PR E F A C E .

F e w wo r ds a r e n eeded in sen ding th is littl

e bo o k ou t

z e w or l
in to tl d I t is tl
ze
fift /
z f
o a s e r ies o fM a n ual
s

designed to m ee t t/z e p u blic de m a n d fo r a s imp le exp os i

tio n of l eosop /
z ica l tea c/z in s
g S o m e k a ve co mp l
.a in ed

t/
zat ou r liter a tu r e is a t o n ce to o a b s t r u se , to o tec/
z n ica l,

a nd to o ex en s ive f tl o r din a ry r e a der , a n d it is

p or ze ou r

kop e tlz a t t/ ying

ze p r ese n t se r ies m ay s u ccee d in s upp l

w ka t is a vow r ea l wa n t l eosop ky is n o t o n l
.
y f r
o

t/
ze lea r n ed & it is fo r l
al. Pe r /z ap s a m o ng tl
z os e w/z o in
t/ little bo oks of its tea c/ungs ,
'

zese ca tc/
z
fi g ptkeir
lim s e rst

t/
z ere m ay be a few w l
z o w ill b e l
e d by t /
ze m to
p en e t r a te

m or e deep l y in t o its p ki lo sop k y,

its sc ie n ce ,
a nd its
o bl w i / b s t u de n t s
g
’
i io n , fa cin
r el it a bs t r use r m t z
g s p r e s z e

z ea la n d tb e n eop /
zy te s a r do u r
’
. B u t tkese Ma n ua ls a re

n ot w r itten onl
y f or tl
te eage r s tu de n t , z om
wl no in itia l
difiicu ltzes ca n da u n t & t/z ey a re w r itten f or t/
ze b u sy
m en and w om en o f z e w o r k - a - day
t/ w o r ld, a n d seek to

m a ke p la in so m e r ea t t r u t/
of Ike z a t r e n de r l
zs t/ ife
g
z eas ier to face
ea sier to bea r a n d dea tl W r itten by .

ser va n ts o f Ik e Mas te rs wk o a re t/ de r
ze E l B r o t/z er s f
o

ou r race , t/
zey ca n l
z a ve n o o t/
z e r o b ect j tl
za n t o se r ve o u r
 C O N T E N TS .

I n t r o d u c t io n .

Scen ery —Th S v n S ulxli i i n — . D gr e f Mat i l it y

e e v s o s e ees o er a

C h r t r i ti
a ac e f A t a l V i i n —Th
s cs Au r —Th Eth r i
o s r s o e a ~
e e c

D ub l P w r f M g n i fy i ng Min u t O lj t —Th
o e -
o e o a S um m r e
‘

) ec s ~
e e

l n d — l<
a d fth A t r &L igh t
e co r s o e s a

I n h a b i t a n t s —I H u m n ( I ) L iv ing : Th Ad p t
. a -
e e or

h i P upi l —Th
.

P y chi al l y D v l p d P er n —Th O r di nar y

.

s e s c e e o e so e

P r n—Th Bl a k Magi c i n
e so e c a

( )
2 D a d — T h Ne i m a n k a
&

y a — Th P upil w iti n g R in c
e r a e a a e ar

O r di n ar y P r n aft r D ath — Sh d —
.

n ati n — Th o e Th Th e so e e e a e e

S h l l —Th V it al i d S h ll —Th e S ui id —Th V i tim f S udd

e e ze e c e e c o en

D at h —Th Vampi r —Th VVe w lf Th Bl k M gi i n

e e e e re o -
e ac a c a

af t r D e th
e a

I I N n hum n —Th El m n t l E n —Th A t r l B di

. o ~
a e e e a sse ce e s a o es

o f A n i m l —V ar i u C l a e
a s f N atu r S pi r i t
o s m m n l y al l d
ss s o e- s, co o c e

F i r i —K am d a —R fipad va A fip ad — Th D v fij
'

a es a ev s e s r e vas e e ar as

I I I A r ti fici l E l m e n t al f r m d U nc n i u l y G u r di an
a e s o e o sc o s a

A ng l —El m e nt l s f r m d C ns i u l y —llu m an A tifi i ls

.

e s e a o e o c o s r c a

Th T r u e O r igi n fS pi r itu l i m
e o a s

Ph e n o m e n a C hu h y a d G h t App iti n s f th
. rc r os s ar o o e

D y i n g Hau n t d L cal iti —F am il y G h t —B l l r i n gi n g S t n

e o es os s e -
o e

C m m u n i c ati n g E n titi —
,

th r w i n g t F iri A t al R
u c s —C l i r y nc —
o e c a es o es s r e

Pr i i n —
.
,

so r e a S
vo n d S igh t —A t a l F r
a e ev s o e co ~
s r o ce s

— Eth e i C u r n t —Eth e ri c P u r e —Lat nt E n g y— S y mp a

r c r e s re ss e er

th ti c V i b ti n Man t ras D i i n t gr ati n M t i al i ati n

e ra o s e o a er z o

W h y D ark n i q ui r d t
e ss S e n — sS pi r it
re P h t g aph
e a a a ce o o r s

R dupl i ati n
e Pr ipit ati n f L tt r an d P i tu r e —
c o ec Sl t o o e e s c s a e

w itirn g — L v i t ati n — S pi reit L ight — H n

o dli n g F i r — T an mut s a e r s a

t i n —R p
o u mn e e rc ss
 TH E A S TR A L PL A N E .

IN T R O D U C T IO N .

TH O U G H for th e m ost part en ti rel y u n con sci ou s of i t m an

,

passes th e wh ol e of h i s l i fe i n th e m i ds t of a vast an d
popu l ou s u n seen worl d Duri ng sl eep or i n tran ce whe n
.
,

the i n si ste n t phys ical se nses are for t h e ti m e i n abeyan ce ,

th i s oth er worl d i s to so m e exten t open to h i m an d h e wi l l

,

so meti m es bri ng back fro m th ose con di ti on s m ore or l ess

vagu e m e m ories of wh at h e has seen an d h eard th ere .

W hen at th e change wh i ch m en cal l death h e lays asi de

, ,

h i s ph ysi cal body al together i t i s i n to th i s u n seen worl d

,

that h e passes an d i n i t h e l i ves th rough th e l ong cen tu ri es

,

that i n terven e between h i s i ncarnati on s i nto th i s exi sten ce

that we k n ow B y far th e greater part of th ese l on g peri ods
.

is sp e n t i n th e h eaven worl d to wh i ch th e s i xth of th ese

‘
-
,

m an ual s i s devoted & bu t what we h ave n ow to con si der i s

th e l ower part of th i s u n see n worl d th e state i n to wh i ch
—
,

man e nters i m m ediatel y after death th e H ades or u n der

worl d o f th e Greek s th e pu rgatory or i n term ediate s tate of
,

C hri stian i ty wh ic h was cal led by m ed i aeval al che m i st s th e

,

astral pl ane Th e obj ect of t h is man ual i s to col l ect an d

.

arrange th e i n form at ion wi th regard to th i s i n terest i ng

9
re gi on wh i ch i s sca t t ered t h rough Theosoph i cal l i terat u re ,

an d also t o suppl e m en t i t sl igh tl y i n cases wh ere n ew facts

have co me t o ou r k nowl edge I t m u s t be u n derst ood that
.

a ny su ch add i t i on s are onl y t h e resul t of t h e i n vestigati on s

of a fe w ex pl orers and m us t n o t t h ere fore be tak e n as i n
, , ,

a ny wa y au t h ori t a t i ve bu t are gi ven si m pl y for what t hey

,

are wor t h . ( )n th e o t h er hand every precau ti on i n ou r

power has been t ak en t o en sure acc uracy n o fact ol d or , ,

n ew bei ng ad m i t t ed t o t h i s m an ual u n l ess i t has bee n

,

con fi rm ed b y t h e tes t i m on y of at l east two i n dependen t

t rai ned i n ves t iga t ors a m ong ou rsel ves an d has al so been
,

passed as correc t by ol der s t ude nts wh ose k n owl edge on

t hese poi n t s i s n ecessari ly m uch grea t er t ha n ou rs I t i s .

h oped t h erefore t ha t t h i s accou n t of t he as t ral plan e

, , ,

t h ough i t can n o t be con si dered as q ui t e co m pl ete may ,

ve t be fou nd rel iabl e as far as i t goes .

The fi rs t poi n t wh i ch i t i s n ecessary t o m ak e cl ear i n

descri bi ng t h i s as t ral plan e i s i t s absol u t e r ea lity Of .

co u rse i n u si ng t ha t word I am n o t speak i ng fro m that

m e t aphysical s t an dpoi n t from wh ich al l b u t th e O n e
U n man i fes t ed i s u n real becau se i m per man ent & l am u si ng
t h e word i n i t s plai n every day sen se an d I m ean by i t
,
-
,

t ha t t h e obj ec t s an d i n ha bi t an ts of th e as t ral plane are real

i n exac t l y t h e sam e way as ou r own bod i es ou r furni tu re
ou r h ou ses or m on u m en t s are real —as real as C hari ng
, ,

C ross t o q u o t e an e xpressi ve re mark fro m one of t h e

,

earl i es t Theosoph i cal work s . They wi ll no m ore end u re

for ever t ha n wi l l obj ects on t h e ph ysical plane bu t th ey
, ,

are n ever t h el ess real i ti es fro m ou r poi n t of vi ew wh il e th ey

las t —real i t i es whi ch we can not a fford to i gn ore m erely
becau se t h e maj ori t y of mank i n d i s as yet u ncon sc iou s or ,

bu t vaguel y con sci ou s of t hei r e xi sten ce

, .
 I I

No on e can get a cl ear concepti o n o f th e teach i ngs of

th e W isdo m R el igi o n u nti l h e has at any rate an i n tel l ec t ual
-

‘
grasp of th e fact that i n ou r solar syste m th ere exi st per
fe c tl y defi n i te planes each wi th i ts ow n m atter of di fferen t
,

degrees of den si ty an d th at so m e of thes e pl anes can be

,

V i s ited an d observed by person s wh o have qual i fied them

selves for th e work exactl y as a foreign cou ntry m igh t be

,

vi sited an d observed & an d th at b y co mpari son of th e ,

&

observat i on s of th ose wh o are con stan tly work i ng on th ese

planes evi den ce can b e obt ai n ed of t hei r ex i s t en ce an d
,

nature at l east as sat isfactory as that wh i ch m ost of u s h ave

for th e ex isten ce of Green lan d or Spi tzbergen Furth er .

m ore j u st as any man w ho has th e m ean s an d ch ooses

,

to tak e th e trou bl e can go an d see Greenlan d or Spi t z

berge n for h i m sel f so any man wh o ch ooses to tak e t h e
,

trou bl e to q ual i fy h i m sel f by l i vi ng th e necessary l i fe ,

can i n t i m e com e t o see th ese h igh er plan es o n h i s own

accou n t .

Th e nam es u sual l y given to th ese plan es taki n g th e m i n ,

order of m aterial i ty ri si ng from th e den ser t o th e fi n er are

, ,

th e phys ical t he astral t he m en tal or de vac h an ic th e

, , ,

bu ddh i c an d th e n irv a ni c H igh er than th i s las t are two

, .

others bu t th ey are so far above ou r prese n t power of

,

concepti on that for th e m o men t th ey may be left ou t o f

con si derati on I t sh ou l d be u n derstood that th e m atte r of
.

each of these plan es di ffers from that of th e on e bel ow i t i n

th e sam e way as th ough to a m u ch greater degree th an
, ,

vapou r d i ffers fro m sol i d matter & i n fact th e states of ,

matter wh i ch we cal l sol i d l i qu i d an d gaseou s are m erely

, ,

th e th ree lowest su b divis i on s of th e matter bel ongi ng to th i s

on e ph ysi cal plan e .

Th e astral regi on wh i ch I am t o attem pt t o descri be i s

 0
1

t h e sec on d of th ese grea t plan es of nat u re —the n ex t above

( or wi th i n ) that ph ysi cal worl d w i th wh i ch we are al l
fa m il iar . I t has oft e n bee n cal le d th e real m of i l l u si o n
n ot t hat i t i s i tsel f any m ore i l l u sory than th e phy sical
world bu t becau se of t h e extrem e u n rel iabi l i ty of th e
,

i m pressi on s brough t back from i t by th e u n trai n e d seer .

Th i s i s t o be accou n ted for m ai n ly by two re markable

charac t eri stics of th e astral worl d —first that m any of i ts ,

i nhabi tan t s have a marvel l ou s power of changi ng th ei r form s

wi t h Pro t ean rapi di t y an d al so of casti ng practi call y u n
,

l i m i t ed glam ou r over th ose wi th wh o m t h ey ch oose to

spor t & an d secondl y that sigh t on tha t plan e i s a facul ty
,

very di fferen t fro m an d m uch m ore exten ded th an physi ca l

vi si on A n obj ect i s seen as i t were fro m al l s i des at on ce
.
, , ,

t h e i n si de of a sol i d bei ng as plai nl y open t o t h e view as

t h e o u t si de : i t i s th erefore obviou s that an i n expe ri enced
vi si tor to t h i s n ew worl d may wel l fin d con si derabl e
di ffic ul t y i n u n de rstandi ng what h e real l y does see an d sti l l ,

m ore i n tran slat i ng h i s vi si on i n to t h e very i nade q uate

language of ordi nary speech .

A goo d exam pl e of th e sort of m i stak e th at i s l i k ely to

occu r i s th e frequ en t reversal of an y n u m ber wh i ch th e seer
has to read from the astral l igh t so that h e wou l d be l iabl e,

to ren der say 1 3 9 as 9 3 1 an d so o n

, , ,
In th e case of a
.

s t uden t of occul ti s m trai ned by a capabl e Mas ter s u ch

a m i s ta k e wou l d be i m poss i bl e except t hrough great h u rry
or carel ess ness si nce su ch a pu pi l has to go th rough a
,

l ong an d va ri ed cou rse of i n stru c ti o n i n th i s art of seei ng

co rrec t l y th e Master or perhaps so m e m ore adva nced
, ,

pupi l bri ngi ng before h i m agai n and agai n al l possi bl e

,
”
form s of i l l u si on an d ask i ng h i m
,
W hat do you see &
“

A n y errors i n h i s an swe rs are th e n c orrected an d th ei r

 1 3

reason s explai n ed u n ti l by degrees th e n eophyte acqu ires

,

a certai n ty an d co n fi den ce i n deal i ng w i th t h e phen om ena

of t he astral pl an e wh i ch far exceeds anyth i ng possi bl e i n
physi cal l ife .

B u t he has to l ear n n ot on l y to see correctl y bu t to

translate th e m e m ory of wh at h e has seen accuratel y fro m
on e pl an e to th e oth er & an d to assi st h i m i n th i s h e i s
t rai ned to carry h i s consci ou s ness w i th ou t break fro m t h e
phys i cal plane to the astral or de vac h an ic an d back agai n ,

for u n ti l t hat can b e do ne there i s al ways a possi bi l ity t hat

h i s recol lecti on s may be partial l y l ost or distorte d du ri ng
th e blan k i nterval wh i ch separates h is peri ods of con sci ous
ness on th e vari ou s plan es . W he n th e power of bri ngi ng
over th e con sci ou sn ess i s perfectl y acqu i red the p upi l w il l
have th e advan t age of the u se of al l th e astral facu l ti es n ot
,

on l y wh i l e ou t of h i s body du ri ng sl eep or tran ce bu t al so

,

wh i l e ful l y awak e i n ordi nary ph ysi cal l i fe .

I t has been th e cu sto m of som e Th eosoph ists to speak

wi th sc o m o f th e as tral pl ane an d trea t i t as ent irel y u n
,

worth y o f atten ti on bu t that see m s to m e a m i stak en vi ew .

M os t assu redl y that at whi ch we have to ai m i s th e l i fe of

th e spi ri t and i t wou l d h e m ost di sastrou s for an y st uden t
,

to n egl ec t that high er devel op m en t an d res t sati s fi ed wi th

th e attai n m en t of astr al con sci ou sn ess There have been
.

so m e wh ose karm a was su ch as to e nabl e th e m to develo p

—
the h igh er m en tal facu l ti es fi rs t o f al l to overleap t he
astral plane for th e ti me as i t were & b u t th is i s n ot th e
.

o rdin ary m e th o d adopted by th e Masters of W i sdo m wi th

\

th eir p upi ls . W here i t i s possi bl e i t n o dou bt saves trou bl e

,

bu t for m ost o f u s s uch progress by l eap s an d b ou nd s has

bee n forbi dde n by our own fau l ts or fol l ies in th e past : al l
that we can hope for i s to wi n ou r way sl owly step by step ,
 I4

an d si nce t h i s as t ral plan e l ies n ex t to ou r w orl d of den ser

ma t ter i t i s u sual l y i n con n ecti on wi t h i t that ou r earl i est
,

s u per ph ysi cal ex perien ces tak e place I t i s th erefore o f

-
.

deep i nteres t t o th ose of u s wh o are bu t begi n n ers i n th ese

s t u di es an d a c lear co m preh en si on of i ts m ysteri es m ay
,

oft en be o f t h e greatest i m portan ce to u s by enabl i ng ,

u s n ot onl y to u n derstand many of th e ph en o m ena of th e

sé a n ce roo m
-
of hau n t ed h ou ses etc wh i ch woul d oth erwi se
, ,
.
,

be i n expl i ca bl e bu t al so to guard ou rsel ves an d oth ers fro m

,

possi ble dangers .

Th e fi rs t i n troduc t i o n to th i s remarkabl e region co mes

t o peopl e i n vari ou s ways So m e on ly o nce i n th ei r wh ol e
.

l i ves u n der so m e u nu sua l i n fl uence becom e se nsi tive e no ugh

t o recogn i ze the prese nce of o ne of i ts i n hab i tan ts an d per ,

haps b ecau se th e experie n ce does n ot repeat i tsel f th ey

, ,

may com e i n t i m e to bel ieve that o n that occasi on th ey

m ust have been th e vi cti m s of hal l uci nat io n : oth ers fi n d
t h e m sel ves wi th i ncreasi ng freq ue n cy seei ng an d heari ng
.

so m e t h i ng to wh i ch th ose arou n d the m are bl i n d an d deaf &

“

o t h ers agai n —an d perhaps th i s i s th e co m m on est ex

p e ie n c e of al l
r — begi n to recoll ec t wi th greater an d greater
cl earnesss t hat wh i ch th ey have see n or h eard on th at oth er
pla n e d u ri ng sl eep .

A m ong t h ose wh o mak e a st u dy o f these s u bj ect s so m e ,

t ry t o devel op t he astral sigh t by c rystal gazi ng or oth er -

m e t h od s wh i le th ose wh o have th e i n esti mabl e advan tage

,

of t h e d i rect gu i dan ce of a q ual i fied teach e r w i l l probabl y

be placed u po n that pl an e for th e fi rs t t i m e u nder h is
special protec t i on wh i ch wi l l be co nti n u ed u n ti l by th e
, ,

appl i ca t i on of vari ou s tes t s h e has sati s fi ed hi msel fthat each

,

pu pi l i s proo f a gai n st an y danger or te rror t hat h e i s l i kel y

t o e nco un t er B u t h owever i t may occ ur th e fi rs t actua l
.
, ,
 1 5

real i zati on th at we are al l th e wh il e i n th e m i ds t of a great

worl d fu l l o f active l i fe of whi ch m o is t of u s are n e ve rth e
,

l ess en ti rely u nco nsci ou s ca n not b u t be a m e morabl e epoch

,
’
i n a m an s ex i sten ce .

S o ab undan t and s o man ifol d i s th is l i fe of th e astral

pl ane that at fi rst i t i s absol u tel y bewi l deri ng to t h e
neophy te an d even for th e m ore practi sed i nvestigator i t i s
n o easy task to attem p t to classi fy an d to ca t al ogue i t I f .

th e explorer of so m e u n k nown trop i cal fores t were asked

n ot o nly to give a fu l l accou n t of th e c ou n try th rough
wh i ch h e had passed w i th accurate detai l s of i ts vegetab le
,

an d m i n eral produ cti ons bu t al so to state th e gen u s an d

,

speci es of every o ne of th e myriad i n sects b irds beasts , , ,

an d repti l es wh ic h h e h ad see n h e m igh t wel l s hri nk

,

appal led at th e magn itu de of th e u n dertaki ng : yet even

th i s afford s n o paral l el to the e m barrass m en ts of th e psych i c
i n vestigator for i n h i s case matters are furth er co mpl i cated
, ,

fi rst by th e d i fficu lty of correctl y tran slati ng from that plan e

to t h is th e recol lecti on of what h e has seen an d seco nd ly ,

by the u tter i nadequacy of ordi nary l anguage to express

m uch of what h e has to report .

H owever j ust as th e expl orer o n the ph ysi cal plane

,

woul d probabl y co m men ce h i s accou n t of a cou n try by

so m e sort o f ge neral descripti on of i ts scenery an d
characteri sti cs so i t wi l l b e wel l to begi n th i s sligh t sketch
,

of th e astral plane by e ndeavouri ng to give so m e i d ea of

th e scenery w h ich form s t he backgrou n d of i ts m arvel l ou s
an d e yer changi ng act ivi ties
-
Yet h ere at th e outset an
.

al m ost i nsuperab l e di fficu l ty co nfron ts u s i n th e extre m e

co m l
l p e xity of th e matter Al l wh
. o see fu l ly on t hat plane
agree t hat to attem p t to cal l u p a vivid p icture of t h i s as tral
sce nery before th ose wh ose eyes are as yet u nope ned i s l ik e
s peak i ng to a bl i nd
a s u nse t sk y —howev er detai l ed an d elaborate ti
may be th ere i s n o cer t ai n ty that the i dea pre s
,

th e hearer s m i n d w i l l be an ade q uate re pre se r

’
.

t ru th
.
 S C E N E RY

F IR S T of al l th en i t m u st be u nderstood that th e astral

, ,

plan e has seven s ub divisi on s each of wh i ch has i ts

,

correspo nd ing degree of materi al i ty an d i ts correspon di ng

condi ti on of m atter Al th ough th e poverty of ph ysi cal
.

l anguage forces u s to speak of t hese sub plan e s as h igh er

a n d l ower we m u st n ot fal l i n to t he m i s tak e of th i n k i ng o f
,

th em (or i n dee d of th e greater pla nes of wh i ch they are

—
on ly su bdi vi si on s ) as separate l ocal iti es i n space as lyi ng
ab ove on e an oth er l ik e th e sh elves of a book case or ou t
-

si de on e an oth er l i ke th e coats o f an oni on . I t m u st be

u n der stood that th e m atter of each plan e or su b plan e
i nterpe netrates that of th e plan e or sub p lan e bel ow i t so ,

that h ere at th e surface of th e earth al l exi st toge th er i n th e

sam e space al th ough i t i s tru e that th e h igh er vari eti es of
,

matter ex te n d furth er away from th e phys i cal earth than th e

l ower .

So wh en we speak of a man as ri s i ng fro m o ne pl an e or

su b l an e to an oth er we do n ot th i n k of h i m as n ecessari l y
p ,

m o vm g I n space at al l b u t rather as transferring h i s con

so lo u sn e ss fro m on e l evel to an other — gradual l y beco m i ng
,

u n respon si ve to th e vi brati on s of on e order of matter an d ,

b egi n ni n g i n stead to an swer to th ose of a hi gh er an d m ore

refi ned order & so that on e worl d w ith i ts scen ery an d
 1 8

i n habi tan ts w oul d seem to fade sl owl y away fro m h i s vi ew ,

wh il e an oth er worl d of a m ore el e vated character wo u l d

dawn u pon h i m i n i ts stead .

N u m beri ng th es e su bd ivi si on s fro m th e h igh est an d

l east m aterial downwards we fi n d that th ey natu ral l y fal l
,

i n to th ree classes divi sio n s I 2 an d 3 form i ng on e s u c h

, , ,

class an d 4 5 an d 6 an oth er wh i l e th e seve n th an d l owes t

, , , ,

of al l stan ds al on e Th e d ifferen ce between th e matter of

.

o n e of t h ese classes an d t h e n ext wou l d be co m m en surabl e

wi t h that be t ween a sol i d an d a l iqu i d wh i l e th e di ffere nce ,

be t ween th e m atter of th e su bd ivi s i on s of a cl ass wou l d

rath er resem bl e th at between two k i n ds of sol i d su c h as say , , ,

s t eel an d san d Pu tti ng asi de for th e m o m en t th e seven th

.
,

we m ay say that divi si on s 4 5 an d 6 of th e astral plan e

, ,

have for th ei r backgrou n d th e phys i cal worl d i n wh i ch we

l i ve an d al l i ts fa m i l iar accessori es Li fe on th e si xth d ivi
,
.

si on i s si m pl y l i k e ou r ordi nary l i fe on th i s earth m i n u s ,

t h e ph ysi cal body an d i ts n ecessi ti es & wh il e as i t asce n ds

t h rough th e fi ft h an d fou rth d ivi si on s i t beco m es l ess an d
l ess material an d i s m ore and m ore wi th draw n from ou r
,

l ower worl d an d i ts i n terests .

Th e sce nery of th ese l ow er d ivi si on s th en i s that of th e , ,

earth as we k n ow i t : bu t i n real i t y i t i s al so very m u ch

m ore & for wh en l ooked at fro m th i s d i fferen t stan dpoi n t ,

w i t h th e assi s t an ce of the astral sen ses even p urel y ph ys ical ,

obj ects presen t a very di fferen t appearan ce A s h as al ready .

bee n m en ti on ed th ey are see n by o ne wh ose eyes are ful l y

,

open ed n ot as u sual fro m o ne poi n t of vi ew bu t fro m al l

, ,

si d es at o nce — an i dea i n i tsel f su f

fic ie n tl y con fu si ng & an d
wh e n we add to th iS th at every particl e i n t he i n teri or of a
'

sol i d body i s as ful l y an d cl earl y vi si bl e as th ose on t h e

ou tsi de i t wi l l be co m prehen ded that un der su ch co nd i ti on s
,
 20

d ivi si on s of astral m at ter W e m u s t n ote fi rs t tha t every

.
.

ma t erial obj ec t every parti cl e even has i ts astral cou n ter

, ,

par t & and t h i s cou n terpart i s i tsel f n ot a si m pl e body bu t ,

i s u sual l y ex t re m el y co m pl ex bei ng co m posed of vari ou s

,

k i n ds of astral matter I n add i ti on to th i s each l i vi ng

.

c rea t u re i s s urrou n ded w i th an at m osph ere of i ts own ,

u sual l y cal led i ts au ra a n d i n th e case of h u m an bei ngs

,

t h is aura for m s of i tsel f a very fasci nati ng bran ch of stu dy .

I t i s see n as an oval mass of l u m i nou s m i st of h igh l y co m

pl ex s t ru ctu re an d fro m i ts shape has so meti m es been
,

cal led t h e au ri c egg .

Theosoph i cal readers wi l l h ear wi th pl easu re that e ven

a t t h e earl y s t age o f h i s devel opm en t a t wh i ch th e pu pi l
begi n s t o acqu i re th i s fu l l er sigh t he i s abl e to ass ure
,

h i m sel f by di rect observati on of th e accu racy of t he

t each i ng given t h rough o u r great fou n der M adam e ,

Blava t sky on th e s u bj ec t of so me at l eas t of th e seven “

,
”
pri nci pl es of man I n regardi ng h i s fel l ow ma n h e n o
.
-

l onger sees on l y h i s outer appearan ce & al m ost exactly c o

ex t e n si ve wi t h that ph ys ical body h e cl earl y di sti ngu i sh es
t h e eth eri c dou bl e & wh i l e th e u n i versal l i fe flu i d as i t i s
-

absorbed an d special i zed as i t ci rcu lates i n rosy l igh t

,

t h rough ou t t h e body as i t even t ual ly radiates fro m th e

,

h eal t h y person i n i t s al tered form i s al so perfectl y ,

o b vi ou s
.

M ost bri l lian t and m ost easi l y see n of al l perhaps

—
, ,

t h ough bel ongi ng to a m ore re fi ned order o f m at t er th e

—
astral i s that au ra wh i ch expresses by i t s vi vi d an d ever
cha ngi ng flash es of col ou r th e d ifferen t desi res wh i ch sweep
’
ac ross th e man s m i n d fro m m o me n t to m o m en t Th i s i s .

th e tru e as t ral body B eh i n d t hat an d con si sti ng of a

fi n er grad e of matter agai n —that of th e form l evel s of th e
.
,

-
 7
a nd 1

de vac h an ic plane —l i es th e m en tal body o r aura of t he

l ower m i nd whose col ou rs changi ng onl y b y sl ow degrees
,

as t he m an l ives h i s l ife sh ow the tre n d of h i s th ough ts an d

,

the disposi tio n a nd character of h i s personal i ty & wh i l e sti l l

h igh er an d i nfi n itel y m ore beau ti fu l where at al l cl earl y ,

develope d i s th e l ivi ng l igh t of th e cau sal body the veh i cl e

, ,

of th e h igh er sel f wh ic h sh ows th e stage of d evel op m en t of

,

th e real ego I n I ts passage fro m b irth t o birth B u t to see .

these th e p upi l m u st of cou rse have devel oped th e vi si on

, ,

of th e l evel s to wh i ch th ey bel ong .

