to its
wonderful excellences. Its greatness rests upon discoveries in the
external world, and conquest of natural forces for technical and
industrial purposes. These successes could have been attained only by
the employment of the mind directed toward material results.
The civilization of the present day is the result of the training of
our senses, and of that part of our mind which is occupied with the
world of sense. Almost every step we take in the busy marts of to-day
shows us how much we owe to this kind of training. And it is under the
influence of these blessings of civilization that the habits of
thought, prevalent among our fellow-men, have been developed. They
continue to abide by the senses and the mind, because it is by means of
these that they have grown great. People were taught to train
themselves to admit nothing as true except those things that were
presented to them by the senses or the intellect. And nothing is more
apt to claim for itself the only valid testimony, the only absolute
authority, than the mind or the senses. If a man has acquired by means
of them a certain degree of culture, he thenceforth accustoms himself
to submit everything to their consideration, everything to their
criticism. And again in another sphere, in the domain of Social Life,
we find a similar trait. The man of the nineteenth century insisted, in
the fullest sense of the word, upon the absolute freedom of
personality, and repudiated any authority in the Social Commonwealth.
He endeavored to construct the community in such a way that the full
independence, the self-chosen vocation of each individual, should,
without interference, be assured. In this way it became habitual for
him to consider everything from the standpoint of the average
individual.
This same individuality is also helpful in the search of knowledge on
the spiritual plane, for the higher powers which lie dormant in the
soul may be developed by one person in this direction by another in
that. One will make more progress, another less. But when they develop
those powers, and attach value to them, men begin to differentiate
themselves. And then one must allow, to the advanced student, more
right to speak on the subject, or to act in a certain way, than to
another who is less advanced. This is more essential in matters of the
higher realm than on the plane of the senses and the mind, where
experiences are more nearly the same.
It is also noticeable that the present formation of the Social
Commonwealth has helped to bring about a revolt against the higher
powers of man. According to the mystic, civilization during the
nineteenth century has moved altogether along physical lines; and
people have accustomed themselves to move on the physical plane alone,
and to feel at home there. The higher powers are developed only on
planes higher than the physical, and the knowledge which these
faculties bring is, therefore, unknown to the physical man. It is only
necessary to attend mass-meetings, if one wishes to be convinced of the
fact that the speakers there are totally unable to think any thoughts
but those which refer to the physical plane, the world of sense. This
can also be seen through the leading journalists of our papers and
magazines; and, indeed, on all sides one may observe the haughtiest and
most complete denial of everything that cannot be seen with the eyes,
or felt with the hands, or comprehended by the average mind. We do not
condemn this attitude for it denotes a necessary stage in the
development of humanity. Without the pride and prejudices of mind and
sense, we should never have achieved our great conquests over material
life, nor have been able to impart to the personality a certain measure
of elasticity: neither can we hope that many ideals, which must be
founded on man's desire for freedom and the assertion of personality,
may yet be realized.
But this dark side of a purely materialistic civilization has deeply
affected the whole being of the modern man. For proof it is not
necessary to refer to the obvious facts already named; it would be easy
to demonstrate, by certain examples (which are greatly underrated,
especially to-day), how deeply rooted in the mind of the modern man is
this adhesion to the testimony of the senses, or the average
intelligence. And it is just these things that indicate the need for
the renewal of spiritual life.
The strong response evoked by Professor Friedrich Delitzsch's _Babel
and Bible Theory_ fully justifies a reference to its author's method
of thinking, as a sign of the time. Professor Delitzsch has
demonstrated the relationship of certain traditions in the Old
Testament, to the Babylonian accounts of the Creation, and this fact,
coming from such a source and in such a form, has been realized by many
who would otherwise have ignored such questions. It has led many to
reconsider the so-called idea of Revelation. They ask themselves: "How
is it possible to accept the idea that the contents of the Old
Testament were revealed by God, when we find very similar conceptions
among decidedly heathen nations?" This problem cannot here be further
discussed. Delitzsch found many opponents who feared that through his
exposition, the very foundations of Religion had been shaken. He has
defended himself in a pamphlet, _Babel and Bible, a Retrospect and a
Forecast_. Here we shall only refer to a single statement in the
pamphlet. One of importance, because it reveals the view of an eminent
scientist regarding the position of man with respect to transcendental
truths. And to-day innumerable other people think and feel just like
Delitzsch. The statement affords an excellent opportunity for us to
find out what is the innermost conviction of our contemporaries,
expressed quite freely and, therefore, in its truest form.
Delitzsch turns to those who reproach him with a somewhat liberal use
of the term "Revelation," and who would fain regard it as "a kind of
old priestly wisdom" which "has nothing at all to do with the layman,"
making this reply.
"For my part, I am of opinion that while our children or ourselves
are instructed in school or at church as regards Revelation, not
only are we within our right, but it is our duty, to think
independently concerning these deep questions, possessing also, as
they do, an eminently practical side, were it only that we might
avoid giving our children 'evasive' answers. For this very reason
it will be gratifying to many searchers after Truth when the dogma
of a special 'choosing' of Israel shall have been brought forward
into the light of a wider historical outlook, through the union of
Babylonian, Assyrian, and Old Testament research.... [A few pages
earlier we are shown the direction of such thoughts.] For the rest,
it would seem to me that the only logical thing is for Church and
School to be satisfied as regards the whole past history of the
world and of humanity, with the belief in One Almighty Creator of
Heaven and Earth, and that these tales of the Old Testament should
be classified by themselves under some such title as 'Old Hebraic
Myths.'"
(It may be taken as a matter of course, we suppose, that no one will
see in the following remarks an attack on the investigator Delitzsch.)
What, then, is here averred in naive simplicity? Nothing less than that
the mind which is engaged upon physical investigation may assert the
right of judging experiences of superphysical nature. There is no
thought that this mind without further development may perhaps be unfit
to reflect upon the teachings of these "Revelations." When one wishes
to understand that which appears as a "Revelation," one must employ the
kind of knowledge or forces through which the "Revelation," itself has
come to us.
He who develops within himself the mystical power of perception soon
observes that in certain stories of the Old Testament which by
Delitzsch were called "Old Hebraic Myths," there are revealed to him
truths of a higher nature than those which may be comprehended by the
intellect, which is only concerned with the things of sense. His own
experiences will lead him to see that these "Myths" have proceeded out
of a mystic perception of transcendental truths. And then, in one
illuminative moment, his whole point of view is changed.
As little as one may demonstrate the fallacy of a mathematical problem
by discovering who solved it first, or even that several people have
solved it, just so little may one impugn the truth of a biblical
narrative by the discovery of a similar story elsewhere. Instead of
demanding that everyone should insist upon his right, or even his duty,
to think independently on the so-called "Revelations," we ought rather
to consider that only he who has developed in himself those latent
powers which make it possible for him to relive that which was once
realized by those very mystics, who proclaimed the "supersensuous
revelations," has a right to decide anything about the matter.
Here we have an excellent example of how the average intellect,
qualified for the highest triumphs in practical sense-knowledge, sets
itself up, in naive pride, as a judge in domains, the existence of
which it does not even care to know. For purely historical
investigation is also carried on by nothing but the experience of the
senses.
In just the same way has the investigation of the New Testament led us
into a blind alley. At any costs the method of the "Newer Historical
Investigation" had to be directed upon the Gospels. These documents
have been compared with each other, and brought into relation with all
sorts of records, in order that we might find out what really happened
in Palestine from the year 1 to the year 33; how the "historical
personality" of whom they tell really lived, and what He may really
have said.
Angelus Selesius, of the seventeenth century, has already expressed the
whole of the critical attitude toward this kind of investigation:
"Though Christ were yearly born in Bethlehem, and never Had birth
in you yourself, then were you lost for ever; And if within
yourself it is not reared again, The Cross at Golgotha can save you
not from pain."
Nor are these the words of one who doubted, but those of a Christian,
strong in his belief. And his equally fervent predecessor, Meister
Eckhart, said in the thirteenth century:
"There are some who desire to see God with their eyes, as they look
at a cow; and just as they love a cow, so they desire to love
God.... Simple-minded people imagine that God may be seen as if He
stood there and they stood here. But this is not so: in that
perception, God and I are one."
These words must not be understood as directed against the investigation
of "historical truth." _Yet no one can rightly understand the historic
truth of such documents as the Gospels, unless he has first experienced
within himself the mystical meaning which they contain._ All such
comparisons and analyses are quite worthless, for no one can discover
who was "born in Bethlehem" but he who has mystically experienced the
Christ within himself; neither can anyone in whom it has not already
been erected, decide how it is that "the Cross at Golgotha" can deliver
us from pain. Purely historical investigation "can discover no more
concerning the mystic reality than the dismembering anatomist, perhaps,
can discover the secret of a great poetical genius." (See my book,
_Das Christentum als mystische Tatsache_, Berlin, C. A. Schwetschke
und Sohn, 1902, or its French translation, mentioned on page 1.)
He who can see clearly in these matters is aware how deeply rooted, at
the present time, is the "pride" of the intellect, which only concerns
itself with the facts of sense. It says: "I do not wish to develop
faculties in order that I may reach the higher truths; I wish to form my
decisions concerning them with the powers that I now possess."
In a well-meant pamphlet, which is written, however, entirely in that
spirit of the age which we have already indicated (_What do we know
about Jesus?_ by A. Kalthoff, Berlin, 1904), we read as follows:
"Christ, who symbolizes the life of the Community, may be discerned
within himself by the man of to-day: out of his own soul the man of
to-day can create Christ just as well as the author of a gospel
created him; as a man he may put himself in the same position as
the gospel-writers, because he can reinstate himself into the same
soul-processes, can himself speak or write Gospel."
"These words might be true, but they may also be entirely erroneous.
They are true when understood in the sense of Angelus Silesius, or of
Meister Eckhart, that is when they refer to the development of powers
dormant in every human soul, which, from some such idea, endeavors to
experience within itself the Christ of the Gospels. They are altogether
wrong, if a more or less shallow ideal of the Christ is thus created
out of the spirit of an age that acknowledges the truth of no
perceptions other than those of the senses."
The life of the Spirit can be understood only when we do not presume to
criticize it with the lower mind, but rather when we develop it
reverently within ourselves. No one can hope to learn anything of the
higher truths if he demands that they shall be lowered to the "average
understanding." This statement provokes the question: "Why, then, do
you mystics proclaim these truths to people who, you declare, cannot as
yet understand them? Why should there be Movements in the furtherance
of certain teachings, when the powers which render men able to conceive
of these teachings are still undeveloped?"
It is the task of this book to elucidate this apparent contradiction.
It will show that the spiritual currents of our day originate from a
different source, in a different manner, from the science which relies
entirely on the lower intellect. Yet, in spite of this, these spiritual
currents are not to be considered as less scientific than the science
which is based upon physical facts alone. Rather do they extend the
field of scientific investigation into the superphysical. We must close
this chapter with one more question, which is likely to arise: How may
one attain to superphysical truths, and, of what help are spiritual
movements towards this attainment?
II
HOW TO ATTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS
In every man there are latent faculties by means of which he may
acquire for himself knowledge of the higher worlds. The mystic, master,
theosophist, or gnostic speaks of a soul-world and a spirit-world,
which are, for him, just as real as the world which we see with our
physical eyes, or touch with our physical hands. And those who wish to
develop the spiritual senses, which unfold psychic knowledge, should
understand that safe advice can be given only by those who have already
developed such power within themselves. As long as the human race has
existed, there have been lodges and schools in which those who
possessed these higher faculties have given instruction to those who
were in search of them. Such are called occult schools, and the
instruction which is imparted therein is called esoteric science, or
occult teaching. This designation sometimes leads to misunderstanding.
He who hears it may be very easily misled into the belief that those
who work in these schools desire to represent a special, privileged
class, which arbitrarily withholds its knowledge from its
fellow-creatures. Indeed, he may even think that perhaps there is
nothing really important behind such knowledge. For he is tempted to
think that, if it were a true knowledge, there would be no need of
making a secret of it: one might then communicate it publicly to the
advantage of all men.
Those who have been initiated into occult knowledge are not in the
least surprised that the uninitiated should so think. Only he who has
to a certain degree experienced this initiation into the higher
knowledge of being can understand the secret of that initiation. But it
may be asked: How, then, shall the uninitiated, considering the
circumstances, develop any interest at all in this so-called mystic
knowledge? How and why ought they to search for something of the nature
of which they can form no idea? Such a question is based upon an
entirely erroneous conception of the real nature of occult knowledge.
There is, in truth, no fundamental difference between occult knowledge
and all the rest of man's knowledge and capacity. This mystic knowledge
is no more a secret for the average man than writing is a secret to him
who has never learned to read. And just as everyone who chooses the
correct method may learn to write, so too can everyone who searches
after the right way become a disciple, and even a teacher. In only one
respect are the conditions here different from those that apply to
external thought-activities. The possibility of acquiring the art of
writing may be withheld from someone through poverty, or through the
state of civilization into which he has been born; but for the
attainment of knowledge in the higher worlds there is no obstacle for
him who sincerely searches for it.
Many believe that it is necessary to find, here or there, the Masters
of the higher knowledge, in order to receive enlightenment from them.
In the first place, he who strives earnestly after the higher knowledge
need not be afraid of any difficulty or obstacle in his search for an
Initiate who shall be able to lead him into the profounder secrets of
the world. Everyone, on the contrary, may be certain that an Initiate
will find him, under any circumstances, if there is in him an earnest
and worthy endeavor to attain this knowledge. For it is a strict law
with all Initiates to withhold from no man the knowledge that is due
him. But there is an equally strict law which insists that no one shall
receive any occult knowledge until he is worthy and well prepared. And
the more strictly he observes these two laws, the more perfect is an
Initiate. The order which embraces all Initiates is surrounded, as it
were, by a wall, and the two laws here mentioned form two strong
principles by which the constituents of this wall are held together.
You may live in close friendship with an Initiate, yet this wall will
separate him from you just as long as you have not become an Initiate
yourself. You may enjoy in the fullest sense the heart, the love of an
Initiate, yet he will only impart to you his secret when you yourself
are ready for it. You may flatter him; you may torture him; nothing
will induce him to divulge to you anything which he knows ought not be
disclosed, inasmuch as you, at the present stage of your evolution, do
not understand rightly how to receive the secret into your soul.
The ways which prepare a man for the reception of such a secret are
clearly prescribed. They are indicated by the unfading, everlasting
letters within the temples where the Initiates guard the higher
secrets. In ancient times, anterior to "history," these temples were
outwardly visible; to-day, because our lives have become so
unspiritual, they are mostly quite invisible to external sight. Yet
they are present everywhere, and all who seek may find them.
Only within his soul may a man discover the means which will open for
him the lips of the Initiate. To a certain high degree he must develop
within himself special faculties, and then the greatest treasures of
the Spirit become his own.
He must begin with a certain fundamental attitude of the soul: the
student of Occultism calls it the Path of Devotion, of Veneration. Only
he who maintains this attitude can, in Occultism, become a disciple.
And he who has experience in these things is able to perceive even in
the child the signs of approaching discipleship. There are children who
look up with religious awe to those whom they venerate. For such people
they have a respect which forbids them to admit, even in the innermost
sanctuary of the heart, any thought of criticism or opposition. These
children grow up into young men and maidens who feel happy when they
are able to look up to anything venerable. From the ranks of such
children are recruited many disciples.
Have you ever paused outside the door of some venerated man, and have
you, on this your first visit, felt a religious awe as you pressed the
handle, in order to enter the room which for you is a holy place? Then
there has been manifested in you an emotion which may be the germ of
your future discipleship. It is a blessing for every developing person
to have such emotions upon which to build. Only it must not be thought
that such qualities contain the germ of submissiveness and slavery.
Experience teaches us that those can best hold their heads erect who
have learned to venerate where veneration is due. And veneration is
always in its own place when it rises from the depths of the heart.
If we do not develop within ourselves this deeply-rooted feeling that
there is something higher than ourselves, we shall never find enough
strength to evolve to something higher. The Initiate has only acquired
the power of lifting his intellect to the heights of knowledge by
guiding his heart into the depths of veneration and devotion. The
heights of the Spirit can only be reached by passing through the
portals of humility. Man can certainly have the right to gaze upon the
Reality, but he must first earn this right. You can only acquire right
knowledge when you are ready to esteem it. There are laws in the
spiritual life, as in the physical life. Rub a glass rod with an
appropriate material and it will become electric, that is to say, it
will acquire the power of attracting small bodies. This exemplifies
natural law. (And if one has learned even a little of physics, one
knows this.) Similarly, if one is acquainted with the first principles
of Occultism, one knows that every feeling of true devotion aids in
developing qualities, which sooner or later, lead to the Path of
Knowledge.
He who possesses within himself this feeling of devotion, or who is
fortunate enough to receive it from his education, brings a great deal
along with him, when, later in life, he seeks an entrance to the higher
knowledge. But he who has had no such preparation will find himself
confronted with difficulties, even upon the first step of the Path of
Knowledge, unless he undertakes, by rigorous self-education, to create
the devotional mood within himself. In our time it is especially
important that full attention be given to this point. Our civilization
tends much more toward criticism, the giving of judgments, and so
forth, than toward devotion, and a selfless veneration. Our children
criticize much more than they worship. But every judgment, every
carping criticism, frustrates the powers of the soul for the attainment
of the higher knowledge, in the same measure that all heartfelt
devotion develops them. In this we do not wish to say anything against
our civilization nor pass judgment upon it. For it is to this critical
faculty, this self-conscious human discernment, this "prove all things
and hold fast to the good," that we owe the greatness of our
civilization. We could never have attained the science, the commerce,
the industry, the law of our time, had we not exercised our critical
faculty everywhere, had we not everywhere applied the standard of our
judgment. But what we have thereby gained in external culture we have
had to pay for with a corresponding loss of the higher knowledge, of
the spiritual life.
Now the important thing that everyone must clearly understand is that,
for him who is right in the midst of the objective civilization of our
time, it is very difficult to advance to the knowledge of the higher
worlds. He can do so only if he work energetically within himself. At a
time when the conditions of outward life were simpler, spiritual
exaltation was easier of attainment. That which ought to be venerated,
that which should be kept holy, stood out in better relief from the
ordinary things of the world. In a period of criticism these ideals are
much lowered; other emotions take the place of awe, veneration,
respect, and prayer. Our own age continually pushes these better
emotions further and further back, so that in the daily life of the
people they play but a very small part. He who seeks for higher
knowledge must create it within himself; he himself must instil it into
his soul. It cannot be done by study; it can only be done through
living. He who wishes to become a disciple must therefore assiduously
cultivate the devotional mood. Everywhere in his environment he must
look for that which demands of him admiration and homage. Whenever his
duties or circumstances permit, he should try to abstain entirely from
all criticism or judgment. If I meet a brother and blame him for his
weakness, I rob myself of power to win the higher knowledge; but if I
try to enter lovingly into his merits, I then gather such power. The
disciple should seek to benefit both himself and others. Experienced
occultists are aware how much they owe to the continual searching for
the good in all things, and the withholding of all harsh criticism.
This must be not only an external rule of life; but it must take
possession of the innermost part of our souls. We have it in our power
to perfect ourselves, and by and by to transform ourselves completely.
But this transformation must take place in the innermost self, in the
mental life. It is not enough that I show respect only in my outward
bearing toward a person; I must have this respect in my thought. The
disciple must begin by drawing this devotion into his thought-life. He
must altogether banish from his consciousness all thoughts of
disrespect, of criticism, and he must endeavor straightway to cultivate
thoughts of devotion.
Every moment, in which we set ourselves to banish from our
consciousness whatever remains in it of disparaging, suspicious
judgment of our fellow-men, brings us nearer to the knowledge of higher
things. And we rise rapidly when, in such moments, we fill our
consciousness with only those thoughts that evoke admiration, respect,
and veneration for men and things. He who has experience in these
matters will know that in every such moment powers are awakened in man
which otherwise would remain dormant. In this way the spiritual eyes of
a man are opened. He begins to see things around him which hitherto he
was unable to perceive. He begins to understand that hitherto he had
seen only a part of the world around him. The man with whom he comes in
contact now shows him quite a different aspect from that which he
showed before. Of course, through this single rule of life, he will not
yet be able to see what has elsewhere been described as the human aura,
because, for that, a still higher training is necessary. But he may
rise to that higher development if he has previously had a thorough
training in devotion.[6]
[6] In the last chapter of the book entitled _Theosophie_
(Berlin, C. A. Schwetschke und Sohn), Dr. Rudolf Steiner
fully describes this "Path of Knowledge;" here it is only
intended to give some practical details.
Noiseless and unnoticed by the outer world is the following of the
"Path of Discipleship." It is not necessary that anyone should observe
a change in the disciple. He performs his duties as hitherto; he
attends to his business as usual. The transformation goes on only in
the inner part of the soul, hidden from outward sight. At first the
entire soul-life of a man is flooded by this fundamental spring of
devotion for everything which is truly venerable. His entire soul-life
finds in this devotional mood its pivot. Just as the sun, through its
rays, will vivify everything living, so in the life of the disciple
this reverence vivifies all the perceptions of the soul.