I t wi l l save th e st uden t m u c h trou bl e i f h e l earn s at

o nce to regard th ese auras n ot as m ere e manatio n s b u t as ,

t h e ac tual m an i festatio n of the ego on th ei r respective

p l
a n e s
w
if h e u n ders tan d s that i t i s th e au ri c egg wh i ch i s
th e real man n ot th e phys ical body wh i ch on th i s plan e
,

crystal l i zes i n th e m i ddl e of i t So l o ng as th e rei n carnati ng

.

e go re mai ns u pon th e plane wh ich i s h i s tru e h o m e i n th e

form l ess l evel s th e veh i cl e wh i ch h e i nhab i ts i s the cau sal

,

bo dy b u t wh en he descen ds i nto t h e for m l evel s h e m u st

,
-
,

i n order to be ab l e to fu ncti on u pon the m cl oth e h i m sel f ,

i n t h ei r m atter & an d th e matter that h e th u s attracts to

h i m sel f furn i sh es h i s de vac h an ic or m i n d body -
.

S i m i larl y descen d i ng i n to th e astral plan e h e form s h is

,

as tral or desire b o dy ou t of i ts matter th ough of course

-
,

s ti l l retai n i ng al l th e other bod ies an d on h i s sti l l fu rth er ,

desce nt to th i s l owes t plan e of al l th e p h ysi cal body i s

for m ed I n th e m i ds t of t he auri c egg wh ich th u s con tai n s ,

th e e n ti re man Fu l l er accou n ts of th ese auras w i l l be

.

fo un d i n Tr a nsactio n N o 1 8 .of th e London Lodge ,

an d i n a s mal l pam phlet o n Tb e A u r a wh i ch I have

‘

bu t enough has been sai d h ere to sh ow that

1 1 occu py th e sa m e s pace th e fi ner in te rpe n e ,
f rati ng the grosser i t n eeds care ful study an d m u ch
,

prac ti ce t o enabl e th e neoph y te to di sti ngu i sh c learl y at a

glan ce th e on e fro m the other N e vertheless t he h u man .

au ra or m ore u s ual l y so m e on e part of i t o n l y i s n ot

, ,

i n frequ en tl y on e of th e fi rst p u rel y astral obj ects see n by

th e u n t rai n ed th ough i n s uch a case i ts i n di cati on s are
,

na t u ral l y very l i kel y to be m i su nd erstood .

Th ough th e as t ral a ura fro m th e bri l l ian cy of i ts flash es

of col ou r m ay oft en be m ore con spi cu ou s th e nerve eth er ,
-

an d t h e eth eri c d ou bl e are real l y of a m uch de n ser or der of

matter bei ng w i th i n th e l i m i ts of the ph ys ical plan e th ough
, ,

i nvi si bl e to ordi nary sigh t I f we exa m i n e wi th psych i c

.

facul ty th e body of a newl y born ch i l d we shal l fi n d i t

-
,

permea t ed n o t on l y by astral m at ter of every degree of

den si t y bu t al so by th e several grades of eth eri c matter &
,

a n d i f we t ake th e trou bl e to trace these i n n er bodi es back

wards to th ei r origi n we fi n d that i t i s of th e latter that th e
e t heri c dou bl e — th e m ou l d u pon wh ich t h e ph ysi cal body i s
,

b u il t u p —i s for m ed by th e age n ts of th e Lords o f karm a &

wh i l e th e astral matte r has bee n gath ered togeth er by th e
desce ndi ng ego — not of cou rse con sci ousl y b u t au to ,

m atic ally as h e passes th rough th e as t ral plan e ( See .

Ma n ua l N O I V p . .
,
.

I n to th e co m posi ti o n of th e eth eric dou bl e m u s t en ter

so m ethi ng of allth e d i fferen t grades of eth eri c matter & bu t
th e proporti on s may vary greatl y a n d are determ i n e d by ,

several factors s uch as th e race su b race an d ty p e of a

, ,
-
,

man as wel l as by h i s i n d ividual karm a

, W h e n i t i s re
o
.

m em bered th at th ese fo ur su bd ivi sion s of m atter are m ade

u p o f n u m erou s co m bi nati on s wh ich i n th ei r tu rn form
, , ,

aggregati on s that en ter i n to th e c o m po sitio n of th e ato m

.
“

”
o f the so cal l e d-
el e m e n t of th e ch em i st i t wi l l b e see n
“
,
 3 3

that th i s secon d pri ncipl e of man i s h ighl y com pl ex an d ,

th e n u m ber of i ts possi bl e variati on s practi cal l y i n fi n i te ,

so that h owever co m pl icated an d u n usual a m an s karm a

,
’

may b e those i n whose provi n ce su ch work fal l s are ab le to

,

give a m oul d i n accordance wi t h wh i c h a body exactl y

s ui ti ng i t ca n b e for med B u t for i n for matio n upon th i s vas t
.

su bj ect of kar ma th e previou s manual sh ou l d be co n su l ted .

O n e other po i n t deserves m en tion i n co n nect ion w i th

th e appearan ce of ph ys ical matter wh en l ook ed at fro m th e
astral plan e an d that i s that th e h igh er vi si on whe n fu l l y
,

developed possesses th e power of magni fyi ng at wil l the

m i n u tes t phys i cal particl e to any desired size as t hough by
,

a m i croscope th ough i ts magn ify i ng power i s enormou sly

,

greater than that of any m i croscope ever made or ever

l ik el y to be m ade Th e h ypotheti cal mol ecu l e an d ato m
.

postu lated b y scien ce are v i s ib l e real i ties to th e occu l t

studen t th o ugh th e latter recogn izes the m as m u ch m ore
,

co m pl ex I n thei r natu re than th e sci en ti fi c man has yet

d iscovered th e m to be H ere agai n i s a vast fi el d of
.

stu dy of ab sorb i ng i nteres t to w h i ch a w hol e vol u m e

m igh t readily b e devoted an d a sc ien ti fi c in vestigator
wh o sho u l d acqu ire th i s astral sigh t i n perfect ion wou l d,

n ot on l y fi n d hi s experi m e nts wi th ordi nary an d k nown

p heno m en a i m m en sel y facil itated bu t wou l d al so see
,

stretch i ng before h i m en tirely new v istas of k nowledge

needi ng m ore t han a l i feti m e for th ei r th orough exa m
inatio n .

For exa mpl e o n e cu riou s an d very beauti fu l n ovel ty

,

bro ugh t to h i s n oti ce b y th e develop m ent of th i s vis io n

wou l d b e th e ex iste nce of oth er an d e nt irel y di fferen t
col ours b eyon d th e l i m i ts of th e ordi nari l y v isi b l e spectru m ,

th e ultra red an d u l tra viol et rays wh ich scie n ce has di s

- -
 24

covered by other m ean s bei ng pl ain l y percepti bl e to astral

sigh t W e m u st n ot h owever al l ow ou rsel ves to fol l ow
th ese fasci na t i ng bye —
.
, ,

paths bu t m u s t resu m e ou r e ndeavou r

,

t o gi ve a general i dea of t h e appearan ce o f the astral

plan e .

I t w il l by th i s ti m e be o bvi ou s that th ough as above ,

s t a t ed t he ord i nary obj ects o f th e ph ys ical worl d form the

,

back grou n d to l i fe o n certai n l evel s of th e astral plane ,

ye t so m uch m ore i s seen of th ei r real appeara nce an d

charac t eri s t i cs that th e general e ffec t d i ffers w i del y fro m
t ha t wi t h wh i ch we are fa m i liar For th e sak e of i l l u strati on
.

t ak e a rock as an exam pl e of th e si m pler class of o bj ec ts .

W he n regarded wi t h t rai ned sigh t i t i s n o m ere i n ert mass

of sto ne Fi rs t of al l th e wh ol e of th e phys ical matter of
.
,

t h e rock i s seen i n stead of a very s mal l part of i t seco n d ly ,

t h e vi bra t i on s of i ts physi cal parti cl es are percepti bl e :

t h i rd l y i t i s see n to possess a n as t ral c ou n terpart c om posed
,

o f vari ou s grades o f as tral m atter wh ose parti cl es are al so ,

i n con s t an t m oti on fourth ly th e u n i versal l i fe i s see n to

'

be ci rc ula t i ng th rough i t an d radiati ng fro m i t & fifthly an ,

au ra wil l be seen s u rrou n di ng i t th ough th i s is of c ou rse, , ,

m uch les s exten ded an d varied t han i n th e cas e of the

h igher k i ngdo m s si xthl y i ts appropriate el e me n tal essen ce
,

i s see n permeati ng i t ever acti ve b ut ever fl uct uati ng

,
In .

t he case of th e vegetabl e an i m al an d h u m an k i ngdo m s

, , ,

the co m pl icati o n s are natu ral l y m uc h m ore n u m erou s .

I t m ay be obj ected by so m e readers that n o s uch co m

l x it ie s as t h ese are d escri bed by m ost of the psych i cs wh o
p e

occasi onal l y get gl i m pses of th e as t ral worl d n or are th ey ,

repor t ed a t séa nces by th e e nt i ties tha t man i fest th ere bu t

t hi s i s read i l y accou n ted for Few u n trai n ed persons o n
.

t h at plan e wh e t h er l i ving or dead see th i ngs as th ey real ly

, ,
 25

are u nti l aft er very l ong experi en ce even th ose who do see
fu l ly are often too daze d an d co nfused to u n derstan d or
rem e m ber & an d a m ong th e very s mal l m i nori ty wh o both
see an d re m e m ber th ere are hardly any wh o can translate
th e recol lection i n to language o n ou r lower plane M an y .

u n trai n ed psych i cs n ever exam i ne t hei r vi s ion s sci enti fi cal ly

at al l : th ey s i m ply obtai n a n i mpressi o n wh i ch m ay be
qu i te correct b u t may al so be hal f fal se or even wh ol ly
,
‘

m i sl eading .

A l l th e m ore probab l e does t h e latter hypoth esi s beco m e

whe n we tak e i n to con si derati o n the frequ en t tri ck s played
b y sporti ve de ni zen s of th e o t h er worl d agai n s t wh i ch th e
,

u n trai n ed person i s u sual ly absol u tel y defen cel ess I t m u st .

al so be re m em bered that th e regular i nhab i tan t of the

as tral plan e whether h e be h u man or el em en tal i s u n der
, ,

ordi nary circu mstances co nsciou s on l y of th e obj ects of

th at p lane phys i cal m atter bei ng to h i m as en ti rely
,

i nvis ib l e as i s astral matter to the maj ori ty o f m an k i nd .

S i nce as before remark ed every ph ys i cal obj ect has i ts

, ,

astral cou n terpart wh i ch wo u ld b e vi si bl e to hi m i t may

, ,

be though t that th e disti n cti on i s a trivial one yet i t i s ,

an esse ntial part of t he sy m m etri cal co nception of th e

su bj ect .

,
I f h owever an astral e n tity constan tl y work s th rough a
,

m ed i u m th ese fi ner ast ral sen ses m ay gradual ly be so

,

coarse ned as to b ecom e i n sen si bl e to th e h igh er grades of

matter o n th eir own plan e an d to i ncl u de i n thei r pu rvi ew
,

th e ph ysi cal worl d as we see i t i nstead & bu t o nly the

trai n ed vi sitor fro m th i s l i fe wh o i s fu ll y consc ious o n
,

both planes can depen d upo n see i ng both clearly an d

,

S i m u l taneou sl y B e i t u n derstood then that th e co m

. .
, ,

p le x ity exi sts and that on,

ly w h e n i t i s fu l ly perceive d an d
 26

sc ien ti fi cal l y u n ravel l ed i s th ere perfect sec uri ty agai nst

dece pti on or m i stake .

For th e seven th or l owest s u b di vi sio n of the as tral plan e

al so th i s physi cal worl d of ou rs m ay be sai d to be th e back
grou nd th ough what i s seen i s on ly a dis torte d an d partial
,

V Ie w of i t s i n ce al l that 1 5 l i gh t and goo d an d beau ti fu l see m s

,

i nvi si bl e . I t was th u s descri bed fou r th o u san d years ago

in th e Egyptia n papyr us o f th e Scri be An i W hat m an ner
“

of place i s th i s u nt o wh i ch I h ave co m e & I t hath no

wa t er i t h ath n o ai r & i t i s deep u n fatho m abl e & i t i s black
, ,
“

as the blackes t n igh t an d m en wander h el pl ess ly abou t

,
”
therei n & i n i t a man m ay not l i ve i n qu i e tness of heart .

For t h e u nfort u na t e h u man bei ng on tha t l evel i t i s i n deed

t rue t h a t al l t he ear t h i s fu l l of dark ness and cruel hab i ta
“

t i o n s bu t i t i s dark n ess wh i ch radiates fro m wi th i n h i m sel f

,

an d cau ses h i s exi sten ce to be passe d i n a perpetual n igh t

of evi l an d h orror —a very real h el l th ough l i k e al l other , ,

h el l s e n t i rely of m an s ow n creatio n
,
’
.

M os t stu den ts fi nd th e i nvestigati on of th i s secti on an

ext re m el y u n pl easan t task for th ere appears t o be a sen se
,

of d en si ty an d gross material i ty abou t i t wh ic h is inde sc rib

ably l oa t h so me t o t h e l i berated astral body c ausm g i t th e ,

se nse of push i ng i ts way t h rough so m e b lack vi scou s fl u i d , ,

wh i l e th e i n habi tants an d i n fl u en ces en cou n tered th er e are

al so u sual l y excee di ngl y u ndesi rabl e .

Th e fi rst seco n d and th i rd s u bd i vi si on s th ough

, ,

occ upy i ng the sa m e space ye t give the i m pre ss i on

,

of be i ng m u ch fur t h er re m oved fro m th is ph ys i cal world ,

an d c orrespon di ngl y l ess materi al E n ti ti es i n habi ti ng

.

t h e se l evel s l ose s ight of th e e arth and i ts bel ongi ngs &

t h e y are u suall y d e e ply s e l f ab sorbed and to a large ex ten t
-
,

c r e at e th e i r own su rrou n di n gs t hou gh th e se are su f

,
fici en t ly
 28

k i n ds of pas t even t s are co n sta n tl y bei ng

as t ral world an d for m an i m por t an t par t of th e su rrou ndi ngs
,

of t h e i nvestigator t h ere . I have n ot space t o do m ore

t han j u s t men t i o n t he m h ere bu t a fu l le r
,

wi l l be fou n d i n chap t er vi i of m y
 I N HA BI T A N T S .

H A VIN G sk etch ed i n h owever sl igh tly th e back grou n d of

, ,

ou r pi ctu re we m u st n ow a t te m p t t o fi l l i n th e figu res to

,

de sc rib e th e i n habi t ants of t h e astral plan e Th e i m m en se .

variety of th ese bei ngs m ak es i t exceedi ngl y di ffi cu l t to

arrange an d tab u late th em Perhap s th e m ost con ve n i en t
.

m eth od wi l l b e to di vide th e m i nto th ree great cl asses t h e ,

h u man th e n on h u m an an d th e arti fici al

,
-
,
.

I HU MAN
. .

Th e h u m an den i zen s of t h e astral plane fal l natu ral ly

i n to two groups th e l iving an d th e dead or to speak m ore
, , ,

accu ratel y th ose wh o h ave sti l l a ph ysi cal body and th ose
, ,

wh o have n ot .

I . L IV I N G .

Th e m en wh o man i fest the m sel ves on th e astral plane

d uri ng phy sical l i fe m ay be su bd ivi d ed i n to fou r classes
1,
Tb e A dep t a n d l il s P up ils Th ose bel ongi ng to th i s
.

class u sual l y em pl oy as a veh i cl e n ot th e astral b ody a t al l ,

bu t t b ody wh i ch i s com posed of t he matter of th e

-
,

or r upa level s of th e plan e n ex t above Th e .

o f t hi s
-
veh i cl e i s that i t p e rm Its of i n stan t
m th e m en tal plan e t o th e astral an d back &an d
29
 30

all ows of th e u se at al l ti m es o f th e greater power and

keene r sen se of i t s own plane .

Th e m i n d bod y i s n ot natu ral ly vi si bl e to astral s igh t at

-

al l an d co nsequ en tl y t he pu pi l wh o work s i n i t l earn s to

,

ga t h er rou n d h i m sel f a te m porary vei l of astral m atter wh en

i n t h e cou rse of h i s work h e w i sh es to beco m e percepti ble
t o t h e i nhabi tan t s of th e l ower plan e i n ord er to h el p th e m
m ore e ffi ci e n tl y Th i s te m porary body i s u sual ly for med for
.

th e pu pi l by h i s M aster o n th e fi rst occasi on an d h e is th en

,

i nstru c t ed an d ass i sted u n ti l h e can form i t for h i m sel f

easi l y an d expedi t i ou sly Suc h a veh icl e th ough a n e xac t
.
,

reprod u c t i o n of th e man i n appearan ce con tai n s n o ne o f th e

,

ma t ter of h i s own astral body bu t correspon d s to i t i n th e

,

sa me way as a materi al izati on correspond s to a ph y s ical b ody .

A t an earl i er stage of h i s d evelop men t th e pu pi l m ay be

fou n d fu nc t i on i ng i n the as t ral body l ik e any o n e el se & bu t
wh i chever veh i cl e h e i s e m pl oy i ng th e man wh o i s i n tro
,

duc e d to th e ast ral plan e u n der th e gu i dan ce of a co m peten t

t each er has al ways th e fu l lest possi bl e con sci ou s ness th ere ,

a n d i s abl e to fu n cti o n perfectly easi l y u pon al l i ts su b divi

si on s H e i s i n fact h i m sel f exactl y as h i s frien ds k n ow h i m
.
,

o n earth m i n u s on l y th e fou r l ower pri n ci pl es i n th e o ne case

,

an d the t h ree l ower i n t he other an d pl u s th e ad di ti o nal

,

powers a nd facul ti es of th i s h igh er con di ti on wh i ch enab le

,

h i m t o carry on far m ore easi l y an d far m ore e flic ie n tly o n

t hat plane du ri ng sleep th e T h e o s0 p h ic al work wh i ch
occu pi es so m uch of h i s th ough t i n h i s wak i ng h ou rs .

W h e t h er h e wi l l re me m ber ful ly an d accu ratel y on th e

ph ysi cal plane wha t h e has d on e or l ea rn t o n th e oth er
depe n ds largel y upo n wh eth er h e i s abl e to carry h i s co n sci ou s
n ess with ou t i n term i ssi o n fro m th e one state to t he oth er .

The i nvest igator wi l l oc casi onal ly m eet on th e astral

 3 1

plan e stu den ts of occu l ti s m fro m al l parts of th e worl d

( bel o ngi ng to l odges qu i te u n con nected wi th t he M asters of
w ho m Th eosoph i sts k now m ost ) wh o are i n m an y cases
m ost ear nest an d sel f sacrific ing s eek ers after tru th
-
It is .

n oteworth y h owever t hat al l su ch l odges are at l eas t aware

, ,

of th e ex i sten ce of th e great H i malayan B roth erh ood an d ,

ack nowl edge i t as c on ta i n i ng am ong i ts m em bers th e

h ighest A depts now k now n on earth .

2 . Tb e Psyckica ll op ed Per so n wko is

y devel
-
not u n der

t/ze gu ida n ce f
o Maaste S u ch a perso n m ay or may n ot
r .

b e sp iritual l y devel oped for the two form s of advan ce men t

,

do n ot n ecessari l y go togeth er W hen a m an i s born w i th

.

psych i c p owers i t i s si m p l y the resu l t of efforts m ade duri ng

a previou s i n carnati on wh i ch m ay have bee n of t h e n obl est
,

and m ost u n sel fi sh character or on th e other han d m ay ,

have been ign oran t an d i ll di rected or e ven en ti rel y u h

-

worthy .

S uch ah on e w i l l u sual l y b e perfectl y con sc i ou s wh en

o ut of t he body b u t for wan t of proper trai n i ng i s l iabl e to
,

b e gre atly de c e ive d as to what h e sees H e wi l l often be

'

abl e to range t h rough th e di fferen t su bdi vi si on s of th e astral

plan e al m os t as fu l l y as persons b el ongin g to th e last class
bu t so m eti m es h e i s especial l y attracted to so m e on e d ivi sio n
an d rarel y travel s beyo n d i ts i n fl u ences H is recol l ecti o n .

of what h e has see n may vary accordi ng to t he degree of h i s

devel op m en t th ro ugh al l th e stages from perfect cl earn ess t o
u tter di storti on or blan k obl ivion H e wi l l appear al ways .

i n th i s astral b ody si n ce he d oes n ot k n ow h ow t o fu nct ion

,

i n th e m ental veh i cl e
—
.

3 T/ze O r din a ry Pe r so n that i s th e perso n withou t

an y psych ic devel op m ent — wh o fl oats abou t i n h i s astral body
.
,

d uri ng sl eep i n a m ore or l ess u n consci ou s cond i ti on In .

 32

d eep sl u m ber t h e h igh er pri n c i ples i n th ei r as tral veh i cl e

al m os t i nvari abl y w i th dra w fro m th e body an d h over i n i ts
,

i m m edia t e n eighbou rh ood th ough ,

i n qu i te u n developed
person s th ey are practi cal l y al m os t as m uch asl eep as th e
b o dy is
I n som e cases h owever th i s astral veh i cl e i s l ess
, ,

l e t hargic an d fl oa t s d rea m i ly abo ut o n th e vari ou s astral

,

cu rre n t s occasi onal l y rec ogn i zi n g oth er peopl e i n a si m i lar

,

con di t i on an d meeti ng wi th e xperi en ces of al l sorts pl easan t

, ,

and u npl easan t t h e m e m ory of wh i ch h opel essl y con fu sed

, ,

a n d oft en t raves t i ed i n to a gro t esq ue caricatu re of wha t

real ly happened wi l l cau se t h e m an to th i n k next m orn i ng
,

wha t a re ma rk abl e d ream h e h as had .

A l l c u l t u red peopl e bel ongi ng to th e h igh er races of th e

,

worl d have a t t h e presen t ti m e th ei r astral sen ses very fai rly

,

devel oped so t ha t i f t h ey were su ffici en t ly ar o u sed t o

, ,

e xam i ne t h e real iti es wh i ch s urrou n d th e m du ri ng sl ee p ,

t h ey wou l d be abl e t o o bserve th e m an d l earn m u ch fro m

t h e m B ut i n t h e vas t m aj ori ty of cases th ey are n ot s o
.
, ,

arou sed and th ey spen d m os t of th ei r n igh t s i n a k i nd o f

,

brown study pon deri ng deepl y over whatever t h ough t may

,

have been u pper m os t i n th ei r m i n ds wh en t h ey fel l asl eep .

They have t he astral facu l t i es b u t th ey scarcel y u se th em & ,

t h ey are certai n l y awak e on t h e astral plane an d yet t h ey are ,

n o t i n t h e l east awak e to t he plane a n d are con seq ue ntl y ,

c on sci ou s of t h ei r su rrou n di ngs onl y very vagu el y i f at al l ,

.

W h en such a man beco m es a pu pi l of on e of th e M asters

of W i sdom h e i s u sual l y at on ce shak en ou t of t h i s so m
,

n ol en t con di t io n fu l ly awak e ned to th e real i ti es arou nd h i m

,

on t ha t plane an d set to l earn from th e m a nd to work

,

a m ong th e m so t hat h i s h ou rs of sleep are n o l onger a

,

blank bu t are fi l l ed wi th acti ve an d u se ful occu pat ion

, ,
 f
o &

wi t hou t I n th e l east i n terferi ng w i t h th e h eal th y repose of

th e tired physi cal body (See I n visible H el r s C hap v )
'

.
p e ,
. .

Th ese e xtru ded astral bodi es are al m ost shapel ess an d

very i n defi n ite i n ou tl i ne i n th e case of th e m ore backward
races an d i ndi vid ual s bu t as t he m an devel opes i n i n tel l ect
,

a n d spi ri tual i ty h i s fl oat i ng astral beco mes better de fi n ed ,

an d m ore closely rese m bl es h i s physi cal e n case m en t It

i s ofte n asked h ow — si nce t h e u n devel oped astral i s s o
.

vague i n ou tl i n e an d s i n ce th e great maj ori ty of man

,

k i n d co me u n der th e head of th e u n devel oped — h ow

i t i s ever poss i bl e to recogn i se the ordi nary man at
al l whe n h e i s i n h i s astral body I n tryi n g to a nswer
.

that qu estio n we m u st en deavou r to real ize t hat t o ,

the clai rvoyan t eye th e ph ysic al body of man appears

,

s u rrou nd ed by wh at we cal l th e au ra a l u m i n ou s col oured -

m i st rou gh l y ovoi d i n s hape and e xten di ng to a d i stance of

, ,

so m e eigh teen i n ch es fro m th e b ody i n al l direction s Al l .

s tu den ts are aware tha t th i s aura i s exceedi ngl y com pl ex ,

a n d con tai n s matter of al l th e di fferen t planes o n wh ich ma n

is at presen t provi ded wi th veh icl es bu t for th e m o m en t let
,

u s th i nk o f i t as i t wou l d appear to o ne wh o possessed

n o h igh er power o f v isi o n than th e astral .

For s u ch a spectator th e au ra woul d of course con tai n

o nl y astral matter an d wou l d therefore be a s i mp ler obj ec t
,

o f study . H e wou l d see h owever that th i s as tral matter

, ,

n ot o n l y s urrou n ded the phys ical body b u t i nterpenetrated ,

i t an d that w i th i n th e periph ery of that body i t was m u ch

,

more den sel y aggregated than i n that part o f th e aura wh i ch

lay o u ts i de i t Poss i bl y th i s may be due to th e attrac t i on of
.

the large am ou n t of den se astral matter wh i ch i s gath ered

t og e ther th ere as th e cou nterpart of th e cell s of th e ph ys ical
b o dy b u t h owever that m ay be th e fact i s u n do ubt ed that
,
 34

t h e mat t er of t h e astral body wh i ch l i es wi th i n the l i m i ts of

t he ph ysi cal i s many ti m es den ser th an that ou tsi de i t .

W he n d u ri ng s leep th e astral body i s wi th drawn fro m

t h e physi cal t h i s arrange m en t s t i l l persi sts an d an y o ne
,

l ook i ng at su ch an astral body wi th clai rvoyan t vi si on wou l d

s t i l l see j u s t as be fore a form rese m bl i ng th e ph ysi cal body
, ,

s u rrou nd ed by an au ra That form wou l d n ow be co mposed

.

on l y of astral m at ter bu t sti l l th e di ffere n ce i n den si ty

,

be t ween i t and i t s su rrou n di ng m i s t wou l d be q u i te su ffici en t

t o mak e i t cl earl y di sti ngui shabl e even th ough i t i s i ts el f
,

on l y a form of den ser m i s t .

N ow as to th e d i fferen ce i n appearance between th e

evol ved and th e u nevolved man .E ven i n the case of th e
la t t er th e fea t u res an d sh ape of th e i n n er form wo ul d be
recogn izabl e al ways th ough bl u rred an d i n di s ti n ct bu t th e
, ,

su rrou n di ng egg wou l d scarcel y deserve th e nam e for i t ,

wou l d be i n fac t a m ere sh apel ess wreath of m i st h avi ng , ,

nei th er regulari t y n or per man ence of ou tl i n e .

I n t h e m ore devel oped ma n the change wou l d be very

mark ed both i n t h e au ra a n d t h e for m w i th i n i t Th i s :

la t t er woul d be far m ore di sti n c t an d de fin ite —a c l oser

.
,

’
reprod u cti on of th e man s ph ys i cal appearance wh i l e
i n s t ead of th e fl oat i ng m i s t wreat h we sh ou l d see a sharpl y
-

de fin e d ovoid form preservi ng i ts shape u na f

, fected am i d s t
al l t h e vari ed cu rren t s whi ch are al ways swi rl i ng arou nd i t o n
t he astral plan e .

Si n ce t he psych i cal facul ti es of m ank i nd are i n cou rse of

evol u t i on an d i n di vi dual s are at al l stages of th ei r devel op
,

me n t th is class natu ral l y m el ts by i m percepti bl e grada t io n s

,

i n to t he former on e
The B la ck Magicia n o r lzis p up il
.

4 Th i s cl ass
.

corres po nd s so m ewhat to th e firs t e xcept that th e devel op

,
 36

ph ys ical body They may be su bdivi ded i n to n i n e pri n ci pal

.

cl asses as fol l ows :

,

I T/ze Vir nnin a /rir a

. 1 Th i s class i s j u st m e n ti on ed i n
c
.

order t o make th e ca t al ogu e co m pl ete b u t i t i s of cou rse ,

very rarel y i ndeed t hat so exal t ed a be i ng man i fes t s h i m sel f

u pon so l ow a plane as th i s W h en fo r an y reason con
.

n e c te d wi th h i s su bl i m e w ork h e fou nd i t desirabl e to do so ,

h e wou l d probabl y crea t e a te mporary astral body for th e

pu rpose fro m t h e ato m i c matter of the plan e j u s t as th e ,

Ade pt i n t h e m i nd body wou l d d o s i m pl y becau se h i s more

-
,

re fi n ed vestu re wou l d be i n vi si bl e to as tral sigh t I n order .

t o be abl e to fu n cti on w i t hou t a m o m e n t s h esi t ati on o n any ’

plan e h e retai n s al ways w i th i n h i m sel f so m e ato m s bel ongi ng

,

t o each rou nd wh i ch as a n ucl eu s h e can i n stan t ly aggregate

,

o t her m a t t er a n d so provi de h i m sel f wi th whatever veh i cl e

,

h e desi res Fu r t h er i n for mati on abou t th e posi ti o n an d work

.

of th e N i rm a nak a ya m ay be fou n d i n M ada m e Blavatsky s ’

Vo ice of the S ile n ce an d i n m y ow n l i t tl e book o n I n visib le

,

2 . Tb e Pup il a w a iting I t has frequ e n tl y

i i
r e n ca r n a t o n .

bee n s t a t ed i n Th eosoph i cal l i teratu re tha t wh e n th e pu pi l

reach es a cer t ai n s t age h e i s abl e wi th the ass i s tan ce of h i s
M as ter to escape fro m t h e acti on of what i s i n ordi nary
cases t h e law o f na t u re wh ic h carri es a h u man bei ng i n to
t h e h eaven worl d aft er death th ere to rec ei ve th e d u e
-
,

resu l t o f t h e ful l work i ng ou t o f al l t he spi ri tual forces

wh i ch h i s h ighes t aspi ra t i on s have set i n m oti on wh i l e on
ear t h .

A s t h e pu pi l m u st by the h ypo t h esi s be a man o f pu re

l i fe an d h igh t h ough t i t i s probabl e that i n hi s case these
,

s pi rit ual forces wi l l be of a bn ormal strength an d t h ere fore i f ,

h e t o use t h e t ech ni cal e xpres si on

, takes h i s devachan ,
“
,
”
 37

it is l i kel y to be an extrem el y long on e & bu t if i n s t ead

-

of tak i ng i t h e ch ooses th e Path of R en u nciati o n (th u s e ven

at h i s l ow l evel an d i n h i s h u m ble way b egi n n i ng to fol l ow
i n th e footsteps of t h e Great M aster of Re nu nciati on ,

G A U TA MA B U DDH A H i m self) h e i s abl e t o expen d t hat

reserve of force i n qu ite an oth er di rec t i on —to u se i t for t h e
,

b en efi t of m an k i n d an d so i n fi n i tesi mal th ough h i s o fferi ng

, ,

may be to tak e h i s ti n y par t i n t h e great work of th e

,

N irm an akayas B y tak i ng th i s cou rse h e n o dou bt sacri fi ces

.

cent uries of i n te nse bl i ss b ut on th e oth er han d h e gai n s

,

t he en orm ou s advan tage of bei ng a bl e to conti nu e h i s l i fe

o f work an d p rogress wi th ou t a break .

W h en a p upi l wh o has dec i ded to do th i s di es h e ,

si mpl y steps ou t of h i s body as h e has ofte n do n e before

, ,

an d wai ts upon th e astral plan e u nt i l a su i t abl e rei n carna t i on

can b e arranged for hi m by h i s M aster Th i s bei ng a .

mark e d departure from t h e u sual cou rse o f procedu re t h e ,

per mi ssion of a very h igh au th ority has to be obta i ned

before th e attem p t can be made & yet even w h en th i s i s ,

gran ted so strong i s t he force of natural law that i t i s sai d

, ,

th e pu pi l m u st b e carefu l to con fi ne h i m sel f stri ctl y to th e

astral l eve l wh il e th e matter i s bei ng arranged l est i f h e ,

on ce eve n for a m o me nt touch ed th e de vac h an ic plane h e

, , ,

migh t be swep t as b y an irresi sti bl e cu rren t i nto th e l i n e of

n ormal evol u ti on agai n .

I n so m e cases t h o ugh these are rare h e i s enabl ed to

, ,

avoi d th e trou bl e of a n ew bi rth by bei ng pl aced di rec t ly

i n an ad ul t body wh ose previ ou s tena nt has n o furth er u se
for i t bu t natural l y i t i s n ot ofte n t hat a su i tabl e body i s
,
“

avai labl e Far m ore fre q uen tl y h e has t o wai t on th e as t ral

.

m enti on ed before u n ti l th e opportu n i ty of a fi tti ng

,

sen ts i tsel f I n th e m ean ti me h owever h e i s

.
, ,
 3 8

l osi ng n o t i m e for h e i s j u st as fu l l y h i m sel f as ever h e was

, ,

an d i s abl e t o go o n wi t h t h e work gi ve n h i m by h i s M aste r

eve n m ore q u i ck l y an d e fficie n tl y than wh en i n th e ph ysi cal
body si n ce h e i s n o l onger ham pered by t h e possi bi l i ty of
,

fa t igue . H is con sci ou s ness i s of cou rse q u i t e co m plete an d ,

h e roa m s a t wil l t h rough all t h e di vi si on s of t h e plan e wi t h

eq ual faci l i t y .

Th e pu pi l awai t i ng rei n carn a t i on i s by n o m ean s on e of

t h e co m m on obj ec t s of t h e as t ral plan e bu t s t i l l h e m ay be
,

m e t wi t h occasi onal l y an d t h erefore h e form s on e of ou r

,

classes . N o dou b t as th e evol u t i on o f h u man i ty proceeds ,

an d a n ever i n c rea si ng proporti on e n ters u pon th e Path of

-

H ol i n ess t h i s cl ass wil l bec o m e m ore n u m erou s

,
.

.
3 T/1 e O r din a r
y P er so n a
fte r de a f/z N ee dl
. es s to say ,

t h i s class i s m i ll i on s o f t i m es larger t h an th ose of wh i ch we

have spok en an d t h e charac ter an d c on di ti on of i t s
,

m e m bers vary w i t h i n ex t re m el y wi de l i m i ts W ithin

.

si m i larl y wide l i m i t s may vary al s o th e l ength of th ei r l i ves

u pon t h e as t ral plan e for wh i le th ere are t h ose wh o pas s
,

on ly a few days or h ou rs t h ere oth ers re mai n u pon th i s

,

l evel for man y years an d even cen tu ri es .

A ma n wh o h as l ed a good an d pu re l i fe wh ose ,

s t ro nges t feel i ngs an d aspi ra t i on s have been u n sel fi sh an d

s pi ri t ual wi l l have n o a t trac ti on to th i s plan e an d wi l l i f
, , ,

en t i rel y l eft al one fi n d l i t t l e to k eep h i m u po n i t or to

, ,

awake n h i m i n t o ac t ivi ty even d uri ng t h e co mpara t i vel y

sh or t peri od of hi s stay For i t m u st be u n ders too d t ha t
.

aft er dea t h t he t ru e man i s w i th drawi ng i n to h i ms el f a n d ,

j u s t as a t t he fi rs t step of that process h e casts o ff th e

ph ysi cal body an d al m ost d i rec t l y aft erward s t h e e t h eri c
,

dou bl e so i t i s i n t ended t ha t h e sh ou l d as soon as possi bl e

,

cas t o ff al so t he as t ral or desi re body an d pas s i n to t he

,
 39

h eaven — worl d wh ere a lo ne h i s spiritual aspi rati ons ca n

,

bear thei r perfec t fru i t .

Th e nobl e an d p ure m i n ded ma n w il l be abl e to do th i s

-
,

for h e has su b du ed al l earth l y passions duri ng l i fe & th e

force of hi s wi l l h as been d irected i nto higher chan n el s ,

an d th ere i s t herefore bu t l ittl e en ergy of l ower desi re t o

be worked ou t o n th e as tral plan e H is stay th ere w il l .

co nsequ en tly be very sh ort an d most probabl y b e wi l l have

,

l ittl e more than a dream y hal f consci ous ness of exi s t e nce
-

u nti l h e si nk s i n to t he sleep duri ng wh i ch h i s h igher

pri ncipl es fi nal l y free the m selves fro m th e astral e nvel op e
an d enter u po n the bl i ssfu l l i fe of th e h eaven worl d -
.

For th e pe r so n wh o has not as yet en tered u po n th e

path of occ u l t devel opm en t what has been descri bed i s th e
,

i deal state of affai rs bu t natural l y i t i s n ot attai ned by a l l

, ,

or even by th e maj ori ty Th e average m an has by n o

.

mean s freed h i m sel f fro m al l l ower desi res before death ,

an d i t tak es a l ong period of m ore or l ess fu l l y co n sciou s

l i fe o n th e vario u s su bdivi s ion s of th e astral plane to al l ow
the forces wh ich h e has generate d to work th em sel ves ou t
and th u s rel ease th e h igher ego .

E very one after death has to pas s th rough al l the su b

d ivi s ion s of th e astral plane on h i s way t o th e heaven world ,

though i t m u st not be i nferred that h e wi l l be con sci ou s

upo n al l of t hem Preci sely as i t i s n ecessary th at th e
“

p hysical body sh ou l d con tai n wi th i n i ts con sti tu tion ph ysi cal

matter i n al l its con di ti on s sol i d l i q u i d gaseou s an d
, , , ,

etheri c so i t is i n di spen sab l e that th e astral veh i cl e sh oul d

co n tai n particl es belongi ng to al l th e correspon di ng su b
divi sio ns o f astral matter th ough of cou rse th e proporti on s
,

st be re mem bered that al ong wi t h t h e matte r

 4 0

of h i s astral body a m an pi ck s u p th e correspon di ng

el e m en tal essen ce an d that du ri ng h i s l i fe th i s esse nc e i s
,

segrega t ed fro m t h e ocean of si m i lar matter arou n d an d ,

prac t i cal l y becom es for tha t ti m e what may be descri bed

as a k i n d of ar t i fi ci al el em en t al .Th i s has te m p o rarily a
defi n i t e separate exi stence of i ts own an d fol l ow s th e cou rse
,

of i t s own evol u t i o n dow nwards i n to ma t ter wi th ou t any

referen ce t o (or i n d eed an y k nowl edge of) th e conve n ie nce
or i n t eres t of t h e ego to w h o m i t happen s to be at tached
t h u s cau si ng tha t perpetual struggl e be twee n th e wi l l of th e
fl esh an d t h e wi l l of th e spi ri t to wh i ch rel igi ou s wri ters
so oft en refer Yet t h ough i t i s a law of th e m e m bers
.
“

warri n g agai n st t h e law of t h e m i n d th ough i f t he m an

,

o b eys i t i n s t ead of con t rol l i ng i t h i s evol u t i on wi l l be

seri ou sl y h i nd ered i t m u s t n o t be t h ough t of as i n any
way evi l i n i tsel f for i t i s sti l l a Law —sti ll an ou tpou ri ng
,

of t h e Divi n e power goi ng on i ts orderly cou rse though ,

t ha t cou rse i n t h i s i n stan ce happen s t o be dow nwards i n to

m a t t er i n stead of u pwar ds an d away from i t as ou rs i s
, .

W h en t h e m an passes away at death fro m th e p h ysIc al

pla ne t h e d i si ntegra t i ng forces of n atu re begi n to operate
u pon h i s astral body an d t h i s el em en t al t h u s fi n ds h i s
,

exi s t en ce as a separate en t i ty en dangered H e s e ts to

.

work th ere fo re to defend h i m sel f an d to h ol d t h e astra l

,

body toge t he r as l ong as poss i bl e & and hi s m eth od of

doi ng t h i s i s t o rearrange t h e m atter of wh i ch i t i s co m
posed i n a sort of strati fi ed series of sh e ll s leavi ng that of,

th e lowe st (an d t herefore coarsest and gro ssest ) su b plan e -

on t he ou t s id e si n ce that wi l l offe r th e gr e ates t resi s ta nce

,

t o d i s i n t e gra t i on
.

N o w a man h as to s tay u p o n th i s l owes t s u bd ivi s i on

u n til h e has di s e ntan l ed so m uc h as is possi bl e of h i s t ru e
g
 41

se lf fro m t he m atter of th at su b — plan e an d w hen that i s

don e h i s consc iou s ness i s focu ssed i n th e n ext of these
concen tri c sh el ls (t hat for med of t h e matter of th e si xth
su bdi vi si on ) or to pu t the sa m e i dea i n oth er words h e
, , ,

passes on to th e n ext su b plan e -

W e m i gh t say that wh en
.

th e astral body has exhau sted i ts attraction s to on e l evel t h e ,

gre ater part of i ts grosser parti cl es fal l away an d i t fi n ds ,

i tsel f in affi n i ty wi th a s om ewhat h igh er s tate of exi stence .

I ts speci fi c gravity as i t were i s con stantly decreasi ng an d

, , ,

so i t steadi l y rises fro m th e den ser t o t h e l igh ter strata ,

pau si ng on l y w h en i t i s exac t l y balan ced for a ti m e Th i s .

I s e vIde n tly th e explanati o n of a re mark frequentl y made by

th e departed wh o appear at sta n ces t o the e ffect that t h ey
are abou t to ri se to a h igh er sphere fro m wh i ch i t wi l l be
,

i m possi bl e or n ot so easy to co m m u n i cate t hrough a

, ,

m edi u m & an d i t i s as a m atter o f fact tru e that a perso n

u pon th e h ighest su bdivi si o n of th is plan e wou l d fi n d i t
al most i m possi bl e to deal wi th any ordi nary medi u m .

Th us we see th at t h e length of a m an s deten t i o n upon

’

an y level of th e astral plan e wi l l be preci sel y i n proporti on to

th e am ou n t of i ts matter wh i ch i s fou n d i n h i s astral body ,

and that i n turn depen ds u pon th e l i fe h e has li ved th e ,

desi res h e has i n dulged an d t h e class of matter wh i ch by s o

,

doi ng h e has attracted towards h i m a n d b u i l t i n to h i m sel f .

I t i s th erefore possib l e for a man by pure l ivi ng an d h igh

, , ,

th i nki ng to m i ni m ize th e quan ti ty of m atter bel ongi ng to

,

the l ower astral l evel s wh ich h e attach es to h i m sel f an d to ,

raI se I t I n each case to what m ay be cal l ed i t s cri ti cal poi nt ,

so that th e fi rst tou ch of di si n tegrati ng force sh oul d s hatter

i ts coh esi on an d resol ve i t i n to i ts origi nal con di tion l eavi ng
h i m free at o n c e to pass on to th e n ext su b —
,

\
plan e .

I n th e case of a th oroughl y spi ri tual l y m i n ded person-

 4 2

t h i s con di t i o n wou l d have been attai ned wi t h reference to

al l t h e s u bdi vi si on s o f astral matter an d th e resu l t wou l d be
,

a practi cal ly i n s t an t an eou s passage through that plan e s o ,

t hat c on sci ou sness wou l d be recovered for th e fi rst t i m e i n

t h e h eaven worl d O f cou rse as was explai ned before th e
-
.
, ,

su b planes m u st n ever be th ough t o f as di vi ded fro m on e

-

an o t h er i n space bu t rath er as i n terpen etrati ng on e an oth er &

,

s o t ha t wh en we say t hat a person p asses from o ne su b

d i vi si on t o an o t h er we d o n o t m ean that h e m oves i n space
,

a t al l bu t si m ply that t h e focu s of h i s con sci ou sn ess sh i ft s

,

fro m t h e ou ter shel l t o th e on e n ex t wi th i n i t .

Th e on l y person s wh o wou l d n ormal l y awak e to

consci ou sn es s on th e l owes t l evel of th e astral plan e
are t h ose wh ose des ires are gros s an d bru tal
d ru n kards se n sual i sts an d s uch l i k e Th ere t hey woul d
, ,
.

re mai n for a peri od proporti on ed to th e s trength of th ei r

desi res oft en su fferi ng t erri bl y fro m t h e fact that wh i l e
,

t h ese ear t h ly l us ts are sti l l as strong as ever th ey n ow fi n d ,

i t i m possi bl e t o grati fy th e m except occasi o nal l y i n a

,

vicar i ous man n er wh en th ey are abl e to sei ze u pon so m e

l i ke m i n ded person an d obsess h i m
-
,
.

Th e ordi nari l y decen t man woul d probabl y have l i ttl e to

de t ai n h i m on t hat seven th s u b plan e & b u t i f h i s ch i ef
-

desi res an d t h ough t s had cen tred i n m ere worl dl y affai rs h e ,

wou l d be l i k el y to fi n d h i m sel f i n th e si xth su bdi vi si on s ti l l

,

h overi n g abou t t he places an d perso n s wi th wh i ch h e was

m ost cl osel y con n ec ted wh i l e on earth Th e fi ft h an d th e
.

fou r t h s u b p lan e s are of si mi lar character except that as ,

we rise th rough t he m m ere earth l y associati on s appear t o

becom e of l ess an d less i m portan ce an d the departed ten ds
,

m ore an d m ore to m oul d h i s su rrou nd i ngs i n to agree m en t

wi t h t h e m ore persi sten t of h i s th ough ts .
 44

t ha t s u b plan e to t he on e n e xt above i t u n ti l th e proces s of

-

detach me n t descri bed had been co m pl eted .

To t h i s rul e th ere i s n o ki n d of e xcepti o n so far as we

,

are ye t aware al t h ough natu ral l y a ma n s acti on s wh e n h e

,
’

fi n ds h i m sel f con sci ou s u po n an y su b plan e m ay wi th i n

-

cer t ai n l i m i t s ei t h er sh orten or prol on g h i s con n ecti on wi th

It
.

Bu t t h e am ou n t of con sci ou sn ess th at a person wi l l h ave

u pon a gi ven s u b plan e d oes n ot i n variabl y fol l ow preci sel y
-

t h e sa me law . Le t u s c on si der an e xtre m e exa m pl e o f

possi bl e varia t i on i n order tha t we may grasp i ts m eth od .

S u ppose a ma n wh o has b rough t over fro m h i s past i n carna

t i on t en den ci es requ i ri ng for th ei r man i festati on a very large
a m ou n t of th e m atter o f t h e seven th or l owest su b pl an e -
,

b u t has i n h i s presen t l i fe been fort u nate en ough to l earn i n

h i s very earl i est years th e possi bi l i ty an d n ecessi ty of
con t rol l i n gt h ese ten den c i es . I t i s scarcel y probabl e that
su ch a man s e ffor t s at con trol sh ou l d b e en ti rely an d
’

u n i form ly su ccessfu l & bu t i f th ey were th e su b sti t uti on

,

of fme r for grosser par t i cl es i n h i s astral body woul d

‘

progress s t eadi ly th ough sl owl y

, .

Th i s process i s at best a very gradual on e an d i t m igh t

,

wel l happen th at th e man d i ed be fore i t was h al f co m pl eted .

I n that case t here wou l d u n dou btedl y be en ough m atter o f

th e l owest s u b plan e l eft i n h i s as tral bod y t o e n su re h i m no
-

i n con si derabl e resid en ce th ere & bu t i t wou l d be matter

t h rough wh i ch i n th i s i n carnat i on h i s con sci ou sn ess h ad
n ever bee n i n th e h abi t o f fu n cti o ni ng an d as i t coul d n ot
,

sud den l y acqu i re th i s habi t th e resu l t wou l d be that th e

man wou l d rest u po n that su b plan e u n ti l h i s share o f i ts
-

m atter was d i si nt egrated b ut wou l d be al l th e wh i l e i n a

condi ti on of u n con sci ou sn ess —that i s to say h e woul d
,

,
 45

practi cal l y sleep through th e period of h is soj ou rn th ere an d ,

so wou l d be en ti rel y u naffected by i ts many disagreeables .

I t may be sai d i n passi ng t hat co m m u n i cati on i s l i m i ted

on th e astral plane by th e k n owl edge of th e en ti ty j us t as ,

i t i s here . W h i le a pupi l abl e to u se the m i nd body can -

co m m u n i cate h i s th ough ts to th e h u man en titi es there

presen t m ore readi ly an d rapi dly than on ear t h by means ,

of m en tal i m press i on s th e i n habi t an ts of th e p lane are

,

not u su al ly abl e to e xercise th is power bu t appear t o ,

be restri cted by l i m i tati ons si m ilar t o th ose t hat prevai l on

earth t h ough perhaps l ess rigi d The resu l t of th i s i s that
,
.

they are fou n d associati ng t here as here i n groups drawn

, ,

together by co m m o n sy mpath ies bel i e fs an d language

, , .

The poeti c i dea of deat h as a u n i versal l evel l er is a

m ere absu rdi ty born of i gnoran ce for as a mat t er o f fac t
, , ,

i n th e vast maj ori t y of cases th e l oss of th e ph ysi cal body

makes n o d i fferen ce whatever i n th e ch aracter or i n tel lect of
th e person an d th ere are th ere fore as man y di fferen t
,

variet ies of i n tel l igen ce a mong t h ose wh o m we u sual ly cal l

t he dead as am ong the l ivi ng .

The popular rel igi ous teach ing of th e W es t as t o man s

’

o s t mo r te m adve n tures has l ong been so w i ldly i naccu ra t e

p
t hat eve n i n tel l igen t peopl e are often t erri bl y p uzzl ed wh en
t h ey recover con sc iou s ness i n th e as t ral w orl d aft er death .

The co ndi ti o n i n wh i ch th e n ew arri val fi n ds h i m sel f di ffers

so radi cal ly fro m what h e has bee n l ed to expect tha t i t i s
n o u n co m m o n case for h i m to refus e at fi rs t to bel i eve that
h e has passed th rough th e portal s of death at a ll & i n deed ,

of so l i ttl e practical val ue i s our m u ch vau n ted bel i ef i n th e

-

i m m ortal i ty of th e sou l th at m ost peopl e co nsi der the very

fact that th ey are sti l l co n sci ou s an absol u te proof t hat th ey
have n ot d ied .
 46

The h or ri bl e doc t ri n e of eternal pu n i sh m en t too i s

, ,

respon si bl e for a vas t a m ou n t of m os t pi t iabl e a nd e n ti rel y

grou n dl es s t erro r a m ong t h ose n ewl y arri ved i n th i s higher
l i fe. I n man y cases t hey spe n d l ong peri ods o f acu te
me n t al s u fferi ng be fore t h ey can free t h e m sel ves fro m th e
fa t al i n fl u ence of t hat h i deou s blasph e m y an d real i ze th a t
,

t h e worl d i s governe d n o t accordi n g to th e capri ce of so m e

d e m on wh o gloats over h u man angu i sh bu t accordi ng t o a
,

benevol en t a nd won derfu l l y pa t i en t law o f evol u ti on M an y .

m e m bers of th e class we are con si deri ng d o n ot real l y

a tt ai n an i n tel l igen t appreciati o n of th i s fac t of evol uti on at
al l bu t d ri ft t h rough t h ei r as t ral i n t erl u de i n th e sa me ai m
,

l es s man n er i n wh i ch t h ey have spen t t h e ph ysi cal port i on

o f t h ei r l i ves Thu s aft e r dea t h exac t l y as before i t th ere
.
,

are t h e few wh o co m preh en d so m eth i ng of thei r pos i ti on

an d k n ow h ow t o make th e best of i t an d t he many wh o
,

have n o t ye t acq u i red t hat k n owl edge & an d th en j u st as .

n ow t he ignoran t are rarel y ready t o p rofi t by th e advi ce or

,

exa m pl e of t h e wi se .

Bu t of whatever grade t h e en ti ty s i n tel l ect m a y be i t i s

’

al ways a fl u ctua t i ng an d on t he wh ole a gradual l y di m i n i sh i ng

q uan t i t y for th e l ower m i n d of th e ma n i s bei ng d rawn i n
,

opposi t e di recti on s by th e h igh er spi ri tual nat u re wh i ch ac t s

on i t fro m a bove i ts l evel an d th e strong desi re forces w h i ch
-

opera t e fro m bel ow : and t h erefore i t osci llates bet ween t he

t wo at t rac t i on s wi t h an ever i ncreasi ng t en de n cy toward s th e
,
-

form er as t h e forces of l ower desi re wea r the m sel ves ou t .

H ere com es i n on e o f th e o bj ecti on s t o t he spi ri t ual i sti c

i

séa /zfe A n exceed i ngly ign oran t or degraded man may n o

.

d ou b t l earn m u ch by co m i ng i n to con tac t after h i s death

wi t h a ci rcl e of earn est si t t ers u n der t h e control of so m e
rel iabl e person and so may be real ly h el ped and rai sed
, .
 47

B u t ln th e ordi nary man the consciou sness i s stead il y ri si ng

fro m th e l ower part of the natu re towards th e h igh b
er & an d
obvi ou sl y i t can no t be h elp fu l to hi s e vo lu tio n that th i s
l ower part s hou l d be reawake ned fro m t h e natural an d
desirab l e u ncon sciou s ness i n to wh ich i t i s passi ng an d ,

dragged back i n to tou ch wi th earth i n order t o co m m un icate

through a m edi u m .

Th e pecu l iar danger of th i s wi l l be seen wh e n i t i s

recol l ected that si n ce th e real man i s al l th e wh i l e steadil y
wi t h drawi ng i nto h i m sel f h e i s as ti m e goes o n l ess an d l ess
,

abl e to i nfl uen ce or gu i de th i s l ower porti on wh i ch n ever

,

th e le ss u nti l th e separati o n i s co m plete

, ,
h as th e power t o
gen erate karma an d u n der the ci rcu m s tan ces i s evi den t ly
,

far m ore li kel y to add evi l than goo d to i ts record .

Apart al together fro m an y questio n of develop m en t

th rough a m ed i u m t here i s another an d m u ch m ore
,

freque ntl y exerci sed i nfl u en ce wh ic h m ay seriou s l y reta 1 d

a di se m bodied en t ity o n hi s way to the h eave n worl d an d ,

that 1 5 th e i ntense an d u n con trol l ed grief of h i s s urvivi ng

fri ends or relati ves . I t i s on e am ong man y m elanch oly
resu l ts of t h e terribl y i naccu rate an d eve n i rrel ig iou s V iew
th at we i n th e W est have for cen tu ri es b een tak ing of
l

death th at we not o nly cau s e ou rselves an i m m en se

,

a m ou n t of wh ol ly u n necessary pai n over th i s te mporary

parti ng fro m our loved ones bu t we ofte n als o do seriou s
,

inj u ry to th ose for wh o m we bear so deep an affecti o n b v

m eans of t h i s very regret wh i c h we feel so acu tel y .

W h en ou r departed broth er i s s i n k i ng peacefu l ly an d

nat ural ly i n to th e u ncon sci ou s ness wh i ch precedes h i s
awake n i ng am i d th e gl orie s of th e h eaven world h e i s too
-
,

frequen tl y arou s ed fro m hi s dream y happi n es s i n to vi vi d

rem e m brance of th e ear th l i fe wh ich h e has late l y left solel y
-
,
 4 8

by th e acti on of th e passi onate sorrows and desi res of h i s

fri en d s on earth wh i ch awak en correspon di ng vi brati on s
,

i n h i s own desi re body an d so cause h i m acu t e di sco m for t

-
, .

I t wou l d be wel l i f th ose wh ose l oved on es have passed

o n before t he m wou l d l earn fro m th ese u ndou bted facts
t h e du t y of restrai n i ng for t h e sak e of th ose dear on es a
gri ef w h i ch h owever natu ral i t may be i s yet i n i ts esse nce
, ,

sel fish N o t t ha t occul t teach i ng cou n sel s forgetfu l ness of

t h e d ead —far fro m i t & bu t i t does suggest t hat a man s
.

a ffecti onate re me m bran ce of h i s departed fri en d i s a force

wh i ch i f properl y di rec te d i n to th e cha n nel of earn est good
,

wi sh es for h is progress towards th e h eaven worl d an d h i s -

qu i e t passage th rough th e i n term ediate s t ate m igh t be o f ,

real val u e t o h i m wh ereas wh en was t ed i n m ou rn i ng for

,

h i m an d l ongi ng t o h ave h i m back agai n i t i s no t o nl y

u sel ess bu t harm fu l I t i s wi th a true i n sti n ct that the
.

H i nd u rel igi o n prescri bes i t s Sh r a ddha cere m o n ies an d th e

C ath ol i c C h u rc h i t s prayers for t he dead .