At first it is not easy for people to believe that feelings like
reverence, respect, and so forth, have anything to do with their
perceptions. This comes from the fact that one is inclined to think of
perception as a faculty quite by itself, one that stands in no relation
to what otherwise happens in the soul. In so thinking, we do not
remember that it is the soul which perceives. And feelings are for the
soul what food is for the body. If we give the body stones in place of
bread its activity will cease. It is the same with the soul.
Veneration, homage, devotion, are as nutriment which makes it healthy
and strong, especially strong for the activity of perception.
Disrespect, antipathy, and under-estimation, bring about the starvation
and the withering of this activity. For the occultist this fact is
visible in the aura. A soul which harbors the feelings of devotion and
reverence, brings about a change in its aura. Certain yellowish-red or
brown-red tints will vanish, and tints of bluish-red will replace them.
And then the organ of perception opens. It receives information of
facts in its environment of which it hitherto had no knowledge.
Reverence awakens a sympathetic power in the soul, and through this we
attract similar qualities in the beings which surround us, that would
otherwise remain hidden. More effective still is that power which can
be obtained by devotion when another feeling is added. One learns to
give up oneself less and less to the impressions of the outer world,
and to develop in its place a vivid inward life. He who darts from one
impression of the outer world to another, who constantly seeks
dissipations, cannot find the way to Occultism. Neither should the
disciple blunt himself to the outer world; but let his rich inner life
point out the direction in which he ought to lend himself to its
impressions. When passing through a beautiful mountain district, the
man with depth of soul and richness of emotion has different
experiences from the man with few emotions. Only what we experience
within ourselves reveals the beauties of the outer world. One man sails
across the ocean, and only a few inward experiences pass through his
soul; but another will then hear the eternal language of the
world-spirit, and for him are unveiled the mysteries of creation.
One must have learned to control one's own feelings and ideas if one
wishes to develop any intimate relationship with the outer world. Every
phenomenon in that outer world is full of divine splendor, but one must
have felt the Divine within oneself before one may hope to discover it
without. The disciple is told to set apart certain moments of his daily
life during which to withdraw into himself, quietly and alone. At such
times he ought not to occupy himself with his own personal affairs, for
this would bring about the contrary of that at which he is aiming.
During these moments he ought rather to listen in complete silence to
the echoes of what he has experienced, of what the outward world has
told him. Then, in these periods of quiet, every flower, every animal,
every action will unveil to him secrets undreamed of, and thus will he
prepare himself to receive new impressions of the external world, as if
he viewed it with different eyes. For he who merely desires to enjoy
impression after impression, only stultifies the perceptive faculty,
while he who lets the enjoyment afterwards reveal something to him,
thus enlarges and educates it. He must be careful not merely to let the
enjoyment reverberate, as it were; but, renouncing any further emotions
of joy, begin to work upon his pleasurable experiences with an inward
activity. The danger at this point is very great. Instead of working
within one-self, it is easy to fall into the opposite habit of
afterward trying to completely exhaust the enjoyment. Let us not
undervalue the unforeseen sources of error which here confront the
disciple. He must of necessity pass through a host of temptations, each
of which tends only to harden his Ego and to imprison it within itself.
He ought to open it wide for the whole world. It is necessary that he
should seek enjoyment, for in this way only can the outward world get
at him; and if he blunts himself to enjoyment he becomes as a plant
which cannot longer draw nourishment from its environment. Yet, if he
stops at the enjoyment, he is then shut up within himself, and will
only be something to himself and nothing to the world. However much he
may live within himself, however intensely he may cultivate his Ego,
the world will exclude him. He is dead to the world. The disciple
considers enjoyment only as a means of ennobling himself for the world.
Pleasure to him is as a scout who informs him concerning the world, and
after having been taught by pleasure he passes on to work. He does not
learn in order that he may accumulate wisdom as his own treasure, but
in order that he may put his learning at the service of the world.
In all forms of Occultism there is a fundamental principle which must
not be transgressed, if any goal at all is to be reached. All occult
teachers must impress upon their pupils that, _Every branch of
knowledge which you seek only to enrich your own learning, only to
accumulate treasure for yourself, leads you away from the Path; but all
knowledge which you seek for working in the service of humanity and for
the uplifting of the world brings you a step forward_. This law must be
rigidly observed; nor is one a genuine disciple until he has adopted it
as the guide for his whole life. In many occult schools this truth is
expressed in the following short sentence: _Every idea which does not
become an ideal for you, slays a power within your soul: every idea
which becomes an ideal creates within you a vital force_.
III
THE PATH OF DISCIPLESHIP
At the very beginning of his course the student is directed to the
_Path of Reverence_, and the development of the _inner life_. The
occult teaching also gives practical instructions by the observance of
which he may learn to follow that Path and develop that inner life.
These practical directions have no arbitrary basis. They rest on
ancient experience and ancient wisdom, and wheresoever the ways to
higher knowledge are marked out, they are of the same nature. All
genuine teachers of Occultism agree as to the essential character of
these rules, although they do not always express them in the same
words. This difference of expression is of a minor character, more
seeming than real, and is due to circumstances which need not be
mentioned here.
No teacher wishes, by means of such rules, to establish an ascendency
over other persons. He would not tamper with individual independence.
Indeed, no one respects and cherishes human individuality more than the
teachers of Occultism. It was said, in the first part of this book,
that the order which embraces all Initiates was surrounded by a wall,
and that two laws formed the principles by which it was upheld.
Whenever the Initiate leaves this enclosure and steps forth into the
world, he must submit to a third inviolable law. It is this: Keep watch
over each of your actions and each of your words, in order that you may
not hinder the free-will of any human being. Those who recognize that
genuine occult teachers are thoroughly permeated with this principle
will understand that they can add to their independence by the
practical directions which they are advised to follow.
One of the first of these rules may be thus expressed in our language:
"Provide for yourself moments of inward calm, and in these moments
_learn to distinguish between the real and the unreal_." I say
advisedly "expressed in our language," because originally all rules
and teachings of occult science were expressed in a symbolical
sign-language. Those who desire to master its whole scope and meaning
must first obtain permission to learn this symbolical language, and
before such permission may be obtained, it is necessary to have taken
the first steps in occult knowledge. This may be achieved by the
careful observance of such rules as are here given. The Path is open to
all who earnestly _will_ to enter it.
Simple, in truth and easy to follow, is the rule concerning moments of
inner calm; but it leads to the goal only when the pursuit is as
earnest and strict as the way is simple. It will, therefore, be stated
here, without further preamble, the method in which this rule should be
observed.
The student must mark off a small part of his daily life in which to
occupy himself with something quite different from the avocations of
his ordinary life, and the _way_ in which he occupies himself at such a
time must also differ from the way in which he performs the rest of his
duties. But this does not mean that what he does in the time thus set
apart has no connection with his daily work. On the contrary, the man
who seeks such moments in the right way will soon find that it is just
this which gives him full power to do his daily task. Nor must it be
supposed that the observance of this rule really deprives anyone of
time needed for the performance of his duties. _If any person really
has no more time at his disposal, five minutes a day will suffice._ The
real point is the manner in which these five minutes are spent.
At these periods a man should raise himself completely above his
work-a-day life. His thoughts and feelings must take on a different
coloring. His joys and sorrows, his cares, experiences, and actions,
must pass in review before his soul. And he must cultivate a frame of
mind which enables him to regard all his other experiences from a
higher point of view. We need only bear in mind how different is the
point of view from which in ordinary life we regard the experiences and
actions of another, and that from which we judge our own. This is
inevitable, for we are interwoven with our own actions and experiences,
while we only contemplate those of another. Our aim, in moments of
retirement, must be to contemplate and judge our own experiences and
actions, as though it were not ourselves but some other person to whom
they applied. Suppose, for example, that a certain misfortune has
befallen someone. What a different attitude that person takes towards
it as compared with an identical misfortune that has befallen his
neighbor! No one can blame this attitude as unjustifiable; it is a part
of human nature. And just as it is in exceptional circumstances, so it
is also in the daily affairs of life. The student must endeavor to
attain the power of regarding himself at certain times as he would
regard a stranger. He must contemplate himself with the inward calm of
the critic. When this is attained, our own experiences present
themselves in a new light. As long as we are interwoven with them and
are, as it were, within them, we are as closely connected with the
unreal as with the real. When we attain to a calm survey, the real is
separated from the unreal. Sorrow and joy, every thought, every
resolve, appear changed when we contemplate ourselves in this way. It
is as though we had spent the whole day in a place where we saw the
smallest objects at the same range of vision as the largest ones, and
in the evening climbed a neighboring hill and surveyed the whole scene
at once. Then the parts of the place take on proportions different from
those they bore when seen from within. The value of such calm inward
contemplation depends less on the actual thing we contemplate than on
the power which such inward calm develops in us.
For in every human being there is, besides what we call the work-a-day
man, a higher being. This higher being remains concealed until it is
awakened. And each of us can only awaken it for himself. But as long as
this higher being is not awakened, the higher faculties that might lead
to supersensual knowledge, must lie dormant or remain hidden in every
man. This power which leads to inward calm is a magic force that sets
free certain higher faculties. Until a seeker feels this magic force
within him, he must continue to follow strictly and earnestly the rules
given. To every man who thus perseveres, the day will come when a
spiritual light is revealed to him, and a whole new world, whose
existence was hitherto unsuspected, is discerned by an eye within him.
Because he begins to follow this rule, there is no need for any outward
change in the life of the student. He performs his duties as before,
and at first he endures the same sorrows and experiences the same joys
as of old. In no way does it estrange him from life, rather is he
enabled to devote himself to it the more completely, because in the
moments set apart he has a Higher Life of his own. Gradually this
Higher Life will make its influence felt on the ordinary life. The calm
of the moments set apart will influence his ordinary existence as well.
The whole man will grow calmer, will attain serenity in all his
actions, and will cease to be perturbed by all manner of incidents.
Gradually a student who thus advances will guide himself more and more,
and be less governed by circumstances and external influences. Such a
man will soon discover how great a source of strength lies for him in
these periods of contemplation. He will cease to be annoyed by things
that formerly worried him; and countless matters that once filled him
with fear will now cease to alarm him. He acquires a new outlook on
life. Formerly he may have taken up this or that task with a sense of
timidity. He would say: "I lack the power to do this as well as I could
wish." Now he no longer admits such a thought but, instead forms one
quite different. He says to himself: "I will summon all my strength in
order to do my work as well as I possibly can." And he suppresses the
thought which encourages timidity; for he knows that this very timidity
might spoil his undertaking, and that in any event it can contribute
nothing to the improvement of his labor. And thus one thought after
another, each fraught with advantage to his whole life, begins to
penetrate the student's outlook. They take the place of those which
gave a hampering and weakening effect. He begins to steer his own ship,
on a firm, secure course, among the waves of life, which formerly
tossed it helplessly to and fro.
And this calm and serenity react on the whole being. They assist the
growth of the inner man, and of those inner faculties which lead to
higher knowledge. For it is by his progress in this direction that the
student gradually attains to a state in which he himself determines the
manner in which the impressions of the external world shall affect him.
Thus, he may hear a word, spoken with the object of wounding or vexing
him. Before he began his occult studies it would indeed have been
painful or irritating. But now that he is in the Path of Discipleship,
he is able to take from it the sting or the power to hurt, even before
it enters his consciousness. Take another example: we naturally grow
impatient when we are kept waiting, but the student is so permeated, in
his moments of calm, with the realization of the uselessness of
impatience, that this calmness is present with him on every occasion.
The impatience which would naturally overcome him vanishes, and an
interval which would otherwise have been wasted in the expression of
impatience may be utilized by making some profitable observation during
the period of waiting.
Now we must realize the significance of these facts. We must remember
that the "Higher Being" in a man is in constant development, and only
the state of calm and serenity here described renders an orderly
development possible. The waves of outward life press in upon the inner
man from all sides, if, instead of controlling this outward life, he is
controlled by it. Such a man is like a plant which tries to expand in a
cleft in the rock, and is stunted in its growth until new space is
given it. No outward forces can supply space for the inner man; it can
only be supplied by the inner calm which he may give to his soul.
Outward circumstances can only alter the course of his outward life;
they can never awaken the spiritual inner man. The student must himself
give birth to the new and higher man within him.
The higher man becomes the "inner Ruler," who directs the circumstances
of the outer man with sure guidance. As long as the latter has the
upper hand, this inner man is enslaved, and cannot therefore develop
his powers. _If another than myself has the power to make me angry, I
am not master of myself_, or, to put it better, I have not yet found
"the Ruler within me." I must develop the power within, of letting the
impressions of the outer world approach me only in the way in which I
myself choose; then only do I really become an occult student. And only
by earnestly striving after this power can a student reach the goal. It
is not of so much importance to achieve a great deal in a given time,
as to be earnest in the search. Many have striven for years without
noticing any marked advance; but many of those who did not despair, and
struggled on undaunted, have sometimes quite suddenly achieved the
"inner victory."
In many situations it requires a good deal of effort to achieve these
moments of inward calm. But the greater the effort needed, the more
important is the achievement. In esoteric studies, everything depends
on the energy, inward truthfulness, and uncompromising sincerity with
which we contemplate ourselves and our actions from the standpoint of
complete strangers.
But only one side of the student's inner activity is characterized by
this birth of his own higher being. Something else in addition is
needed. Even if a man regards himself as a stranger, it is only himself
that he contemplates; he looks at those experiences and actions, with
which he is connected, through his particular mode of life, while it is
necessary for him to rise above this, and attain to a purely human
point of view, to be no longer connected with his own individual
circumstances. He must pass on to the contemplation of those things
which concern him as a human being, even though he dwell in a different
condition and different circumstances. In this way something is brought
to birth within him which rises beyond the personal point of view. Thus
his gaze is directed to higher worlds than those he knows in every-day
life. And then he begins to feel and realize that he belongs to these
higher worlds about which his senses and his daily occupations can tell
him nothing. In this way he shifts the central point of his being to
the inner part of his nature. He listens to the voices within him which
speak to him in his moments of calm; and inwardly he cultivates an
intercourse with the spiritual world, which removes him from the
every-day world, whose voices he no longer hears. Around him there is
silence. He puts away from him all his external surroundings, and
everything which even reminds him of such external impressions. His
entire soul is filled with calm, inward contemplation and converse with
the purely spiritual world. This calm contemplation must become a
necessity to the student. He is plunged completely into a world of
thought, and must develop an earnest desire for calm thinking. He must
learn to love the in-pouring of the spirit. Then he will learn to
regard this thought-world and its thought-forms as more real than the
every-day things which surround him, and he begins to deal with
thoughts as with things existing in space. And then the moment is at
hand when the revelations of his quiet thinking begin to seem much
higher and more real than the things existing in space. He discovers
that this thought-world is an expression of life, and realizes that
thoughts are not mere phantoms, but that through them, beings, who were
hidden before, now speak to him. He begins to hear voices through the
silence. Formerly his ear was the only organ of hearing; now he can
listen with his soul. An inner language and an inner voice are revealed
to him. It is a moment of supremest ecstasy to the student when this
experience first comes to him. An inner light floods the whole external
world for him, and he is "born anew." Through his being passes a
current from a divine world, bringing with it divine bliss.
This thought-life of the soul, which is gradually widened into a life
of spiritual being, is designated by the Gnosis and by Theosophy as
meditation (contemplative thought). This meditation is the means by
which supersensual knowledge is attained. But during such moments the
student must not be content to give himself up to the luxury of
sensation. He must not permit undefined feelings to take possession of
his soul. That would only hinder him from attaining true spiritual
knowledge. His thoughts must be clearly and sharply defined, and he
will be helped in this by not allowing himself to be carried away
blindly by the thoughts that spring up within him. Rather must he
permeate his mind with the lofty ideas which originated with advanced
students to whom inspiration has already come. Let him first of all
study the wisdom which originated in such moments of meditation. The
student will find such in the mystical, gnostic, and theosophical
literature of our time, and will there gain the material for his
meditation. Wise men have inscribed in these books the thoughts of
divine science, or have proclaimed them to the world through their
agents.
Such meditation produces a complete transformation in the student. He
begins to form entirely new conceptions of Reality. All things acquire
fresh values in his eyes. And it cannot be declared too often that this
transformation does not estrange him from the world nor keep him from
his daily round of duties. For he begins to realize that his most
insignificant actions or experiences are in close connection with the
great cosmic beings and events. When once this connection is revealed
to him in his moments of contemplation, he is endowed with fresher and
fuller power for his daily duties. For then he knows that his labor and
his suffering are given and endured for the sake of a great spiritual
cosmic whole. Thus, instead of weariness, his meditation gives him
strength to live.
With firm step the student advances in life. No matter what it may
bring him, he goes forward erect. In the past he knew not why he worked
and suffered, but now he knows. It is obvious that such meditation is
more likely to lead to the goal, if conducted under the direction of
experienced persons, who know actually how everything may best be done.
We should, therefore, seek the advice and direction of such experienced
guides (they are called Gurus in certain schools of thought). What
would otherwise be mere uncertain groping is transformed by such
direction into work that is sure of its goal. Those who apply to the
teachers having such knowledge and experience will never apply in vain.
They must, however, be quite sure that it is the advice of a friend
they desire, not the domination of a would-be ruler. Those who really
know are always the most modest of men, and nothing is further from
their nature than what is called the passion for power.
Those who, by means of meditation, rise to that which unites man with
spirit, are bringing to life within them the eternal element which is
not limited by birth nor death. Only those who have had no experience
for themselves can doubt the existence of this eternal element. Thus
meditation becomes the way by which man also attains to the recognition
and contemplation of his eternal, indestructible, essential being. And
only through meditation can one attain to such a view of life. Gnosis
and Theosophy tell of the eternal nature of this essential being, and
of its reincarnation. The question is often asked: "Why does a man know
nothing of those experiences which lie beyond the borders of birth and
death?" Not thus should we ask, but rather: "How may we attain to such
knowledge?" The entrance to the Path is opened by right meditation.
This alone can revive the memory of events that lie beyond the borders
of birth and death. Everyone can attain to this knowledge; in each of
us is the faculty of recognizing and contemplating for ourselves the
truths of Mysticism, Theosophy, and Gnosis; but the right means must be
chosen. Only a being with ears and eyes can perceive tones and colors,
nor can the eye perceive without the light by which things are made
visible. Occult science gives the means of developing the spiritual
ears and eyes, and kindling the spiritual light. There are, according
to esoteric teachers, three steps by which the goal may be attained: 1.
_Probation._ This develops the spiritual senses. 2. _Enlightenment._
This kindles the spiritual light. 3. _Initiation._ This establishes
intercourse with the higher spiritual beings.
The following teachings proceed from a secret tradition, but precise
information concerning its nature and its name cannot be given at
present. They refer to the three steps which, in the school of this
tradition, lead to a certain degree of initiation. But here we shall
find only so much of this tradition as may be openly declared. These
teachings are extracted from a much deeper and more secret doctrine. In
the occult schools themselves a definite course of instruction is
followed, and in addition to this there are certain practices which
enable the souls of men to attain a conscious intercourse with the
spiritual world. These practices bear about the same relation to what
will be imparted in the following pages, as the teaching which is given
in a well-disciplined school bears to the instruction that may be
received occasionally during a walk. And yet the ardent and persevering
search for what is here hinted at will lead to the way by which one
obtains access to a genuine occult school. But, of course, an impatient
perusal, devoid of sincerity and perseverance, can lead to nothing at
all. He who believes himself to be ready for more must apply to an
occult teacher. The study of these things can only be successful if the
student will observe what has already been written in previous
chapters.
The stages which the above-mentioned tradition specifies are the
following three:
I. Probation,
II. Enlightenment,
III. Initiation.
It is not altogether necessary that these three stages should be so
taken that one must have quite completed the first before beginning the
second, nor this in its turn before commencing the third. With respect
to certain things one can partake of Enlightenment, and even of
Initiation, while with others one is still in the probationary stage.
Yet it will be necessary to spend a certain time in this stage of
Probation before any Enlightenment at all can commence, and at least to
some degree one must be enlightened before it is possible even to enter
upon the stage of Initiation. In giving an account of them, however, it
is necessary, for the sake of clearness, that the three stages follow,
one after another.
IV
PROBATION
Probation consists of a strict cultivation of the emotional and mental
life. Through this cultivation the "spiritual body" becomes equipped
with new instruments of perception and new organs of activity, just as,
out of indeterminate living matter, the natural forces have fitted the
physical body with the various organs so well known to the physical
senses.