I t so m eti m es h appe n s h owever t hat th e des i re for

, ,

co m m u n icati on i s fro m t h e oth er si de an d that th e d ead ,

ma n has so me th i ng wh i c h b e special l y desi res to say to

t h ose wh o m he h as l e ft beh i n d O ccas ion al l y th i s me ssage
.

i s an i mpor tan t o n e suc h as fo r exam ple an i ndi cati on of

, , ,

t h e place wh ere a m i ssi ng wi l l i s co nceal ed bu t m ore ofte n

i t see m s to u s q u i t e t ri vial St i l l whatever i t m ay be if i t
.
, ,

i s fi rm l y i m pres sed u po n the m i n d of the dead p e r son i t i s ,

u nd ou btedly des i rabl e that h e shou l d be e nabled to del iv e r _

i t as oth erwi s e t he an xi ety to do so wou l d perpe tual l y draw

,

h is c on sc iou s n e ss b a ck i n t o th e e art h l i fe an d preve n t h i m

-
,

fro m passi ng to h i gh er sph er e s I n su ch a c ase a psych i c

.

wh o c an u nd e r stan d h i m or a m e d i u m th rough wh om he
,

can write o r sp eak is o f r eal servi ce t o h i m

,
.
 49

W h y can not h e write or speak w i th ou t a m edi u m & i t

may be asked The reaso n i s that on e state of matter can
.

ord i nari l y act on l y upon the state n ext bel ow i t an d as h e , ,

has now n o den ser matter i n h i s organ is m than t hat of

wh i ch the astral body i s co mposed he fi nds i t i mpossi bl e to,

set up vi brati on s i n th e ph ysi cal su bstance of th e ai r or t o

m ove th e physi cal pen ci l wi t h ou t borrowi ng l ivi ng m atter of
the i n termediate order co ntai ned i n t he e t h eri c dou bl e b y ,

m ean s of wh i ch an i m pu l se can readi l y be tran sferred fro m

th e one plane to t he other H e wou ld be u nabl e to borrow
.

t h i s ma t erial fro m a n ord i nary person becau se s u ch a man s ,

’

pri n c ipl es wou l d be too cl osel y l i n k ed togeth er to be

separated by an y m eans l i kely to be at h i s com man d b ut ,

the very essen ce of m ed iu msh ip i s th e ready separab i li t y of

th e pri n ci pl es so fro m a m edi u m he can draw wi th ou t
,

di ffi cu l ty the matter h e needs for h i s man i festat ion whatever ,

i t may be .

W h en h e can not fi n d a m edi u m or does n ot u n derstan d

ho w t o u se o ne h e so m eti mes makes cl u m sy an d bl u n deri ng
en deavou rs to co m m u n i cate o n h i s ow n accou n t an d by th e ,

strength of hi s wi l l he sets ele m en tal forces b l i n dl y work i ng ,

perhaps produ c i ng su c h apparently ai m l es s man ifestation s as

sto ne th rowi ng bel l ri ngi ng e t c I t consequ en tl y frequen t l y
-
,
-
,
.

happen s t hat a p sych ic or m ed iu m goi ng t o a h ou se wh ere

such man ifestati ons are tak i ng place may be abl e to di scover
w hat th e e n t1 ty wh o produ ces th e m i s attem pti ng to say or
do an d may t hu s pu t a n en d to the di sturban ce Th i s
,
.

wou l d n ot h owever i nvariabl y be th e case as t hese

, , ,

el em en tal forces are occ asi onal ly set i n m o t i on by en t i rely

T126 S /z aa e
W hen the se paratlo n of the pri ncipl es i s
’
4 . .

co mpl ete &th e astral l i fe of the perso n i s over and as , ,

 5 0

be fore stated h e passes i n to th e de vac h an ic con d it ion B u t

,
.

j u s t as wh en h e d ies to th i s plan e h e l eaves h i s ph ysical

body beh i n d h i m so wh e n h e di es to th e astral plan e h e
,

l eaves a d i si n t egrati ng as tral body beh i n d h i m I f h e h as

.

pu rged h i m sel f fro m al l earthl y desi res d uri ng l ife an d ,

d i rec t ed al l h i s en ergi es i n to th e chan n el s o f u n sel fi sh

spi ri t ual aspi rati on h i s h i gh er ego wil l be abl e to d raw back
,

i n t o i t sel f t h e wh ol e of the l ower m i n d wh i ch i t pu t forth

i n t o i ncarna t io n & i n that case th e b ody l eft beh i n d on the
as t ra l plan e wi l l be a m ere corpse l i k e t h e aband o ned
ph ysi cal body an d i t wi l l th en co m e n ot i n to th i s class bu t
,

i n t o t h e nex t .

E ve n i n t h e case of a m a n of so m ewhat l ess perfect l i fe

al m ost t h e sa m e resu l t m ay be attai ned i f th e forces of
l ower desi re are al l owed to work th e m sel ve s ou t u n di sturbed
i n t h e astral plan e B u t t h e m aj ori t y of man k i n d m ake b u t
.

very t ri fl i ng an d perfu nc tory e fforts wh i l e on earth to ri d

t h e m sel ves of t h e l ess elevated i m pul ses of th ei r nat ure an d ,

con seq uen tl y d oo m the m sel ves n ot on l y to a greatl y pro

l onged soj ou rn in th e i n ter medi ate worl d bu t al so to what
,

ca n n o t be descri bed oth erwi se than as a loss o f a porti on o f

th e l owe r m i n d .

Thi s i s n o dou bt a m aterial meth od o f expressi ng th e

, ,

refl ec ti on of th e h i gh er m i n d i n th e l o wer bu t a very fai rl y

,

accu rate i dea of wha t actual ly tak es pl ace wi l l be ob ta i ned

by ad opti ng th e h ypoth esi s that th e m a nas i c pri nci pl e sen ds
d own a porti on of i tsel f i nto th e l ower worl d of phys ical
l i fe at each i n carna t i on an d e xpect s to be a bl e to wi th draw
,

i t agai n at t h e e n d o f th e l i fe e nri ch ed by al l i ts vari ed

,

expe ri e nces . Th e ord i nary man h owever u s ual l y al l ows

, ,

h i m sel f t o be so pi t iabl y en slaved by all sorts of base desires

‘

that a certai n porti on o f th i s l ower m i n d beco m es very

 5 2

a m ou n t of t h e l ower m i n d wh i c h a ni mates i t b u t as th i s i s al l
,

t h e wh i l e i n process of fadi ng ou t i ts i n tel l ect i s a steadi l y

,

d i m i ni sh i ng quan ti t y th ough i t may possess a great dea l of

,

a cer t ai n sor t of an i mal cu n n i ng & an d even q u i te toward s

t h e en d of i t s career i t i s sti l l abl e to co m m u n i cate by
borrowi ng t e m porary i n t el l igen ce fro m th e m edi u m . Fro m
i t s very na t u re i t i s e xceedi ngl y l i abl e t o be swayed b y al l
k i nd s of evi l i n fl ue nces an d havi ng separated fro m i ts
, ,

h igh er ego i t has n o t h i ng i n i ts cons t i tu ti on capabl e of

,

respon di ng t o good ones . I t th ere fore le n d s i tsel f readi ly

t o vari ou s m i nor pu rpose s of so m e of th e baser sort of
black m agi cians So m u ch of m en tal m atter as i t possesses
.

gradual l y di si ntegrates a n d retu rn s t o i t s ow n plan e th ough,

n o t t o any i n di vi dual m i n d a nd th u s th e shade fades by

,

al m os t i m percep t i bl e gradati on s i n t o a m e m ber of ou r n e x t

clas s
.

5
. T /ze Th i s i s abs ol utely t h e m ere astral corpse
i n t h e later stages o f i ts di si n tegrati on every partic l e of t h e
,

mi nd havi ng left i t . I t i s en t irel y wi th ou t an y k i n d of

con sci ou snes s or i n tel l igen ce an d i s dri ft ed passi vel y abou t
,

u pon t h e as t ral cu rren ts j u s t as a cl ou d m igh t be swept i n

an y d i rec t i on by a passi ng bre eze & bu t eve n yet i t may b e
gal van i zed for a few m o m en ts i n to a ghastl y b u rl es q ue of
l ife i f i t happen s to c o m e wi t hi n reach of a m edi u m s aura ’
.

U nder such ci rcu m stan ces i t wi l l sti l l exactl y rese m ble i ts

d epa rt ed personali t y i n appearan ce an d may eve n reprod uce
,

t o so me exte n t h i s fa m i l iar expres sio ns or han dwri ti ng b u t ,

i t d oes so m erel y by th e au t o matic ac t i o n of t h e ce l ls of

wh ich i t i s co m po sed wh i c h t e n d u n der sti m u lati on to
,

r e pe at the form of actio n to w h i c h th ey are m ost accu s

to m e d and whatev e r am ou n t of i n tel l ig e nce may l i e be hi n d
,

an y su ch m a n i f e s tat i o n h as m o s t as sur e d ly n o co nn ecti on

 53

wi th the origi nal man but i s len t by th e m ed i u m or h i s

,
“
g ui des for th e occasi on .

I t i s however m ore freque n tl y te m porari l y vi tal ized i n

, ,

q u i te a nother man ner w hi ch wi l l be descri bed u n der th e

,

n ex t h ead I t has al so th e q ual i ty of bei ng stil l bl i nd ly

respons ive to su ch vi brati on s —u sual l y of th e l owest order
.

as were fre q ue n tly set u p i n i t duri ng i ts last stage of

exi sten ce as a s hade an d consequen tl y person s i n wh o m
,

evi l desi res or passi on s are predo m i nan t w il l b e very l i k el y i f ,

th ey atte n d ph ysical sé a n ces to fi nd t h ese i n ten si fi ed an d as

,

i t were th rown back upon t h e m by the u ncon sci ous sh el l s .

Th ere i s al so an other vari ety of corpse wh i ch i t i s

necessary to m en ti on u nder th i s h ead th ough i t bel ongs t o ,

a m uc h earl ier stage of man s [barf mo r tal” h i story I t has

’
-
.

bee n s tated above that after th e death of t h e physi cal body

th e astral veh i cl e i s com parati vel y qui ck l y rearranged an d ,

th e eth eri c dou b le cast off —th i s l atter body bei ng desti ne d
to sl ow d isi n tegratio n prec isel y as i s th e astral sh el l at a
,

later s tage of th e proceedi ngs .

Th i s et h eric sh el l h owever i s n ot to be met wi t h

, ,

drifting ai m l essl y abou t as is t he vari ety wi th wh i c h we

,

h ave h i therto bee n deal i ng & o n th e co ntrary i t re m ai n s ,

wi th i n a few yards of th e decayi ng ph ysi cal b ody an d si nce

i t i s read i ly v is i bl e to an y on e eve n sligh tly sen si tive i t i s ,

accou n table for man y of th e co m m on l y curren t stories of

ch urch yard ghosts A psych ical ly devel oped person pass i ng
.

one of ou r great cem eteri es wi l l see hu ndreds of th ese

b l u i sh whi te m isty for m s hoveri ng over t he graves wh ere
,

are lai d th e physi cal ves tu res wh i ch they have recen tl y

l eft an d as t hey l i k e th ei r l ower cou n terparts are i n
, , ,

various stages of dis i n tegrati on t h e sight i s by n o m ean s a

,
 54

Th i s al so l i ke th e o t h er k i n d of sh el l i s en t irel y
, ,

devoi d o f co n sc i ou s ness an d i n tel l igen ce & an d th ough i t

may u n de r cer t ai n ci rcu m sta nces be gal van i ze d i n t o a very
h orri ble for m o f te m porary l i fe th i s i s possi bl e o nl y by
,

m ean s o f so m e o f th e m os t l oa t h so me ri t es of o ne of the
wors t form s o f black magi c abou t wh i ch th e less sai d th e
,

be tt er I t wi l l th u s be see n t h at i n the su ccessi ve stages

.

o f h i s progress fro m earth li fe to the h eaven worl d man

- -
,

cas t s o ff an d l eaves t o sl o w di si n tegrati on n o l e ss than

t h ree corpses —t h e den se ph ysi cal body the eth eric do u ble
an d th e astral veh i c le —al l of wh i ch are by degrees resolved
, ,

i n t o t h ei r c on s ti t ue n t ele m e n ts an d th ei r m atter u ti li zed

anew on t h ei r respecti ve pl an es by th e wo n derfu l ch em is try
o f na t u re .

.6 T/ze Vim/[z ed Th i s e n tity ough t n ot s t ric tly ,

s peak i ng to be classi fied u n der t he h ead h u m an at al l

,
“
,

si n ce i t i s o n ly i ts outer ves t u re th e passi ve sen sel ess s hel l

, , ,

that was o nce an appanage of h u man i ty & su ch l i fe in te lli ,

gen ce des ire an d wil l as i t m ay possess are th ose of th e

, ,

ar t i fi cial el e m e n t al an i m ati ng i t an d that th ough i n te rri bl e

, ,

t ru t h a creati on o f m an s evi l t h ough t i s n ot i tsel f h u m an

’

, .

I t wi ll t h erefore pe rhaps be bet t er t o deal wi t h i t m ore fu l ly

u nder i ts appropri ate class a m o ng the arti fi c ial e n ti ti e s as ,

i ts na t u re an d ge nesi s wi l l be m ore readi ly co m preh en si bl e

by t h e ti m e tha t part of ou r s u bj ec t i s reach e d .

Le t i t su flic e h ere to me n ti o n that i t i s al ways a

malevole n t bei ng —a tr ue t e m pti ng d e m o n wh ose evi l ,

i nfl uen ce i s l i m i t e d on ly by the e x te n t of i ts po wer Li ke .

th e shade i t is fr e q ue n tly u se d to fu rth e r the h orri ble

,

pu r po se s of the V oodoo an d O beah form s o f magi c So m e .

”
wri te r s h ave spoke n of i t u n d e r th e nam e el e me n tary bu t
“
,

as th at ti tle has at o n e ti m e o r a n oth er b e en u sed for al m ost

 55

every variety of p ost mo r tem e n ti ty i t has beco me so vagu e

,

and mean i ngl ess that i t i s perhaps better to avoi d i t

7 l e S u icide a n d Me victim of sudden ( fea t/z
.

. I t wi l l .

be read i l y u n derstood th at a man wh o i s torn fro m physi cal

l i fe h urri ed ly wh il e i n ful l h eal th an d strength w h eth er by ,

accide n t or su ici de fi n ds h i m sel f upon th e astral pl an e

,

u nder con di t ion s di fferi ng co nsi derably fro m th ose wh i ch

su rrou n d one wh o dies ei t her fro m ol d age or fro m d i sease .

I n th e latter case th e h ol d of earth ly des ires upon th e en ti t y

i s s ure to be m ore or l ess weak ened an d probabl y the very ,

grossest parti cl es are al ready got ri d of so th at th e man wi l l ,

'

m ost l i kel y fi n d h i m sel f on the s i xth or fi fth su bdivi si on of

th e astral worl d or perhaps eve n h igh er the pri n ciples have
,

bee n gradual ly prepared for separati on an d the s hoc k i s ,

th erefore n ot s o great .

I n th e cas e of th e acci dental death or su ici de non e of

these preparati on s have tak e n place an d th e wi th drawal o f,

the pri nci ples fro m th ei r physi cal e ncase men t has bee n very
aptl y co mpared to th e teari ng of th e ston e ou t of a n u n ripe
fru i t & a great deal of the grossest k i n d of astral ma t ter sti l l
cl i ngs arou n d th e personal i ty wh i ch i s con sequen tl y h el d i n
,

the seven th or l owest s ub divi s ion of the plane Th i s has .

al ready bee n descri bed as anyth i ng b u t a pleasan t abi di ng

place ye t i t i s by n o mean s th e sam e for al l those wh o are
,

co mpel led for a t i me to i n hab i t i t Those victi m s o f

.

s udden death wh ose earth l ives have been pure an d nobl e

-

have n o a ffi n ity for thi s plane an d so th e ti me of th ei r

,

soj ou rn u pon i t i s passed to q u ote fro m an early letter on

,

th i s s ubj ect ei ther i n happy ignoran ce an d fu l l obl ivion

,
“
,

or m a state of qu i et sl u m ber a sleep fu l l of rosy dream s

, .
”

’
O n the oth er han d i f m en s earth l ives h ave been l ow
,
-

and bru tal sel fi sh an d se nsual they wi l l l i k e th e s u i ci des

, , , ,
 56

be con sc i ou s t o t h e fu l l es t e xte n t i n th i s u n desi rabl e region

an d t h ey are l iabl e t o d evel ope i nto terri bly evi l en ti ti es .

In fl a m e d wi t h al l k i nd s of h orri bl e appeti t es wh i ch th ey can

n o l onge r sa t i sfy d i rec t l y n ow t h ey are wi th o ut a physi cal
body t h ey gra t i fy t h ei r l oa t h so m e pass i on s vicari ou sl y
,

t h rough a m ed i u m or an y sen si tive person wh o m t h ey can

obsess an d t h ey t ak e a devi l i sh del igh t i n u si ng al l th e arts
o f del u si on wh i ch t h e as t ral plan e pu ts i n th ei r power i n
order t o l ead o t hers i n t o t he sa m e e xcesses wh i ch have
proved so fa t al t o t h em sel ves .

&u o t i ng agai n fro m t h e sam e l e t ter Th ese are th e

' “

lisac h as t h e incu é i an d s zcccu bce of m e diee val wri ters

’
,

de m o ns o f t h i rs t an d gl u tt on y o f l u s t an d avari ce of
, ,

i n t en si fied craft wi cked n ess an d cruelty provok i ng t hei r

, , ,

vi c t i m s t o h orri bl e cri m es an d revell i ng i n thei r com m i s

,

si on.
”
Fro m t h i s class an d t h e l ast are drawn t h e te m pters
t h e devil s of eccl es iasti cal l i teratu re & bu t th ei r power
fai l s u t t erl y before pu ri t y of m i n d an d pu rpose & th ey can
do n o t h i ng wi t h a man u n l ess h e h as fi rs t en couraged i n
h i m sel f t h e vic es i n t o wh i ch t h ey seek to draw h i m .

O n e wh ose psych i c sigh t has bee n ope ne d wi l l oft en

see crowds of th ese u n for t u nate creatu res hangi ng rou nd
bu t ch ers sh ops pu bl i c h ou ses or other even m ore d i s
’

repu t able places —wherever t h e gross i nfl uences i n wh i c h

-
, ,

t h ey deligh t are to be fou n d an d wh ere th ey e n cou n ter

,

m en a nd wom en sti l l i n th e fl esh wh o are l i k e m i nded wi th -

t h e m selves For su ch an e n ti ty as on e of t hese to m eet

.

wi t h a m edi u m w i th wh o m h e i s i n a ffi ni t y i s i n deed a
t erribl e m i sfor t u ne & n ot on ly d oes i t enabl e h i m to prol ong
en orm ou sl y h i s d read fu l as t ral l i fe bu t i t ren ews for per
,
v

haps an i ndefi n i t e peri od h i s power to gen erate evi l kar ma ,

an d so prepare for h i m sel f a fu tu re i n carnati on o f t h e m ost

 57

degraded character besi des ru n n ing th e ri s k of l osi ng a

,

large portio n of su ch m i n d power as h e may happe n to

-

possess . I f h e i s fortu nate enough n o t to m eet wi th a

se nsi tive through wh o m h i s passi ons can be vi cari ousl y
grati fi ed th e u n fu l fil led desires wi l l gradual ly bur n the m
,

selves o ut an d t h e s ufferi ng caused i n th e process wi l l

,

probably go far towards work i ng off the evi l kar ma of the

past l ife .

Th e posi tion of th e su i ci de i s furth er co mpl i cated by the

fact t h at h is rash act has e norm ou sly di m i n ished th e power
of th e h igh er ego to wi th draw i ts l ower por t i on i nto i tsel f ,

and therefore has exposed h i m to man i fol d and great

addi ti onal dangers & bu t i t m ust be re m em bered tha t the
gu i l t of su i ci de di ffers considerab ly accord ing to i ts c i rcu m
s tances fro m th e moral l y bla m eless ac t of Seneca or Socrates
,

th rough al l degrees dow n to th e hei n ou s cri me of th e

wretch wh o tak es h i s ow n l i fe i n order to escape fro m t h e
e n tangle men ts i nto wh i ch h is vil lai ny has brought h i m &
an d of course the posi ti on after death vari es accord ingl y .

I t shou ld be n oted t hat th i s class as wel l as th e shades

,

and the vi t al ized sh ell s are al l what may be cal led m i n or

,

vam pi res & that i s to say wh en ever they have th e o p p o r

,

t u n ity they prol ong th e lr e x1 ste n c e by drai n i ng away the

vital i ty fro m h u m an bei ngs wh o m t hey fi n d the m selves abl e
to i n fl u ence Th i s i s wh y both m ed i u m an d si tters are
.

ofte n so weak an d exhau sted after a physi cal S ea n ce A

. .

s tu de nt of occu l ti s m i s taugh t h o w to guard h i m sel f fro m

t h e ir atte m p ts bu t w i th ou t that k n owledge i t i s di f
a
, fi cu l t for
on e wh o p u ts h i msel f i n t hei r way to avoi d bei ng m ore or
less lai d u n der contri bu ti on by the m .

8 : Tl ie Va mp ir e a n d I/Ver ewo Z/Z There remai n two

even more awfu l bu t happi ly very rare possi bi l i t ies to be
 5 8

m e n t i oned be fore th i s part of o ur s u bj ec t i s co m pleted an d ,

t h ough t h ey di ffer very wi del y i n man y ways we may ye t

perhaps grou p th e m together si n ce th ey have i n co m m on
t h e q ual i t i es of u nearth l y h orror an d of ex tre m e rarity —the
,

l atter ari si ng fro m t h e fac t that they are real l y l egaci es fro m
earl i er race s —h i deou s anach ro n i s m s appal l i ng rel i cs of a
,

t i m e wh en man an d hi s su rrou n di ngs were i n man y ways

n o t wha t th ey are n ow .

W e of t h e fi ft h root race ough t to have evolved beyon d

t h e pos si bi l i t y o f meeti ng su c h a gh astl y fate as i s i ndi cated
by ei t h er o f th e two h ead i ngs of th i s su b sec ti on an d we -
,
&

have so n earl y don e i t that th ese creatu res are co m m on l y

regarded as m ere m e dimval fabl es & yet th ere a r e exa m pl es
t o be fou n d occasi onal l y eve n n ow th ough ch i efl y i n cou n tri es
,

wh ere th ere i s a co nsi derabl e strai n of fou rth race blood -

,

su c h as Rus sia or H u ngary Th e popu lar l ege nds abo u t

.

t he m are p ro bably ofte n co nsi derabl y exaggerated bu t ,

t here i s neverth el ess a terri bl y seriou s s u bs t ratu m of tru th

be n ea t h th e eerie s tori es wh i c h pass fro m m ou th to m ou th
a m ong th e peasan t ry of C e ntral E u rope Th e gen eral
.

characteri s t i cs of su ch tal es are too wel l k now n to need

m ore th an a passi ng referen ce & a fai rly typi cal s peci m en of
t h e va m pi re s t ory th ough i t does not profess to be m ore
,

than t h e m eres t fi cti on i s Sh erida n le Fan u s C a r mi/la

,
’

whi l e a very re markabl e accou n t of an u n u sual for m of th i s

c reatu re i s to be fou n d i n [ sis U n veiled vol i p 4 5 4 ,
. .
,
. .

Readers of Th eosoph i cal l i tera t ure w i l l be aware th at

i t i s j u st possi bl e for a m an to l i ve a l ife so abso lu tely
degraded a n d sel fish so u tterl y wi ck ed an d bru tal t hat
, ,

t h e w h ol e o f h i s lower m i n d m ay beco m e en ti rely

i m m esh ed i n h i s desi res an d fi nal ly separated fro m i ts
,

s pi ri t ual sou rce i n th e h igh er ego So m e stu de n ts eve n see m

.
 60

pp m W hen th e grave i s ope ned th e bo dy usuall

’

p i
’

o ”& d a .

appears q ui t e fresh an d h eal th y an d th e c o ffin i s ,

in tre q u e n t ly fi l l ed wi th bl ood I n co un t ri es wh e
.

cre ma t i on is t h e c us to m va m pi ri s m o f th i s sort is
u

na t u ral l y i m possi bl e .

Th e W erewol f th ough equal l y h orri bl e i s th e produ ct

, ,

o f a so m ewhat d i fferen t karma an d i n deed ough t perhaps t o

,

have fou n d a pl ace u nder th e fi rs t i n stead of th e seco n d

di vi si on of t h e h u m an i nh abi tan ts of th i s plan e si n ce i t i s ,

al ways d u ri ng a m an s l i fe t i m e t ha t h e fi rst man i fests u nd er

’

t h i s form I t i n variabl y i m pl i es so m e k n owl edge of magi c al

.

ar t s — s u ffic ie n t a t an y ra t e t o be abl e to proj ec t th e astral

bod \ .

h en a perfectl y cru el an d bru tal man does th i s th ere ,

are certai n c i rcu m s t ances u n der wh i ch t he body m ay be

seized u pon by o t h er as t ral en ti ti es an d material i zed n ot ,

i n t o t h e h u m an form bu t i n t o that o f som e wi l d an i m al

.
”

u sual l y t he wol f : and i n th at co nd i ti on i t wi l l range th e

su rrou n d i ng cou n t ry k i l l i ng o t h er an i mal s an d even h u man ,

bei ngs t h u s sa t i sfyi ng n o t on l y i ts own c ravi ng for bl ood

, ,

bu t t hat o f th e fi en d s wh o d ri ve i t on .

I n t h i s case as s o oft en wi th ord i nary materi al i za t ion

, ,

any wou n d i n fl i c t ed u pon that an i mal for m wi l l be

reprod u ced u pon t h e h u man phy s ical body by th e extra
ord i nary ph en o m en o n o f repercu ssi on & t h ough aft er th e
deat h of t ha t ph ysi cal body the astral ( wh i ch wi l l probabl y
,

con ti n u e to appear i n th e sam e form )wi l l be l ess v u l nera bl e .

I t wi l l t h en h owever be al so l es s dangerou s as un less i t ca n

, , ,

fi nd a su i t abl e m edi u m i t wi l l be u nabl e t o m aterial i ze fu l l y .

I n su c h man i festati ons th ere i s probabl y a great deal of th e

ma tt er o f t h e eth eri c do u bl e an d perhaps al so a tol l i s l evi ed
,

u po n t h e gaseou s an d l i q u i d con s ti tue n ts of t h e ph ysi cal

 61

body as i n th e case of so me materi al izat ion s

, I n both
.

cases th i s fl u idic body appears ab l e to pass to m uch greater

di stan ces fro m th e p hysical tha n i s ever oth erw i se possi ble ,

so far as i s yet k nown for a veh i cl e wh i ch con tai n s at l eas t

,

a certai n a mou n t of eth eri c matter .

I t has bee n th e fash ion of th i s cen tury to scoff at wha t

are cal led th e fool i sh supers ti ti on s of th e i gn oran t p easan t ry &
bu t as in th e above cases so i n man y o t h ers th e occu l t
, , ,

s t uden t fi nd s on carefu l exa m i n atio n th at obscu re 0 1 f0 1

gotten tru th s o f nat ure l i e beh i n d wha t at fi1 st sigh t appears
mere n o n e se n se an d h e l earns to b e cauti ou s i n rej ect i ng as
,

wel l as cau ti ou s i n accept ing I n ten di ng expl orers of t h e

.

astral plane need have l i ttl e fear of en cou n teri ng th e very

u npleasan t creatu res descri be d u n der th i s h ead for as b efore
, ,

sta t ed they are even n ow extre mely rare an d as t i m e goes

, ,

on th ei r n u m ber w il l happi ly steadi ly di m i ni sh I n any

.

case thei r man ifestati o n s are u sual l y restricted to t h e

i m m ediate n eigh bou rh ood of thei r physi cal bodies as ,

m igh t b e supposed fro m t hei r ex tre m el y material na t ure .

9 . T lz e B la ck M agicia n or /
z is
p p
u il Thi . s perso n cor
respon ds at th e o th er extre m i ty of th e scal e to our secon d
class of departed en ti ti es th e p upi l awai t i ng rei n carnat ion
, ,

bu t 1 n th i s case i n stead of ob tai n i ng perm i ss i o n to adop t an

,

u n u sual m e t h od of progress th e m an i s defyi ng th e natural

,

process of evol u tio n by mai ntai n i ng h i m sel f i n astral li fe by

—
magical ar ts so m eti mes of th e m ost h orri bl e natu re .

I t wou l d b e easy to mak e variou s su bdivi s io n s of th i s

class accord i ng to th ei r obj ects their m e t h o ds an d t he
, , ,

p ossi bl e durati on of th ei r ex i stence o n thi s plane bu t as ,

t hey are by no m ean s fasci nat i ng obj ects of stu dy a nd al l ,

that a n occu l t stu dent wi shes to k now abou t th em i s h ow to

avoi d th em i t wi l l p ro b ab ly b e m ore i nteresti ng to pass on
,
‘
 62

to t h e e xa m i nati on of an oth er part of our s u bj ec t I t may

.
,

h owever be j us t m en ti on ed th at every s uch h u man en ti ty

,

wh i ch prol ongs i ts l i fe th u s o n th e astral plan e b eyo n d i ts

natu ral l i m i t i nvariabl y d oes so at th e e xpen se of oth e rs ,

an d by th e absorpti o n of th ei r l i fe i n so m e form o r an oth er

II . N O N HU M A N
-
.

Th ough i t m igh t have been th ough t fai rl y obvi o us even

t o th e m os t casual glan ce th at m a ny o f t h e terres trial
arra nge m en ts o f natu re wh ich a ffect u s m ost n earl y have
n o t been des ign ed excl u si vel y w ith a vi ew to o u r co mfor t
or eve n o ur u l ti mate advan tage i t was ye t probabl y
,

u navoi dabl e tha t t h e h u m an race a t least i n i ts ch i l dh ood

, ,

sh oul d i magi n e that th i s worl d an d everyth i ng i t co n tai ns

exi s t ed sol el y for i t s ow n u se an d be ne fi t bu t u ndou b ted ly
we o ugh t by t h i s ti m e to have grown ou t of that i nfant i le
del u si o n an d real ized ou r proper posi ti o n an d th e du ti es
t ha t attach t o i t
.

That m os t of u s have n o t yet done so i s sh own i n a

dozen way s i n ou r dai ly l i fe —n otabl y by th e atroci ou s
c ru el ty habi tual l y di spl ayed towards the an i mal k i ngdo m
u n der t h e nam e of sport by m any wh o pro babl y con si der
t he m se l ves h igh l y ci vil i zed people O f co urse t he veri est
.

t yro i n t h e h ol y sc ien ce o f occu l ti s m k nows that al l l i fe is

sac red an d that w i tho u t u n i versal co m pas si o n t here is n o
,

true progre ss & but it i s o n l y as h e ad va n ces i n h is stu di e s

t h at h e di scov e rs h ow man i fol d evol u ti o n i s an d h ow
,

co m pa r ati ve l y s m al l a p lace h u mani ty real ly fi l l s i n th e

ec o n o m y of n atu re
.

I t b e co m e s c le ar to h i m t h at j u st as earth ai r an d
, ,
 63

water support myriads of for m s of l ife wh i ch t h ough ,

i nvi s ibl e to the ord i nary eye are reveal ed to u s by the

,

m i croscope so the h igh er plan es con nected wi th ou r

,

earth have an equal ly den se popu lat i on of wh ose ex i ste nce

we are ordi nari ly com pl etely u nconsci ou s A s h i s k now .

l edge i n creases h e becom es m ore an d more certai n that i n

on e way or a noth er th e u t m ost u se i s bei ng m ade of every
possibi l i ty of evol uti on an d that w h erever i t seem s to u s
,

that i n nature forc e i s bei ng wasted or opportu n i t y

n eglected i t i s n ot th e sch e m e of th e u n iverse t hat i s i n
,

fau l t b u t our ign orance of i ts meth od an d i n tenti on

,
.

For th e p u rposes of ou r prese nt con si derati on of th e

non h u man i nhabi tan ts of th e astral plane i t wi l l be best to
-

leave al to geth er ou t of consi derati o n t h ose very earl y form s

of th e u n i versal l i fe wh i ch are evol vi ng i n a man ner of ,

whi ch we can have l i ttle com prehen si on th rough t he ,

success ive e ncasem en t of atom s m olecu l es an d cel l s & for

, ,

i f we co m m en ce at th e l owest of w hat are u sual ly cal led th e

ele m en tal k i ngdo m s we shal l eve n th en have to grou p
,

togeth er u n der t hi s gen eral headi ng an enorm ou s n u m ber of

inhabi tants of th e astral plane upon whom i t wi ll b e possi bl e
to touch on ly very sl ight ly as an ythi ng l i k e a detai l e d
,

acco u n t of th em wou l d swel l th i s man ual to th e di m en si o n s

of an en cycl op aed ia .

Th e m ost conven ient m eth od of arrangi ng th e n on

h u ma n e n titi es w il l perhaps be i n fou r classes — it b ei ng
u n derstood that i n th i s case t he class i s n ot as previ ou sl y a, ,

comparatively s mal l su bdi vi si on b u t u sual l y a great k i ngdo m

,

of natu re at l east as large an d vari ed as say th e an i m al or

, ,

vegetabl e k i ngdom Som e of th ese classes ran k con si derab ly

.

bel ow h u man i ty so m e are ou r equal s an d oth ers agai n ri se

, ,

far abo ve u s i n good ness a n d power So m e bel on g to ou r

.
 64

sch e me of evol u ti on — that i s to say t h ey ei th er have been

,

or wi l l be m e n l i k e ou rselves & oth ers are evol vi ng on en ti rely

d i s t i n c t l i nes o f th ei r own
.

B efore proceedi ng t o con si der th e m i t i s necessary i n ,

order t o avoi d th e charge of i n co m pleten ess to m en ti o n that

,

i n t h i s bran ch of t h e su bj ect two reservati on s have been m ade .

F irs t n o referen ce i s made t o th e occasi onal appearan ces of

,

very h igh A depts fro m o t h er pl anets of th e solar sys t e m an d

of even m ore augu s t V i s i tors fro m a sti l l greater di s t ance ,

s i n ce s uch ma t ters can n ot fitly be descri bed i n a n e ssay for

ge neral read i ng & an d bes i des i t i s prac t i cal ly i n con cei vab le ,

t hough of co u rse th eoreti cal ly possi bl e that s uch gl ori fi ed

,

Bei ngs sh ou l d ever n eed t o m an i fest th em sel ves o n a plan e

so l ow as t he as t ral . I f for an y reason t h ey sh ou l d w i sh t o
d o so t h e body appropriate t o the plan e wou l d be te m p o r
,

a ril y crea t ed o u t of astral mat ter bel o ngi ng to th i s planet ,

j us t as i n t h e case of th e N i r m a nak a ya .

Secon d l y q u i te o u tsi d e of an d e nti rely u n co n n ec ted

,

wi t h t h e fou r cl as ses i n to wh ic h we are di vid i ng th i s secti o n ,

t h ere are t wo oth er great evol u ti on s wh i ch at presen t share

t h e u se of th i s plan e t wi th h u m an i ty bu t abou t th e m i t is
forbi dde n t o g ive any parti cul ars at th i s stage of t h e
proceedi ngs as i t i s n ot appare n t l y i n ten ded u n der ordi nary
,
’
ci rcu m stan ces ei ther that th ey sh ou l d be con sci ou s o f man s
exi s t en ce or m an of th ei rs . I f we ever do com e i n to
c on t act w i th th e m i t wi l l m os t probabl y be o n th e p u rely
physi cal plan e for i n an y case thei r co n n ecti on wit h ou r
,

as t ral plan e i s of th e sl igh t est si nce th e on l y possi bi l i ty

,

of t hei r appearan ce t h ere depe nds u po n an extre m el y

i m probabl e acci de nt i n an ac t of cere m o nial m agi c wh i ch ,

for t u na t e ly on l y a few of th e m ost advanced sorcerers k n ow

h ow t o pe rform N everth el ess that i m probabl e acci de n t
.
,
 6S

has happen ed at leas t o n ce an d may happen agai n so th at

, ,

bu t for t h e proh i b i ti on above m en ti on ed i t wou l d have

been nec essary to i ncl u de th e m i n ou r l i st .

I . Tlie E lemen fa / E ssen ce belo nging co our o wn eo o /n lio n .

”
& u s t as th e na me el e me ntary “
has bee n gi ve n i ndi s
c rim in at e ly b y vari ou s wri ters to an y or al l of m an s
’

__

possi bl e p ost mo r iem con d ition s so th i s word el e m en tal

-
,
“ ”

has been u sed at di fferen t ti mes to m ean any or al l n on

h u ma n spi ri ts fro m th e m ost godl i ke of th e Devas dow n
,

through every vari ety of natu re spi ri t to th e form les s -

essence wh ich pervad es the k i ngdom s l yi ng behi n d th e

m i n eral u n ti l after readi ng several book s th e stu den t
,

beco m es absol u tel y bewi l dered by th e con tradi ctory state

m en ts made o n the s u bj ect For th e p urposes of th i s
.

treatise let i t be u n derstood that el e m ental essence i s m erely

a nam e appl i ed d uri ng certai n stages of i ts evol u ti on to
m onad ic essen ce wh i ch i n i ts tu rn may b e defi ned as th e
,

ou tpou ri ng of spi ri t or divi n e force i n to m atter .

W e are al l fam i l iar w i th th e i dea th at before th i s

ou tpouri ng arrives at th e stage of i n divi dual i zation at wh i c h
it e n sou l s m an i t h as passed th rough an d en sou l ed i n tu rn
si x l ower phases of evol uti on —th e a ni m al vegetabl e
,

, ,

m i neral an d th ree el e mental k i ngdom s

,
W hen en ergizi ng .

th rough those respect i ve stages i t has so m eti m es bee n cal l ed

th e an i m al vegetabl e or m i n eral m onad — th ough th i s ter m
, ,

i s d isti nctl y m islead i ng s i n ce l ong before i t arrives at an y

,

of th ese k i ngdom s i t has beco m e n ot o n e b u t ma ny m onad s .

The nam e was h owever adopted t o convey the i dea that

, , ,

th ough di fferen tiati on i n th e m onadi c e ssen ce h ad al ready

1 ago set i n i t had n ot yet been carri ed to th e exten t of
,

ic essence i s e nergi zi ng th rou gh t he

 66

t h ree great el e m en t al k i ngdo m s wh i ch preced e th e m i neral ,

i t i s cal l ed by th e nam e of ele m en t al es sen ce Be fore

“
.
”
,

h owever i t s na t u re and t h e man n er i n wh i ch i t m ani fes t s

,

can be u n ders t ood th e m e t h od i n wh i ch spi ri t en fol ds i tsel f

,

i n i t s d escen t i n to matter m u s t be real i zed .

Be i t re m e m bered th e n t ha t wh e n spi ri t resti ng on any

plan e (i t mat t ers n ot wh i ch —l et u s cal l i t plane N o 1 ) wi l l s
, ,

t o descen d to t h e plan e n ext bel ow (let u s cal l that plan e

N o 2 ) i t m u s t e nfol d i tsel f i n th e m atter of that pla ne
.

t ha t i s t o say i t m u st d raw rou n d i tsel f a vei l of th e m atter

,

o f pla ne N o 2 Si m i larly wh e n i t co n ti n u es i t s desce nt to

. .

plane N o 3 i t m u st d raw rou n d i tsel f th e matter of t hat

.

plan e an d we shal l the n have say an ato m wh ose body o r

, , ,
'

ou ter coveri ng con si sts of th e m atter of pla ne N o 3 Th e

force e nergizi ng i n it i ts sou l so to speak —w i l l h oweve r
. .

-
,

n o t be s pi ri t i n the co n di ti o n i n wh i ch i t was o n plan e N o .

1
,
bu t wil l be t hat di vi ne force p ins th e vei l of th e m atter of
plane N o 2 . W h e n a s ti l l further descen t i s made to plane
.

N o 4 t he ato m beco m es sti l l more co m plex for i t wi l l th en

.
, ,

have a body o f N o 4 mat ter en sou le d by spi ri t al read y

t wi ce vei l ed —in th e m at ter o f planes 2 an d 3 I t wi l l be
.
,

seen t hat si n ce t h i s process repeats i tsel f for every su b

,

plane o f each plan e of t h e solar syste m by th e ti m e th e ,

origi nal force reach es o ur ph ysi cal l evel i t i s s o th oro ugh l y

vei l ed tha t i t i s s mal l won der m en often fai l to recognize i t
as s pi ri t a t al l .

N ow s u ppose t hat th e m onad i c essen ce h as carri ed o n

th i s p rocess of vei l i ng i tsel f down to the a t o m ic l evel o f th e
m e ntal plan e an d t h at i n stead o f desce n di ng th rough the
.
,

va ri ou s s u b di vi si on s o f th a t plane i t pl u nges down di rectly ,

i n t o t h e as t ral pl ane en sou li ng or aggregati ng rou n d i t a

, ,

body of a t o m i c astral matter & su ch a c om bi n ati on wou l d be

 68

d i vi si on s an d i n dee d eve n i f a l i s t of th e m were mad e i t

,

woul d be u n i n tell igi bl e excep t to th e prac t i cal s tu de n t wh o

can cal l th e m u p before hi m an d co m pare the m So m e i dea .

of t h e l eadi ng l i nes of cl ass i fi ca t i on can h owever b e grasped

, ,

w i t h ou t m u ch trou bl e an d may prove of i n t erest

, .

Fi rs t co m es t h e broad di vi si on wh i ch has gi ve n t h e
e l e m en t al s th ei r n am e —t h e classi fi ca t i o n acc ordi ng to t h e
k i n d o f m at t er wh i ch th ey i nh abi t H ere as u sual t h e
.
, ,

sep t enary charac t er of ou r evol u ti on sh ows i t sel f for th ere ,

are seven s uch ch i ef grou ps related respec t i vely to t h e seven

s t ate s of ph ys ical matter—t o earth wa t er ai r an d fi re
,
“ ”
, , , ,

o r t o tra n s la t e fro m m edi aeval sy m b o l i s m t o m odern acc u racy

of expressi on t o th e sol i d th e l i q u i d t h e gaseou s an d t h e
, , , ,

fou r e t h eri c co n d i t i on s .

I t has l ong been th e cu sto m to pi ty an d despi se the

ign oran ce o f th e al ch e m i s t s of th e m i dd l e ages becau se t h ey ,

gave t h e ti t l e o f el e m en ts to s u bstan ces wh i ch m odern

“ ”

ch e m i s t ry has d i sc overed t o be co m pou n ds bu t i n speak i ng

of t h e m t h u s sl igh ti ngl y we have do ne th e m great i nj u sti c e ,

for t h ei r k n owl edge o n th i s su bj ec t was real ly wi der n ot ,

narrower t ha n ou rs Th ey m ay or may n ot have catal ogu ed

,
.

al l t he si x t y or seven t y su bstances wh i ch we n ow cal l

ele m en t s & b u t th ey cer t ai nl y d i d n ot appl y t hat na m e to
t h e m for t h ei r occ u l t s t u d ies had t augh t t h e m th a t i n t hat
,

se n se o f th e word t h ere was b u t O llt el e m e n t of wh i ch th ese

’

an d al l o t h er for m s of ma t ter w ere bu t m o dific at io n s—a

,

t ru t h wh i ch s o m e of t h e grea t est ch e m i s t s of th e prese n t day

are j u s t begi n n i ng t o su spec t .

Th e fac t i s t hat i n th i s par t i cu lar case ou r d espi sed fore

fa t h ers a nalysi s wen t several s t eps d eeper t h an ou r ow n
’
.

Th e y u nde rs t ood an d were a b le t o o bse rve t he e t h er wh i ch ,

m odern sci en ce ca n onl y pos t u late as a n ecessi ty for i ts

 69

th eori es & th ey were aware that i t con si sts of ph ys i cal m atter

i n fou r e n ti rel y di sti n ct states above th e gaseou s — a fac t

wh i ch has n ot yet been re d iscovered They k n ew th at al l

-
.

phys i cal obj ec ts co nsi st of m a t ter i n on e or oth er of these

seven states an d tha t i n to t h e co mp osi tio n of every organ i c
,

body all seven enter i n a greater or l esser degree he nce

”
al l th ei r tal k of fi ery an d watery h u m ou rs or el e m en ts ,
“
,

wh i ch see m s s o grotesqu e to u s I t i s obvi ou s t hat t hey

.

u sed th e l atter word si m ply as a sy non y m for con sti t u en t “

parts w ith ou t i n the least degree i nten di ng i t t o co n n o t e

,

th e i dea of su bstan ces wh i ch coul d n ot be fu r t h er reduced .

T hey k ne w al so that eac h of th ese orders of matter serves

as a basi s of m an i festatio n for a great class of evo lvi ng
m o nadi c essen ce an d so th ey ch ri stened t h e essen ce
,
”
el e m en tal .

W h at we have to try to real i ze th en i s th at i n every

, ,

parti cl e of sol i d m atter so l on g as i t rem ai n s i n t hat con

,

di t i on there res i des to u s e th e p i cturesqu e ph raseol ogy of

m edi aeval stu den ts an earth el e me n tal — th at i s a certai n
, ,

, ,

a m ou n t of th e l ivi ng el em en tal essence appropriate to it

wh i l e equ al l y i n every part icl e of matter i n the l i qu i d ,

gaseous or eth eri c states th e water ai r and fi re

, .
,
el e ,
“

m e n tals respecti vel y i nh ere I t wi l l be ob served that th i s

.

fi rst broad di vi sion of th e th i rd of th e el em en tal ki ngdom s

i s so to speak a h orizon tal on e — that i s to say i t s re sp e c
, , ,

t ive cl asses stan d i n th e relati on of steps each so m ewh at ,

l es s m ateri al than t he o n e bel ow i t wh i ch ascen ds i n to ,

i t by al m ost i m percepti bl e degrees & an d i t i s easy to

u n derstan d how each of th ese classes m ay agai n be divi ded
h orizon tal l y i n to seven si nce th ere are obvi ou sl y man y
,

degrees of d en s i ty am ong sol i ds l i qui ds an d gases

, , .

T h ere i s h owever what may be descri bed as a p e rp e n

, ,
 70

dic u lar divi si o n al so an d th i s i s so m ewh at m ore di fficu lt t o

,

co m prehe nd especial l y as grea t reserve i s al way s mai n

,
&

ta in e d by occ ul t i st s as to so m e o f t h e facts wh i c h wou l d

b e i n volved i n a ful ler e xpl anati o n of i t Perhaps t h e
.

cl eares t way t o pu t what i s k n own o n th e s u bj ect wi l l

be t o s t ate t ha t i n each of t h e h orizon tal c lasses a nd s u b
classes wi l l be fou n d seven perfec t l y d i sti n ct types of
ele m en t al t h e d i fferen ce between t h e m be i ng n o l onger
,

a q u es t i o n of d egree of material i ty b ut rath er of character

,

a n d a ffi n i t i es .

i ach o f t hese ty pes so reacts u pon th e oth ers th at ,

t h ough i t i s i m possi bl e for th e m ever to i n terch ange t h eir

essen ce i n each of t h e m seve n su b types wi l l be fou n d
,
-

t o ex i s t di s t i ngu i sh e d by t h e col ou ri ng given to th ei r

,

origi nal pec ul iari t y by t h e i n fl u en ce wh i ch s ways th e m m os t

readi ly . I t wi l l a t o n ce b e see n tha t th i s perpen di cu l ar
di vi si o n an d su bd ivi si on di ffers en t i rel y i n i ts character
fro m t h e h orizon t al i n that i t i s fa r m ore perman en t an d
,

fu n dam en t al fo r wh i l e i t i s th e evolu ti on of th e el e m en tal

k i ngdo m t o pas s w i th al m os t i n fi n ite sl owness th rough i t s
vari o u s h orizon tal c lasses an d s u b classes i n s uccess i on an d
-
,

t h u s to bel ong t o t h e m al l i n tu rn t h i s i s n ot so wi t h regard

,

t o t h e ty pes an d s u b types wh i ch rem ai n u n changeabl e al l

-
,

t h e way th rough .

A poi n t w h ich m ust n ever be l ost sigh t of i n

end eavou ri ng to u n derstan d th i s el e men tal evol u ti on i s
t hat i t i s tak i ng pl ace on what i s so meti m es cal led th e
d own ward c u rve of t h e arc that i s t o say i t i s progre ss i ng
,

[a wa r ds t h e co m pl et e en tangl e m en t i n matter wh i ch we
wi t n es s i n t h e m i n eral k i ngdo m i ns tead of a wa y fro m i t
, ,

as i s m os t o t h er evol u ti on of w h i ch we k n o w an yt hi ng .

Th u s for i t progress m ean s descen t i n to matter i n stead o f

 71

ascen t toward s h igh e r p lan es an d th i s fact som et i m es gives

i t a c uri ou sly i nverted appearan ce i n ou r eyes u n ti l we
th orough l y grasp i ts obj ect U n less th e stu den t bears th i s
.

constan tl y an d cl early i n m in d h e wi l l agai n an d agai n fi n d

,

h i m sel f beset by perpl exi ng an om al ies .

ln spi te of th ese man i fol d su bdi vi s ion s th ere are ,

certai n properti es whi ch are possessed i n com m on by al l

varieti es of th i s strange l ivi ng essen ce & bu t eve n th ese are
so en ti rel y di ffere n t fro m any wi th wh i ch we are fam i l iar o n
th e phys ical plan e th at i t i s exceedingl y di ffi cu l t t o explai n
th e m to t h ose wh o can n ot th e m sel ves see i t in acti on .

Let i t be pre m i sed th en th at w h e n an y porti on of t hi s

, ,

essen ce re mai n s for a few m om en ts en ti rel y u naffected b y

an y ou tsi de i n fl u ence (a co n di ti on by the way whi ch i s
, ,

h ardl y ever reali zed ) i t i s absol u tely withou t an y d efi n i te

for m of i t s own th ough i ts m oti on i s sti l l rapi d an d cease
,

less & bu t o n th e sl igh test d i stu rban ce set u p perhaps by,

som e passi ng th ough t cu rre nt i t flash es i n to a bew i l deri ng

-
,

con fu si on of r est l es s ever ch angi ng shapes wh i ch form

,
-
, ,

ru s h abou t an d d isappear wi th th e rapi di t y o f th e bu bbles

,

on th e surface of boi li ng water .

These evan escen t shapes th ough gen eral ly th ose of

,

l i vi ng creatures of so m e sort h u man or otherw ise n o m ore

, ,

express th e e x isten ce of separate e n ti ti es i n th e essen ce

than do th e equal l y chan gefu l an d m u l ti form waves rai sed
i n a few m om ents o n a previou sly s m oot h lak e by a su dden
squal l Th ey see m to b e mere refl ecti on s fro m the vast
.

storeh ou se of t h e astral l igh t yet they h ave u sual l y a certai n

,

appropriaten ess to th e character of th e t hough t stream -

wh i ch call s th e m i n t o exi ste nce th ough n earl y al ways with

,

som e grotesqu e di stortion so m e terri fyi ng or u n pleasan t

,

aspect abou t th e m
“

.
 72

A qu es t io n na t ural ly ari ses i n t h e m i n d h ere as to what

i n tel l igen ce i t i s t hat i s exer t e d i n th e sel ecti o n of an
appropriate shape or i ts di s t orti on wh e n sel ected . We
are n ot deal i ng w i th th e m ore powerfu l an d l onger l ived -

ar t i fi cial el e m en tal created by a strong defi n i te t h ough t ,

bu t si m pl y w i t h t h e resul t prod u ced by th e stream of

hal f con sci ous i nvol u n tary t h ough ts wh i ch th e maj ori ty of
-
,

mank i n d al l ow to fl ow i dl y th rough t h ei r brai n s Th e .

i n t el lige n ce t h erefore i s obvi ousl y n o t deri ved fro m th e

m i n d of t h e th i nk er & a n d we certai n ly can n ot cred i t th e
ele me n t al es sen ce i t sel f wh i c h bel ongs t o a k i ngdo m
,

fu rth er fro m i n di vi d ual i za t i on even t ha n th e m i n eral wi t h ,

any sor t o f a wake n i ng of t h e m e n t al qual i ty .

Yet i t does possess a marvel l ou s adaptabi l i t y wh i ch oft en

see m s t o c o m e very n ear i t an d i t i s n o d ou bt t h i s proper t y
,

t ha t caused e le m en tal s to be descri bed i n on e of ou r earl y

book s as t he se m i i n tel li gen t creatu res of th e astral l igh t
“ -
.

W e sh al l fi n d fu rth er evi de n ce of th i s powe r wh en w e co m e

t o con s i der t h e case of th e arti fi cial class . W he n we read
of a good or evi l el e m e n tal i t m u st al ways be ei th er an
,

arti fi ci al e n t i t y or on e of th e m any vari eti es of n at ure sp i ri ts

-

t ha t i s m ean t for t h e el em e n tal k i ngd om s proper d o n ot

,

ad m i t of an y su c h con cepti o n s as good an d evi l .

There i s h owever u ndou bted ly a sort of b ias or ten de ncy

, ,

perm eati ng nearl y al l th ei r s u bdivis i ons wh i c h operates t o

re n de r th e m rath er h osti le t h an frie n d ly toward s m a n .

Every n eoph yte k n ows th i s for i n m os t cases h i s very fi rst

,

i m pre ss i o n of th e as t ral plan e i s of the presence al l arou n d

h i m o f vas t h os t s of Protean spectres wh o advance u po n
h i m i n th reate n i ng gu i se bu t al ways re t i re or d i s si pate
,

h arm le ss l y i f bol dl y faced .I t i s t o th i s c u ri ou s te n den cy

t h at the di stort e d or u npl easan t aspect a bove m en ti oned
 73

m u st be referred an d m edi aeval wri t ers t el l u s t h at man

,

has on l y h i m sel f to t han k for i ts exi ste nce I n th e gold en

.

age before th i s s ordi d presen t m e n were o n th e wh ol e l ess

sel fi sh an d more spi ri tual an d th e n t h e el em e ntal s were
,
,

fri e n dly th ough n ow they are so n o l onger becau se of man s

,
’

i n di fferen ce to an d wa n t of sy m path y with oth er l i vi ng

, ,

bei n gs
Fro m th e won derfu l del i cacy wi t h wh i ch t he essen ce
respon ds to th e fai n test acti on of ou r mi nds or d esi res i t
see m s cl ear that th i s el em en tal k i ngdom as a wh ol e i s very
m u ch what t h e c ol lect ive th ough t of h u mani ty make s i t .

A ny on e wh o wi l l t h i nk for a m om en t h ow far fro m

elevati ng th e acti o n of that col l ec t i ve th ough t i s li k el y t o be
at th e presen t ti m e wi l l see l i ttle reaso n t o won der t h at we
reap as we have s own an d t hat t hi s essen ce wh i ch h as n o
, ,

power of perc ep tion bu t on ly bl i n dly receives an d refl ects

,

what 1 8 proj ected u pon i t shou l d u sual ly exh i bi t u nfri en dly

,

char acteri st ics .

There can be n o dou bt that i n later races or rou n ds ,

wh en man k i n d as a wh ol e has evol ved t o a m u ch h igh o

er
l evel th e el e me ntal k i ngdo m s wi l l be i n fl u enced b y t he
,

changed th ough t
t wh i ch
i
con ti n u al l y i mpi nges u pon th em ,

an d we shal l fin d t he m n o l onger h ost i l e bu t doci l e an d

h el pfu l as we are tol d that th e an i mal k ihgdo m w i l l al so
,

be . W h atever m ay have happen ed i n th e pas t i t i s eviden t ,

t hat we may l ook forward to a very passabl e gol den age “

i n the fu tu re i f we can arrive at a t i m e wh en t h e m aj ori ty

,

of m e n wi l l be n obl e an d u n sel fi sh an d th e forces o f nat ure

,

wi l l c o operate wi ll i ngl y w ith th em

-
.

Th e fact th a t we are so readi l y abl e to i n fl u en ce t h e

ele m e n tal k i ngdom s at on ce sh ows u s that we have a
res p on si bi l i ty towards th e m for th e man ner i n wh i ch we u se
 74

t ha t i n fl ue n ce I n d eed wh en we con si der t h e con di ti on s

.
,

u nder wh i ch t h ey e xi s t i t i s o bvi ou s t hat t h e e ffec t prod uced

,

u pon t h e m b y t he t h ough t s a n d desi res o f al l i n tel l igen t

crea t u res i nh abi t i ng th e sa m e worl d wi t h t h e m m u s t have
bee n cal cu la t ed u pon i n t h e sch e m e of ou r s y s te m as a
fac t or i n t h ei r evol u t i on .

In s pi t e of t h e c o n si ste n t teach i ng of al l t h e great

rel igi on s t h e m ass of ma n ki n d i s s ti l l u tterly regardl ess o f
,

i t s respon si bi l i t y o n t h e t h ough t plane & i f a m an can

-

flat t er h i msel f t h at h i s word s an d deed s h ave been harml es s

t o o t h ers h e bel i eves th at b e has don e al l that can be
,

req u i red o f h i m qu i te obl i vi ou s of th e fact that h e may

,

for years have bee n exerc i si ng a n arrowi ng an d d ebasi ng

i n fl u en ce o n th e m i n ds of th ose ab ou t h i m an d fi l l i ng ,

s u rrou n di ng s pace w i t h th e u nl ovel y crea t i on s of a sord i d

m i nd . A s t i l l m ore seri ou s aspect of th i s qu esti o n wi l l
co m e before u s wh en we d i scu ss th e ar t i ficial el e m e n tal &
bu t i n regard t o t h e esse n ce i t w il l b e s u ffi ci e n t to state t ha t
we u n dou b t edl y have th e power t o accel erate or delay i ts
evol ut i o n ac cord i ng to t h e u se wh i ch c on sci o u sl y or
u nc on sci ou sl y we are con t i n ual l y m ak i ng of i t .