The beginning of this cultivation is made by directing the attention of
the soul to certain events in the world that surrounds us. Such events
are the germinating, expanding, and flourishing of _life_ in its
myriad forms on the one hand, and, on the other, the fading, decaying,
and passing out of life from all things so far as perceptible to the
ordinary senses. Wherever we turn our eyes we can observe these things
happening simultaneously, and everywhere they naturally evoke in men
thoughts and feelings. But under ordinary circumstances a man fails to
grasp the importance of these sensations. He hurries on too quickly
from impression to impression. What is necessary, therefore, is that he
should fix his attention intently and quite consciously upon these
phenomena. Wherever he observes expansion and flourishing of a certain
kind, he must banish everything else from his soul, and entirely
surrender himself for a short time to this one impression. He will soon
convince himself that a sensation which heretofore in a similar case
would have merely flitted through his soul, is now so magnified that it
becomes of a powerful and energetic nature. He should at once allow
this thought-form to reverberate throughout his whole being, yet
quietly within himself, and to do so he must become inwardly quite
still. He should draw himself away from the outward world, and follow
only that which his soul tells him.
Yet it must not be thought that we can make much progress if we blunt
our senses to the world. For, one must first contemplate these objects
as keenly and precisely as possible, and then give up to the sensations
that result, and the thoughts that arise within the soul. What is most
important is, that one should direct the attention, with perfect inner
balance, upon both of these phenomena. If one obtains the necessary
quiet and surrenders himself to that which arises in the soul, he will,
in due time, experience many wonderful thoughts and feelings, unknown
to him before. Indeed, the more one fixes the attention in such a way,
alternately upon something growing, expanding, and flourishing, and
upon something else that is fading and decaying, the more vivid will
these feelings become. And just as natural forces evolve the physical
eyes and ears of the physical body, out of living matter, so will the
organs of clairvoyance evolve themselves from the spiritual feelings
which are thus evoked. A definite thought-form unites itself with the
germinating and expanding object, and another, equally definite, with
that which is fading and decaying. But this will only take place if the
cultivation of these feelings be striven for in the way described.
It is possible to describe only approximately what these feelings are
like. Indeed, everyone must arrive at his own conception of them as he
passes through these inward experiences. He who has frequently fixes
his attention on the phenomena of germinating, expanding, and
flourishing, will feel something remotely allied to the sensation
caused by witnessing a sunrise; and the phenomena of fading and
decaying will produce in him an experience comparable, in the same way,
to the gradual uprising of the moon on the horizon. Both these feelings
are forces which, when carefully cultivated, with a continually
increasing improvement, will lead to the greatest occult results. To
him who again and again, systematically and with design, surrenders
himself to such feelings, a new world is opened. The "Spiritual" world,
the so-called "Astral plane," begins to dawn upon him. Blooming and
fading are facts which no longer make indefinite impressions on him, as
of old, but instead they form themselves into spiritual lines and
figures of which he had previously suspected nothing. And these lines
and figures have for the different phenomena different forms. A
blooming flower, an animal growing, a decaying tree, evoke in his soul
definite lines. The astral plane slowly broadens out before him. Its
forms are not in any sense arbitrary. For two students who find
themselves at the same stage of development will always see the same
lines and figures under the same conditions. Just as certainly as a
round table will be seen as round by two normal persons, not as round
by the one and square by the other; so, too, before the perception of
two souls a blooming flower will present the same spiritual form. And
just as the shapes of animals and plants are described in ordinary
natural history, so, too, the teacher in an occult school describes and
delineates the spiritual forms of growing and decaying processes after
their nature and species.
If the student has progressed so far that he can see such aspects of
phenomena which are also physically observable with his external eyes,
he will then be not far from the condition which will enable him to
behold things that have no physical existence, and must therefore
remain entirely hidden to those who have undergone no training in an
occult school.
It should be emphasized that the occult explorer ought never to lose
himself in speculation on the meaning of this or that. By such
intellectualizing he only directs himself away from the right road. He
ought to look out on the sense-world freshly, with healthy senses and
quickened observation, and then to give himself up to his own
sensations. He ought not to wish, in a speculative manner, to make out
what this or that means, but rather to allow the things themselves to
inform him.[7]
[7] It should be remarked that artistic perception, when
coupled with a quiet introspective nature, forms the best
foundation for the development of occult faculties. It
pierces through the superficial aspect of things and in so
doing touches their secrets.
A further point of importance is that which is called in occult science
"orientation in the higher worlds." This point is attained when one
realizes with complete consciousness that feelings and thoughts are
veritable realities, just as much as are tables and chairs in the world
of the physical senses. Feelings and thoughts act upon each other in
the astral-world and in the thought (or mental) world, just as objects
of sense act upon each other in the physical world. As long as anyone
is not truly permeated with this realization, he will not believe that
an evil thought projected from his mind may have as devastating an
effect upon other thought forms as that wrought upon physical objects
by a bullet shot at random. Such a one will perhaps never allow himself
to perform a physically visible action which he considers to be wrong,
yet he will not shrink from harboring evil thoughts or feelings, for
these do not appear to him to be dangerous to the rest of the world.
Nevertheless we can advance in occult science only when we guard our
thoughts and feelings in just the same way as a man would guard the
steps he takes in the physical world. If anyone sees a wall before him
he does not attempt to dash right through it, but directs his course
alongside; in other words, he guides himself by the laws of the
physical world.
There are such laws also in the world of thought and feeling, but there
they cannot impose themselves upon us from without. They must flow out
of the life of the soul itself. We arrive at such a condition when we
forbid ourselves, at all times, to foster wrong thoughts or feelings.
All arbitrary goings to-and-fro, all idle fancies, all accidental
ups-and-downs of emotion must be forbidden in the same way. But, in so
doing, let it not be thought that we bring about a deficiency of
emotion. On the contrary, if we regulate our inner life in this manner,
we shall speedily find ourselves rich in feelings and in genuine
creative imagination. In place of a mere chaos of petty feelings and
fantastic trains of thought, there appear significant emotions, and
thoughts that are fruitful, and it is emotions and thoughts of this
kind that lead a man to "orientation in the higher world." He has
entered into the right condition for the things of that world, and they
entail for him definite consequences. Just as a physical man finds his
way between physical things, so, too, his path now leads him straight
between the _growing_ and the _fading_, which he has already come to
know in the way described above. For he follows all processes of
growing and flourishing, (and, on the other hand, of withering and
decaying) that is necessary for his own and the world's prosperity.
The occult student has also to bestow a further care on the world of
_sound_. He must discriminate between the tones which are produced
from the so-called inert (lifeless) bodies (for example, a bell, a
musical instrument, or a falling mass), and those which proceed from a
living creature (an animal or a person). He who hears the striking of a
bell will receive the sound and attach to it a certain sensation, but
he who hears the cry of an animal will, in addition to this sensation,
become aware that the sound reveals also an inward experience of the
animal, either of pain or of pleasure. The student is concerned with
the latter aspect of the sound. He must concentrate his whole attention
upon it, so that the sound reveals to him something that lies outside
of his own soul, and, more than this, must merge himself in this
exterior thing. He must closely connect his own emotion with the
pleasure or pain communicated to him by means of the sound, and must
care nothing whether the sound be pleasant or unpleasant to him,
welcome or not; his soul must be filled with only that which proceeds
from the creature out of whom the sound has come. He who systematically
and deliberately performs such exercises will develop within himself
the faculty of intermingling, as it were, with the creature from which
the sound proceeded. A person sensitive to music will find it easier to
cultivate his spiritual life in this respect than one who is unmusical,
but no one should think that a mere sense of music will take the place
of this culture.
As an occult student, one must learn to contemplate the whole of nature
in this way. By so doing a new faculty is developed in the world of
thought and feeling. Through her manifold sounds the whole of Nature
begins to whisper secrets to the student. What hitherto was merely
incomprehensible noise to his soul will become by this means a coherent
_language of Nature_. And whereas, hitherto, he heard sound only from
the resonance of so-called inanimate objects, he now understands a new
speech of the soul. Should he advance in this culture of the soul, he
will soon learn that he can hear what hitherto he did not even surmise.
He begins to hear with the soul.
One thing more must be added before we can reach the topmost point in
this direction. What is of special importance in the development of the
student is the way in which he hears the speech of other men. He must
accustom himself to do this in such a way that while doing so his inner
self is absolutely still. If someone expresses an opinion and another
hears it, the inner self of the latter will be stirring in general
assent or contradiction. Many people in such a case feel themselves
urged to an expression of their assent, or, more especially, of their
contradiction. All such assent or contradiction must, in the occult
student, be silenced. It is not imperative that he should, therefore,
quite suddenly begin to make his life entirely different, in order that
he may attain to this inward and fundamental calm. He might, therefore,
begin by doing so in special cases, deliberately selected by himself.
Thus quite slowly and by degrees will this new way of listening creep
into his habits, as of itself: In the occult schools these things are
systematically practiced. For the sake of practice the student is
obliged to listen for a certain period to the most contradictory
thoughts, and at the same time to suppress all assent, and more
especially all adverse criticism. The point is that in such a way not
only all intellectual judgment is silenced, but also all sense of
displeasure, denial, or even acceptance. The student must be
particularly watchful that such feelings, even if they are not upon the
surface, do not still remain lurking in the innermost recesses of his
soul. He must listen, for example, to the statements of people who in
some respects are far beneath him, and, while so doing, suppress every
feeling of greater knowledge or of superiority. It is useful for
everyone to listen in this way to children, for even the wisest may
learn very much from children. So does it come about that we hear the
words of others impersonally, completely divested of our own
personality with its opinions and feelings. He who thus makes a
practice of listening uncritically, even when a completely
contradictory opinion is advanced, learns again and again to blend
himself, to become identified, with the being of another. He then
hears, as it were, through the words and into the souls of others.
Through continual exercise of this kind only, sound becomes the right
medium for the revelation of the spirit and the soul. Of course, it
implies the strictest self-discipline, but it leads to a high goal.
When these practices are undertaken in connection with those that deal
with the sounds of Nature, the soul develops a new sense of hearing. It
is enabled to receive demonstrations from the spiritual world which do
not find their expression in outward sounds apprehensible by the
physical ear. The perception of the "inner word" awakens. Gradually
truths from the spiritual world reveal themselves to the student, and
he hears them expressed in a spiritual way.[8]
[8] Only to him, who listens disinterestedly, comes the
ability to perceive really from within, silently, and without
emotion arising from personal opinion or personal taste,--to
such only can the Great Souls, who are known in Occultism as
the Masters speak. As long as our opinions and feelings are
in a state of vehement opposition to the communications from
the Masters, They remain silent.
All high truths are attained through such "inner encouragement," and
what we hear from the lips of a genuine occult teacher has been
experienced in this manner. In so saying it must not be supposed that
it is useless to acquaint oneself with the writings on occult science,
before one can actually gain this inner encouragement. On the contrary,
the reading of such writings, and the listening to eminent teachers of
occult lore, are themselves the means of attaining a personal
knowledge. Every sentence of the esoteric wisdom which one hears is
adapted to direct the senses to that point which must be attained
before the soul can experience a real advance. To the practice of all
that has been indicated, must be added an ardent study of what the
occult teacher gives out to the world. In all occult schools such a
study belongs to the probationary period, and he who would employ other
methods will attain no goal if he omits the instructions of the occult
teacher, for inasmuch as these instructions proceed from an actual
"inner word," an actual "encouragement," they possess in themselves a
spiritual vitality. They are not mere words; they are living powers;
and while you follow the words of an occultist, while you read a book
which comes from a genuine inner experience, powers are at work in your
soul which make you clairvoyant, just as natural forces have created
out of living matter your eyes and ears.
V
ENLIGHTENMENT.
Enlightenment is the result of very simple processes. Here, too, it is
a matter of developing certain feelings and thoughts which are dormant
within all men, but must be awakened. Only he who carries out these
simple processes with complete patience, continuously and strenuously,
can be led by them to the reception of inner illumination. The primary
step is taken by observing in a particular way different natural
objects--a transparent stone of beautiful form (a crystal), a plant,
and an animal. One should endeavor at first to direct one's whole
attention to a comparison of the stone with the animal, as follows: The
thoughts which, accompanied by strong emotions, are thus induced, must
pass through the soul, and no other emotions or thoughts must be mixed
with them, or disturb the intense contemplation. One then says to
oneself: "The stone has a form and the animal also has a form. The
stone remains motionless in its place, but the animal is able to move
about. It is impulse (desire) which causes the animal to change its
place, and it is these impulses to which the form of the animal is of
use. Its organs and instruments are the expression of these impulses.
The form of the stone, on the contrary, is fashioned, not in accordance
with impulses, but in accordance with an impulseless force."[9]
[9] The fact here mentioned, in its bearing on the
contemplation of crystals, is in many ways distorted by those
who have only heard of it in an outward (exoteric) manner,
and in this way such practises as crystal-gazing have their
origin. Misrepresentations of such a kind are the outcome of
misunderstanding. They have been described in many books, but
they never form the subject of genuine (esoteric) teaching.
If one sinks deeply into such thoughts, and while so doing observes the
stone and the animal with fixed attention, then there arise in the soul
two separate kinds of emotion. From the stone into the soul there
streams one kind of emotion, and from the animal, another. Probably in
the beginning the experiment will not succeed, but little by little,
with genuine and patient practice, these emotions become manifest.
Again and again one should practice. At first the emotions last only as
long as the contemplation. Later on, they work afterwards, and then
they grow to something which remains alive in the soul. One then needs
only to reflect, and both emotions invariably arise, apart from all
contemplation of an external object.
Out of these emotions, and the thoughts which are bound up with them,
clairvoyant organs are formed. Should the plant be added to the
contemplation, one will notice that the feeling outflowing from it,
both in its quality and in its degree, lies between that which emanates
from the stone and that from the animal. The organs which are so formed
are spiritual eyes. We learn by degrees and through their means to see
both astral and mental colors. As long as one has attained only the
condition described as Probation, the spiritual world with its lines
and figures remains dark, but through Enlightenment it will become
clear. It must be noted here that the words "dark" and "light," as well
as the other common expressions, only approximately describe what is
really meant; for language as usually understood is constructed to suit
physical conditions alone.
Occult science describes what emanates from the stone and is seen by
clairvoyant eyes, as "blue" or "bluish-red," and that which is observed
as coming from the animal is described as "red" or "reddish-yellow." In
reality they are colors of a spiritual kind which are discerned. The
color proceeding from the plant is "green." Plants are just those
natural phenomena whose qualities in the higher worlds are similar to
their qualities in the physical world, but it is not so with stones and
animals. It must now be clearly understood that the above-mentioned
colors only suggest the prevailing shades of the stone, the plant, or
the animal. In reality, all possible overtones exist, for every animal,
every stone, every plant has its own peculiar shade of color. In
addition to these there are the creatures of the higher worlds, who
always incorporate themselves with colors not their own, often
marvellous, often horrible. In short, the variety of colors in these
higher worlds is immeasurably greater than in the physical world.
If a man has once acquired the faculty of seeing with spiritual eyes,
he sooner or later, meets with the beings here mentioned, some of them
higher, some lower than man himself; beings who never entered into
physical existence.
When he has advanced thus far, the way to a great deal lies open before
him; but it is inadvisable to proceed further without an experienced
guide. Indeed, for all that has here been described, such experienced
guidance is desirable, and he who has the endurance to fulfil the
elementary conditions of enlightenment, will assuredly seek and
discover his guide.
Under all circumstances it is important to give warning, and he who
will not heed it had better leave untrodden all the steps of occult
science. It is necessary that he who would become an occult student
should lose none of his attributes as a good and noble man, and one
susceptible to all physical truths. Indeed, throughout his
apprenticeship he must continually increase his moral strength, his
inner purity, and his powers of observation. Let us give an example:
During the preliminary practices of Enlightenment, the student must be
careful always to be enlarging his sympathy with the animal and human
worlds, and his sense of nature's beauty. If he is not careful to do
this he continually dulls both sense and feeling; his heart grows cold
and his sympathies dwarfed; which lead to perilous results.
How enlightenment proceeds, in the sense of the foregoing practices, if
one rises from the stone, the plant, and the animal, up to man, and
how, after enlightenment, under all circumstances, the gentle hand of
the Pilot comes on a certain day, and leads to Initiation--of these
things the next chapter will deal in so far as it can and may do so.
In our time, the path to occult science is sought after by many. It is
sought in various ways, and many dangerous and even objectionable modes
are practiced. Therefore it is that those who know of the truth and
dangers concerning these things have allowed a greater portion of the
occult training and the necessary warning to be published. Only so much
is here imparted as this permission allows, and it is necessary that
something of the truth should be known in order that it may counteract
the great danger of these errors. If nothing be _forced_, there is
no danger for him who follows the way already described; only one thing
should be noted: no one ought to spend more time or power upon such
practices than is at his disposal with due regard to his circumstances
and his duties. No one ought suddenly to change anything in the
external conditions of his life. If one desires genuine results, one
must have patience; one should be able to cease the practice after a
few minutes, and then peacefully to continue one's daily work, and no
thought of these practices ought to be mingled with the work of the
day. He who has not learned to wait, in the best and highest sense of
the word, is of no use as an occult student, nor will he ever attain
results of much real value.
He who is in search of occult knowledge, by the means indicated in the
foregoing pages, must fortify himself throughout the whole course of
his efforts by the understanding that after persevering for some time
he may have made suitable progress without becoming conscious of it in
the precise way which he had expected. He who does not remember this is
likely to lose heart, and in a little while to abandon his efforts
altogether. The mental powers and faculties about to be developed are
at first of the most subtle kind, and their nature differs entirely
from the conceptions of them which may be formed in the student's mind.
He has been accustomed to occupy himself with the physical world alone,
and the mental and astral worlds seem to elude his gaze, and baffle his
conceptions. It is, therefore, not remarkable if, at first, he fails to
realize the new forces, mental and astral, which are developing in his
own being. This is why it is dangerous to enter the path leading to
occult knowledge without experienced guidance. The teacher can see the
progress made by the pupil, long before the latter becomes conscious of
it for himself. He sees the delicate organs of spiritual vision
beginning to form themselves, before the pupil is aware of their
existence, and a great part of the duties of the teacher consists in
perpetual watchfulness, lest the disciple lose confidence, patience,
and perseverance, before he becomes conscious of his own progress. The
teacher, as we know, can confer upon the student no powers which are
not already latent within him, and his sole function is to assist in
the awakening of slumbering faculties. But he may be a pillar of
strength to him who strives to penetrate through darkness into the
light.
There are many who leave the occult path soon after setting foot upon
it, because they are not immediately conscious of their own progress.
And even when higher experiences begin to dawn upon the seeker, he is
apt to regard them as illusions, because he had anticipated them quite
differently. He loses courage, either because he regards these first
experiences as of no value, or because they appear so insignificant
that he has no hope of their leading to any appreciable results within
a measurable time. Courage and self-confidence are the two lamps which
must never be allowed to burn themselves out on the pathway to the
occult. He who cannot patiently repeat an exercise which has failed for
an apparently unlimited number of times, will never travel far.
Long before one is aware of any distinct perception of progress, comes
an inarticulate mental impression that the right road has been found.
This is a feeling to be welcomed, and to be encouraged, since it may
evolve into a trustworthy guide. Above all, it is imperative to
extirpate the idea that any fantastic, mysterious practices are
required for the attainment of higher experiences. It must be clearly
realized that ordinary every-day human feelings and thoughts must form
the basis from which the start is to be made, and that it is only
needful to give these thoughts and feelings a new direction. Everyone
must say to himself: "In my own sphere of thoughts and sensations lie
enfolded the deepest mysteries, but hitherto I have been unable to
perceive them." In the end it all resolves itself into the fact that
man, ordinarily, carries body, soul and spirit about with him, yet is
conscious only of the body, not of the soul and spirit, and that the
student in due time attains to a similar consciousness of soul and
spirit.
Hence it is highly important to give the proper direction to thoughts
and feelings, in order that one may develop the perception of that
which is invisible to a person living the ordinary life. One of the
ways by which this development may be carried out will now be
indicated. Again, like almost everything else we have explained so far,
it is quite a simple matter. Yet the results are of the greatest
consequence, if the experiment is carried out with perseverance, and in
the right frame of mind.
Place before you the small seed of a plant. It is then necessary, while
contemplating this significant object, to create with intensity the
right kind of thoughts, and through these thoughts to develop certain
feelings. In the first place, let the student clearly grasp what is
really presented to his vision. Let him describe to himself the shape,
color, and all other qualities of the grain of seed. Then let his mind
dwell upon the following train of thought: "This grain of seed, if
planted in the soil, will grow into a plant of complex structure." Let
him clearly picture this plant to himself. Let him build it up in his
imagination. And then let him reflect that the object now existing only
in his imagination will presently be brought into actual physical
existence by the forces of the earth and of light. If the thing
contemplated by him were an artificially-made object, though such a
close imitation of nature that no external difference could be detected
by human eyesight, no forces inherent in the earth or light could avail
to produce from it a plant. He who thoroughly grasps this thought and
inwardly assimilates it will also be able to form the following idea
with the right feeling. He will reasons thus: "That which is ultimately
to grow out of this seed is already, as a force, now secretly enfolded
within it. The artificial duplicate of the seed contains no such force.