I t woul d be h opel ess w i th i n th e l i m i ts of su ch a treat i se

as th i s to at t e mpt to explai n th e d i fferen t u ses t o wh ich th e
fo rces i n h eren t i n t he m an i fol d vari eties of t h i s ele m ental
essen ce can b e pu t by o n e wh o h as bee n trai n ed i n t h ei r
ma nage m en t . Th e vast maj ori ty o f m agi cal cere m o n ies
depe n d al m os t e n ti rel y u pon i ts m an i pu lati on ei th er ,

di rec tl y by th e w il l of th e m agi cian or by som e m ore ,

de fi ni t e a s t ral e n ti t y evok ed by h i m for th at pu rpose .

By i ts m ean s n earl y al l th e ph ysi cal ph e n o m ena of th e

séa fl w roo m are produ ced an d i t i s al so t h e agen t i n m ost
-
,

case s of sto n e th ro wing or bel l ri nging i n hau n ted h ou ses

-
,
 76

t ha t i s agai n t otall y d i st i n c t fro m ei th er o f th e essen ces

a bove men ti on ed .
1

2 . Tb e A s tr a l B o dies f
o A n m
Th i s i s an extre m e ly
i al
s .

large c lass yet i t d oes n ot occ u py a parti cu larl y i m por t an t

,

posi t i on on th e as tral plan e si n ce i ts me m bers u sual ly stay

,

t h ere bu t a very sh or t t i m e Th e vast maj ori t y o f an i mal s

.

have n ot as ye t acq u i re d perm an en t i n di vi d uali zati on an d ,

wh en on e o f t h e m d i es th e m onad i c essen ce wh i ch has been

m an i festi ng th ro ugh i t fl ows back agai n i n to th e parti cu lar
s t ra t u m wh e n ce i t cam e h e arin g wi t h i t su ch ad van ce m en t
,

or experi e n ce as h as bee n at t ai n ed d uri ng th a t l i fe I t i s .

n o t h o wever ab le to d o t h i s q u i te i m m edia t el y & t h e astral

, ,

body of t h e an i m al rearranges i tsel f j u st as i n m an s case ’

,

a nd t h e an i m al has a real exi ste n ce on th e as t ral plan e th e ,

l eng t h of wh i ch th ough n ever great varie s accord i ng to th e

, ,

i n t ell igen ce wh i ch i t has devel oped I n m ost cases i t does

.

n o t see m t o be m ore than drea m i l y co n sci ou s bu t appears ,

perfec t l y h appy .

Th e co m para t ivel y few do m esti c an i m al s wh o have

al ready a t tai ned i n di vi d ual i ty an d wi l l th erefore be reb orn
,

n o m ore as an i mal s i n th i s worl d have a m u ch l onger an d ,

m u ch m ore vi vi d l i fe o n th e as tral plan e t han th ei r l es s

advan ced fel l ows an d at th e en d o f i t si n k gradual l y i nto a
,

s u bj ec t i ve con di t ion wh i ch i s l i k el y to l ast for a very co n

,

s ide rab l e peri od O n e i n teresti ng su bd i vi si on of t h i s class

.

con si s t s of th e as tral bodi es of th ose an th ropoi d apes m en

t io n e d i n Tbe S ecr e t D octr in e (vol i p 1 8 4 )wh o are al ready
. .
,
.

i nd ivi dual ized an d wi l l be ready to tak e h u man i n carnati on

,

i n t h e n ex t rou nd or pe rh aps so m e of th e m eve n soo ner

, .

3 N
. a t u r e S ir ifs O
p
-
f a ll K in d s So man y an d.so vari e d
are t h e su bdi vi s ion s of t h i s class that to d o t h em anyth i ng
l i k e j u st i ce on e woul d n eed to d evo t e a sepa rat e treati se t o
 77

th i s S u bj ect al on e Som e characteri sti cs h owever th ey al l

.
, ,

have i n co m m on an d i t wi l l be s u ffi cien t h ere to try to g1 ve

,

so m e i d ea of th ose .

To begi n wi th we have to reali ze that we are h ere

,

deal i ng wi th e nt it ies wh i ch di ffer rad i cal l y from al l that we

have h i th erto con si dered Th ough we may righ tly class i fy .

the el em ental esse nce an d the an i mal as tral bodies as n on

h u man th e m on adi c essence wh i c h mani fests i tsel f th rough
,

th em w i l l neverth el ess i n the fu l ness of t i m e evolve to th e

, , ,

l evel of man i festi ng i tself th rough som e fu ture h u m an i ty

co m parab l e to ou r own an d i f we were abl e to l ook bac k ,

t hrough cou n tl ess ages on ou r o wn evol u t i on i n previ ou s

worl d cycles we s hou l d fi n d th at that wh i ch i s now our
-
,

sel ves has passed on i ts u pward path t h rou gh si m i lar

stages .

That h owever i s n o t th e case wi th the vast k i ngdo m o f

, ,

n at ure spi ri ts
-
th ey n ei ther h ave been n or ever wi l l be , ,

m e mbers of a h u man i ty s uch as ou rs & t h ei r l i n e of

evol uti o n i s en ti rel y di ffere nt an d the 1 r on l y con nect i on ,

wi th u s con si sts i n ou r tem porary occu pan cy of th e sam e

plan e t O f cou rse s i nce we are n eighb ou rs for t h e ti m e
.

bei ng we owe n eigh b ou rl y ki n dn ess to on e a n o t h er wh en

we happen to m eet b u t ou r l i nes o f devel op m ent differ so
,

wi del y that eac h ca n do b u t l i ttl e for th e oth er .

M any wri ters h ave i n cl u ded th ese spi ri ts a mong th e

el em e ntal s an d i n deed they are th e el e me n tal s (or perhaps
, ,

to speak m ore accu ratel y th e an i mal s ) of a h i gh er evol u t i on

,
.

Though m uch m ore h igh l y devel oped than ou r el e men tal

es se nce th ey h ave yet certai n characteri sti cs i n co m m on
,

wi th i t & for exam pl e th ey al so are divi ded i n to seven great

,

classes i nh abi t i ng respec t i vel y th e sam e seve n states o f

,

m atter al re ady m e n ti o ned as permeated by th e corres

pon di ng varie t ies of th e es sence Th u s to tak e th ose .
,

wh i ch are m os t readi ly co m preh e nsi bl e to u s th ere are

s pi ri ts of t h e earth water ai r an d fi re (or eth er )—de fin ite
,

, , ,

i n tel l igen t ast ral en ti ti es resi d i ng an d fu n c ti on i ng i n each of

t h ose m edia .

I t may be ask ed h ow i t i s pos si bl e for an y k i n d of

crea t u re t o i n ha bi t t h e sol i d s u bs tan ce of a rock or of th e ,

crust o f t h e ear t h Th e an swer i s th at s i n ce th e nat u re

.

spi ri t s are form ed of astral m atter th e s u b stan ce of th e roc k ,

i s n o h i n d ra n ce t o t h ei r m oti o n or th ei r vi si on an d fu rth e r ,

m ore physi cal matter i n i ts s ol i d s tate i s t hei r natu ral

el e m en t —t h e on l y on e to wh i ch th ey are acc u sto m e d an d
i n wh i ch t h ey feel a t h o m e Th e sa m e i s o f cou rse tru e of
.

th ose wh o l ive i n water ai r or eth e r , ,

.

I n m e dize val l i teratu re these earth spi ri t s are ofte n

,
-

cal l ed gn o m es wh i l e th e water spi ri ts are spok e n o f as

,
-

un di n e s t he ai r spi ri ts as syl ph s an d th e eth er spi ri ts as

,
-
,
-

sala man ders I n popu lar l anguage th ey are k n ow n by

m an y na mes —fai ri es pi xi es el ves brown i es peri s dj i n n s
.

, , , , , ,

trol l s sa t yrs fau n s k obol ds i m ps gobl i n s good pe opl e

et c —
, , , , , , ,

. so m e o f th ese ti tl es bei ng appl i ed on l y to o ne vari e t y ,

a nd o t hers i n d i scri m i natel y to al l .

Th ei r form s are m an y an d vari ou s bu t m ost frequ e n tl y ,

h u ma n i n shape an d s om ewhat di m i n u ti ve i n si ze Li ke .

al m ost al l i nhabi t an ts of th e ast ral plan e th ey are abl e to ,

as s u m e an y appearan ce at wi l l bu t they u n d ou b t ed ly h ave,

de fi n i te form s of th ei r own or pe rhaps we sh ou l d rather say

,

favou ri te form s wh i ch t h ey wear wh e n th ey h ave

,

obj ect i n tak i ng an y oth er U n d er ordi nary .

th ey are n ot vi si bl e t o ph ysi cal sigh t at al l bu t they have ,

t h e power of m ak i ng th e m sel ves so by m aterial i za ti on wh en

t hey wi sh to be see n .
 There are an i m m e nse n u m ber of s ubd ivi si on s or races
am ong the m an d i n divi dual s of th ese su bdivi si o n s d i ffer
,

i n i n tel l igen ce an d d i sposi ti on preci sel y as h u m an bei ngs

d o The great maj ori ty of th e m apparen tly prefer to avoi d
.

man al togeth er & h i s habi ts an d e manati on s are di stas tefu l

to the m an d t he con stan t ru sh of as tral cu rre nts set u p by
—
,

h i s restl ess i l l regulated des i res d i stu rbs an d an n oys t h em

, .

O n th e oth er han d i nstances are not wa n ti ng i n w h i ch

nature spi ri ts have as i t were made frien d s wi th h u m an
-

bei ngs an d offered th e m s u ch assi stance as lay i n th ei r

power as i n the wel l k n ow n stori es tol d of th e S cotch
-

—
,

brown ies or of th e fire l i gh ti ng fai ries me n ti on ed i n

spiri tual i sti c l iteratu re .

Th is helpfu l atti tu de h o wever i s co mparati vel y rare

, , ,

an d i n m ost cases wh en th ey co m e i n con tact w i th man

th ey ei ther sh ow i n d ifferen ce or di sl i k e or el se tak e an
,

i mp i sh del igh t i n deceivi ng h i m an d play i ng chi ld is h tri ck s

up on h i m . M any a s tory il l ustrative of t h i s cu ri ou s
characteri st ic m ay be fou nd am ong th e vil lage gossi p of
th e peasan try i n al most any l onel y m ou ntai nou s d is t ri ct &
an d any o ne wh o h as been i n th e hab i t of atten di ng séa m er
for physi cal ph en o m ena w i l l recol lect i n stan ces of prac t ical
j ok i ng an d si l l y th ough u sual l y good natu red h orseplay
-
,

wh ich al m ost al ways i ndi cate th e presen ce of som e o f th e

l ower orders of the natu re spi ri t s -
.

They are greatly assi s ted i n th eir tri ck s by th e wo nderfu l

power w h i ch th ey possess of casti ng a gla m our over th o se
wh o y iel d th e m sel ves to th eir i n fl ue nce so that su ch vi cti m s
,

for t h e ti m e see an d hear on l y w hat these fairi es i m press

u po n the m exactl y as the m es m erized su bj ect sees
,
hears , ,

feels an d bel i eves whatever th e m agn etizer wish es Th e

nature —
.
,
’
s pirits h owever have n ot th e m esm erizer s power of
, ,
 80

d o m i na t i ng t h e h u man wi l l excep t i n the case of q u i te

,

u n u sual l y weak m i n ded peopl e or o f th ose wh o al l ow th e m

-
,

sel ves to fal l i n t o su ch a con d i ti o n o f h el pl ess terror that

t h ei r wi l l i s t e m porari l y i n abeyan ce Th ey can n ot go
.

bey on d de cep t i o n o f t h e sen ses bu t of that art t h e y a re

,
.

u n dou bted m as ters an d cases are n ot wan ti ng i n wh i ch

,

t h ey have cast th ei r glam ou r ove r a con si derabl e n u m ber o f

people a t on ce . I t i s by i n vok i ng th ei r ai d i n t he e xerci se
of t h i s pecu l iar power t hat so m e of th e m os t won derfu l
fea t s of t h e I n dian j uggl ers are p e rfo rm e d — th e en ti re
m

a u di en ce bei ng i n fact h al l u ci nated an d m ade to i magi n e

t ha t t h e y see an d hear a wh ol e seri es of even ts w h i ch h ave

n o t real l y t a ken place at al l .

W e m igh t al m os t l ook upo n th e na t u re spi ri ts as a k i n d

-

of as t ral h u man i ty bu t for t he fact th at n on e o f t he m —n o t

,

even t he h ighes t possesses a perman en t rei n carnati ng

-

i n di vi d ual i t y
. Apparen tl y t h ere fore on e poi n t i n wh i ch
t h ei r l i n e o f evol u ti on d i ffers fro m ou rs i s th at a m u ch
grea t er propor t i on o f i n tell igen ce i s devel oped before
perm ane n t i nd i vidual i zati on tak e s place : bu t of t h e stages
t h rough wh i ch th ey have passed an d th ose t h rough wh i ch
,

t h ey h ave ye t t o pass w e can k n ow l i ttl e

,
.

Th e l i fe peri ods o f t he di fferen t s u bd i vi s i on s vary

-

greatly so m e b ei n g q u i te sh ort oth ers m uch l onger t han

, ,

ou r h u m an l i feti m e W e s t an d so en t i rel y ou ts i de su ch a
.

l i fe a s th ei rs that i t i s i m poss i bl e for u s to u nd erstan d m u c h

abou t i t s c on d i ti o n s & bu t i t appears on th e wh ol e to be a
si m pl e j oy ou s i rrespon si bl e k i n d o f exi sten ce m u ch su ch
, , ,

as a par t y of happy ch i l dren m igh t l ead a m ong excepti onal ly

favou ra bl e ph ysi cal s u rrou ndi ngs .

Th ough t ri ck y an d m i sch i evou s t h ey are rarel y mal i ci ou s

,

u n l ess provo ked by so m e u n warran ta bl e i n tru si o n o r an n oy

 8 1

an ce & b ut as a body they al so par t ak e to so m e exten t of

th e u n iversal feel i ng of di stru st for m an an d they general l y
,

see m i ncl i ned t o resen t so mewhat th e fi rst appearan ce of a

n eoph yte on th e astral plan e so that h e u sual ly mak es th ei r
,

acquai ntan ce u nder so me u n pl easan t or terri fyi ng form If .

,

h owever h e decl i n es to be frigh tened by an y of th ei r freak s

, ,

th ey soo n accep t h i m as a n ecessary evi l and tak e n o fu r t h er

n ot ice of h i m wh i l e som e a m ong t h em may even after a t i m e
,

beco m e fri en dly an d ma n i fest pl eas ure o n m eeti n g hi m .

So m e a m ong th e many su b d ivi si on s of th i s class are m uch

l ess ch i l dl ik e an d m ore dign i fi ed than t h ose we h ave been
descri bi ng an d i t i s fro m th ese secti on s that th e enti t i es w h o
,

h ave so m et i mes bee n reveren ced u nder t h e na m e of wood

gods or local vi l lage gods , have been draw n Suc h en ti ti es
’

-
.
,

wou l d b e qu i te sen si bl e of th e fl attery i nvol ved i n th e rever

ence sh own to t he m wou l d enj oy i t an d wou l d n o dou bt be
, ,

q u i te ready to do any s mal l servi ce they cou l d i n retu rn .

( Th e vi l lage god
-
i s also often an ar t i ficial en ti ty bu t t ha
,
t
vari ety wi l l b e con si dered i n i ts appropriate place ) .

T he Adept k n ows h ow to mak e u se of th e services of th e

natu re spi rits wh en h e requ i res the m b u t th e ord inary
-
,

magi cian can obtai n th ei r assi stance on l y by processes

—
ei th er of i nvocati on or evocati on that i s ei th er by attracti n g
,

th ei r attent ion as a supp l ian t an d m ak i ng so m e k i n d of

bargai n wi th th e m or by e n deavouri ng to set i n m oti on
,

in fl u en ces w h i ch wou l d co m pel thei r obedie n ce B oth .

m eth ods are extre m el y u ndesi rab le an d th e latter i s al s o

,

excessivel y dangerou s as th e operator wou l d arou se a

,

d eterm i n ed h ost il i ty wh i ch m igh t prove fatal to h i m .

N eedl ess to say n o one stu dyi ng occu l t i s m u n der a qual ifi ed

,

M aster wou l d ever b e p e rm itte d to at te mpt any th i ng of t h e

‘
 82

4 . 77
26 D er/a s
Th e h igh est sys te m of evol u ti o n
.

c on n ec ted wi th th i s earth so far as we k n o w i s th at of

, ,

th e bei ngs wh o m H i n d u s cal l th e devas an d wh o have ,

el sewh ere bee n spok en of as an gel s son s of G o d & c , ,

.

Th ey may i n fact b e regarded as a k i ngdo m l yi n g next

, ,

above h u man i t y i n th e sam e way as h u m an i ty i n tu rn l i es

,

n ex t ab ove t h e an i m al k i ngdo m bu t w i t h th i s i m porta n t

,

d i ffere n ce that w h i l e for a n an i mal th ere i s no pos si bi l i ty

,

of evol ut i on (so far as we k n ow ) th rough an y k i ngd o m bu t

t h e h u man m an whe n h e attai n s a certai n h i gh l evel fi n d s
, , ,

vari ou s path s of advan cem en t open i ng be fore h i m of wh i ch ,

th i s grea t d eva evol u ti on i s on ly on e .

I n co m pari so n wi th t h e su b l i m e ren u nc iati on of th e

N irm a nak a ya th e accepta n ce of th i s l i n e of evol ut i on i s
,

so m et i m es spoke n o f i n th e b ook s as y i el di ng to th e
“

”
te m ptati o n to beco m e a god b u t i t m u s t n ot b e i n ferred
,

fro m t h i s expressi on that a ny sh adow of blam e at tach es to

th e man wh o m ake s th i s ch oi ce The path wh i ch h e sel ect s i s
.

n ot th e sh ortest b u t i t i s n everth el ess a very n o b le o n e and

, ,

i f h i s devel oped i n t u i t io n i m pel s h i m toward s i t i t i s certai nl y

,

t h e o ne best su i ted for h i s capaci ti es W e m u s t never forget

.

t ha t i n spi ri tual as i n ph ysi cal cl i m bi ng i t i s n ot eve ry on e

w ho can bear t he strai n of th e steepe r path th ere m ay be
man y for wh o m what see m s t h e sl ower way i s th e o nl y o n e
possi bl e a nd we s h oul d i n deed be u n worthy fol l owers of
,

t h e great Teach ers i f w e al l owed ou r ign oran ce to be tray

u s i n to the sl igh test th ough t of desp i sal toward s th ose
wh ose ch oi ce di ffers fro m o u r own .

H owever c on fi de n t that ign orance of th e di ffic u l ti es of

t h e fu ture may all ow u s to feel n ow i t i s i m possi bl e for u s
,

to tel l at th i s s tage wh at we sh al l fi n d ou rsel ves abl e t o do

wh e n aft er man y l ives of pati en t strivi ng we h ave ea rned
, ,
 84

t i on i s t o rai se t he s uc cess fu l por t ion of h u man i ty to a

certai n d egree o f occu l t devel op me n t by th e e nd of the
seve n th rou n d th e o bj ec t of th e deva evol u ti on i s to
,

rai se t h ei r fore m ost ran k to a very m uc h h igh er l evel i n

th e correspon d i ng peri od . For th e m a s for u s a steeper
, ,

bu t sh or t er path to s ti l l m ore su bl i m e h eigh ts l ies open

t o earn es t en deavou r & b u t wha t th ose h eigh ts may be
i n th ei r case we can on ly conj ectu re .

It i s o n ly th e l ower fri nge of th i s augu st body that

'

n eed be m en ti on ed i n con n ecti on wi th ou r su bj ect of t he

astral plan e Th ei r t h ree l o wer great di vi s i on s ( b egi n n i ng
.

fro m t h e bo tt o m ) are ge neral l y cal l e d K am ade vas R upa ,

devas an d A rfipade vas respecti vel y j u st as ou r o rdi nary

body h ere — t h e lo west body possi bl e for u s—i s t h e ph y si cal
,
.

so t h e ordi nary body of a K am ade va i s t h e as t ral & so t hat

h e s t an ds i n s o m ew hat th e sa m e posi t i on as h u man i ty wi l l
d o wh e n i t reaches plan et F an d h e l i vi ng ordi nari ly i n
, ,

a n as t ral body woul d go ou t o f i t to h igh er sph eres i n a

,

m en t al body j u s t as we m igh t i n an as t ral b ody wh i l e t o

,

e nter t h e cau sal body wou l d be t o h i m (wh e n s u ffici en t ly

de vel oped ) n o greater effort than t o use a m i n d body i s to u s
-
.

I n th e sam e way th e R fipade va s ordi nary body wou l d

’

be t h e me n tal si n ce h i s habi tat i s o n t h e fou r l owe r or

,

r upa l evel s of tha t plane & wh i l e th e A rfipade va be longs t o

t he th ree h igh er level s an d ow n s no nearer approac h t o a
,

bod y than th e cau sal . B u t for R upa a nd A rfl pade vas

t o m an i fes t on th e astral plane i s an occu rrenc e at l eas t as
rare as i t i s for as t ral enti ti es to material ize o n th i s ph ys i cal
pla n e so we n eed d o n o m ore than m en ti on th e m n ow
A s regard s t he l owes t d ivi si on —the K am ade vas—
.
,

it
woul d be q u ite a m i s take to th i n k of al l of th em as
i m m easu ra bl y s u peri or t o ou rsel ves si n ce som e have en t ered
,
 85

t hei r ran ks fro m a h u m an i ty i n so m e respects l ess advan ced

.

than ou r own T h e general average am ong th e m i s m u ch

.

higher tha n a m ong u s for al l th at i s activel y or wil ful l y evi l

,

has l ong bee n weeded ou t fro m th ei r rank s bu t th ey di ffer

wi d el y i n di spos iti on and a real l y n ob l e u n sel fi sh spi ri tual l y
, , ,

m i n ded man may wel l stan d hi gher i n the scal e of evol u ti on

than so m e of th e m .

Th ei r attent ion can be attracted by certai n magi cal

evocati on s bu t th e on ly h u man wi l l wh i ch can do m i na t e
,

th ei rs i s th at of a certai n h igh class of A depts As a rul e .

t hey see m scarcel y co nsc iou s of u s on ou r ph ysi cal plan e ,

bu t i t does n ow an d the n happen that o ne of th e m beco mes

aware of so m e h u man di fficu l ty wh i c h e xci tes h i s pi ty an d ,

h e perhaps ren ders so me assi stance j u s t as an y of u s wou l d ,

try to h el p an a n i mal that we saw i n trou bl e B u t i t i s wel l .

u n derstood am ong th em that any i n terferen ce i n h u m an

affai rs at th e presen t stage i s l i kel y to d o far m ore h arm
th an good Above th e A rup ade vas th ere are fou r o t her
.

great d ivi si ons an d again above an d bey o n d th e deva

, ,

ki ngdo m al togeth er stan d th e great h osts of t h e Plan etary

,

Spiri ts bu t th e co n si deratio n of suc h gl ori fi ed bei ngs wou l d

,

be ou t of place i n an essay o n the astral plan e .

Th ough w e can n ot clai m th e m as b el ongi ng exactly to

any of ou r classes thi s i s perhaps th e bes t place i n w hi ch
,

to m e nt i o n t h ose wond erfu l an d i m portant bei ngs t h e fou r ,

‘
I)e varaj as . I n th is na me th e word deva m u st not h ow ,

ever b e tak en i n the sen se i n wh i ch we have bee n u si ng i t

, ,

for i t i s n ot over t h e deva k i ngdo m b u t over th e fou r

“
el em en ts of earth water ai r an d fi re wi th th ei r in
”
, , , ,

dwel l i ng natu re spi ri ts a n d essences that th ese fou r K i ngs

-
,

ru l e W hat the evol u t ion h as bee n th rough wh i ch th ey rose

.

to thei r presen t h ei gh t of power and wi sdo m we ca nn o t

 86

tel l save on l y t ha t i t has certai n l y n ot passed th ro ugh

,

an y th i ng correspon di ng t o ou r own h u man i ty .

Th ey are oft en spok e n of as th e Regen ts of t h e Earth ,

or Angel s o f t h e fou r cardi nal poi n ts an d the H i n du book s ,

cal l th e m t h e C ha tu r M ah a r aj as givi ng t hei r nam es as

,

l)h ritarash t ra V ir udh aka V ir tt p ak sh a a n d V aish ravan a

, , ,
.

I n t h e sa m e book s th ei r el e m en tal h osts are cal l ed

Gand harvas K u m b h an das N a gas an d Y ak sh as re sp e c
, , ,

t ive l,y t h e poi n ts of th e c o m pass appropriate d to each bei ng

i n correspo n di ng order east s outh west an d n orth an d
, , , ,

t h ei r sy m bol i cal c ol ou rs wh i te bl ue red an d gol d Th ey

, , ,
.

are m e n t i on ed i n Tb e S ecr et D o ctr ine as wi nged gl o bes an d

”
fi ery wh eels : an d i n th e C h ri stia n bi bl e Ezek i el mak es a
very re markable at t e m pt a t a descri p t i on of th e m i n wh ich
very si m ilar words are u sed R eferen ces to th e m are to be
.

fou nd i n th e sy m bol ogy of every religi on an d th ey have ,

al ways bee n h el d i n th e h igh est reverence a s th e protectors

of man k i n d .

’
I t i s th ey w h o are th e agen ts of m an s karm a d u ri ng h i s
l i fe o n earth an d th ey th u s play an ex t re m el y i m portan t
,

part i n h u man desti ny T h e great karm i c dei ti es of th e

.

K os m os (cal l ed i n T/ze S ecr et D o ctr in e the L ip ika ) weigh

t he deeds of each personal i ty wh en t h e fi nal separat ion o f
i ts pri n ci pl es tak es place at th e en d of i t s astral l i fe an d -
,

gi ve as i t were th e m ou l d o f a n eth eric dou bl e e xactl y

s u i ta bl e to i ts k arma for th e m an s n ext bi rth bu t i t i s th e
’

De varaj as wh o havi ng co m man d of th e

,
”
el em e n ts o f “

wh i ch that eth eri c dou bl e m u st be c om posed arrange th ei r ,

proport io n s o as to ful fi l accu rately th e i n ten tion o f t h e

Lip ika .

I t i s t h ey al so wh o con s tan tl y watc h al l th rough l i fe to

cou nterbalan ce t h e c han ges pe rpetual ly be i ng i n trod uce d
 87

’
i n to m an s con di tion by h i s own free wi l l an d that of those
arou n d h i m s o that n o i nj u stice may be do ne an d karma
, ,

may be accu ratel y worked ou t i f n ot i n o n e way th en i n

,

an oth er . A l earned di ssertati on u po n th ese marvel lou s

bei ngs w i l l b e fou n d i n T/ze S ecr et D o ctr in e vol i pp 1 2 2 ,
. .
, .

1 26. T hey are abl e t o tak e h u man material for m s at w il l ,

an d several cases are recorded w hen th ey have done so .

Al l th e h igh er nature spi ri ts and h ost s of arti fi cial

-

ele men tal s act as th ei r age n ts i n th e stupen dou s work th ey

carry ou t yet al l th e threads are i n thei r han ds an d th e
, ,

wh ol e respon si b i l i ty rests upon th e m al one I t i s n o t ofte n

.

th at th ey m an i fest upon th e astral p lane b u t wh en th ey do,

they are certai n ly th e m ost re markab le of i ts n o n h u man -

i n hab i tan ts A stu den t of occu l ti s m wi l l not need to be

.

tol d that as there are seven great cl asses both of natu re

spi ri ts an d el e m en tal es sence there m u s t real l y be seve n
an d n o t four De varaj as b u t ou tsi de t he ci rcl e of i n itiat i on
,

l i ttl e i s k n own a nd l ess may b e sai d of the h igher th ree .

I I I A RT I F I C I A L
. .

Th i s th e largest class of astral en ti t ies i s al so m u ch th e

, ,

mos t i mportan t to m an B ei ng en ti rely h i s own creati on

.
,

i t IS 1 nter related w ith h i m by th e cl osest karm i c bonds an d

-
,

i ts action u pon h i m is di rect an d i ncessan t I t i s an .

en or mou s i n ch oate m ass of sem i i n tel l igen t en ti ties d i fferi ng

-
,

a mong th em sel ves as h u m an th ough ts d i ffer an d practi cal ly ,

i n capabl e of any th i ng l i k e class i ficat io n or arrangem en t .

T h e o n l y di vi si on wh i ch can be u seful ly made i s th at w h i ch

h es between th e arti fi cial el em en tal s m ade by th e
of mank i n d u n con sciou sly a nd t hose mad e by
,

m ag1 c 1 an s w i th defi n i te i n ten t & wh i l e we may r el egate to a

'
 88

th i rd c lass th e very s mal l n u m ber of arti fi ci al l y arranged

e n ti t ie s wh i c h are n ot e le m e n tal s at al l .