And yet both appear to be alike to my eyes. The real seed, therefore,
contains something invisible which is not present in the imitation." It
is this invisible something on which thought and feeling are now to be
concentrated.[10] Let the student fully realize that this invisible
something will later on translate itself into a visible plant,
perceptible by him in shape and color. Let him dwell upon the thought:
"_The invisible will become visible._ If I could not think, then I
could not now realize, that which will become visible later on."
[10] Anyone who might object that a microscopical examination
would reveal the difference between the two would only show
that he has failed to grasp the intention of the experiment.
The intention is not to investigate the physical structure of
the object, but to use it as a means for the development of
psychic force.
Particular stress must be laid on the importance of _feeling with
intensity_ that which one thinks. In calmness of mind a single
thought must be vitally experienced within oneself to the exclusion of
all disturbing influences. Sufficient time must be taken to allow the
thought, and the state of feeling connected therewith, to become, as it
were, imbedded in the soul. If that is accomplished in the right
way--possibly not until after numerous attempts--an inward force will
make itself felt. And this force will create new powers of perception.
The grain of seed will appear as if enclosed in a small luminous cloud.
The spiritualized vision of the student perceives it as a kind of
flame. This flame is of a lilac color in the centre, blue at the edges.
Then appears that which one could not see before, and which was created
by the power of thought and feeling brought into life within oneself.
That which was physically invisible (the plant which will not become
visible until later on) has there revealed itself to the spiritual eye.
It is pardonable if, to many men, all this appears to be mere illusion.
Many will say: "What is the value of such visions or such
hallucinations?" And many will thus fall away, and no longer continue
to tread the path. But this is precisely the important point--not to
confuse, at this difficult stage of human evolution, spiritual reality
with the mere creations of phantasy, and to have the courage to press
manfully onward, instead of growing timorous and faint-hearted. On the
other hand, however, it is necessary to insist on the necessity of
maintaining unimpaired, and of perpetually cultivating, the healthy
attitude of mind which is required for the distinguishing of truth from
illusion. Never during all these exercises must the student surrender
the fully conscious control of himself. He must continue to think as
soundly and sanely in these spiritual conditions as he does with regard
to the things and occurrences of ordinary life. It would be unfortunate
if he lapses into reveries. He must at every moment be clear-headed and
sober-minded and it would be the greatest mistake if the student,
through such practices, lost his mental equilibrium, or if he were
prevented from judging as sanely and clearly as before, the matters of
work-a-day life. The disciple should, therefore, examine himself again
and again to find out whether he has remained unaltered in relation to
the circumstances among which he lives, or whether perchance he has
lost his mental balance. He must ever maintain a calm repose within his
own individuality, and an open mind for everything, being careful at
the same time not to drift into vague reveries or to experiment with
all sorts of exercises.
The lines for development here indicated, belong to those which have
been followed, and whose efficacy has been demonstrated in the schools
of occultism from the earliest ages, and none but such will here be
given. Anyone attempting to employ methods of meditation devised by
himself, or which he may have come across in the course of promiscuous
reading will inevitably be led astray, and will lose himself in a
boundless morass of incoherent phantasies.
A further exercise which may succeed the one described above, is the
following: Let the disciple place himself in front of a plant which has
attained the stage of full development. Now let his mind be absorbed by
the reflection that the time is near at hand when this plant will
wither and die. "Nothing," he should say to himself, "nothing of what I
now see before me will endure. But this plant will have evolved seeds
which in their turn will grow into new plants. Again I become aware
that in what I see something lies concealed which I cannot see. I will
fill my mind wholly with the thought that this plant-form with its
colors will cease to be. But the reflection that the plant has produced
seeds teaches me that it will not disappear into nothing. That which
will prevent this disappearance, I can at present no more see with my
eyes than I could originally discern the plant in the grain of seed.
_The plant, therefore, contains something which my eyes are unable to
see._ If this thought fully lives in me, and combines with the
corresponding state of feeling, then, in due time, there will again
develop a force in my soul which will ripen into a new kind of
perception." Out of the plant there grows once more a flame-like
appearance, which is, of course, correspondingly larger than that which
was previously described. This flame is greenish at the centre, and is
tinged with yellow at the outer edge.
He who has won this vision has gained greatly, inasmuch as he sees
things, not only in their present state of being, but also in their
development and decay. He begins to see in all things the spirit, of
which the bodily organs of sight have no perception, and he has taken
the initial steps on that road, which will gradually lead him to the
solution, by direct vision, of the secret of birth and death. To the
outer senses, a being begins to exist at its birth, and ceases to exist
at its death. This, however, only appears to be so, because these
senses are unable to apprehend the concealed spirit. Birth and death
are only, for this spirit, transformations, just as the unfolding of
the flower from the bud is a transformation enacted before our physical
eyes. But if one desires to attain to direct perception of these facts,
one must first awaken the spiritual vision by the means here indicated.
In order to meet an objection which may be raised by certain people
already possessed of some psychical experience, let it be at once
admitted that there are shorter ways than this, and that there are
persons who have direct perception of the actualities of birth and
death, without having had to pass through all the stages of discipline
here set forth. There are also human beings endowed with high psychical
faculties, to whom only a slight impulse is necessary for the
developing of these powers. But they are exceptional, and the methods
described above are safer, and are capable of general application.
Similarly, it is possible to gain some knowledge of chemistry by
special methods; but in order to make safer the science of chemistry,
the recognized, reliable course must be followed.
An error fraught with serious consequences would result from the
assumption that the goal could be reached more simply by allowing the
mind to dwell merely on an imaginary plant or a grain of seed. It may
be possible by such means to evoke a force which would enable the soul
to attain the inner vision. But this vision will be, in most cases, a
mere figment of the imagination, for the main object is not to create
arbitrarily a mental vision, but to allow the veritable nature of
things to form an image within one's mind. The truth must come up from
the depth of one's own soul, not at the call of one's ordinary self,
but rather must the objects of one's perception themselves exercise
their magical power, if one is to perceive their inner reality.
After the disciple has evolved, by such means, the rudiments of
spiritual vision, he may proceed to the contemplation of human nature
itself. Simple appearances of ordinary life must be chosen first. But
before making any attempts in this direction, it is imperative for the
student to strive after an absolute sincerity of moral character. He
must banish all thoughts of ever using the insight to be attained in
these ways for his own selfish ends. He must be absolutely determined
that under no circumstances will he avail himself, in an evil sense, of
any power which he may gain over his fellow-creatures. This is the
reason why everyone who desires to gain direct insight into the secrets
of human nature must follow the golden rule of true Occultism. And the
golden rule is this: For every one step that you take in the pursuit of
the hidden knowledge, take three steps in the perfecting of your own
character. He who obeys this rule can perform such exercises as that
which is now to be explained.
Begin by observing a person filled with a desire for some object.
Direct your attention to this desire. It is best to choose a time when
this desire is at its height, and when it is not yet certain whether
the object of the desire will be attained or not. Then surrender
yourself entirely to the contemplation of that which you observe, but
maintain the utmost inner tranquility of soul. Make every endeavor to
be deaf and blind to everything that may be going on around you at the
same time, and bear in mind particularly that this contemplation is to
evoke a state of feeling in your soul. Allow this state of feeling to
arise in your soul, like a cloud rising on an otherwise cloudless
horizon. It is to be expected, of course, that your observation will be
interrupted, because the person on whom it is directed will not remain
in this particular state of mind for a sufficient length of time.
Presumably you will fail in your experiment hundreds and hundreds of
times. It is simply a question of not losing patience. After many
attempts you will ultimately realize the state of feeling spoken of
above as fast as the corresponding mental phenomena pass through the
soul of the person under observation. After a time you will begin to
notice that this feeling in your own soul is evoking the power of
spiritual vision into the psychical condition of the other. A luminous
image will appear in your field of vision. And this luminous image is
the so-called astral manifestation evoked by the desire-state when
under observation. Again we may describe this image as flame-like in
appearance. It is yellowish red in the centre and reddish-blue or lilac
at the edges. Much depends upon treating such experiences of the inner
vision with great delicacy. It will be best for you at first to talk of
them to nobody except your teacher, if you have one. The attempt to
describe such appearances in appropriate words usually leads to gross
self-deception. One employs ordinary terms not applicable to such
purposes, and therefore much too gross and clumsy. The consequence is
that one's own attempt to clothe this vision in words unconsciously
leads one to blend the actual experience with an alloy of imaginary
details. It is, therefore, another important law for the occult
inquirer that he should know how to observe silence concerning his
inner visions. Observe silence even towards yourself. Do not endeavor
to express in words that which you see, or to fathom it with reasoning
faculties that are inadequate. Freely surrender yourself to these
spiritual impressions without any mental reservations, and without
disturbing them by thinking about them too much. For you must remember
that your reasoning faculties were, at first, by no means equal to your
faculties of observation. You have acquired these reasoning faculties
through experiences hitherto confined exclusively to the world as
apprehended by your physical senses, and the faculties you are now
acquiring transcend these experiences. Do not, therefore, try to
measure your new and higher perceptions by the old standard. Only he
who has already gained some certainty in his observation of inner
experiences ought to speak about them with the idea of thereby
stimulating his fellow-beings.
As a supplementary exercise the following may be set forth. Direct your
observation in the same way upon a fellow-being to whom the fulfilment
of some wish, the gratification of some desire has just been granted.
If the same rules and precautions are adopted as in the previous
instance, you will once more attain to spiritual perception. You will
distinguish a flame-like appearance which is yellow in the centre and
greenish at the edges. By such observations of one's fellow-creatures
one may easily be led into a moral fault--one may become uncharitable.
All conceivable means must be taken to fight against this tendency.
Anyone exercising such powers of observation should have risen to the
level on which one is absolutely convinced that thoughts are actual
things. He may then no longer allow himself to admit thoughts
incompatible with the highest reverence for the dignity of human life
and of human liberty. Not for one moment must he entertain the idea of
regarding a human being as a mere object for observation. It must be
the aim of self-education to see that the faculties for a psychic
observation of human nature go hand in hand with a full recognition of
the rights of each individual. That which dwells in each human being
must be regarded as something holy, and to be held inviolate by us even
in our thoughts and feelings. We must be possessed by a feeling of
reverential awe for all that is human.
For the present, only these two examples can be given as to the methods
by which an insight into human nature may be achieved, but they will at
least serve to point out the way which must be followed. He who has
gained the inner tranquility and repose which are indispensable for
such observations, will by so doing, already have undergone a great
transformation. This will soon reach the point at which the increase of
his spiritual worth will manifest itself in the confidence and
composure of his outward demeanor. Again, this alteration in his
demeanor will react favorably on his inner condition, and thus he will
be able to help himself further along the road. He will find ways of
penetrating further and further into those secrets of human nature,
those hidden from our external senses, and will then become qualified
for a deeper insight into the mysterious correlations between the
nature of man, and all else that exists in the universe. By following
this path, the disciple will approach closer and closer to the day on
which he will be deemed worthy of taking the first steps of initiation;
but before these can be taken it is necessary to assure oneself of
unflinching courage. At first it may not be at all apparent to the
student why it should be necessary, but he cannot fail to be convinced
of it in the end.
The quality which is indispensable to him who would be initiated is a
certain measure of courage and fearlessness. He must absolutely go out
of his way to find opportunities for developing these virtues. In the
occult schools they are cultivated quite systematically; but life in
this respect is itself an excellent school of occultism, nay, possibly
the best. To face danger calmly, to try to overcome difficulties
unswervingly, this is what the student must learn to do; for instance,
in the presence of some peril, he must rise at once to the conception
that fears are altogether useless, and ought not to be entertained for
one moment, but that the mind ought simply to be concentrated on what
is to be done. He must reach a point where it has become impossible
for him ever again to feel afraid or to lose his courage. By
self-discipline in this direction he will develop within himself
distinct qualities which he needs if he is to be initiated into the
higher mysteries. Just as man in his physical being requires nervous
force in order to use his physical senses, so also, in his psychic
nature, he requires the force which is only produced in the courageous
and the fearless. For in penetrating to the higher mysteries he will
see things not yet revealed to the physical eyesight nor to any other
of the human senses. The latter, by hiding from our gaze, the higher
verities (things which we could not bear to behold) are in reality our
benefactors, since they prevent us from perceiving that which, if
realized without due preparation, would throw us into unutterable
consternation. The disciple must be prepared to endure this sight,
although he has lost certain supports in the outer world by a
realization of the very illusions that encompassed him. It is truly
and literally as if his attention were suddenly drawn to a certain
danger by which for some time he had been unconsciously threatened. He
was not afraid hitherto, but now that he sees his peril, he is
overcome by terror, even though the danger has not been rendered any
greater by his knowledge thereof.
The forces at work in the world are both destructive and creative. The
destiny of manifested beings is birth and death. The Initiate is to
behold this march of destiny. The veil, which in the ordinary course of
life clouds the spiritual eyes, is to be uplifted, and the man is to
see himself as one interwoven with these forces, with this destiny. His
own nature contains destructive and creative powers. As undisguisedly
as the other objects of his vision are revealed to the eye of the seer,
his own soul is bared to his gaze. In the face of this self-knowledge,
the disciple must not suffer himself to droop, and in this he will
succeed only if he has brought with him an excess of the necessary
strength. In order that this may be the case he must learn to maintain
inner calm and confidence in the most difficult circumstances; he must
nourish within himself a firm faith in the beneficent forces of
existence. He must be prepared to find that many motives which have
actuated him hitherto will actuate him no longer. He must needs
perceive that he has hitherto often thought or acted in a certain
manner, because he was still in the toils of ignorance. Reasons which
formerly influenced him will now disappear. He has done many things out
of personal vanity; he will now perceive how utterly futile all such
vanity is in the eyes of the Initiate. He has done much from motives of
avarice; he will now be aware of the destructive effect of all
avariciousness. He will have to develop entirely new springs for his
thought and action, and it is for this that courage and fearlessness
are required.
It is especially a matter of cultivating this courage and this
fearlessness in the inmost depths of the mental life. The disciple must
learn never to despair. He must always be equal to the thought: "I will
forget that I have again failed in this matter. I will try once more,
as though nothing at all had happened." Thus he will fight his way on
to the firm conviction that the universe contains inexhaustible
fountains of strength from which he may drink. He must aspire again and
again to the Divine which will uplift and support him, however feeble
and impotent the mortal part of his being may prove. He must be capable
of pressing on towards the future, undismayed by any experiences of the
past. Every teacher of Occultism will carefully ascertain how far the
disciple, aspiring to Initiation into the higher mysteries, has
advanced on the road of spiritual preparation. If he fulfil these
conditions to a certain degree, he is then worthy to hear uttered those
Names of things which form the key that unlocks the higher knowledge.
For Initiation consists in this very act of learning to know the things
of the universe by those Names which they bear in the spirit of their
Divine Author. And the mystery of things lies in these Names. Therefore
it is that the Initiate speaks another language than that of the
uninitiate, for he knows the Names by which things were called into
existence.
VI
INITIATION
The highest degree in Occultism, of which it is possible to speak in a
book for general readers, is Initiation. One cannot give public
information concerning all that lies beyond, though the way to it can
always be found by one who has previously pressed forward and
penetrated the lower secrets and mysteries.
The knowledge and power which are conferred upon a man through
Initiation could not be obtained in any other manner except in some far
distant future, after many incarnations, on quite another road and in
quite another form. He who is initiated to-day experiences something
which he would otherwise have to experience at a much later period and
under quite different circumstances.
It is right that a person should learn only so much of the secrets of
nature as correspond to his own degree of development, and for this
reason alone do obstacles bar his way to complete knowledge and power.
People should not be trusted with the use of fire-arms until they have
had enough experience to make it certain that they will not use them
mischievously or without care. If a person, without the necessary
preparation, were initiated to-day, he would still lack those
experiences which, in the normal course of his development, would come
to him in the future during other incarnations and would then bring
with them the corresponding secrets. At the door of Initiation these
experiences must, therefore, be supplied in some other way, and in
their place the candidate has to undergo the preliminary teaching.
These are so-called "trials" which have to be passed. These trials are
now being discussed in various books and magazines, but, owing to the
very nature of such discussion, it is not surprising that quite false
impressions are received concerning them. For those who have not
already gone through the periods of Probation and Enlightenment know
nothing of these trials, and consequently cannot appropriately describe
them.
Certain matters or subjects connected with the higher worlds are
produced before the candidate, but he is able to see and hear these
only when he can perceive clearly the figures, tones, and colors, for
which he has been prepared by the teachings on Probation and
Enlightenment.
The first trial consists in obtaining a clearer comprehension of the
corporeal attributes of what seem to be lifeless things, then of
plants, of animals, of human beings (in the way that the average person
possesses them). This does not mean what is commonly called "scientific
knowledge"; with that it has no connection, but it has to do with
intuition. What usually occurs is that the Initiate discloses to the
candidate how the objects of nature and the essence of living things
reveal themselves to the spiritual and mental hearing and sight. In a
certain way these things then lie revealed--naked--before the beholder.
Attributes and qualities which are concealed from physical eyes and
ears can then be seen and heard. Heretofore they have been enwrapped as
in a veil, and the falling away of this veil for the candidate, occurs
at what is called the Process of Purification by Fire. The first trial
is therefore known as the "Fire-Trial," which will briefly be explained
thus:
For some people the every day ordinary life is a more or less
unconscious process of initiation by means of the Fire-Trial. These
persons are those who have passed through a wealth of developing
experiences, and who find that their self-confidence, courage, and
fortitude have been greatly augmented in a normal way--who have learned
to bear sorrow and disappointment, from the failure of their
undertakings, with greatness of mind, and especially with quiet and
unbroken strength. Those who have gone through such experiences are
often initiates, without knowing it, and it needs but little to open
for them the spiritual hearing and sight--to make them clairvoyant. For
it must be noted that a genuine Fire-Trial is not merely intended to
satisfy the curiosity of the candidate. He would learn, undoubtedly,
many unusual things, of which others, devoid of such experiences, can
have no idea; but yet this knowledge is not the end nor aim, but merely
the path to the end. The real aim and object is this--that the
candidate shall acquire for himself, through this knowledge of the
higher worlds, a greater and truer self-confidence, a higher and nobler
courage, and a perseverance, an attitude of mind, altogether different
from what he could have obtained in the lower world.
After the Fire-Trial a candidate may turn from the school; but because
he has gone thus far he will accomplish his ordinary life work, greatly
strengthened in all his spiritual and physical relations, and in his
next incarnation he will continue to seek further initiation and
advancement. In his present life, at all events, he will prove himself
a more useful member of society, will be of greater service to humanity
than he was before, and in whatever position he may find himself, his
firmness, prudence, and favorable influence over his fellows will have
greatly increased.
After coming out of the Fire-Trial, if he should wish to continue in
the occult school, he then has to be instructed in a certain
writing-system which is used by those in the school. Occult teachings
are written in this occult writing-system, because what is really
occult can neither be perfectly spoken of in words of our ordinary
speech, nor set forth in the ordinary ways of writing. Those who have
learned much from the Initiates can but partially translate the
teachings of Occultism into terms of ordinary speech.
The symbols or signs of the secret script are not arbitrarily invented
or imagined, but correspond to powers which are active and efficacious
in nature. It is through these symbols or signs that one learns the
language of such matters. The candidate immediately sees for himself
that these symbols correspond to the figures, tones and colors which he
has learned to perceive during the periods of Probation and
Enlightenment. He now understands that all which went before was like
learning how to spell, and that only now does he begin to read in the
higher worlds. All that appeared to him before as separate figures,
tones and colors, is now revealed to him as a perfect unity, a coherent
harmony, and here, for the first time, he attains a real certainty in
observing and following the higher knowledge. Hitherto it was not
possible for him to be sure that what he saw had been clearly or
correctly perceived. Now, at last, it is possible that a correct
understanding between the candidate and the Initiate begin to arise
concerning the spheres of the higher worlds. For no matter how close
the connection between the two may be, no matter what form their
intercourse may take in ordinary life, the Initiate can only
communicate to the candidate, on these planes, in the direct form or
figures of the secret alphabet.
Through this occult speech the student also learns certain rules of
conduct for life, certain duties and obligations, of which, previously,
he knew nothing whatever. When he learns to know these rules, he is
able to perform actions which have a significance and a meaning such as
the actions of another who is not initiated can never possess. The only
point of view from which he is now able to look upon things; the only
plane from which he can now make manifest his deeds, is that of the
higher worlds and the instructions concerning such deeds can only be
read, or understood, in the secret script.
Yet it must be clearly understood and emphasized that there are persons
who, _unconsciously_, have the ability or faculty of performing these
actions, notwithstanding they have never been in an occult school. Such
"helpers of humanity and the world" proceed blessedly and beneficently
through life. There are certain fundamental reasons, which cannot be
here discussed, why they are in possession of seemingly supernatural
gifts. The only difference between these persons and the pupils of an
occult school is that the former act unconsciously, while the latter
work with a full knowledge, insight, judgment, and understanding of the
entire matter in hand. Often the candidate has to win by training that
which has been bestowed by a Higher Power upon his fellow, for the good
of humanity. One should freely and openly honor these favored ones of
God; but he should not, on their account, consider the work of the
occult schools unnecessary or superfluous.
Now that the student has learned the "Mystery language," there awaits
him yet another trial. By this he must prove whether he can move with
freedom and certainty in the higher worlds. In ordinary life a man will
be impelled to actions by outward motives and conditions. He works at
this or that because certain duties are imposed upon him by outward
circumstances. It need hardly be mentioned that the occult student must
in no way neglect any of the duties connected with his ordinary life
because he is a student in an occult school and in the higher worlds.
None of his duties there can constrain him to treat with inattention or
carelessness any one of his duties in the lower world. The father will
remain just as good a father to his family, the mother just as good a
mother; and neither the officer nor the soldier, nor anyone else, will
be detained from their necessary duties because they are students in
Occultism. On the contrary, all the qualities which make capable men
are increased to a degree of which the uninitiated can form no idea.
That this may not always appear to be the case is due merely to the
fact that they have not always the ability to correctly judge or
criticize the Initiate. The deeds of the latter are not always entirely
intelligible to the former. But, as we have said before, this only
happens in certain cases.
For him who has arrived at the so-called "Steps of Initiation," there
are new duties to be performed to which no outer stimulus is given. He
will be moved to do these things by no external pressure, but by those
rules of conduct which have been communicated to him in the
mystery-language. In this second trial he must prove that, led by such
rules of conduct, he can act from inner promptings just as firmly as an
officer performs his obligatory duties. For this purpose the teacher
will set before the pupil certain definite tasks. The latter now has to
perform some deed in consequence of observations made from the total of
what he learned during Probation and Enlightenment. He has to find the
way to what he is now to perform, by means of the mystery-language,
which by this time is familiar to him. If he discerns his duty and
executes it correctly, he has endured the trial, and he recognizes the
success, which attends the fulfilment of the task, by the changed
manner with which the spiritual eyes and ears now apprehend the
figures, tones and colors. The occult teacher tells him distinctly how
these must appear after the consummation of the trial, and the
candidate must know how he can effect this change. This trial is known
as the "Water-Trial," because, in consequence of its performance taking
place on the higher planes, that support, which would otherwise have
been received from outward conditions, is now taken away. One's
movements are like those which are made in water by someone learning to
swim, and his feelings are those of one having no support except his
own efforts. This practice must be often repeated until the candidate
attains absolute poise and assurance.
These trials are also dependent upon a quality which is produced by his
experiences in the higher worlds. The candidate cultivates this quality
to an extent which he could not possibly reach in so short a time while
developing in the ordinary way, but could attain only after many
incarnations. In order to bring about the change here mentioned, the
following condition is necessary: The candidate must be guided
altogether by what has been proven to him by the cultivation of his
higher faculties, by the results of his reading in the secret symbols.
Should he, during these experiences, attempt to introduce any of his
own opinions or desires, or should he diverge for one moment from the
laws and rules which he has proved to be right, something quite other
than that which is expected will occur. In such cases the candidate
loses sight of the goal for which these matters are undertaken, and the
result is confusion. He has, therefore, manifold opportunities, during
these trials, for the development of self-control, and this, indeed, is
the principal quality needed. These trials are, therefore, much more
easily endured by those who, before initiation, have gone through a
life which has enabled them to acquire command of themselves. Those who
have developed the characteristic of following their higher principles
and ideals without thought of personal honor or desire, who always
discern the duty to be fulfilled, even though the inclinations and
sympathies are too often ready to lead them another way, are already
unconscious initiates in the midst of every day life. They need but
little to enable them to succeed in the prescribed trials. Indeed, one
may say that a certain measure of initiation, thus unconsciously
acquired in life, will be absolutely necessary before entering upon the
second trial. For even as many who during youth have not learned to
write or spell, find much difficulty in learning to do so in later
years, so is it also difficult to develop, merely from a knowledge of
the higher worlds, the necessary degree of self-control, if one has not
already acquired a certain measure of it in the course of ordinary
life.
The things of the physical world do not alter by merely desiring them
to do so, but in the higher worlds our wishes, inclinations and desires
are causes that produce effects. If we wish to bring about particular
changes in these worlds, we must hold ourselves in absolute control, we
must follow the right principle, must entirely subdue the personal
will.
There is an attribute which at this stage of initiation has to be
especially considered,--a really healthy and sure faculty of judgment.
Attention must be directed to the education of this faculty during all
the previous stages, and in the course of them it must be proven
whether the candidate has developed this quality sufficiently to make
him fit to tread the path of true knowledge, for, further progress is
now possible only if he is able to distinguish illusion, superstition,
unsubstantial fancies, and all manner of such things, from the true
realities. At first, this is much more difficult to accomplish upon the
higher stages of existence than upon the lower. Every prejudice, every
cherished opinion regarding these matters, in whatever connection, must
be banished. Truth alone must guide. There must be perfect readiness to
surrender at once any existing opinion, idea, or inclination, when the
logical idea demands it. Absolute certainty in the higher worlds can be
obtained only when one does not obtrude his own opinions.
People whose mode of thought inclines them to phantasy, prejudice and
so forth, can make no progress on the occult way. Yet be not
dismayed--there is, in truth, a glorious treasure that the persistent
occult student shall attain. All doubt as to the higher worlds will be
taken away from him. In all their law they will reveal themselves to
his gaze, but so long as he is blindfolded he cannot see these heights
and compensations. It is, indeed, unfortunate for him if illusions and
fallacies ran away with his intellect and reason. Dreamers and people
inclined to phantasies, are as unfit for the occult path as are
superstitious people; for in dreams, illusions and superstitions lurk
the most dangerous enemies on the road to knowledge. Because the
candidate has already seen upon the portals that opened to him the
first trial, the words, "Without a normal common-sense all your efforts
are in vain;" and upon the gateway, which leads to the second trial,
"All prejudices must fall away," it is not necessary to think that the
capacity for inspiration and enthusiasm, and all the poetry of life, is
lost to the student of Occultism.
If he be now sufficiently advanced, a third trial awaits the candidate.
No aim, no boundary lines, are here set for him. All is left entirely
in his own hands. He finds himself in a condition where nothing
external impels or induces him to act. He must find the way of his own
accord and from within himself. Conditions or people who might have
stimulated him to action are no longer there. Nothing and nobody but he
himself alone can give the strength which he now needs. If he should
not find this strength within he will very soon be standing where he
was before; but it should be stated that very few of those who have
endured the previous trials will fail at this point in finding the
necessary strength. If they have come so far they will endure at this
point also. The only thing necessary is the ability to make a
resolution quickly. For here, in the truest meaning of the phrase, one
must find oneself. In all matters one must instantly resolve to hear
the suggestions, the inspirations of the spirit. One has no time for
doubt or delay. Every moment of hesitation would add to the proof that
one was not yet ready. All that hinders one from hearing the voice of
the spirit must be boldly conquered. It is entirely a matter of proving
one's presence of mind, and it is this attribute to which attention
must be paid during all the foregoing stages of development. All
temptations to act, or even to think, which hitherto assailed a man,
must here cease; but in order that he may not slip into inaction, he
must not lose his hold upon himself. For only in himself can he find
that one sure centre-point on which he can depend. No one should feel
an antipathy to this principle of self-rejection. For him who has
endured the trials already described, it indicates the most perfect
felicity.
In this, as in the other stages before mentioned, every day life itself
can, for many people, be an occult school. Those who have reached the
point of being able to act without delay or personal consideration and
can make prompt resolutions when suddenly confronted with some task or
problem demanding immediate action, have, indeed, undergone their
occult schooling in daily life. The situation which one wishes to
suggest is one in which a successful action is impossible unless the
person concerned grasps the whole matter and acts at once. He is quick
to act when misfortune is in sight, while a moment's hesitation might
lead to a catastrophe; and he who possesses the qualities which can be
developed into a permanent attribute of such a kind, has already
evolved, unknown to himself, the degree of ripeness necessary for the
third trial. For, as already remarked, at this stage all depends upon
the development of presence of mind.
In the occult schools this trial is known as the "Air-Trial," because
while undergoing it, the candidate cannot support himself either upon
the firm ground, or any external cause, or that which he has learned in
Probation and Enlightenment--from the figures and tones and colors, but
solely upon himself.
If the occult student has endured these trials, he is then permitted to
enter "the Temple of the Higher Wisdom." All that can be said further
upon this subject can be given out only in the smallest hints and
suggestions. The responsibility of the next step has so often been illy
expressed by words, that many say the pupil has here to take an "oath,"
promising to betray nothing that comes from the teacher. However, these
expressions, "oath" and "betrayal," are in no way appropriate, and are
misleading.
It is no oath, in the ordinary sense of the word, but is rather an
experience that comes at this stage. Here the candidate appreciates the
true value of the occult teachers, and their place in the service of
humanity. At last he begins to understand the world correctly. It is
not so much a matter of "withholding" the higher truths already
learned, but much more of upholding them in the right way and with the
necessary tact. That concerning which one learns to "keep silence" is
something quite different. One gains possession of this fine attribute
in regard to many things of which one had previously spoken, and
especially in regard to the manner in which one has spoken of them. Yet
he would be a poor Initiate who did not place all his mystical
experiences, as adequately and as far-reachingly as possible, at the
service of humanity. The sole obstacle in such matters is the
misunderstanding of the person who receives the communication. Above
all, the higher or occult secrets are not allowed to be spoken of
promiscuously, but no one who has passed the steps of development above
described, is it actually forbidden to speak of these matters. No one
is asked for a negative oath, but everything is entrusted to the
judgment, integrity and sense of responsibility of the candidate for
Initiation. What one really learns is to find out, within oneself, what
should be done under all circumstances, and the "oath" means nothing
more than this, that one is found qualified to be entrusted with
matters of such importance.
If the candidate is found fit, he is then given what is called,
symbolically, "the draught of forgetfulness." This means that he will
be initiated into the secret knowledge enabling him to act without
being continually disturbed by the lower memory. This is absolutely
necessary for the Initiate, for he must possess full faith in the
immediate present. He must be able to destroy that veil of memory which
extends itself round humanity more and more thickly with every moment
of life.
If one judges things which happen to-day, by the experiences of
yesterday, he is subjected to a multitude of errors. Of course, it is
not intended that the reader should renounce all the experience
acquired in life. He ought always to keep it in mind as firmly as
possible. But, as an Initiate, one should acquire the ability to judge
every fresh experience irrespective of oneself, unclouded by all bygone
experiences. One must be prepared, at every moment, that a new thing or
being shall bring to one a new revelation. If one judges the new by the
standard of the old, he necessarily falls into error. The memory of
past experiences is very useful, however, for it makes one better able
to perceive the new. If one had not gone through a certain experience,
he probably would not have seen the attributes of this or that being or
thing; but having had such experiences he ought to be enabled to
discern the new, without judging it by the old. In this way the
Initiate obtains certain definite qualities, and by means of these many
things are revealed to him, while they remain concealed from the
uninitiated.
The second draught which is given to the Initiate is the "draught of
remembrance." By receiving this he becomes capable of keeping the
higher secrets ever present in the soul. Ordinary memory would not be
sufficient to ensure this; he must be absolutely at one with the higher
truths. He must not merely know them, but be able, as a matter of
course, to manifest and administer them in living actions, even as an
ordinary man eats and drinks. They must become one's practice, one's
inclinations, one's habits. It must be unnecessary to recall them to
mind (in the usual sense of the term); they must become a part of
oneself and express themselves through one's very being; they must flow
through one, just as the life-currents run through one's bodily
organism. So must we make ourselves as perfect in a spiritual sense as
nature has made us in a physical.
VII
THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE SOUL
If a man carries out the culture of his thoughts and feelings and
emotions in the way already described in the chapters on Probation,
Enlightenment, and Initiation, he then effects a change in his soul
such as Nature has effected in his body. Before this training, soul and
spirit are undifferentiated masses. In such a state the clairvoyant
will perceive them as interlacing clouds, rotating spirally, and having
usually a dull glimmer of reddish or reddish-brown color, or, perhaps,
of reddish-yellow; but after this growth they begin to assume a
brilliant yellowish-green or yellow-blue hue, and become of a regular
structure. A man attains such regularity of structure, and at the same
time the higher knowledge, when he brings into the realm of his
thoughts, feelings and emotions, an order, such as Nature has brought
into his bodily organs, by means of which he can see, hear, digest,
breathe, speak and so forth. Gradually the student learns, as it were,
to breathe, to see with the soul, and to speak and hear with the
spirit.
In the following pages a few of the practical points pertaining to the
higher education of the soul and spirit will be more fully treated.
They are such as may be practically attained by anyone without
additional instruction, and by means of which a further step in occult
science may be taken.
A particular kind of discipline must be patiently attempted such as to
avoid every emotion of impatience, for it produces a paralyzing, yea,
even a deadening, effect on the higher faculties within us. One must
not expect immeasurable glimpses of the higher worlds to open out
before one from day to day, for assuredly, as a rule, this does not
occur. Contentment with the smallest progress, repose and tranquility
must more and more possess the soul. It is conceivable, of course, that
the learner may impatiently expect results, but he will attain nothing
so long as he fails to master this impatience. Nor is it of any use to
struggle against this impatience in the ordinary way, for then it will
only become stronger than ever. It is thus that men deceive themselves,
for in such a case it embeds itself all the more firmly in the depths
of the soul. It is only by repeatedly surrendering oneself to a single
definite thought, and by making it absolutely one's own, that anything
is really attained. One should think: "I must certainly do everything
possible for the culture of soul and spirit, but I will work tranquilly
until, by higher powers, I shall be found worthy of definite
illumination." When this thought has become so powerful in a man that
it is an actual trait in his character, he is treading the right path.
This trait will then express itself even in external affairs. The gaze
of the eye becomes tranquil; the movements of the body become sure; the
resolutions defined; and all that we call nervous susceptibility
gradually disappears. Rules that seem trifling and insignificant must
be taken into account. For example, suppose that someone affronts us.
Before we receive this occult education, we would have directed our
resentment against the wrong-doer; there would have been an uprush of
anger within us. But in such a case the occult student will think to
himself: "An affront of this kind can make no difference to my worth,"
and whatever must be done to meet the affront, he accomplishes with
calm and composure, not with passion. To him it is not a matter of how
an affront is to be borne, but without hesitation he is led to ignore
or punish the affront to his own person in exactly the same way as if
it had been offered to another, in which case one has the right to
resent or disregard it. It must always be remembered, however, that the
occult training is perfected not by coarse external processes, but by
subtle, silent alterations in the life of thought and emotion.
Patience has an attractive, while impatience has a repellent, effect on
the treasures of the higher knowledge. In the higher regions of being,
nothing can be attained by haste and restlessness. Desire and longing
for immediate results must be silenced, for these are qualities of the
soul before which all higher knowledge recedes. However precious this
knowledge may be accounted, one must not desire to anticipate the time
of its coming. And, furthermore, he who wishes to have it for his own
sake alone will never attain it. It is absolutely demanded that one
should be true to himself in his innermost soul. One must not there be
deceived by anything; he must encounter, face to face and with absolute
truthfulness, his own faults, failings, and unfitness. The moment you
try to excuse to yourself any one of your weaknesses, you place an
obstacle in the way which leads upward. There is one way only by which
to get rid of such obstacles. Our faults and weaknesses can be removed
only by self-illumination, and that is by correctly understanding them.
All that is needed lies latent in the human soul and can be evoked. A
man immediately improves his understanding and his reason when in
repose he makes it clear to himself why he is weak in any respect.
Self-knowledge of this kind is naturally difficult, for the temptation
to deceive oneself is immeasurably great. He who is accustomed to be
truthful with himself has opened the portals into a deeper insight.
All curiosity must fall away from the student. He must wean himself as
much as possible from inquiries into matters of which he wishes to know
only for the gratification of his personal thirst for superficial
information. He must ask himself only what things will assist him in
the perfection of his innermost being for the service of the general
evolution. Nevertheless, his delight in knowledge and his devotion to
it must in no degree become relaxed. He must listen devoutly to all
that contributes to such an end, and should seek every opportunity of
doing so.
For this interior culture it is especially necessary that the
desire-life should be carefully educated. One must not become wholly
destitute of desire, for if we are to accomplish something it is
necessary that we should desire it, and a desire will always be
fulfilled if a certain special force is behind it. This particular
force results from a right knowledge: "Do not desire at all until you
know the true conditions of any sphere." That is one of the golden
rules for the occult student. The wise man first ascertains the laws of
the world, and then his desires become powers which realize themselves.
Let us consider an example in which the effect is evident. There are
certainly many who would like to learn from their own intuition
something about their life before birth. Such a desire is altogether
aimless, and leads to no result so long as the person in question has
not acquired a knowledge of the laws that govern the nature of the
Eternal, and a knowledge of them in their subtlest and most intimate
character. But if he has actually acquired this knowledge and then
wishes to pass onward, he is able to do so by his elevated and purified
desire.
Moreover, it is of no use to say to oneself: "Yes, I will forthwith
examine my previous life, and study with that aim in view." One must
rather be ready to abandon such desire, to eliminate it altogether, and
first of all, learn, without consideration of this aim. One should
cultivate devotion to knowledge without regard to desires. It is only
then that one enters into possession of the desire which we are
considering, in a way that leads to its own fulfilment.
From one's anger or vexation arises an adverse condition in the
spiritual world, so that those forces which would open the eyes of the
soul are turned away. For example, if someone should annoy me, he sends
forth a current into the world of the soul. So long as I allow myself
to be annoyed, I cannot see this current. My own annoyance clouds it.
But from this it must not be supposed that when I no longer feel
annoyed I will see the astral vision. To see an astral vision it is
indispensable that the eye of the soul should already be developed; but
the capacity for sight of this kind is latent in everyone. And again it
is true that during the development, so long as one can be annoyed the
sight remains inactive; nor does it present itself immediately, when
one has overcome to a small extent this feeling of annoyance. One must
continually persevere in the struggle with such a feeling, and
patiently make progress: then, some day, he will find that this eye of
the soul has become fully developed. Of course annoyance is not the
only quality with which we have to struggle before attaining this end.
Many people grow impatient or sceptical, because they have for years
cultivated certain qualities of the soul and yet clairvoyance has not
ensued. They have developed only a few qualities and have allowed
others to run wild. The gift of clairvoyance first manifests itself
when all those qualities which do not permit the development of the
latent faculties are suppressed. Undoubtedly the beginnings of such
hearing and seeing may appear at an earlier period, but these are only
young and tender shoots which are subject to all possible error, and
which, if they be not carefully fostered, may quickly die.
The qualities which have to be combated, in addition to anger and
vexation, are such as ambition, timidity, curiosity, superstition,
conceit, the disease of prejudice, idle love of gossip, and the making
of distinctions in regard to human beings according to the merely
outward marks of rank, sex, race, and so forth. In our time it is
difficult for people to comprehend that the combating of such qualities
can have any connection with an increase of capacity for knowledge. But
every devotee of Occultism is aware that much more depends upon such
matters than upon the expansion of the intellect or the employment of
artificial practices. It is particularly easy for a misunderstanding of
this point to arise, inasmuch as many believe that one should cultivate
foolhardiness because one must be fearless, and that one should ignore
altogether the differences in men because one has to combat the
prejudices of race, rank, and so forth. Rather should one first learn
to appreciate these differences correctly, then one is no longer
entangled in prejudice. Even in the usual sense it is true that a fear
of any phenomenon hinders one from estimating it rightly; that a
race-prejudice prevents one from looking into a man's soul. The student
of Occultism must bring his common-sense to perfection in all its
exactitude and subtlety.
Even everything that a man says without having clearly thought it out
will place an obstacle in the path of his occult education. At the same
time we must here consider one point which can only be elucidated by
giving an example. Thus, if anyone should say something to which
another must reply, the one replying should be careful to consider the
intention, the feelings, even the prejudices of this other person,
rather than what he has to say at the moment on the subject under
discussion. In other words, the student must apply himself keenly to
the cultivation of a certain fine tact. He must learn to judge how much
it may mean to this other person if his opinion be opposed. It must not
be imagined for a moment that he ought for this reason, to withhold his
own opinion. One must give to the questioner as careful a hearing as
possible, and from what one has heard, formulate one's own reply. In
such cases there is a certain thought which will constantly recur to
the student, and he is treading the true path if this thought becomes
so vital within him that it grows into a trait of his character. The
thought is as follows: "It matters little whether my view be different
from his, the vital point is whether he will discover the right view
for himself if I am able to contribute something towards it." By
thoughts of such a kind, the mode of action and the character of the
student will become permeated with gentleness, one of the most
essential qualities for the reception of occult teaching. Harshness
obscures that internal image which ought to be evoked by the eye of the
soul, while by gentleness many obstacles are cleared from the way, and
the inner organs opened.
Along with this gentleness another trait will presently be developed in
the soul. He will make a quiet estimate of all the subtleties in the
soul-life around him, without considering the emotions of his own soul.
And if this condition has been attained, the soul-emotions in the
environment of others will have such an effect on him that the soul
within him grows, and, growing, becomes organized, as a plant expands
in the sunlight. Gentleness, quiet reserve, and true patience, open the
soul to the world of souls, and the spirit to the realm of spirits.