1. E leme /z ta /s fo r me d u n co n scio u s/
y I t has al ready
. bee n
e xplai ned t ha t th e el e m en tal essen ce wh i ch s u rrou n ds u s on
every si de i s i n al l i ts n u m berl ess vari eti es si ngu larl y
su scepti ble to t h e i n fl u e nce of h u man th ough t Th e acti on .

of t h e mere cas ual wan deri ng th ough t u pon i t cau si ng i t to ,

bu rs t i n t o a cl ou d o f rapi d ly m ovi ng evan escen t for m s has

-
, ,

al ready bee n desc ri bed & we h ave n ow to n ote h ow i t i s

a ffected wh e n th e h u man m i n d for m u lates a defi n i te ,

p urpose ful t h ough t or w i sh .

Th e e ffec t prod uced i s o f the m os t s tri k i ng natu re .

Th e t h ough t seizes u pon the plas t i c esse n ce an d m ou l d s i t

i ns t a n t l y i n t o a l i vi ng bei ng o f appropri ate for m —a bei ng
,

wh i ch wh en o nc e th u s created i s i n n o way u n der th e

co n t rol o f i ts creator bu t l i ves ou t a l i fe o f i ts own th e
, ,

le ng t h of wh i c h i s proporti o nate to th e i n ten si ty of th e

t h ough t or wi sh wh i c h cal l ed i t i nto exi sten ce I t lasts i n .
,

fac t j us t as l ong as t h e th ough t force h ol ds i t together

,
-
.

M os t peopl e s th ough ts are so fl eeti ng an d i ndeci si ve tha t

’

t h e el e m ental s create d by the m last o n ly a few m i n u tes or a

fe w h ours bu t an often repeated th ough t or an earn es t wi sh
,
-

wil l for m a n el e m en tal wh ose ex i sten ce may extend t o many

days .

Si n ce t h e ord i nary man s t h ough ts refer very l argel y to

’

h i m sel f th e el e m e n tal s wh i ch th ey form re mai n h overi ng

,

a bou t h i m an d c o nstan tl y t e n d to provok e a repeti ti o n of th e

,

i dea wh ic h th ey represe n t si n ce s uch repeti t i on s i ns tead of

, ,

form i ng n e w el e m en t al s wou l d strength en th e ol d o ne an d

, ,

gi ve i t a fresh lease o f l i fe A man th erefore wh o freq ue n tly

.
, ,

d wel l s u pon o ne wi sh o ft en form s for h i msel f an ast ral atte n d

an t wh i ch c ons tan t l y fed by fresh th ough t may hau n t h i m
, ,
 89

for years ever gai n i ng m ore an d m ore stre ng t h a n d i n fl ue nce

,

over h i m an d i t wi l l eas il y be seen that i f the desi re be an

evi l on e th e effect u pon h i s m oral natu re may be of th e
m ost di sastrou s character .

Sti l l m ore pregnan t of resu l t for good or evi l are a man s ’

t hough ts abou t other peo pl e fo r i n t hat case t h ey h over n ot

,

abou t t he th i n k er bu t abou t the obj ect of th e th ough t A

, .

k i nd l y th o u gh t abou t a n y p erson or an earnes t wi sh for h i s

,

good wi l l form a n d proj ect towards h i m a fri endly arti fi cial

,

e le m en tal . I f th e wi sh be a de fi n i te one as for exam pl e , , ,

that h e may recover fro m som e s ick n ess t hen th e el e me ntal,

wi l l be a force ever h overi ng over h i m to prom ote h i s

re covery or to ward off an y i n fl uen ce that m igh t te n d to
,

h i n der i t I n doi ng th i s i t w il l di splay wha t appears l ik e

.

a very con s iderabl e am ou n t o f i n tel l igen ce an d adaptabi l i ty ,

th ough real l y i t i s s i m pl y a force acti ng al ong th e l i ne of l east

resi stan ce — p ressi ng stead i ly i n o ne di rect io n al l th e t i m e ,

and taki ng advan tage of any chan n el that i t can fi n d j u st ,

as the water i n a ci stern woul d i n a m o m en t fi n d th e on e

open p ipe am ong a doze n cl osed ones an d proceed to em pty
,

i tsel f th rough that .

I f the wis h be m erel y an i n defi n i te o ne for h i s gen eral

good the el e m en tal essence i n i ts wo n derfu l plas t ic i ty wi l l
,

respon d exactl y to th a t l ess di sti nct i dea al so an d t he ,

creatu re form ed wi l l e xpe nd i ts force i n t he d irecti on of

’
whatever act ion for th e man s advan tage com es m os t
readi ly to hand . I n al l cases th e am ou n t of s uch force
wh i ch i t h as t o expend an d th e l ength of t i m e that i t w i l l
,

l i ve to expen d i t depen d en ti rely u pon t he strength of th e

,

o r1 g1 n al w ish or though t wh i ch gave i t bi rth & th ough i t

m u st b e re me m bered that i t can be as i t were fed an d , ,

strength ened and i ts l i fe period protra c ted by oth er

,
-
 90

good wi sh es or fri e n dly th ough ts proj ected i n t he sam e

d i recti on.

Fur t h er more i t appears to be ac tua t ed l i ke m ost oth er

, ,

bei ngs by an i n s t i n ct i ve desi re t o prol ong i ts l i fe an d t hu s

, ,

reac t s o n i ts crea t or as a force co n stan tly te n di ng to provok e

t h e re n ewal of t he feel i ng wh i ch cal l ed i t i n to exi ste n ce .

I t al so i n fl uen ces in a s i m i lar m an n er oth ers w i th wh o m i t

c o mes i n t o con t ac t th ough i ts r app o r t wi th th e m i s natu ral ly
,

n ot so perfec t .

A l l t h a t has bee n sai d as t o t he effec t of goo d w i she s

a n d fri en d ly th ough t s i s al so true i n t he opposi te di recti on
of evi l wi shes an d angry t h ough ts & an d co n si deri ng th e
a m ou n t of envy hatred mal i ce an d all u nch ari tabl e ness
, ,

t hat exi s t s i n t he worl d i t wi l l b e read i l y u n derstood that

,

a m ong t h e arti fi cial el e m en tal s m any terri ble creatures are

t o be see n A man wh ose th ough ts or desi re s are spi teful
.
,

bru tal se nsual avari ci ou s m oves th rough th e worl d carryi ng

, , ,

w i t h h i m everywh ere a pes t i ferou s at m osph ere of h i s ow n ,

peopl ed wi th t h e l oath som e bei ngs wh i ch h e has c reated to be

h i s co mpan i on s Th us h e i s n o t on ly i n sad ly evi l case h i m
.

sel f bu t i s a dangerou s n u i san ce t o h i s fel low m en s u bj ecti ng

,
-
,

al l wh o have th e m i sfortu n e to c o me i n to co n tact w i th h i m

t o t he ri sk of m oral co n tagio n fro m t he i nfl u en c e of th e
abo mi nati on s wi th wh i ch h e ch ooses to su rrou nd h i m se l f .

A feel i ng o f en vi ou s or j eal ou s hatred towards anoth er

person w i l l s en d an evi l el em en tal to h over over h i m an d
s e ek for a weak poi n t th ro ugh wh ic h i t can op e rate & an d i f
t he feel i ng be a persi sten t on e s u ch a cr e atu re may be
,

c o n t i nu al l y nou ri sh e d by i t an d thereby e nabl ed t o protract

i ts u n de si rabl e activi ty for a very l ong peri od . I t can ,

h owev e r prod u ce n o e ffec t u pon the person towards w h o m

,

i t is di r e c t e d u nle s s h e h as h i m sel f so m e ten den cy wh ic h

 92

l et s t h e m ru n ri o t i n vari ou s d i rec ti on s u tterl y u ncon sc i ou s

,

of th e swarm s of bal efu l creatu res wh i ch h e i s lau n c hi ng

u po n th e worl d .

To s u ch a m an a n accu rate co m prehe n si o n o f t he effec t

of t h ough t an d desi re i n produc i ng arti fici al el e men tal s
wou l d com e as a h orri fyi ng revel ation on th e o th er han d ,

i t woul d be th e greates t con s olati o n to m an y devoted an d

grateful so ul s wh o are oppressed wi th th e feel i ng t hat th ey
are u na bl e t o d o any t h i n g i n retu rn for t h e k i nd n ess lavi sh ed
u pon t h em by th ei r ben efactors For fri en dl y t h ough ts a n d
.

earn es t good w i sh es are as easi l y an d as effectual l y fo rm u

l ated by t h e poorest as by t h e ri c hest an d i t i s w ith i n th e
,

power of al m ost a n y man i f h e wi l l tak e t h e trou bl e to

, ,

mai n t ai n what i s prac t i cal l y a good angel always at th e si d e

of t h e broth er or si ste r t h e fri en d or th e ch i ld wh o m h e
, ,

l oves bes t n o mat t er i n what part of t he w orl d h e m ay be

,
.

Ma ny a t i m e a m oth er s l ovi ng th ough ts and prayers

’

have form ed t h em sel ves i n t o an angel guardian for t h e

ch i ld an d excep t i n th e al m ost i m poss i bl e case th a t t he
,

ch i l d had i n h i m n o i n sti n ct respon si ve to a good i n fl u ence ,

have u n dou bted l y gi ven h i m assi stan ce an d pro t ec ti on .

S u ch guardia n s m ay oft en be see n by cl ai rvoyan t vi s i on ,

a n d th ere have even been cases i n wh ich o n e of th e m has

had su ffic i en t streng t h to m aterial ize an d beco m e for th e
m o m en t vi si bl e t o ph y si cal sigh t .

A cu ri ou s fact wh i ch deserves m en t i on here i s t ha t

eve n aft er th e passage of t h e m other i n to t h e h eaven
worl d th e l ove wh i ch sh e pou rs ou t u pon th e ch i ldren
wh o m sh e i magi n es as su rrou n d i ng h er w i l l react u pon th ose
,

ch i l dren t h ough th ey are sti l l l i vi ng i n t hi s w orl d an d wi l l

,

o fte n su pport th e guard ian el em en t al wh i c h sh e c rea t ed wh i l e

o n earth u n t i lh er dea r on e s th e m sel ves pass away i n t u r n
,
.
 93

As M ada m e B lavatsky re mark s h er l ove wi l l al way s be fel t

,

by th e ch i l dre n i n t h e fl esh i t wi l l man i fes t i n th ei r dream s

an d ofte n ln vari ou s events i n provi den ti al protect ion s a n d
~
,

e sc ap e s
m
fo r l ove i s a strong sh i el d an d i s not l i m i ted by
,

space or ti m e ( K ey to Tfieosop fiy p
”
,
Al l th e stories
.

of th e i n terven tio n of guardian angel s m u st not h owever , ,

be attri bu ted to th e acti on of arti fi cial elem en tal s fo r i n ,

”
m an y cases su ch angel s have bee n th e sou l s of ei ther
“

l ivi ng or recen tl y departed h u ma n bei ngs and th ey have ,

al so occasi onal ly th ough rarely bee n devas (See [ n o isi//e

, ,
. t

H el p ers p
,
.

Thi s power of a n earn est desi re especi al ly i f freq uen tl y

,

repeated to create an acti ve el em ental whi ch ever presses

,

forceful ly i n th e d irectio n of i ts own fu l fi l m e nt i s t he sei en ,

t ific explanati on of what devou t b u t u nph il osoph ical people

descri b e as an swers to prayer Th ere are occasi on s th ough
.
,

at presen t th ese are rare wh en th e karma of th e person so

,

pray i ng i s su ch as t o perm i t of assi stan ce bei ng di rectly

re ndered to h i m by an Adept or h i s p up i l an d t here i s al so ,

t h e s ti l l rarer poss i b i l i ty of th e i nterven ti on of a deva or

som e fri en dly nature spi ri t & bu t i n al l th ese cases th e
-

easi es t an d m ost obvi ou s form for su ch assistan ce to tak e

wou l d be th e strengthen i ng an d th e i n tel l igen t di rec t i on o f
th e el em en tal al ready form ed by t h e wish .

A very c u ri ou s an d i n stru ct ive i n sta nce of the extrem e

persi sten ce of th ese arti fi c ial ele m e ntal s u n der favou rabl e
c i rcu m stan ces cam e u n der th e n ot ice of o ne of ou r i nvesti
gators q u ite rece ntl y Al l readers of th e l i terat ure of s uch
s ubj ects are aware that man y of ou r an ci en t fam i l ies are
s uppose d to have associated wi th th e m a traditi ona l death
warn i ng — a ph e no men on of o ne k i n d or an other wh i ch fore
tel ls usual ly so me days beforehan d th e approach i ng decease
, ,
 94

of t h e h ead of th e h ou se A p ic tu resqu e exa m pl e of th i s i s

.

t h e wel l k n own story of th e wh i te b ird of the O xe n h am s

-
,

wh ose appearanc e has ever si n ce t h e ti m e of &u ee n

El izabe t h b ee n recogn ised as a s u re presage of th e death o f
s o m e m e m ber of th e fam i l y & wh i l e an oth er i s th e spec tral
coach wh i ch i s reported to d ri ve u p to th e door of a certai n
cas t l e i n th e n orth wh e n a si m i l ar cal am i ty i s i m pe ndi ng .

A ph en o m en on of t h i s ord er occurs i n co n necti on wi th

t h e fa m i ly of on e of ou r m e m bers bu t i t i s of a m u ch
,

co m m oner an d l ess strik i ng type th an ei th er of th e ab ove ,

c o n si s t i ng on l y of a sol e m n an d i m pressi ve strai n of d i rge

l i k e m u si c wh i ch i s h eard apparen t ly fl oati ng in t h e ai r three
,

days before t h e death tak es place O u r m e m ber h avi ng

.
,

h i m sel f twi ce h eard th i s m ys t i c sou n d fi n di ng i ts warn i ng i n

bo t h cases q u i te accu ra t e an d k n o wihg al so th at ac cord i ng
,

t o fa m i l y trad i ti on th e sa m e th i ng h ad bee n happen i ng for

several ce n t u ri es se t h i m sel f to seek by occu l t m eth ods for
,

th e cau se u nderly i ng s o strange a ph en om en on .

Th e resu l t was u n expec ted b u t i n teresti ng I t appeared

.

t hat so m ewh ere i n th e twel fth ce n tu ry th e h ead of th e fam i ly

wen t to th e cru sades l i ke man y an oth er val ian t m an an d
, ,

t ook wi th h i m to wi n h i s sp u rs i n th e sac red cau se h i s

you nges t an d favou ri te son a pro m i si ng you th wh ose
,

su cces s i n l i fe was th e dearest wi sh of h i s fath er s h eart ’

.

U n happi l y h ow eve r t h e you ng man was k i l l ed i n battl e an d

, , ,

t h e fath e r was pl u nged i n t o t h e depth s of despai r la m e nti ng ,

n ot on l y th e l oss of h i s son bu t sti l l m ore th e fact that h e

,

was c ut o ff s o sudde n l y i n th e fu l l fl u sh of carel ess an d n ot

al togeth er bla m el es s y ou th .

’
So poignan t i n deed were th e ol d m an s feel i ngs that
, ,

h e c ast o ff h i s k n igh tly arm ou r an d j oi n ed o ne of t h e great

m o nasti c orders vo wi ng to d evote al l th e re mai n der of
,
 95

hi s l i fe to prayer fi rst for th e sou l of h i s son and secon dly

“

, ,

that h e nceforward n o descen dan t of h i s m igh t ever agai n

en cou nter what see m ed to h i s s i m pl e an d pi ou s m i nd t h e
terrib le danger of m eeti ng death u nprepared Day after .

day for m any a year he poured all th e energy of h i s sou l

i n to th e chan n el o f that on e i n tense w i sh fi rm l y bel i evi ng
,

that so meh ow or oth er th e resu l t h e so earnestl y desi red

wou l d b e brou gh t a b ou t .

A stu den t of occu l ti s m w i l l have l i ttl e di ffi cu l ty i n

deci di ng what w oul d be th e effect of su ch a defi n i te an d
long con ti n ued s t ream of th ough t & o u r k n igh t l y m on k
-

created an arti ficial el e me ntal of i m m ense po wer an d

resourcefu l ness for i ts own parti cu lar obj ect an d ac c u m u ,

lated w i t hi n i t a store of force w h i ch woul d enable i t t o

carry o ut h i s wi sh es for an i ndefi n i te peri od A n el em en tal
.

i s a perfect storage battery -

on e fro m wh i ch th ere i s
practical l y n o l eakage & an d wh en we rem em ber what i t s
origi nal strength m u st have been an d h ow co m parat ively
,

rarel y i t wou l d be cal l ed upo n t o pu t i t for t h we sh al l ,

scarcely wonder that eve n n ow i t exh i bi ts u n i mpai red

vi tal ity an d sti l l warns t he direct descen dan ts of th e ol d
,

crusader of th ei r approach i ng doo m by repeati ng i n th ei r

ears the strange wai l i ng m u s i c wh ich was th e d irge of a
you ng an d val ian t sold ier seven h u n dred years ago i n
Palest i n e .

2 . E Zemefl ta /s fo r med co n scio us/

e

y Si nce
. s uch resu lts as
have been descri bed above have been ach i eved by th e
t ho ugh t force of m en wh o were en ti rel y i n the dark as t o
-

what th ey were doi ng i t w i l l readi l y be i m agi n ed that a

,

magi cia n w h o u n derstan ds th e su bj ect an d can see exactl y

,

what e ffect h e i s produc i ng m ay wi el d i m m en se power

,

al ong t h ese l i n es A s a matter of fac t occu l ti sts of both th e

.
 9 6

wh i t e an d dark sch ools freq ue n t ly u se ar t i fic ial e le m en tal s

i n t h ei r work an d few task s are beyon d th e powers of s uch
,

creatu res wh e n sci en ti fi cal l y prepared an d di rected wi th

k n owl edge an d sk i l l for on e w h o k n ows h ow to do so can
mai n tai n a con nect ion w i t h h i s el e m en tal an d gu i de i t n o ,

mat t er a t what di stan ce i t m ay be work i ng s o that i t wi l l ,

prac t i cal ly act as t h ough e n dowed w i th th e ful l i n tel l igen ce

of i t s maste r .

V ery defi n i t e an d very e f fi ci en t guardian angel s h ave

s o m eti m es bee n s uppl i ed i n th i s way th ough i t i s probabl y
,

very rarel y that kar ma perm i t s su ch a dec i ded i n terferen ce

i n a person s l i fe as that wou l d be
’
. I n su c h a case h ow ,

ever as that o f a pu pi l of th e Adepts wh o m igh t ha ve i n

.
,

t h e cou rse of h i s work for t h e m to ru n th e ri sk o f attack

fro m forces wi t h wh i ch h i s u nai ded strengt h wou l d be
e n t i rel y i nsu ffi ci en t to cope g uardian s o f t h i s descri pti on
,

h ave bee n gi ve n an d have fu l l y proved t hei r sl eepl ess

,

vigi lan ce an d th ei r tre m en dou s power .

By so m e of th e m ore advan ced processes of bl ack

magi c al so ar t i fi cial el em en tal s of great power may be
, ,

cal led i n to ex i sten c e an d m u ch evi l has been work ed i n

,

vari ou s ways by su c h e n ti ti es . B u t i t i s t ru e of t h e m as ,

o f th e previ ou s class that i f t h ey are ai m ed at a person

,

wh o m by reaso n of h is pu ri ty of ch aracter th ey are u nabl e

to i n fl uen ce th ey react wi th t erri bl e forc e u pon t h ei r
crea t or & so that th e m edi aeval s tory of t h e m agi cian bei ng
t orn to pi eces by t h e fi en d s h e h i m sel f had rai se d i s n o
m e re fabl e bu t m ay wel l have a n a wfu l fou n dati on i n fact
,
.

Su ch creat u res oc ca s i on al l y for vari ou s reason s escape

, ,

fro m th e co ntrol of th ose wh o are tryi ng to m ak e u se of

th e m a n d beco m e wan de ri ng a n d a i m less de m on s as d o
, ,

so m e of th ose m en ti on ed u nder th e previ ou s headi ng u n der

 97

s i m i lar ci rcu m stan ces & bu t t hose that we are con s i deri ng ,

havi n g m uc h m ore i n tel l igence an d power and a m u ch

,

l onger e xi sten ce are proportio natel y m ore dangerou s

,
.

Th ey i nvariabl y seek for m ean s of prol onging th ei r l i fe

ei th er by feed i ng l ik e va m pi res upon th e vi tal i ty of h u man
bei ngs or by i n fl u enci ng th e m to m ake offeri n gs to th e m
,

a nd a mong si mpl e h alf savage tri bes t hey h ave frequen tl y

-

su cceeded by j u di ciou s managem en t i n get t i ng the m sel ves

recogn ized as vi l lage or fam i l y gods .

A n y de i ty wh i ch de man ds sacri fi ces i nvol vi ng th e

sh ed di ng of bl ood m ay al ways be se t down as bel ongi ng
t o th e l owes t a nd m os t l oath so m e class o f th i s order &
o ther l ess obj ecti o nab le types are som eti m es c o nte n t w i th

o fferi ngs of rice an d cooke d food of vari ou s k i n ds There

.

are parts of I nd ia where both t hese varieti es may be fou n d

fl o uri sh in g eve n at th e presen t day an d i n Afri ca they are
,

probab l y co mparati vel y n u m erou s .

B y m ean s of whatever n ouri sh m en t th ey can ob tai n

fro m th e offeri ngs an d sti l l m ore by th e vi tal i ty t hey dra w
,

fro m the ir d evotees th ey m ay con ti n u e to prol ong th ei r

,

exi ste n ce for many years or even centu ri es retai n i ng

, ,

su ffici en t strengt h to perfor m occasi onal ph en o m ena of a

m i l d type i n order to sti m ul ate th e fai th an d zeal of th ei r
fol l owers an d i nvariabl y m ak i ng th e m sel ves u npl easan t i n
,

s o m e way or other i f th e accusto m ed sacri fi ces are n eg

le c te d: For examp le i t was asserted recen tl y th at i n o ne
,

I n dia n vil lage th e i n hab i tants h ad fou n d th at when ever

fo r any reaso n th e l ocal dei ty di d n o t get h i s or her regu lar
m eal s s po ntan eou s fi res b egan to break ou t wi th alar m ing
,

th e cottages so m eti m es th ree or fou r

,

i n cases wh ere t hey declared i t was im p o s

h u man agency an d other stories of a m o re
 90

or les s si m i lar nat ure wi l l n o dou b t recu r to th e m e m ory

o f an y reader w h o k n ows so meth i ng of th e ou t o fth e way - - -

corners of that m ost won derfu l o f al l cou n tri es .

Th e ar t of ma n u factu ri n g arti fic ial el e m en tal s of extre m e

vi ru l e nce a n d power seem s t o have b ee n on e of th e special i
t ies o f t h e magi cian s of A tlan ti s — th e l ords o f th e dark
“

”
face . O n e exa m pl e o f th ei r capabi l i ti es i n th i s l i n e i s give n
i n T/1 e S ecr e t D octr in e (vol i i p . .
,
wh ere we read of
.

t h e won d erfu l speak i ng an i mal s wh o h ad to be q u i eted b y

a n o fferi ng of bl ood l es t th ey sh ou l d awak e n th ei r m asters
,

an d warn t h e m of th e i m pen d i ng destru cti on . Bu t apart

fro m t h e se s tra nge beas t s t h ey created oth er arti fi c ial en ti ti e s
o f power an d e n ergy so trem e ndou s th at i t i s dark l y h i n ted
,

t hat so m e of th e m have k ept th e m sel ves i n ex i sten ce eve n

t o th i s day t h ough i t i s m ore th an el eve n th ou san d years
,
.

si n ce t h e ca t acl y s m wh i c h overwh el m ed th ei r origi nal masters .

Th e t erri bl e I n dia n goddess wh ose devotees were i m pel l e d

t o co m mi t i n h er nam e th e awfu l cri m e s of Th uggee —th e
ghas t l y K a l i wors h i pped even to th i s day w i th ri tes too
abo m i nabl e to be descri bed —m igh t wel l be a rel i c o f a
,

sys t e m wh i ch h ad t o be s wept away eve n at th e cos t of th e

su bm ergence of a c on ti n en t an d th e l oss of si xty five m i l l i o n
,
-

h u m an l i ves .

3 [ fi e/n a n
. W e h ave no w to co nsi de r a clas s
o f en ti t i e s wh i ch th ough i t co n t ai n s bu t very few i nd i vi d ual s
, ,

has acq u i red fro m i ts i n t i mate con n ection wi th on e of th e

great m ove m en ts of m od ern ti mes an i m por t an ce en ti rel y
ou t of proporti on to i ts n u m bers I t see m s d ou bt fu l
.

wh eth er i t sh ou l d ap pear u n der th e fi rs t or th ird of

ou r mai n d i vi si on s & bu t th ough certai n l y h u m an i t i s so
, ,
‘
far re m oved fro m th e cou rse of ordi nary evol u ti on so ,

en t i rel y t he pro duct of a w i l l ou tsi de o f i t s dwn that ,

n ot stan d u pon t h e Adept l evel ye t h u ndreds have learn t
,

t h rough i t h ow t o se t t h ei r feet u pon th e Path wh ich

has l ed th e m to Adeptsh i p i n later l i ves : an d th o ugh
i t i s n ot d i rec t l y a part of th e B rot herh ood of th e
H i m a layas th ere are s o m e a m ong th e lat ter wh o have
,

t h e m sel ves bee n con n ec t ed wi th i t i n for mer i ncarn ati on s ,

an d t herefore retai n a m ore th an ordi n ari l y fri en d ly i n terest

i n i t s proceedi ngs .

Th e ch i e fs o f t h i s l odge th ough th ey h ave al ways k ept

,

t h e m sel ves an d th ei r s oci ety stri ctl y i n th e backgrou n d have

,

n ever t h el ess d on e wha t t h ey cou l d fro m t i m e to ti m e to

assi s t t h e progress of t ru th i n t h e worl d . S om e hal f
ce n tu ry ago i n despai r a t th e ram pan t m aterial i s m wh ich
,

see m ed to be sti fl i ng al l spi ri tual i ty i n E urope an d A m eri ca ,

t hey deter m i n ed to m ake an atte mpt to co m bat i t by so m e

—
what n ovel m eth ods in poi n t of fact to offe r oppor t u n i ti es
by wh i ch an y reasonabl e man cou l d acqui re absol u te proof
o f t h at l i fe apart fro m th e ph ys i cal body wh i ch i t was th e
t en de n c y o f sci en ce t o de ny Th e ph en o m ena ex h i bi ted
.

were n ot i n t h em selves absol u tely new s i n ce i n so m e

,

form or o t he r we m ay hear of th e m al l t h rough hi story & bu t

th ei r d efi n i te orga ni zati on —thei r produ c ti on as i t were t o
—
orde r t h ese were featu res di st i n ctly ne w t o th e m od e rn
wo rl d.

Th e m ove m ent wh i ch th ey t h us se t o n foot grad u al l y

grew i n to th e vas t fabric of m oder n spi ri t ual i sm and th ough
,

i t wou l d perhaps be u n fai r to h o l d t he origi na t ors o f th e

sch e m e di rec t ly respo n s i bl e for man y of t h e resu l t s wh i ch
‘
hav e fol l owed we m u st ad m i t t h at th e y have ach ieved t h ei r
,

pu rpose to t he e xten t of co n verti ng vas t n u m bers of pe o pl e

from a bel i ef i n n o t h i ng i n p ar ticii lar to a fi r m fai th in at
an y ra t e so m e k i nd o f fut ure l i fe T h i s i s u n do ub ted ly
.
 IO I

a magni ficen t res u l t th ough th ere are th ose wh o th i n k that

,

i t has bee n attain ed at too great a cost .

Th e m eth od adopted was to take so me ordi nary perso n

after de ath aro u se h i m thorough ly u po n the astral plan e
, ,
,

i nstru ct h i m to a certai n exten t i n th e powers a nd poss i bi l i

t i es bel ongi ng to i t an d th e n pu t h i m i n charge of a
,

sp 1 r1 t u al istic ci rcl e
. H e i n h i s t u rn devel oped oth er
“

departed personal iti es al ong th e sam e l i ne t h ey al l ac t ed ,

u po n th ose w h o sat at thei r sea nces an d devel oped t h em

'
“
,

as m edi um s & an d so spi ritual i s m grew and fl ou ri sh ed N o .

dou b t l i vi ng m e m bers of the origi nal lodge occasi onall y

man ifested th em sel ves i n astral for m at som e of th e ci rcl es
—perhaps th ey m ay do so eve n n o w & b ut i n m ost cases th ey
si mp ly gave such di recti o n an d gu idan ce as th ey consi dered
n eces sary to t he person s t hey had pu t i n ch arge Th ere i s .

l i t tl e dou b t that th e m ove m en t i n crease d so m u ch m ore

rapi dl y than th ey h ad expected t h at i t soo n got qu i te beyon d
th ei r co n t rol so that as h as been sai d for man y of th e later
, , ,

devel op me n ts th ey can o n ly be hel d i n d i rec t l y respon si bl e .