Persevere in repose and retirement; close the senses to that which they
brought you before you began your training; bring into utter stillness
all those thoughts which, in accordance with your previous habits, were
tossed up and down within you; become quite still and silent within,
wait in patience, and then the tranquil higher worlds will begin to
develop the sight of your soul and the hearing of your spirit. Do not
suppose that you will _immediately_ see and hear in the worlds of
soul and spirit, for all that you are doing does but help the
development of your higher senses, and you will not be able to see with
the soul and to hear with the spirit before you have to some degree
acquired those senses. When you have persevered for a time in repose
and retirement, then go about your daily affairs, having first
impressed upon your mind the thought: "Some day, when I am ready, I
shall attain what I am to attain." Finally: "Make no attempt whatever
to attract any of these higher powers to yourself by an effort of the
will." These are instructions which every occult student receives from
his teacher at the entrance of the way. If he observes them, he then
improves himself; and if he does not observe them, all his labor is in
vain; but they are difficult of achievement for him only who has not
patience and perseverance. No other obstacles exist save those which
one places for oneself, and these may be avoided by anyone if he really
wills it. It is necessary to continually insist upon this point,
because many people form an altogether wrong conception of the
difficulty that lies in the path of Occultism. In a certain sense, it
is easier to accomplish the earlier steps of the occult way, than it is
for one who has received no instruction, to get rid of the difficulties
of one's every-day life. In addition to this, it must be understood
that only such things are here imparted as are attended by no danger to
the health of soul or body. There are certain other ways which lead
more quickly to the goal, but it is not well to treat of them publicly,
because they may sometimes have certain effects on a man which would
necessitate the immediate intervention of an experienced teacher, and
in any case would require his continual supervision. Now, as something
about these quicker ways frequently forces itself into publicity, it
becomes necessary to give express warning against entering upon them
without personal guidance. For reasons which only the initiated can
understand, it will never be possible to give public instruction
concerning these other ways in their true form, and the fragments which
here and there make their appearance can never lead to anything
profitable, but may easily result in the undermining of health, fortune
and peace of mind. He who does not wish to put himself in the power of
certain dark forces, of whose nature and origin he may know nothing,
had far better avoid meddling in such matters.
Something may here be added concerning the environment in which the
practices of occult instruction ought to be undertaken. This is of
great importance, although for almost every man the case is different.
He who practices in an environment which is only filled with selfish
interests, as for example, the modern struggle for existence, ought to
be sure that these interests are without influence upon the development
of his spiritual organs. It is true that the inner laws of these organs
are so powerful that this influence cannot be fatally injurious. Just
as a lily, however inappropriate the environment in which it may be
placed, can never become a thistle, so the eye of the soul can never
grow to anything but its destined end, even though it be subjected to
all the modern reverse influences. But it is well if, under all
circumstances, the student should now and then seek for his environment
the quietude, the inner dignity, the sweetness of Nature herself.
Especially fortunate are the conditions of him who is able to pursue
his occult studies in the green world of plants, or among the sunny
mountains or the delightful interplay of simple things. This develops
the inner organs in a degree of harmony which is difficult to obtain
amid the noise and commercialism of a modern city. He also is more
favorably situated than the mere townsman, who, during his childhood at
least, was able to breathe the perfume of the pines, to gaze on the
snowy peaks, or observe the silent activity of woodland creatures and
insects. Yet no one who is obliged to live in a city should fail to
give his evolving soul and spirit the nurture that comes from the
inspired utterances of the mighty teachers of man. He who cannot every
springtime follow day by day the unfolding of the greenwood, ought in
its place to draw into his heart the sublime doctrines of the _Bhagavad
Gîtâ_, or of _St. John's Gospel_, or of Thomas à Kempis. There are
various paths to the summit of insight, but a right selection is
invaluable.
The adept in Occultism could, indeed, say much concerning these
paths--much that might seem strange to an uninitiated hearer. For
example, suppose that someone has advanced far along the occult path,
and wholly unaware of his nearness, may be standing at the entrance to
the sight of the soul and the hearing of the spirit, and then he has
the good fortune to pass peacefully into its very presence, and a
bandage falls away from the eyes of his soul. Suddenly he can see--his
vision is attained! Another, it may be, has advanced so far that this
bandage needs only to be loosened, and by some stroke of destiny this
occurs. For another one this very stroke might actually have the effect
of paralyzing his powers and undermining his energy, but for the occult
student it becomes the occasion of his enlightenment. Perhaps a third
has patiently persevered for years, and without any marked result.
Suddenly, while tranquilly seated in his quiet chamber, light envelops
him, the walls become transparent, they vanish away, and a new world
expands before his opened eyes, or is audible to his awakened spirit.
VIII
THE CONDITIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP
The conditions of entrance into an occult school are not of a nature to
be formulated in an arbitrary way by anyone. They are the natural
outcome of occult knowledge. Just as a man will never become a painter
if he does not choose to handle a paintbrush, so can no one receive
occult training if he is unwilling to fulfil the claims which are put
forward by the occult teacher. In fact, the teacher can give nothing
but advice, and it is as such that everything he states ought to be
considered. He has already trodden the probationary path which leads to
the knowledge of higher worlds. From experience he knows what is
necessary, and it all depends on the free will of each particular
person whether he chooses to follow the same path or not. If anyone,
without intending to satisfy the conditions, should demand occult
training from a teacher, such a demand would be equivalent to saying:
"Teach me to paint, but do not ask me to handle a brush." The occult
teacher never goes a step further, unless it be in accord with the free
will of the recipient. It must be emphasized that a general wish for
higher knowledge is not sufficient, yet many will probably have but
such a weak desire. For him who has merely this vague idea, and is not
prepared to accept the special conditions of the occult teacher, the
latter, for the present, can do nothing. This ought to be kept in mind
by those who complain that occult teachers do not "meet them half way."
He who cannot, or will not, fulfil the severe conditions necessary,
must for the time abandon occult training. It is true that the
conditions are, indeed, hard, and yet they are not severe since their
fulfilment not only ought to be, but must be, an altogether voluntary
deed.
To him who does not remember this it is easy for the claims of the
occult teacher to seem a coercion of the soul or the conscience; for
the training here mentioned is founded on a development of the inner
life, and it is the work of the teacher to give advice concerning it.
And yet, if something be demanded as the result of free choice, it
cannot be considered as a fetter. If anyone says to the teacher: "Give
me your secrets, but leave me my customary feelings and thoughts," he
is then making an impossible demand. Such an one desires no more than
to satisfy his curiosity and thirst for sensations, so that by one who
takes an attitude like this, occult knowledge can never be obtained.
Let us now consider in their right order the conditions of
discipleship. It should be emphasized that the complete fulfilment of
any one of these conditions is by no means demanded, but only the
effort to gain such fulfilment. No one can at first reach these high
ideals, but the path which leads to their fulfilment may be entered by
everyone. It is the will that matters, the attitude taken when entering
the path.
1. The _first condition_ is the directing of the attention to the
advancement of bodily and spiritual health. Of course, discipleship
does not in the first place depend on the health of a man, but everyone
can endeavor to improve in this respect, and only from a healthy man
may proceed a healthy perception. No occult teacher would refuse a man
who is not healthy, but it is demanded that the pupils should have the
desire for a healthy life. In this respect he must attain the greatest
possible independence. The good counsels of others, which, though
generally unsought, are received by everybody, are as a rule
superfluous. Each must endeavor to take care of himself. From the
physical aspect it will be more a matter of warding off harmful
influences than of anything else. For in carrying out one's duty one
has often to do things which are disadvantageous to health. One must
learn how, at the right moment, to place duty higher than the care of
health; but with a little good-will, what is there that cannot be
omitted? Duty must in many cases be accounted higher than health,
indeed, if need be, higher than life itself, but the disciple must
never put pleasure as high as either one of these. Pleasure for him can
be only a means to health and life, and in respect to this it is
absolutely necessary that we should be quite honest and truthful with
ourselves. It is of no avail to lead an ascetic life so long as it is
born of motives like those that give rise to other enjoyments. There
are people who find satisfaction in asceticism, as do others in
wine-bibbling, but they must not imagine that asceticism of this kind
will assist them to attain the higher knowledge. Many ascribe to their
unfavorable circumstances everything which apparently prevents them
from making progress in this direction. They say that with their
conditions of life they cannot develop themselves to any great extent.
For other reasons it may be desirable for many to change their
conditions of life, but no one need do so for the purpose of occult
training. For this it is only necessary that one should do for one's
health so much as one finds possible in the position one holds. Every
kind of work may serve the whole of humanity, and it is a surer sign of
greatness in the human soul to perceive clearly how necessary for the
whole is a petty--perhaps even an unlovely--employment than to think:
"This work is not good enough for me: I am destined for something
else."
It is especially important for the disciple to strive after complete
spiritual health. In any case, an unhealthy emotional or thought-life
leads one away from the path of higher knowledge. The foundations here
consist of clear, calm thinking, reliable conceptions, and stable
feelings. Nothing should be more alien to the disciple than an
inclination toward a whimsical, excitable life, toward nervousness,
intoxication, and fanaticism. He should acquire a healthy outlook on
all circumstances of life; he should go through life steadily and
should let things act on him and speak to him in all tranquillity.
Wherever it is possible he should endeavor to do justice to life.
Everything in his tastes and criticisms which is one-sided or
extravagant ought to be avoided. If this be not so, the disciple will
strand himself in a world of his own imagination, instead of attaining
the higher worlds, and in place of truth his own favorite opinions will
assert themselves. It is better for the disciple to be "matter-of-fact"
than overwrought and fanciful.
2. The _second condition_ is that one should feel oneself as a link in
the general life. Much is included in the fulfilment of this condition,
but each can only fulfil it after his own manner. If I am a school
teacher and my pupil does not answer what is desired of him, I must
first direct my feeling not against the pupil but to myself. I ought to
feel myself so much at one with my pupil that I ask myself: "May not
that in the pupil which does not satisfy my demand be perhaps the
result of my own faults?" or if perchance it be his unconscious, or
even vicious error, as _teacher_, instead of directing my feelings
against him, I shall rather cogitate on the way in which I myself ought
to behave, or in kindness show him what is right, so that he may in the
future be better able to satisfy my demands. From such a manner of
thinking there will come gradually a change over the whole mental
attitude. This holds good for the smallest as well as for the greatest.
From this point of view I look on a criminal, for instance, altogether
differently from the way I should have looked upon him of old. I
suspend my judgment and think to myself: "I am only a man as he is.
Perhaps the education which, owing to favorable circumstances, has been
mine, and nothing else, has saved me from a similar fate." I may even
come to the conclusion that if the teachers who took pains with me had
done the same for him, this brother of mine would have been quite
different. I shall reflect on the fact that something which has been
withheld from him has been given to me, and that I may, perhaps, owe my
goodness to the fact that he has been thus deprived of it. And then
will it no longer be difficult to grasp the conception that I am a link
in the whole of humanity, and that consequently I, too, in part, bear
the responsibility for everything that happens. By this it is not
implied that such a thought should be translated immediately into
external action. It should be quietly cultivated in the soul. It will
then express itself gradually in the outward behavior of a person, and
in such matters each can begin only by reforming himself. It were
futile, from such a standpoint, to make general claims on all humanity.
It is easy to form an idea of what men ought to be, but the disciple
works, not on the surface, but in the depths. And, therefore, it would
be wrong if one should endeavor to bring these demands of the occult
teacher into relation with any external or political claims. As a rule,
political agitators know well what can be demanded of other people, but
they say little of demands on themselves.
3. Now with these demands on ourselves the _third condition_ for
occult training is intimately connected. The student must be able to
realize the idea that his thoughts and feelings are as important for
the world as his deeds. It must be recognized that it is as pernicious
to hate a fellow-being as to strike him. One can then discern also that
by perfecting oneself one accomplishes something not only for oneself
but for the whole world. The world profits by pure thoughts and
feelings as much as by one's good behavior, and so long as one cannot
believe in this world-wide importance of the inner Self, one is not fit
for discipleship. One is permeated with a true conception of the soul's
importance, only when one works at this inner Self as if it were at
least as important as all external things. It must be admitted that
one's feelings produce an effect as much as the action of the hand.
4. In so saying we have already mentioned the _fourth condition_:
the idea that the real being of man does not lie in the exterior but in
the interior. He who regards himself as merely a product of the outer
world, a result of the physical world, cannot succeed in this occult
training. But he who is able to realize this conception is then also
able to distinguish between inner duty and external success. He learns
to recognize that the one cannot at once be measured by the other. The
student must learn for himself the right position between what is
demanded by his external conditions and what he recognizes to be the
right conduct for himself. He ought not to force upon his environment
anything for which it can have no appreciation, but at the same time he
must be altogether free from the desire to do merely what can be
appreciated by those around him. In his own sincere and wisdom-seeking
soul, and only there, must he look for the recognition of his truths.
But from his environment he must learn as much as he possibly can, so
that he may discern what those around him need, and what is of use to
them. In this way he will develop within himself what is known in
Occultism as the "spiritual balance." On one side of the scales there
lies a heart open for the needs of the outward world, and on the other
lies an inner fortitude and an unfaltering endurance.
5. And here, again, we have hinted at the _fifth condition_: firmness
in the carrying out of any resolution when once it has been made.
Nothing should induce the disciple to deviate from any such resolution
once it is formed, save only the perception that he has made a mistake.
Every resolution is a force, and even if such a force does not produce
immediate effect on the point at which it was directed, nevertheless it
works in its own way. Success is of great importance only when an
action arises from desire, but all actions which are rooted in desire
are worthless in relation to the higher worlds. There the love expended
on an action is alone of importance. In this love, all that impels the
student to perform an action ought to be implanted. Thus he will never
grow weary of again and again carrying out in action some resolution,
even though he has repeatedly failed. And in this way he arrives at the
condition in which he does not first count on the external effect of
his actions, but is contented with the doing of them. He will learn to
sacrifice for the world his actions, nay, more, his whole being,
without caring at all how his sacrifice may be received. He who wishes
to become a disciple must declare himself ready for such a sacrifice,
such an offering.
6. A _sixth condition_ is the development of a sense of gratitude
with regard to everything which relates to Man. One must realize that
one's existence is, as it were, a gift from the entire universe. Only
consider all that is needed in order that each of us may receive and
maintain his existence! Consider what we owe to Nature and to others
than ourselves! Those who desire an occult training must be inclined
toward thoughts like these, for he who cannot enter into such thoughts
will be incapable of developing within himself that all-inclusive love
which it is necessary to possess before one can attain to higher
knowledge. That which we do not love cannot manifest itself to us. And
every manifestation must fill us with gratitude, or we ourselves are
not the richer for it.
7. All the conditions here set forth must be united in a _seventh_: to
regard life continually in the manner demanded by these conditions.
The student thus makes it possible to give to his life the stamp of
uniformity. All his many modes of expression will, in this way, be
brought into _harmony_, and cease to contradict each other. And thus he
will prepare himself for the peace which he must attain during the
preliminary steps of his training.
If a person intend, earnestly and sincerely, to fulfil the conditions
mentioned above, he may then address himself to a teacher of Occultism.
The latter will then be found ready to give the first words of counsel.
Any external formality will consist of giving to these conditions a
complete expression, a knowledge of which can only be imparted orally
to each individual candidate. Since everything interior must manifest
itself in an exterior way, they teach a very important lesson. Even as
a picture cannot be said to be here, when it exists only in the brain
of the painter, so, too, there cannot be an occult training without an
external expression.
External forms are regarded as worthless by those only who do not know
that the internal must find expression in the external. It is true that
it is the spirit and not the form that really matters; but just as the
form is void without the spirit, so would the spirit remain inactive as
long as it could not create a form.
The stipulated conditions are so designed that they may render the
disciple strong enough to fulfil the further demands which the teacher
must make. If he be faulty in the fulfilment of these conditions, then
before each new demand he will stand hesitating. Without this
fulfilment he will be lacking in that faith in man which it is
necessary for him to possess; for on faith in man and a genuine love
for man, all striving after truth must be founded. And the love of man
must be slowly widened out into a love for all living creatures, nay,
indeed, for all existence. He who fails to fulfil the conditions here
given will not possess a perfect love for all up-building, for all
creation, nor a tendency to abstain from all destruction and
annihilation as such. The disciple must so train himself that, not in
deeds only, but also in words, thoughts and feelings, he will never
destroy anything for the sake of destruction. He must find his pleasure
in the growing and creating aspect of things, and is only justified in
assisting the apparent destruction of anything when, by such
readjustment, he is able to promote a greater life. Let it not be
thought that, in so saying, it is implied that the disciple may allow
the triumph of evil, but rather that he must endeavor to find, even in
the bad, those aspects through which he may change it into good. He
will see more and more clearly that the best way to combat imperfection
and evil is by the creation of the perfect and the good. The student
knows that nothing can come from nothing, but also that the imperfect
may be changed into the perfect. He who develops in himself the
tendency to create, will soon find the capacity for facing the evil.
He who enters an occult school must be quite sure that his intention is
to construct and not to destroy. The student ought, therefore, to bring
with him the will for sincere and devoted work, and to this end he
ought to be capable of great devotion, for one should be anxious to
learn what one does not yet know; he should look reverently on that
which discloses itself. Work and devotion,--these are the fundamental
attributes which must be claimed from the disciple. Some will have to
discover that they do not make real progress in the school, even if in
their own opinion they are unceasingly active; they have not grasped in
the right manner the meaning of work and meditation. That kind of
learning which is undertaken without meditation will advance the
student least, and the work which is done for selfish returns will be
the least successful. In the love of work, the love to do better work;
yes, the love to do perfect work, is the quality which unfolds occult
power; and in qualifying for better things one need give little heed
for greater returns. If he who is learning seeks for wholesome thoughts
and sound judgment, he need not spoil his devotion with doubts and
suspicions.
The fact that one does not oppose some communication which has been
made, but gives to it due attention and even sympathy, does not imply a
lack of independent judgment. Those who have arrived at a somewhat
advanced stage of knowledge are aware that they owe everything to a
quiet attention and assimilation, and not to a stubborn personal
judgment. One should always remember that he does not need to learn
what he is already able to understand. Therefore, if one desires only
to judge, he is apt to cease learning. What is of importance in an
occult school, however, is study: one ought to desire, with heart and
soul, to be a student: if one cannot understand something it is far
better not to judge, lest one wrongly condemn; far wiser to wait for a
true understanding. The higher one climbs up the ladder of knowledge,
the more he requires this faculty of calm and devotional listening. All
perception of truths, all life and activity in the world of spirit,
become in these higher regions delicate and subtle in comparison with
the activities of the ordinary mind, and of life in the physical world.
The more the sphere of a man's activity widens out before him, the more
transcendent is the nature of the task to be accomplished by him. It is
for this reason that, although there is in reality only one possible
fact regarding the higher truths, men come to look at them from such
different points of view. It is possible to arrive at this one true
standpoint if, through work and devotion, one has so risen that he can
really behold the truth. Only he who judges in accordance with
preconceived ideas and habitual ways of thought, rather than from
sufficient preparation, can arrive at any opinion which differs from
the true one. Just as there is only one correct opinion concerning a
mathematical problem, so also with regard to things of the higher
worlds; but before one can arrive at this knowledge he must first
prepare himself. Truth and the higher life do, indeed, abide in every
human soul, and it is true that everyone can and must sooner or later
find them for himself.
W. J. COLVILLE'S BOOKS.
A Selection of the Most Popular Works by This Great Author and
Well-known Lecturer in Europe, America and Australia.
~Universal Spiritualism.~ Spirit Communion in all ages among all
people. The work Has two distinctive features: (1st) A resume of the
Spiritual faith and practice of Egypt, India, Persia, Greece, Rome,
China, Japan and other ancient nations, not excepting Europe, during
Christian centuries. (2nd) A summary of recent experiences in America,
Great Britain, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and other modern
lands, all tending to show the persistent continuity of spiritual
revelation. Clairvoyance, Telepathy and Psychic Phenomena in general
are dealt with in separate chapters at the close of the volume, which
extends to 352 pages, making it a highly useful text-book for all who
are interested in the question of human immortality. _W. J. Colville._
Cloth. No. 24256, 1.00
~Old and New Psychology.~ Twenty-four chapters, including explanatory
essays on many subjects of vital interest to all teachers and students.
_W. J. Colville._ Cloth. No. 23766, 1.00
~Throne of Eden, The.~ Twenty-six chapters presenting important
teachings entrusted to the writer's charge; also a record of extensive
travel in the Southern Hemisphere; and a rational system of preventing
as well as healing diseases. _W. J. Colville._ Cloth. No. 24186, 1.00
~Life and Power from Within.~ An excellent book, embracing the most
advanced mental-physical teaching and the simplest rules for the
guidance of daily life according to New Thought standards. _W. J.
Colville._ Cloth. No. 23151, .75
~Dashed Against the Rock.~ A scientific novel, illustrated with many
remarkable diagrams. _W. J. Colville._ Cloth. No. 22316, .75
~Health from Knowledge~; or, the Law of Correspondences as applied to
healing. _W. J. Colville._ Leatherette. No. 22745, .50
~Birthdays, The Significance of~; or Our places in the universal
Zodiac. _W. J. Colville._ Leatherette. No. 22191, .50. Paper No. 22195,
.40
~Onesimus Templeton.~ A vivid romance tracing the evolution of a soul
from bondage to liberty. _W. J. Colville._ Cloth. No. 23771, .50
~Living Decalogue, The.~ 12 Expository Lectures. _W. J. Colville._
Leatherette. No. 23156, .50
~Glints of Wisdom~, or Helpful Sayings for Busy Moments. Abstracts from
Lectures by _W. J. Colville._ An encyclopedia of psychological laws
contained in an endless variety of subjects. Leatherette, flexible. No.
22671. .40. Paper No. 22675, .30
~Fate Mastered-Destiny Fulfilled.~ Three stirring essays on live
issues. Very tasteful presentation volume. _W. J. Colville._ Cloth: No.
22476, .30
~Mental Therapeutics, Elementary Text Book of.~ Twelve Practical
Lessons. _W. J. Colville._ No. 22420, .25
~Lectures~, by _W. J. Colville_, on various subjects: Atlantis, The Way
of Initiation, Initiation and its Results. Symbolism--Its use and
Value, etc. Send for list, each 10¢. 3 for .25
_New works and reprints of older books will be added to this list
as fast as they can be prepared. Write for them; also for the
latest lectures; either to Mr. Colville or to the publisher._
JAMES ALLEN'S BOOKS.
A Foreward.
~James Allen's Books.~ "I looked upon the world, and saw that
it was shadowed by sorrow and scorched by the fierce fires of
suffering--I looked for the cause, but could not find it until I
looked within, and there found both the cause and the self-made
nature of the cause. I looked again, deeper, and found the remedy.
I found one Law, the Law of Love; one Life, the Life of adjustment
to that Law; one Truth, the Truth of a conquered mind and a quiet
and obedient heart. And I dreamed of writing a book which should
help men and women, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, worldly or
unworldly, to find within themselves the source of all success, all
happiness, all accomplishment, all truth: And the dream remained
with me, and at last became substantial, and now I send it forth
into the world on its mission of healing and blessedness, knowing
that it cannot fail to reach the homes and hearts of those who are
waiting and ready to receive it."
~As a Man Thinketh.~ Inspiring and helpful "New Thought."
~The Path of Prosperity.~ A way leading out of undesirable
conditions to health, success, power, abounding happiness and the
realization of prosperity.
~Out from the Heart.~ Most optimistic and uplifting.
~Entering the Kingdom.~ That heavenly kingdom within the heart of
man, where perfect trust, knowledge, peace and love await all who will
enter its Golden Gateways.
~The Way of Peace.~ It's realization and attainment.
~The Heavenly Life.~ How to attain its supreme happiness in this
life, on this earth here and now.
Any of the above in either style of binding as follows:
Paper Covers, size 4-1/4 × 7-1/4 " " " " .15
Cloth Binding, " " " " " " " .50
Leather Binding, " " " " " " " .75
Watered Silk, " " " " " " " .75
Special Gift Editions, with colored borders,
5-1/2 × 7-3/4, embossed .75
_Order and read one of the books--say The Path of Prosperity, and
you'll ask the price per dozen, wanting your every friend to have
one._
A SELECTED ASSORTMENT OF BOOKS.
Historical, Fraternal, Symbolical, Mystic, Astrologic, Occult, Psychic,
Spiritualistic, Optimistic, Philosophic, Masonic, New Thought, Etc.
Delivered to any address on receipt of price, or if desired for use on
our Circulating Library plan; send us the price of the book, and we
will prepay postage to you. After reading return it to us carefully
protected and we will return the money (except on paper bindings), less
the postage we have paid on it, and 10% for the first month's use, and
5% for each additional month.
~Altar in the Wilderness, The.~ In seven chapters--The Golden Age, The
Exile, Life in Death, The Conflict. The Wilderness, Illumination, The
Temple.--representing the Seven Spiritual Ages of Man. _Ethelbert
Johnson._ Cloth, No. 24231, .50. Paper, No. 24235, .25
~Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry.~ Its teachings, Rules, Laws and
Present Usages which govern the Order at the present day. _Dr. R.
Swinburne Clymer._ Cloth, No. 22086, 1.50
~Ben Hur~, a Tale of Christ. The Great Christian Drama. _Gen. Lew
Wallace._ No. 22076, 1.50
~Book of the Master, The.~ A clue to the mysterious religion of Ancient
Egypt. _W. Marsham Adams._ Cloth, No. 22166, 1.25
~Brotherhood.~ Nature's Law. _Burcham Harding._ No. 22176, .50
~Brother of the Third Degree.~ An interesting and fascinating story of
the thrilling experiences of an earnest occult student on his way
upward to those sublime heights of Universal Love and Devotion to
Humanity, attained only by the true initiates of the Great White
Brotherhood--a vivid picture of life in the famous occult schools of
Paris and the Far East; explaining much which has so long been veiled
in mystery. _W. L. Carver._ 377 pages, Cloth. No. 22161, 1.50
~Constructive Psychology.~ The Constructive Principle of Character
Building. _Dr. J. D. Buck._ No. 22296, 1.00
~Culture of Concentration.~ Occult Powers and their acquirement. _Wm.
Q. Judge._ No. 22266, .10
~Discovery of the Soul, The.~ Throwing light on the path of progressive
man, leading through mysticism to the discovery of those unused powers
within the soul, which duly appropriated give expression to the Divine
in Man. _Floyd B. Wilson._ No. 22306, 1.00
~Egypt the Cradle of Ancient Masonry.~ Comprising a history of Egypt,
with a comprehensive and authentic account of the Antiquity of Masonry,
the result of many years of personal investigation and exhaustive
research in India, Persia, Syria and the Valley of the Nile. _Norman F.
de Clifford._ Beautifully illustrated.
Art Canvass binding, 2 vol., 9 × 12. 644 pgs, No. 22421 6.75 Half
American Morocco, 2 vol., " " " No. 22423 7.50 Full
American Morocco, 2 vol., " " " No. 22424 10.00 Full
Persian Morocco, 1 vol., " " " No. 22425 10.00
~Egyptian Symbols, A Comparison~ with those of the Hebrews. Including
Principle of Symbology, Application to Egyptian Symbols, to the Symbols
of Color and to the Symbols of the Bible. A clear, concise exposition
of a most interesting subject, by _Frederick Portal_. Translated from
the French, by _John W. Simons_. Illustrated. No. 22381, 1.00
~Harmonies of Evolution.~ This work marks out a new path in the
treatment of the so-called Occult in Nature, attempting to explain
rather than to mystify and to illustrate and elucidate the correlation
of spiritual and physical forces in Nature. _Florence Huntley._ 463
pgs. No. 22716, 2.00
~Hermes and Plato.~ The mysteries of Egypt and of Eleusis. _Edouard
Shure._ No. 22856, 1.00
~History of Initiation.~ In Twelve Lectures: General Introduction,
History of Initiation in Hindostan, Philosophy of the Eastern
Mysteries, Initiation in Persia, Initiation in Greece, Ceremonies of
Initiation into the Mysteries of Bacchus, the Celtic Mysteries,
Ceremonies in Britain, Symbols and Doctrines of the Druids, Gothic
Mysteries, Doctrines and Morality, History of Initiation in America,
comprising the Rites, Ceremonies and Doctrines of all the Secret and
Mysterious Institutions of the Ancient World. _Rev. George Oliver,
D.D._ Illustrated, 218 pgs. Blue cloth and gilt stamps, 5-1/4 × 8-1/4,
gilt. No. 22801, 1.50
~History of the Knights Templar.~ _C. G. Addison._ A condensed
narrative or History of the Great Crusades; a thrilling account of the
longest and hardest struggle for freedom of Christian principles that
the world has ever known; no such zeal, no such ardor has ever been
recorded; no such battles have been fought in ancient or modern times;
no such persecutions, martyrdom and suffering for any cause as that
endured by the Crusaders, out of which has grown our beautiful system
of Templarism.
The work is also a record of the various events in connection with the
order from those strenuous times to the present day, containing the
proceedings of Triennial Encampments down to and including the 30th at
Saratoga in 1907. Some of these original proceedings are very scarce,
and only to be found in rare collections. Order one of the histories;
get up a club; ask for agency, and see to it that every Sir Knight has
a better knowledge of his glorious ancestry. We guarantee they will
sell.
Full art canvass. No. 22811 3.25
Library sheep. No. 22812 3.50
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Half American Morocco. No. 22813 4.00
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~Initiation, The Way of,~ or how to attain knowledge of the higher
world. _Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D._ Arranged from the translation by _Max
Gysi_. Notes by _Edouard Schuré_. A valuable guide in a matter between
you and yourself. New large type. No. 24276, 1.00, Paper. No. 24280,
.75
~Initiation and its Results.~ _Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D._ (Now in press). A
sequel to the way of Initiation. These works, in the plainest and
clearest way, give more instruction in occult knowledge than any yet
published. The Mystics and philosophic press indorse them in the
highest terms. New large type. No. 22976, 1.00
~In Tune with the Infinite.~ _Ralph Waldo Trine._ Bound in Japanese
style or special silk. No. 22996, 1.25
~Josephus.~ The authentic works and life of this great Jewish historian
and celebrated warrior. Translated by _Wm. Winston, M.A._ 1055 pgs.,
attractively bound and illustrated. 7-1/2 × 9-1/2. No. 23061, 1.75
~Kingdom of Love, The.~ _Henry Frank._ Beautifully expressed,
wholesome, helpful and inspiring essays. 245 pgs. No. 23086, 1.00
~Koran, The.~ Commonly called the Alkoran of Mohammed (the Mohammedian
Bible). 559 pgs. No. 23071, 1.50
~Krishna and Orpheus~, the Great Initiates of the East and West.
_Edouard Schuré._ No. 23106, 1.25
~Last Great Initiate, Jesus the.~ _Edouard Schuré._ The Essenes, St.
John, etc. No. 23056, 1.00
~Life and Writings of Dr. Rob't. Fludd~, the English Rosicrucian. _I.
B. Craven._ Cloth. No. 23206, 2.50
~Light on the Path.~ A treatise for the personal use of those who are
unfamiliar with the Eastern Wisdom but desire to enter within its
influence. _C. M._ Cloth. No. 23166, .50, Leather. No. 24266, .75
~Lost Word Found, The.~ "The most compelling bit of literature yet
presented by Dr. Buck, and unlike anything ever written concerning the
mystery of the Lost Word." _J. D. Buck._ No. 23196, .50
~Man Limitless.~ "A study of the possibilities of man when acting under
infinite guidance with which he is in absolute touch." _Floyd B.
Wilson._ No. 23531, 1.25
~Man of Mount Moriah, The.~ From Symbolism and Prophecy to Sacrifice
and Fulfillment--a wonderfully interesting story of the Grand Architect
at the Building of King Solomon's Temple. Beautifully illustrated,
followed by forty pages of the best Masonic and O.E.S. poetry,
including "Esther, a sacred drama." 334 pgs. Edition after edition has
been sold, which enables us to greatly increase the quality and style
of the book for serviceable wear and richness of appearance. _C. M.
Boutelle._,
Half Morocco and full gilt. No. 23488 4.00
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Half Morocco, marble edge. No. 23483 3.20
Half Russia, marble edge. No. 23486 2.80
Half Cloth, marble edge. No. 23481 2.40
Heavy Paper Sides, marble edge. No. 23485 1.60
~Mastery of Mind in the Making of a Man, The.~ A searching analysis and
exposition of the power of mind in body-building and the forming of
personality. _Henry Frank._ 250 pgs. No. 33336, 1.00
~Messianic Expectation and Modern Judaism.~ _Solomon Schindler._ Cloth.
No. 23336, 1.00
~Morals and Dogma~, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite from the 1st, to 33d
Degree, by _Albert Pike, Grand Commander_. This valuable work is the
result of years of study, translations from ancient and modern
languages, and thousands of dollars expenditure by the author. The
Masonic and Theosophical student will find in it a mine of knowledge
that can be found nowhere else, and heretofore within the reach of but
few. The greatest book ever written or printed about Free Masonry. 861
pgs. 6-1/2 × 9-1/2. Cloth binding with gold stamps. No. 23361, 5.25
~Myrtle Baldwin.~ A novel of great interest, especially to the
Fraternity, as it is full of Masonic principles. _Bro. Charles Clark
Munn_, author of The Hermet, etc. 510 pgs. 5-1/4 × 7-1/2. Illustrated,
green cloth, black and gold stamps. An excellent gift. No. 23586, 1.50
~Mystical Life of Ours, This.~ _Ralph Waldo Trine._ No. 24236, 1.00
~Occult Science in India~, and among the Ancients, with an account of
their Mystic Initiations and History of Spiritualism. _Louis
Jacolliot._ Cloth. No. 23715, 2.50
~Occultist's Travels, An.~ _Willy Reichel._ Cloth. No. 33726, 1.00
~Paths to Power.~ "The struggling will gain strength--the doubting
assurance--and the despairing hope, from this book." Fifteenth edition.
_Floyd B. Wilson._ No. 23796, 1.00
~Philosophy of Fire, The.~ "There is nothing new under the sun." Fire
Philosophy is the foundation of all True Initiation, and all Mystic
and Occult Fraternities, as well as the Secret Doctrine and Ancient
Mysteries. Atlantis, its Beauty, and its Fall. The Templars, and
Fire Philosophers. The Therapeutae and Essenes and their Initiation.
Second and very much enlarged edition, contains the Rosicrucian Fire
Philosophy according to Jennings. _R. S. Clymer._ About 250 pgs. Silk
Cloth. Symbol in gold. No. 23806, 1.50
~Pythagoras and the Delphic Mysteries.~ _Edouard Schuré._ No. 23811,
1.50
~Queen Moo and the Egyptian Sphinx.~ A most interesting and valuable
work--the result of extensive research among the ruined palaces, tombs
and temples, and careful study of the signs, symbols and ancient
manuscripts of the Mayas of prehistoric Yucatan; showing evidences of a
civilization antedating, by centuries, that of the Eastern Hemisphere,
and giving a reasonable solution of that mystery of the ages--the
Origin and Meaning of the Egyptian Sphinx. _Augustus Le Plongeon._
Beautifully illustrated with full page half-tone prints, from
photographs taken by the author while exploring those ancient remains.
No. 23851. Reduced from 6.00 to 4.75
~Queen Moo's Talisman.~ The Fall of the Maya Empire. A beautiful Poem
with Introduction and Explanatory Argument. _Alice Le Plongeon._
Profusely illustrated. Cloth. No. 23841, 1.50
~Rose Croix, The.~ A story of Two Hemispheres. A most interesting
novel. _David Tod Gilliam._ 369 pgs. No. 23946, 1.60
~Rosicrucians, The.~ Their Teachings and Mysteries according to the
Manifestoes issued at various times by the fraternity itself. Also some
of their secret Teachings and the mystery of the Order explained. _Bro.
R. Swinburne Clymer._ 304 pgs. No. 23906, 6.00
~Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, The.~ With 12 full page illustrations in
colors and tinted border designs, 6 × 9. Deckel edge, No. 23936 1.25.
Watered Silk, No. 23940, 2.00. Limp Leather, No. 23937, 2.00
~Sacred Mysteries.~ Freemasonry in times anterior to the Temple of
Solomon. Relics of the Mayas and Quiches 11,500 years ago, their
relation to the Sacred Mysteries of Egypt, Greece, Chaldea and India.
_Augustus Le Plongeon._ No. 23956, 2.50
~Sermon on the Mount~, and other Extracts from the New Testament. A
verbatim translation from the Greek with notes on the Mystical or
Arcane Sense. _James M. Pryse._ Cloth. No. 24076, .60
~Servant in the House, The.~ A beautiful and uplifting drama of
Brotherly Love. _Charles Rann Kennedy._ No. 23966, 1.25
~Signs and Symbols.~ _Dr. George Oliver._ Illustrated and explained in
a series of twelve lectures on Freemasonry. No. 23986, 1.50
~Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, The.~ The wonderful arts of the old
wise Hebrews, taken from the Mosaic books of the Kabbalah and the
Talmud, for the good of mankind. 100 pgs. Paper, No. 24040, .75
~Story of the Other Wise Man, The.~ A beautiful narrative. _Henry Van
Dyke._ Exquisitely printed and bound. Cloth, No. 23961, .50. and Limp
Leather. No. 23962, 1.00
~Spirit of Freemasonry.~ Comprising lectures on the State of
Freemasonry in the Eighteenth Century, the Design, Rites, Ceremonies
and Institutions of the Ancients, Nature of the Lodge, Furniture,
Apparel and Jewels of Masons, Temple at Jerusalem Geometry, Master
Mason's Order, Secrecy of Masons, Charity, Brotherly Love, Occupations,
and a Corollary; followed by an Appendix containing Charges, Addresses
and Orations on various Masonic occasions. _William Hutchinson._ With
copious notes, critical and explanatory, of great value, by the _Rev.
George Oliver_. No. 24021, 1.50
~Swedenborg Rite~, and the Great Masonic Leaders of the Eighteenth
Century. The Masonic career of Swedenborg and his followers, and the
relation between the symbolic system of Swedenborgianism and modern
Freemasonry. _Samuel Beswick._ No. 24051, 1.00
~Symbol of Glory~, showing the Object and End of Freemasonry in a
valedictory and thirteen lectures: Masonic Science, Poetry and
Philosophy, Knowledge, Doctrines, Circle and Parallel Meaning, Great
Lights, and Masonic Ladder, Theological Virtues and Masonry, Clouded
Canopy and Ladder Symbols, Application, Blazing Star, Symbol of Glory,
etc. _Rev. George Oliver._ 298 pgs., cloth, black and gold stamps. No.
24061, 1.50
~Symbolism of Freemasonry.~ Illustrating and Explaining its Science and
Philosophy, its Legends, Myths and Symbols. _Mackey._ 360 pgs. No.
24071, 1.50
~Temple, The.~ Its Ministry and Services at the Time of Jesus Christ.
_Rev. Dr. Eidersheim._ 308 pgs. No. 24201, 1.50
~Through Silence to Realization.~ This work embodies a system of
instruction for mental growth and attainment of ideals. _Floyd B.
Wilson._ 5-1/2 × 7-1/2. No. 24241, 1.00
~Voice of the Silence~, and Other Chosen Fragments from the Book of the
Golden Precepts for the Daily Use of Lanoos. _B. P. Blavatsky._ Cloth.
No. 24266, .50. Leather. No. 24267, .75
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22001 A.A.S.R., Book of the. _McClenachan_ 3.00
22011 Adoptive Rite, revised, enlarged. _Macoy_ 1.00
22021 Ahiman Rezon, General. _Sickels_ 2.00
22024 Morocco binding, gilt edges 3.50
22036 Akin's Manual of the Lodge 1.25
22006 All These Things Added. _Allen_ 1.00
24231 Altar in the Wilderness. _Johnson._ Cloth .50
24235 Paper .25
22051 Amaranth Odes .20
22055 Paper .15
22041 Amaranth Ritual, revised, enlarged. _Macoy_ 1.00
22081 Ancient Const. Reprint 1723. Music. _Anderson_ 1.00
22056 Ancient Mysteries and Modern Masonry 1.00
22060 Paper. _Rev. Charles H. Vail_ .50
22071 Annotated Constitutions. _Simons_ 1.00
23726 An Occultist's Travels. _Reichel._ Cloth 1.00
22086 Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry. _Clymer_ 1.50
22110 Ancient Order of Hurcules (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 5.00
22096 Ante Room Talks, _Bloomer_ 1.00
22091 Antiquities of Freemasonry. _Oliver_ 1.50
22101 Antiquities of the Orient Unveiled. _Redding_ 1.50
22146 Arcane Schools-Hist. of Fmsy. _John Yorker_ 4.75
22016 As a Man Thinketh. _J. Allen._ Cloth, 4-1/4 × 7-1/4 .50
22017 Leather .75
22018 Watered Silk .75
22019 Special Gift Edition .75
22020 Paper .15
22076 Ben Hur. _Wallace_ 1.50
22141 Bible Testimony to Theosophical Truths .10
22175 Biography of Mrs. Babington .25
22191 Birthdays, Their Significance. _Colville_ .50
22195 Paper .40
22001 Book of A.A.S.R. _McClenachan_ 3.00
22146 Book of I.O.O.F. Forms 1.00
22151 Book of the Chapter. _Mackey_ 1.60
22166 Book of the Master. _Adams._ Cloth 1.25
22176 Brotherhood. _Harding_ .50
22186 Brotherhood of Healers. _J. Macbeth._ Cloth .50
22161 Brother of Third Degree. _Carver_ 1.50
22067 Buechners Fraternal Register, vest pock. leather .60
22181 Busbee's Digest, I.O.O.F. 4.00
22151 Chapter, Book of the, _Mackey_, Cloth 1.60
22221 Chapter Music. _Ilsley_ .15
22230 Charges of a Mason. _Chase_ .15
22201 Christmas, Easter and Burial Services, K.T. .45
22202 Leather. _Rev. Cornelius L. Twing_ .75
22204 Morocco 1.00
22205 Paper .35
22210 Coles Initiation Ritual (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 3.75
24011 Colorado Grand Lodge Monitor. _Foster._ Cloth .75
24012 Leather 1.00
22246 Concise Cyclopedia of Freemasonry. _Hawkins_ 1.00
22211 Concordia, words only. _Ilsley_ .25
22281 Constitution and History, A.A.S.R. 2.00
22295 Constitutions, O.E.S., _Africa_, paper .25
22236 Cosmogony of Evolution. _Ingalese._ Cloth 2.00
22266 Culture of Concentration. _W. Q. Judge_ .10
22296 Constructive Psychology. _Buck_ 1.00
22231 Council Monitor, _Chase_ 1.00
22241 Council Monitor. _Mackey_ 2.00
22251 Craft Masonry. _Cunningham_ 1.00
22254 Morocco 1.50
22261 Cross Masonic Chart, Revised 1.75
22256 Crucifixion, by an Eye Witness 1.00
22241 Cryptic Masonry. _Mackey_ 2.00
22411 Cyclopedia of Fraternities. _Stevens_ 4.50
22271 Cushing's Manual, Parliamentary Law .75
22316 Dashed Against the Rock. _Colville_ .75
22340 Daughters of Sphinx (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 5.00
22301 Diagram of Parliamentary Rules. _Smith_ .50
22304 Morocco, parchment chart 1.00
22306 Discovery of the Soul 1.00
22346 Divine Pedigree of Man. _T. J. Hudson_ 1.50
22331 Dream Child. _Huntley_ .75
22311 Drew's Monitor, small .60
22351 Early History and Antiquities. _Fort_ 3.50
22366 Early History and Proceedings, N.Y. Vol. I 2.50
22361 Early History, New York. _Ross_ 2.50
22371 Eden to Malta. _Beller_ 1.50
22381 Egyptian Symbols. _Portal_, _Simons_ 1.00
22421 Egypt the Cradle of Msry. _de Clifford_, 2 vol. 6.75
22423 Half American morocco, 2 vol. 7.50
22424 Full American morocco, 2 vol. 10.00
22425 Full Persian morocco, 1 vol. 10.00
22981 Election and Installation .40
22985 Paper .25
22376 Emerson's Essays 1.00
22391 Ency. and History. _Oliver & Macoy._ Cloth 2.75
22392 Library, sheep, marble edge 3.00
22395 Half American Russia 3.25
22393 Half American Morocco 3.50
22397 Full American Russia 4.25
22394 Full American Morocco 5.75
23398 Full Persian Morocco 8.50
22401 Encyclopedia, _Mackey_, _McClenachan_, cloth 4.50
22402 Sheep 6.00
22405 Half Russia, Gilt top 6.50
22404 Full morocco 8.00
22406 Two Volume Edition 11.00
22411 Encyclopedia of Fraternities. _Stevens_ 4.50
22356 Entering the Kingdom. _J. Allen_ .50
22357 Leather .75
22358 Watered Silk .75
22359 Special Gift Edition .75
22360 Paper .15
22396 Evolution of the Soul. _T. J. Hudson_ 1.50
22476 Fate Mastered .30
22465 Female Masonry, "_A la Lease_" .50
22091 Five Grand Periods of Masonry. _Oliver_ 1.50
22471 Five Jewels of the Orient, The. _Burton_ 1.00
22490 Floral March. _Simpson_ .40
22481 Floral Work. _Bunnell_ .40
22485 Paper .25
24006 Florida Monitor, _Gr. Lodge Comm_ .75
24007 Leather 1.00
22530 Freemasonry and Jesuitry .15
22571 Freemason's Monitor. _Sickels_ 1.00
22572 Same, Lodge, to Comdy., leather 1.50
22511 Freemason's Monitor. _Thornberg_ 1.25
22512 Leather 2.00
22501 Freemason's Monitor. _Webb._ Cloth .75
22502 Leather 1.00
22556 Freimaurer's Handbuch. _Committee_ 1.00
22557 Leather 1.25
22551 Freimaurer's Handbuch, small .60
22581 Fundamental Truths. _N.D._ Cloth .50
22156 Funeral Services. _Simons_--_Macoy_ .35
22160 Paper bound .25
22651 Gem of Song, O.E.S. _Pitkin & Mathews_ .50
22655 Paper .25
22021 General Ahiman Rezon, a Large Monitor 2.00
22024 Same, morocco and gilt. _Sickels_--_Macoy_ 3.50
22656 Genius of Freemasonry. _Buck_ 1.00
22661 Great Work. _T.K._ 2.00
22645 Guide to Chapter. _Sheville_, _Gould_, limp cloth .75
22641 Same in cloth and gilt binding 1.00
22642 Leather bound with flap 1.25
22644 Bound in imitation cowhide morocco 1.50
22646 Large library size, cloth bound 1.50
22649 Same in imitation morocco 2.00
22311 Hand Book of Freemasonry. _Drew_ .60
22711 Harmonia. _Music_, _Cutler_ .25
22716 Harmonies of Evolution. _Huntley_ 2.00
22741 Health from Knowledge. _Colville_ .75
22745 Leatherette .50
22851 Heavenly Life. _James Allen._ Cloth .50
22856 Hermes and Plato. _Schuré_ 1.00
22721 Hermetic Writing of Paracelsus. _Waite._ 2 vol. 18.00
22866 Heroines of Jerico. Ceremonies. Cloth. _Dickson_ .75
22861 Heroines of Jerico. Ritual, Cloth. _Dickson_ .50
22723 Historical Landmarks. _Oliver_ 4.00
22726 Historical Sketch--Morton Commandery 2.00
22731 History and Power of Mind. _Ingalese._ Cloth 2.00
22751 History of A. &. A. Scottish Rite. _Folger_ 3.00
22791 History of Colored Freemasonry. _Grimshaw_ 1.25
22771 History of Freemasonry, Concise. _Gould._ Cloth 2.75
22772 Library--sheep 4.00
22773 Half Morocco 3.75
22774 Full Morocco 4.75
22775 Levant 8.50
22761 Hist. of Freemasonry & Concordant Orders 4.50
22763 Half Morocco. _Stillson & Hughan_ 5.50
22764 Full Morocco 6.50
22765 Levant 10.00
22780 History of Frmsy. _Gould_, 6 vol. 1/2 calf 25.00
22779 Morocco. (Shopworn, sets only) 30.00
22781 History of Freemasonry. _Mitchell_, 2 vols. 4.00
22782 Library--sheep 5.00
22784 Morocco 6.00
22801 History of Initiation. _Oliver_ 1.50
22811 History of K.T. Revised. _Addison_ 3.25
22812 Library Sheep 3.50
22818 Half American Russia 3.75
22813 Half American Morocco 4.00
22819 Full American Russia 4.75
22814 Full American Morocco 5.00
22817 Full Persian Morocco 8.75
22831 History of O.E.S. _Engle_ 2.25
22841 History of Rosicrucians--_Waite_ 2.50
24276 Initiation, Way of. _Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D._ 1.00
24280 Paper .75
22976 Initiation and Its Results. _Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D._ 1.00
23010 Initiation of a Candidate--6 copies (_Burlesque_) 5.00
22991 Indian Masonry. _Wright_ 1.50
22986 In Memoriam--Orin Welsh. (_Shopworn_) 1.50
22981 Installation Ceremonies. _Simons_--_Whiting_ .40
22985 Paper .25
22281 Introduction and History, A.A.S.R. 2.00
22996 In Tune with the Infinite. _Trine_ 1.25
23011 I.O.O.F. Hist. and Manual 3.75
23013 Half Morocco 4.75
23914 Full Morocco 6.50
23001 Irish Prince and Hebrew Prophet. _Kissick_ 1.50
23046 Jerico Road. (I.O.O.F.) _Thompson_ 1.00
22530 Jesuitry and Frmsy. _Rameses_ .15
23056 Jesus, the Last Great Initiate. _Schuré_ 1.00
23076 Jewels of Pythian Knighthood, cloth 3.00
23078 Half Morocco 4.00
23079 Full Morocco 5.00
23061 Josephus, The Works of 1.75
23121 Kabbalah Unveiled. _S. L. M. Mathers._ Cloth 3.50
23086 Kingdom of Love. _Frank_ 1.00
23120 King Solomon's Secret (_Farce_) .35
23092 K. of P. Drill. _Carnahan._ Leather 1.50
23091 Cloth 1.00
23115 Knights of the Zoroasters (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 3.75
23070 Knight Templar Melodies, per doz. 4.80
23071 Koran. Translated by _Sale_ 1.50
23106 Krishna and Orpheus. _Schuré_ 1.25
26045 Labyrinth as a Life Story. _O.E.S._ Paper .25
23141 Law of Mental Medicine. _T. J. Hudson_ 1.50
23146 Law of Psychic Phenomena. _T. J. Hudson_ 1.50
23161 Lexicon of Freemasonry. _Mackey_ 3.00
23151 Life and Power from Within. _Colville_ .75
23186 Life and Doctrine of Paracelsus. Cloth 2.50
23286 Life and Writings of Dr. Robt. Fludd. Cloth 2.50
23176 Light of Asia. _Edwin Arnold_ .75
23166 Light on the Path. _M.C._ Cloth .50
23167 Leather .75
23181 Lights and Shadows. _Morris_--_Mackey_ 2.50
23156 Living Decalogue. _Colville_ .50
23191 Lodge Goat. _Comic_ 2.00
23201 Lodge Music. _Ilsley_ .15
23196 Lost Word Found. _Buck_ .50
23221 Low Twelve. _Ellis_ 1.50
23224 Morocco 2.50
23472 Mackey's Ritualist, leather 1.60
23531 Man Limitless. _Wilson_ 1.25
23481 Man of Mount Moriah. _Boutelle_ 2.40
23483 Half Morocco 3.20
23486 Half Russia 2.80
23487 Half Russia, gilt edges 3.60
23488 Half Morocco, gilt edges 4.00
28485 Paper 1.60
23521 Manual, Lodge of Perfection. _Nor. Jurisdiction_ 1.50
23517 Manual of Lodge of N.J. (New) 1.25
23491 Manual of the Chapter. _Sheville and Gould_ .75
23501 Manual of the Lodge. _Mackey_ 2.00
23511 Manual of the Lodge of N.J. Illust'd. .25
23512 Leather .35
23526 Masonic Burial Services. _Macoy_ .50
23461 Masonic Eclectic, 2 vols., shopworn 1.00
23541 Masonic Gem. _Rev. A. L. Alford_ .50
23551 Masonic Jurisprudence. _Simons_ 1.50
23561 Masonic Jurisprudence. _Mackey_ 2.50
23401 Masonic Jurisprudence and Symbolism. _Lawrence_ 1.00
23581 Masonic Law and Practice. _Lockwood_ 1.00
23261 Masonic Lodge Music, (Kane Lodge, N.J.) .40
23265 Paper .25
23271 Masonic Light on Abduction of Morgan 1.00
23591 Masonic Musical Manual. Lithographed .75
23594 Leather. _W. H. Janes._ Lithographed 1.00
23595 Paper Board, 7-1/2 × 10. Lithographed .50
23600 Paper Flexible. Lithographed .35
23592 Paper Board. Cheaper Print .35
23593 Paper Flexible. Cheaper Print .25
23596 Cloth Board. Cheaper Print .60
23598 Paper Flexible. Words only 4 × 6 .20
23597 Cloth Flexible. Words only 4 × 6 .25
23599 Cloth Board and Stamp. Words only 4 × 6 .35
23620 Masonic Orpheus. Words and Music. _Dow_ 1.75
23571 Masonic Parliamentary Law. _Mackey_ 2.00
23285 Masonic Poetry. _Morris._ Silk cloth, gilt edge 3.50
23291 Masonic Sketch Book. _E. du Laurans_ 2.00
23311 Masonic Token. _Anderson_ 2.25
23301 Masonic Trials. Treatise upon Law. _Look_ 1.50
23306 Mastery of Mind in Making of Man. _Frank_ 1.00
23321 Maurerisches Liederbuch. _Roehr._ Cloth .25
23336 Messianic Expectations and Modern Judaism 1.00
22420 Metal Therapeutics. A Text Book. _Colville_ .25
23346 Meyer's Tactics 1.00
23345 Middle Chamber Work. Paper .25
22501 Miniature Monitor. _Webb_ .75
22502 Leather 1.00
33390 Missing Link (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 3.00
33389 Same with outfit 5.00
23356 Mission of Masonry. _Peters_ .50
23360 Paper .35
23351 Monitor of A.A.S.R. By _Webb_--_Carson_ 1.50
23376 Monitor--Grand Lodge N.Y. 1.00
23570 Moot Court Martial, 6 copies (_Burlesque_) 2.00
23361 Morals and Dogma, Scottish Rite. _Pike_ 5.25
23580 Munchers of Hard Tack, 6 copies (_Burlesque_) 3.75
23671 Music of Chapter. _Marsh._ Cloth .65
23673 Paper Flexible .25
23674 American Morocco 1.00
23675 Paper Board .40
23586 Myrtle Baldwin. _Munn_ 1.50
23411 Mystic Chord. _Mabie_ .50
23415 Paper .25
23421 Mystic Masonry. _Buck_ 1.50
23181 Mystic Tie. _Morris_--_Mackey_ 2.50
23701 New Light from the Great Pyramid. _Parsons_ 4.00
23707 New Odd Fellows Manual--_Grosh_, leather 1.50
23706 Cloth. Larger Edition 2.50
23709 Morocco and Gilt. Larger Edition 3.25
23700 New Woman (_Burlesque_), 4 copies 1.00
23712 Nuggets from King Solomon's Mines. _Schmalz_ 2.00
23721 Obelisk and Freemasonry. _Weisse_, paper 1.00
23731 Obituary Rites of Freemasonry. _Macoy_ .50
23716 Occult Science in India. _Jacolliot._ Cloth 2.50
23776 Ocean of Theosophy, The. _W. Q. Judge._ Cloth .75
23013 Half Morocco 3.75
23014 Full Morocco 5.50
23011 Odd Fellowship. His. and Manual. _Ross_ 3.75
23736 Odd Fellowship, Official History. Canvas 3.75
23737 Half Morocco. Art canvas 4.75
23738 Full Morocco 5.50
23746 O.E.S. Burial Services. _Macoy_ .50
23741 O.E.S. Manual. _Macoy._ Original Edition .75
23766 Old and New Psychology. _Colville_ 1.00
23771 Onesimus Templeton. _Colville_ .50
23786 On the Road to Self-Knowledge. _Jones._ Cloth .50
23640 Oriental Order of Humility, 6 copies (_Burlesque_) 1.00
23821 Origin of Freemasonry and K.T. _Bennett_ 1.75
22756 Out From the Heart. _J. Allen._ Cloth .50
22757 Leather .75
22758 Watered Silk .75
22759 Special Gift Edition .75
22760 Paper .15
23791 Path of Prosperity, The. _J. Allen_ .50
23792 Leather .75
23793 Watered Silk .75
23794 Special Gift Edition .75
23795 Paper .15
23796 Paths to Power. _Wilson_ 1.00
23816 Perfect Way; or, Finding of Christ. _Kingsford_ 2.00
23281 Embossed Cloth Cover 2.75
23806 Philosophy of Fire. _Clymer._ Cloth 1.50
23285 Poetry of Freemasonry. _Morris._ Silk cloth, gilt 3.50
23751 Prelate's Lesson 1.00
23551 Principles, Practice, Masonic Law. _Simons_ 1.50
23805 Put Through (Comic) .25
23811 Pythagoras and the Delphic Mysteries. _Schuré_ 1.50
23081 Pythian Knighthood, cloth. _Cornahan_ 3.00
23083 Half Morocco 4.00
23084 Full Morocco 5.00
23851 Queen Moo and Egyptian Sphinx. _Le Plongeon_ 4.75
23841 Queen Moo's Talisman. Cloth 1.50
23850 Queen of Sahara, 6 copies (_Burlesque_) 3.00
23861 Queen of the South. _Macoy_ .40
23865 Paper .25
23870 Ransford Drill. _O.E.S._ .75
23886 Red Blood of Odd Fellowship 1.50
23860 Review of Cryptic Masonry. _Warvelle_, paper .15
23901 Roberts' Rules of Order .75
23946 Rose Croix. _Gilliam_ 1.60
23906 Rosicrucians. _Clymer_ 3.00
23915 Royal Arch Companion. _Chase_, limp cloth .75
23911 Same in cloth and gilt binding 1.00
23912 Leather bound with flap 1.25
23925 Royal Arch Standard. _McGown_, limp cloth .75
22921 Same in cloth and gilt binding 1.00
23922 Leather bound with flap 1.25
23895 Royal Order of Ogling Owls (_Burlesque_), 6 cop. 3.00
23936 Rubaiyat of Omar Khayram. Deckel edge 1.25
23940 Watered Silk 2.00
23037 Limp Leather 2.00
23931 Ruins of Empires. _Voleny_ .75
23925 Paper .50
23984 Leather 4.00
23956 Sacred Mysteries. _A. Le Plongeon_ 2.50
23981 Scarlet Book of Frmsy. _Redding_ 3.00
23951 Scientific Demonstration of the Future 1.50
24031 Secret Doctrine Abridged 2.00
24176 Sermon on the Mount. _Pryse._ Cloth .60
23971 Sermons and Addresses. 480 pages. (Shopworn) .75
22966 Servant in the House. _Kennedy_ 1.25
23991 Shibboleth, K.T. Monitor. _Connor_ 1.25
22021 Sickles Ahiman Rezon, General 2.00
22024 Genuine Morocco 3.50
22571 Sickles Monitor 1.00
22572 Leather 1.50
23976 Signet of K.S., Freemason's Daughter. _Arnold_ 1.50
23986 Signs and Symbols. _Oliver_ 1.50
23916 Singular Story of Freemasonry .75
24040 Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses 1.00
22301 Smith's Diagram of Parliamentary Rules, cloth .50
22304 Leather, parchment chart 1.00
24020 Smithsonian Comedetta (_Burlesque_), 4 copies 1.00
24026 Solomon's Temple. _Caldecott_ 2.50
24050 Sons of Osirus (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 3.75
24021 Spirit of Freemasonry. _Oliver_, _Hutchison_ 1.50
24001 Standard Masonic Monitor. _Simons_--_Macoy_ .75
24002 Same, in leather and gilt 1.00
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24012 Leather 1.00
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24007 Leather 1.00
22216 Standard Monitor Illinois, Cook Cloth .40
22217 Leather .60
24085 Star Chamber. _Frazer_--6 copies (_Burlesque_) 5.00
23961 Story of the Other Wise Man. Cloth. _Van Dyke_ .50
23962 Limp Leather 1.00
24051 Swedenborg Rite. _Beswick_ 1.00
24071 Symbolism of Freemasonry. _Oliver_ 2.25
24061 Symbol of Glory. _Oliver_ 1.50
24176 Tabernacle. _Caldecott_ 1.75
24191 Tactics, K. T. _Grant_ 1.00
24192 Leather 1.25
24196 Tactics, N.Y. Regulation 1.10
24181 Tactics Vest Pocket .25
24184 Morocco .75
24182 Leather .50
24206 Templar Hand book 1.00
24201 Temple. _Eidersheim._ Cloth 1.50
24236 This Mystical Life of Ours. _Trine_ 1.00
24216 Thoughts for the Occasion 2.00
24186 Throne of Eden. _W. J. Colville_ 1.00
24241 Through Silence to Realization. _Wilson_ 1.00
24213 Traditions, Origins, Early History. _Pierson_ 2.50
24225 Trial of Jesus. _Druker_ .25
24230 Twentieth Century Orient (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 3.00
24256 Universal Spiritualism 1.00
24250 Van Nest's Burlesque Ritual, 6 copies 3.75
24251 Vocal Manual, words only. _Macoy_ .25
24265 Vocal Star, O.E.S. Paper .25
24266 Voice of the Silence, The. _Blavastky._ Cloth .50
24280 Paper 1.00
24301 Washington and His Masonic Compeers 2.50
24276 Way of Initiation. _Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D._ 1.00
24280 Paper .75
24271 Way of Peace, The. _J. Allen._ Cloth .50
24272 Leather .75
24273 Watered Silk .75
24274 Special Gift Edition .75
24275 Paper .15
22501 Webb's Monitor .75
22502 Leather 1.00
24286 What All the World's a-Seeking. _Trine_ 1.25
24315 Wisdom of the Ages (_Burlesque_), 6 copies 5.00
24281 Witching Hour. _Thomas_ 1.50
24321 Worshipful Master's Assistant. _Macoy_ 1.50
24324 Same, in Morocco and gilt 2.25
24425 32 Degrees K.P. or Ninety in the Shade. Comic .25
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