O f cou rse th e i ntensi fi cati on of t h e astral plan e l i fe i n -

those person s wh o were th u s pu t i n charge of ci rcl e s d i s t i n ctl y

del ayed thei r natural progres s an d though t h e i dea had b een
th at a n yth i ng l ost i n thi s way woul d be ful l y aton ed for by
th e good kar ma gai n ed by h elpi ng to l ead others to the tru th ,

i t Was soo n fou n d that i t was i mpossi ble to m ak e u se of a

spi ri t gu i de for an y length of t i m e w ith ou t doi ng h i m
-

”
seri o us an d per man en t i nj ury I n som e cases su ch gu i des
.
“

were th erefore wi th drawn an d oth ers su bsti tu t ed for th em

,

i n o th ers i t was con si dered for vari ou s reason s u n desi rabl e

t o m ak e su ch a change an d th en a very remarkabl e expedien t
,

was adopted wh ich gave ri se to th e cu ri ou s class of creatures

”
we have cal led h u man artific ials
“
.
 Th e h igh er pri n ci pl es of t h e origi na l gu i de were “

al l owed t o pass on th ei r l ong delayed evol uti on i nto th e

-

h eave n worl d b u t t h e shad e wh i ch h e l eft beh i n d h i m was

-
,

t ak e n possessi on of su stai n ed an d operated u pon so that i t

, ,

m igh t appear to i t s ad mi ri ng ci rcl e prac t i cal l y j u st as before.

Th i s s eem s a t fi rs t t o have bee n done by m e m bers of t he

l odge t h e m sel ve s bu t apparen tl y th a t arrange m en t was fou n d
,

i rk so m e or u n su i tabl e or perhaps was con si dered a waste of

,

force an d t h e sam e obj ecti on appl i ed t o th e u se for th is

,

pu rpose of an arti fi ci al el e m en tal & so i t was even tual l y

deci ded t hat t h e departed perso n wh o wou l d h ave bee n
appoi n t ed t o su cceed t h e la t e spi ri t gu i de sh o ul d sti l l do
-

so b u t sh ou l d t ak e possessi on o f th e la t t er s sh ad e o r sh e ll
,
’

an d i n fac t si m pl y wear h i s appearan ce .

I t i s sai d t h at so m e m e m bers of th e l odge obj ected

t o t h i s on t h e grou n d that th ough th e pu rpose m i gh t
be ent i rel y good a certai n a m ou n t o f decept i on wa s
i nvol ved bu t th e gen eral opi n i on see m s t o have been t h at
as t h e sh ade real l y was th e sam e an d con tai ned som eth i ng
,

a t any ra t e of th e origi nal l ower m i n d t h ere was ,

n o t h i ng t ha t cou ld be cal l ed decepti on i n t h e matter .

Th i s t h en was th e ge nesi s of th e h u m an arti fi ci al en ti ty

, , ,

a n d i t i s u n derstood that i n so m e cases m ore than on e

s u ch change has been made w ith ou t aro u sm g su sp 1 C 1 o n ,

t h ough on t h e oth er han d som e i nvestigators of spi ri tual i s m

have re m arked on th e fac t that aft er a con si derabl e lapse o f
t i m e cer t ai n d i fferen ces sud den l y becam e observabl e i n t h e
m an ne r an d d i sposi ti on of a spi ri t
“
I t i s n ee dless to say
.
”

t hat n on e o f t h e A dep t B roth erh ood has ever u n dertak en

t h e format i on o f a n arti ficial en t i ty of th i s so
c ou l d n ot i n t erfere wi t h a ny on e wh o t h ou
t ak e s uch a cou rse A weak poi n t in th e a rra ngem en t i s
.
 PH E N O ME N A .

T H O U G H i n th e co u rse of t h i s paper vari ou s su perph ysi cal

ph en om ena have been m en ti on ed an d t o so m e exten t
explai n ed i t wi l l perhaps before con cl udi ng be d esi rabl e s o
,

far t o recapitu la t e as t o g ive a l i st of th ose wh i ch are m ost

'

frequ en t l y m e t wi th by th e s tud e n t o f t h e se su bj ec t s an d to ,

sh ow by wh i ch of th e agen ci es we h ave atte m pted to

d escri be th ey are u s ual l y cau sed Th e resou rces o f the
.

as t ral worl d h owever are so vari ed t hat al m os t an y

, ,

phe n o m en on wi th wh i ch we are acquai nted can be prod u ced

i n several d i fferen t ways so that i t i s o n l y possi bl e to lay
,

down gen eral ru l es i n th e matter .

Appari ti on s or gh osts fu rn i sh a very good i n stan ce o f th e

re mark j u s t made for i n t h e l oos e man n er m wh i ch th e
,

words are ordi nari l y u sed th ey m ay sta n d for al m ost any

i n ha bi t an t of th e astral pl an e O f cou rse psych i cal ly
.

d evel oped pe opl e are con stan tl y seei ng su ch th i ngs b u t fo r , ’

an ordi nary person to see a gh ost

“
as t h e co m m o n
,
”

expressi on ru n s on e o f two t h i ngs m u st happen ei th er that

,

gh os t m u st m aterial ize or th at person m u st h ave a te m

,

p o ra r
y flash of psych i c percepti on B u t for th e fact that
.

nei th er o f t h e se even t s i s a co m m on on e gh os ts woul d be ,

m e t w i th m ou r streets as freq u en tl y as l i vi ng peopl e

I f th e gh ost i s seen h overi ng abo u t a grave i t i s
th e eth eri c sh el l o f a n ewl y bu ri ed person th ough it
-
,

1 04
 1 05

t he astral body of a l iving man hau n t i ng i n sl eep t he t om b

of a fri en d or agai n i t may be a material i zed
,
“ ”
t hough t fo rm th at i s an arti fi cial ele men tal Egg &
s
- fi

create d by th e e nergy wi th wh i ch a ma n thi n k s

of h i m sel f as presen t at tha t particular spot These vari et ies
.

wou l d be easi l y d isti ngu i shabl e one fro m t he other by any

o n e accu stom ed t o u se astral vi si on bu t an u nprac t i sed
,

person wou l d be qu i te l i kely t o cal l th e m al l vagu el y

”
gh osts
.

Appari ti on s at th e ti m e of death are by n o m ean s

u n co m m on an d are very often reall y vi sits
A p p a r i‘
,
iO M
pai d by t he astra lform of th e dy i ng m an j us t
of th e
before what we el ec t t o ca ll th e m om en t o f Dyin g
.

di ssol uti on & th ough here agai n t h ey are qui t e

l i k el y to be th ough t — form s cal led i n to bei ng by hi s earnes t
wi s h to see so m e fri en d once m ore before h e passes i nto an
u n fam il iar co ndi ti on Th ere are some i n s t an ces i n wh i ch
.

th e vi si t i s pai d j u st after th e m o m ent of death i n s t ead of

j u st before an d i n such a case t h e vi si t or i s real l y a gh ost
,

b u t for vari ou s cau ses th i s form of appari ti on i s far less

frequ en t than the oth er .

Appari ti on s at th e spot wh ere so m e cri m e was com m i t t ed

are u s ual l y th ough t form s proj ected by th e
-

cri m i nal wh o wh et her l i vi ng or dead bu t m os t

, , ,

espec i al ly wh e n dead i s perpetual ly th i nk i ng

,

over agai n an d agai n th e ci rcu m stances of h i s ac ti on Si n ce

.

these though ts are na t ural ly special l y vivi d i n h is m i n d on

‘
th e an n iversary of the origi nal cri me i t i s oft en on l y on that
,

occasi on tha t the arti fi cial ele men tal s wh i ch he creates are
strong en ough to m aterial ize the m selves to ordi nary sigh t
a fact wh i ch accou n t s for th e peri odi ci ty of som e man i festa
ti on s of th i s class
 A n o t h er poi n t i n re fere n ce to su ch ph en om e na i s that ,

wh ere ver any t rem en dou s m en t al d i stu rban ce h as t ak en

place wh erever overwh el m i ng terror p ain s o rro w h at red
, , , ,
, ,

or i nd eed an y k i n d of i n te nse passi o n ha s bee n fel t a n ,

i m pressi on of so very mark ed a charac t er has bee n made

u pon t h e as t ral l igh t t ha t a perso n w ith even th e fai ntest
gli m m er o f psych i c facu l ty can n ot bu t be deepl y i m pressed
by it I t wou l d n eed bu t a sl i gh t tem porary i n crease o f
sen si bi l i t y to enabl e h i m to vi sual ize th e en ti re scen e —to
.

see t h e eve n t i n al l i ts d etai l apparen tl y tak i ng place before

h i s eye s —an d i n su ch a case h e wou l d of cou rse report that
t h e place was hau n t ed an d th at h e had s ee n a gh ost
,

I nd eed peopl e wh o are as ve t u nable t o see psych i call y

,

u n der a ny c i rc u m s t ances are f reque n tl y very u n pl easa ntl y

i m pressed h en vi si ti ng s uc h places as we have m en ti o n ed .

There are many for exam pl e wh o feel u nco m fortabl e w he n

, ,

passi ng th e si t e of Ty b urn Tree or can n ot s tay i n th e

,

C ha m ber of H orrors at M adam e Tu ssau d s th ough t hey

’

may n ot be i n t h e l east aware th at th e ir di sco m fort i s d u e t o

th e d readfu l i m press i on s i n th e astral l igh t wh i ch s urrou n d
places an d obj ec t s redol en t of h orror an d cri me and t o the ,

presen ce of th e l o a t h som e astral en titi es wh i ch al way s swar m

abo u t su ch centres .

Th e fam i ly gh ost wh o m we gen eral ly fi n d i n th e stock

,

storie s o f th e su pernat ural as an appa nage of

F a m il y
Gh os t s.
th e feu dal castl e m ay be,
ei th er a th ough t form -

or an u n u sual l y vivid i mpressi on i n th e astral

l igh t or aga i n he m ay reall y be an earth bou n d ancestor
,
-

s t i l l h a u n t i ng th e sce ne s i n wh ic h h is tho u h t s and h opes

g
ce n t r e d d u ri ng l i fe .

An o t h er c las s of ha un t i ng s whi ch tak e t h e form o f hel l

ri ngi ng stone th rowi ng or t he br e a ki ng of crock ery , has
,
-
,
by raps or t i lts the exh i bi ti o n of spi ri t l igh t s th e apport
,
“
,

o f obj ects fro m a di s t an ce th e readi ng of th ough ts wh i ch

,

were in t h e m i nd of an y person presen t t h e preci pi ta t i on

,

of wri ti ngs or drawi ngs an d eve n material i zati on s

, .

I n fact th e na t ure spi ri t s al on e i f an y of th e m h appen ed

,
-
,

t o be d i spos ed t o t ake th e t rou bl e cou l d gi ve a séa nre eq ual

,

t o t h e m os t won derful o f wh i ch we read & for th o ugh th ere

may be certai n phe n o m ena wh i ch th e y woul d n ot fi n d i t
easy t o reprodu ce th ei r m arvel l o us power o f gla m ou r w ou ld
,

enabl e th e m wi th ou t d i fficu lty to persuad e th e en ti re ci rcl e

t hat th ese ph e n o m ena al so had d u l y occu rred —u n l ess ,

i n deed th ere w ere presen t a trai n ed o bserver wh o u n derstood

,

t h ei r ar t s an d k n ew h ow t o defeat th em A s a gen eral ru l e

.
,

wh en ever s i l l y tri ck s or p racti cal j ok es are pl ayed at a séa n ce ,

we m ay i n fer t h e presen ce ei th er of l ow class natu re sp iri ts

- -
,

o r o f h u ma n bei ngs wh o were of a su ffici en tl y degraded

t ype t o fi n d ple asu re i n su ch i d iot i c perform an ces d u ri ng
l i fe
.

A s t o th e en ti ti es wh o may co m m u n i cate at a séa m e ,

or may o bsess an d speak th rough an en t ran ced

m edi u m th ei r na m e i s sim pl y l egi on & there i s
,

h ard l y a si n gl e class am ong al l th e vari ed in

habi tan ts of th e astral plan e fro m wh ose rank s
t h ey m ay n ot be d raw n th ough aft er th e explanati on s give n
,

it w i l l be read i l y u n de rstood that th e c h an ces are very m u ch

agai n st th ei r c o m i ng fro m a h igh on e A man i festi ng
.

“
spi ri t i s oft e n e xac t l y wh at i t professes to be bu t ,

oft e n al so i t i s n oth i ng of th e k i n d & an d for th e o rdi na ry

si t ter th ere i s absol u tel y n o m ean s of di st i ngu i sh i ng th e t rue
from th e fal se si nce th e e xt ent to wh i ch a bei ng h avi ng al l
,

t h e res ou rces of th e astral pl an e at h i s co m man d can del u de

a pe rson on th e ph ysi cal pla ne i s so great t hat n o rel iance
 1 09

can be placed eve n o n what seem s the m ost convi n ci ng

proof .

I f so m eth i ng man i fests wh ich an n ou nces i tsel f as a

man s l ong l ost broth er h e can have n o cer t ai nty that i ts
’
-
,

clai m i s a j us t one I f i t tel l s h i m of som e fac t k nown on l y

.

to th at brother an d to hi m sel f h e re mai n s u ncon vi nced for

, ,

h e k nows that i t m igh t easi ly h ave read th e i n forma t i o n fro m

h i s ow n m i n d or fro m h i s s urrou nd ings i n t h e astral l i gh t
, .

E ve n i f i t goes st i l l further and tel l s hi m som eth ing con

n e c t e d wi th h i s b roth er of wh i ch h e h i m sel f i s u naware b u t
, ,

wh i c h h e afterwards veri fies h e s ti l l real izes that even t h i s

,

may have been rea d fro m th e astral record or that what h e

,

sees before h i m m ay be on ly th e shade of h i s broth er a nd ,

so possess h i s m em ory w i thou t i n an y way bei ng h i m sel f .

I t i s n ot for on e m o m en t den ied th at i m portan t co m m u n i

c atlo n s have so meti mes bee n m ade at séa m es by enti ti es

wh o i n su ch cases have bee n preci sel y wha t th ey sai d th ey

were & al l that i s clai med i s th a t i t i s qu i te i mpossi bl e for th e
ord i nary perso n wh o visi ts a séa zzce ever to be certai n that h e
i s no t bei ng cru el ly decei ved i n o n e or oth er of hal f a dozen
di fferen t ways .

T here h ave been a few cases i n wh i ch me m bers of th e

l odge of occu l ti sts referred to above as origi nati ng th e spi ri t
u al is t ic m ovem en t h ave th em selves given through a m edi u m
, ,

a series of val uab le teach i ngs on deeply i n teres t i ng su bj ects ,

bu t thi s has i nvariabl y been at stri ctly private fam il y sé a n ces ,

not at pu bl i c performan ces for w h ich m on ey has bee n

To u n ders ta nd th e m eth ods by whi ch a large class of

phy si cal ph en om en a are produ ced i t i s n e c e s
,

sary to have so m e co mpreh en si on of th e

s

vari ou s resour ces m ention ed above wh i ch a ,

person fu n ction i ng on th e astral pl an e fi n d s at h i s
co m man d & an d th i s i s a bran ch of th e s u bj ec t wh i ch i t i s
by n o m ean s easy to mak e cl ear especial l y as i t i s h edge d
,

abou t w i th certai n obvi ou sl y n ecessary restri cti on s I t m ay .

perhaps h el p u s i f we re m em ber that t h e astral p la ne m ay

be regarded as i n ma ny ways on l y an e xten si o n o f th e
ph ysi cal an d the i dea that m atte r may assu m e th e etheric
,

state (i n wh i ch th ough i n tangi bl e to u s i t i s ye t pu rel y

, ,

physi cal ) m ay serve to sh ow u s h ow th e on e m el ts i n to th e

oth er I n fac t i n the H i n du con cepti on of j agrat or th e
.
, ,
“

”
wak i ng state th e physi cal an d as tral plan es are co m bi ned
, ,

i ts seven s u bdi vi si on s correspon d i ng to th e fou r cond i ti on s

o f ph ys ical matter a n d th e th ree broad di vi si on s of astral
,

ma t ter wh ic h h ave previ ou sly be en expl ai n ed .

W i t h th i s th ough t i n ou r m i nd s i t i s easy to m ove a step

fu r t h er an d grasp t h e i dea th a t astral vi si on or rath er astral
, ,

perce p t i on may fro m o ne poi n t of V iew be defi ned as th e

,

capabi l i ty o f rece ivi ng an en orm ou sly i ncreased n u m ber of

d i fferen t sets of vi brat i ons I n ou r p hysi cal bod ies o ne
.

s mal l se t of sl ow vi brati o ns i s percepti bl e to u s as so u n d &

an o t h er s mal l se t of m u ch m ore rapi d vi brati on s affects U s
as l igh t an d agai n a no th e r set as el ectri c acti on bu t th ere
are i m m e n se n u m bers of i n term ediate vi brati on s wh i ch
prod u ce n o resu l t wh i ch o u r ph ys i cal se nses can c o gm z e at
al l
. N ow i t wi l l readi ly be see n that i f al l or eve n som e ,

onl y o f t hese i n ter mediates wi t h al l th e c o m pl i ca t i on s

, ,

prod u ci bl e by di fferen ces of wave l e ngth are p e rcepti bl e

-
,

o n t h e as tral plan e ou r com prehen s io n of nat ure m i gh t

,

be very grea t l y i n crea se d o n t ha t l evel and we m igh t ,

be abl e t o acqu i re m uch i n form at i on wh i ch i s n o w h i dde n

fro m u s .
perceive t hese eth eri c vi brati on s b u t can al so —if h e h as
l earn t h o w i t i s d one —a dap t t he m to h i s ow n e nds or h i m
,

sel f se t t h e m in m oti on .

I t wi l l be read i l y u n derstood that su perphysi cal forces

an d t h e m e t h ods o f man aging the m are n ot su bj ects abou t
wh i ch m u ch ca n be wri tte n for pu bl i cat i on at
presen t th ough th ere i s reaso n to s uppose tha t
,

i t m ay n ot be ve ry l ong before a t any rate so m e

appl i ca t i on s of one or t wo of th e m com e to b e k n own to th e
worl d a t large : bu t i t m ay perh aps be poss ibl e wi t h ou t
t ran sgres si ng t h e l i m i t s of th e perm i ssi bl e to gi ve so mu ch
,

of an i dea of th e m as shal l be su ffici en t to sh ow i n ou tl i n e

h ow ce r t ai n ph en o m e na are perfor med .

A l l wh o have m u ch experi e nce of spiri tual i sti c séa m es at

,
'

wh i c h physi cal resu l ts are produ ced m u s t at on e t i m e or

a no t h er h ave see n evi den ce of th e e m pl oy m en t of prac ti cal l y
resi s t l ess force i n for e xa m ple t he i nstan tan eou s m ove m en t
, ,

of e n orm ou s weigh t s an d s o o n an d i f of a sci en ti fi c tu rn

,

of m i nd th ey m ay perhaps have won dered w h en ce thi s

, ,

force was o btai ned an d w ha t was th e l everage e m ployed

,
.

A s u sual i n co n n ec ti on w it h as tral ph en om ena th ere are ,

several ways i n wh i ch s u c h work may h ave been d on e b u t ,

i t wi l l be en ough for t h e m o m en t to h i n t at fou r .

Fi rst t h ere are great eth eri c cu rren t s con s ta n tly sweepi ng
,

over th e s urface of the e a rth fro m pole to pole

i n vol u m e wh i ch mak es t h ei r power as irre si s t
i bl e as t hat of th e ri si ng t i de an d t h ere are
,

m e t hod s by wh i c h t h i s stu pe n dou s force m ay be safe ly

u t i l i zed t h ough u n sk i l fu l attem pts to con trol i t wou ld be
,

fraugh t wi t h frigh t fu l danger .

S ec on dl y t h ere i s wha t ca n be s t be descri bed as

,

an eth e ri c press u re so m e what correspo n di n g to th ough

, ,
 1 1 3

i m m en sely greater t han th e at m osp heri c press ure

,
In .

ordi nary l i fe we are as l i ttl e con sci ou s of on e

of these press ures as we are of th e oth er bu t
n everth el es s th ey b o t h exi s t an d i f sci e nce ,

were abl e to exhau st th e ether from a give n space as i t can ,

exhau s t th e ai r th e on e coul d be proved as readi l y as th e

,

other Th e d i ffic ul ty of doi ng tha t l i es i n the fact t hat

.

m atter i n th e eth eri c co ndi ti on freely i n terpenetrates ma t ter

i n al l s tates bel ow i t so that th ere i s as yet n o m ean s
,

wi t h i n th e k n owl edge of o u r p hys ici sts by wh i ch a ny gi ven

body of ether can b e i solated fro m th e rest Prac t i cal .

O cc u l ti s m h owever teach es h ow t h i s can be don e an d

, , ,

th u s th e tre m en dou s force of eth eri c pressu re can be

brough t i n to play .

Thi rd ly th ere i s a vast store of poten tial e nergy wh ich

,

has beco m e dorman t i n matter du ri ng th e

La t e n t
i nvol ut io n of th e s ubtl e i n to th e gross an d by E n e r gy
,
.

changi ng the con diti on o f th e matter so m e of

th i s m ay be l i berated an d u ti l i zed so mewhat as laten t ,

en ergy i n th e for m of h eat m ay be l i berated by a change

i n th e con di ti on of vi s i bl e matter .

Fourth ly m any strik i ng resu l ts both great an d sm al l

, , ,

m ay be prod uced by an exten si on of a pri n

6502223
f 5 31 1 10
c ip le wh i ch m ay be descri bed as th at o
sy m pat heti c vibration I l l ustrati on s tak e n
.

fro m th e ph ysi cal pl an e seem gen eral ly to m i srepresen t

rather than el u ci date astral ph en om ena becau se th ey can
.
,

never be more t han partial l y appl i cabl e & bu t th e re c o lle c

t i on of two si m pl e facts of ordi nary l i fe m ay h el p t o
mak e thi s 1 m p o rtan t bran ch of ou r su bj ect cl earer i f we ,

are carefu l n ot to p u sh th e analogy fu rth er than i t wil l h ol d

good .
 I t i s wel l k n own that i f on e of th e wi res of a harp be
made to vi brate vigorou sly i t s m ovem en t w i l l cal l forth
,

sy m path e t i c v i brati o n s i n th e correspon d i ng stri ngs of an y

n u m ber o f harps place d rou n d i t i f t hey are tu ned to
,

exactl y t h e sam e pi tch .I t i s al so wel l k n ow n th at wh e n a

large body of sol di ers cros ses a su spe ns i o n bri dge i t i s
n ecessary for t h e m t o break step si n ce th e perfect regu l ari ty
,

o f th ei r ordi nary m arch wou l d set u p a vi brati on i n the

b ri dge wh i ch wo u l d be i n ten si fi ed by every step th ey t ook ,

u n t i l t h e poi n t of resi stan ce o f th e i ron was pas sed wh e n ,

t h e wh ol e st ruc t ure wo ul d fl y to pi eces .

W i th th ese t wo anal ogi es i n o ur m i n ds (never forgetti ng

t hat th ey are o n l y partial on es ) i t m ay see m m ore co m
prehe n si bl e t hat on e wh o k n ows exactl y at wh at rate t o start
h i s vi brati on s —k n r1 ws s o to speak th e k ey n ote of th e class
of m at ter h e wi sh es to affec t —sh oul d be abl e by sou nd ing
, ,

t h at k eyn ot e t o cal l forth a n i m m en se n u m ber of sy m

path eti c vi brat i on s W h e n th i s i s don e on th e phy si cal pl an e
.

n o addi ti on al en ergy i s d evel oped & b u t on th e astral pl an e

th ere i s th i s d i fferen ce th at th e m atter wi t h wh i ch we are
,

deal i ng i s far l es s i n ert an d so wh en cal l ed i n to acti o n by

,

t h ese sy m path eti c vi brati o n s i t adds i ts own l ivi ng force to

t h e origi nal i m pu l s e wh i ch m ay th u s b e m ul ti pl i ed m a ny
,

fol d & and th e n by fu rth er rh yth m i c repeti ti o n of th e origi nal

i m pul se as i n th e cas e of th e sol di ers m arch i ng over th e
,

b ridge th e vi brati on s m ay be so i n ten s i fi ed th at th e resu l t

,

i s ou t of al l apparen t proporti on t o th e cau se I n deed i t

.
,

m ay be sai d that th ere i s scarcel y a ny l i m i t to th e c o n c e iv

a bl e ach i evem en ts o f th i s force i n th e ha n d s of a gre a t
A dept wh o fu l ly co m preh en ds i ts poss i bi l i ti es & for th e ve ry
b ui l di ng o f t h e U n i verse i tsel f was b ut th e resul t of th e
,

vi brat i on s set u p by th e Spok e n W ord .

 ‘

are ye t forced ou t o f a ph y sical b ody wh en i t i s dest royed

by fi re .

C on sequen tl y wh en what had been th e k ey cool ed

,

d own i n to th e sol i d con di ti on agai n the el e m en tal esse nce ,

)
”

( of th e earth or sol i d class wh ich pou red back i n to i t

“

woul d n ot b e i n an y way th e sam e as th at wh ich i t

con tai n ed before an d t h ere wou l d be n o reason why th e
,

sa me shape sh oul d be retai n ed B u t a man wh o disin .

te grate d a k ey for th e pu rpose of rem ovi ng i t by astral

c urren ts from one pl ace to an other w ou l d be very carefu l to
,

h ol d t h e sam e el e m e ntal essen ce i n exactl y th e sam e shape

u n t i l t h e t ran sfe r was co m pl eted an d th e n wh en h i s wi l l
,

forc e was re m oved i t wou l d act as a m ou l d i nto w h ic h

t h e sol id i fy i ng parti cles woul d fl ow or rath er rou n d wh i ch
,

t h ey w ou l d be re aggregated Th u s u n l ess th e operator s

-
.
’

power of c on cen t rati on fai l ed th e shape wou l d be accu rately

,

preserved .

I t i s i n t h i s way th at obj ects are so me t i m es brough t

al m os t i n sta n tan eou sl y fro m great di stan ces a t spi ri tual i sti c
‘
sra n res an d i t i s o bvi ou s th at wh en d i si n tegrated th ey c ou l d
,

be passed wi th perfec t ease th ro ugh a ny sol i d su b stan ce ,

suc h for exa m pl e as t h e wal l of a h ou se or th e s i de of a

, ,

l ock ed bo x so that wh at i s co m m on l y cal l ed th e passage

,
“

o f ma t ter t h ro ugh m a t ter i s seen w he n properl y u nd er

”
,

stood t o be a s s i m pl e as th e pa ssage of water th rough a

,

si eve or of a gas th rough a l i q ui d i n s om e ch e m i cal

,

ex peri m e n t .

Si n ce i t i s possi bl e by an al terat i on o f vib ratio n s to .

change m atter fro m th e sol i d to th e eth e ri c con di ti on i t ,

wi l l be co m preh en ded that i t i s al so possi bl e to reverse th e

process an d t o b ri ng eth eri c m atter i n to t h e sol id state As .

t h e on e process explai n s th e ph en o m en on of di si n tegrati on ,

 1 1 7

so does the oth er that of m a terial i zati on & an d j ust as i n

th e for m er case a co n ti n ued effort of wi l l i s
n ecessary to preven t th e obj ect fro m resu m i ng M ater ial
iz a t lo n .

its origi n al state so i n exactly the sa me way i n

,

th e l atter p h e n o me no n a con ti nu ed effort i s n ecessary to

preven t th e m aterial ized matter fro m relapsi ng i n to th e
eth eri c co n d iti on .

I n th e material iza t i o ns seen at an ordi nary sécm re su ch ,

matter as may be requ ired i s borrowed as far as poss i bl e

fro m th e med i u m s eth eri c doubl e — an operat ion wh i ch i s
’

prej udi cial to h i s heal th an d al so u n desi rabl e i n vari ou s

,

oth er ways Th u s i s explai n ed th e fact that th e materi al i zed

.

form i s u sual ly stri ctl y con fi ned to th e i m m ediate neigh bou r

h ood o f th e m edi u m an d i s su bj ect to a n at tract ion wh i ch
,

i s co nstan tly drawi ng i t back to th e body fro m wh i ch i t

ca m e so that i f k ept away fro m th e m edi u m too l ong th e
,

figure col lapses an d the matter wh i c h com posed i t retu rn

, ,

i ng to th e eth eri c cond i tion ru sh es back i nstantl y to i ts

,

so urce .

I n so m e cases th ere i s no dou bt that den se and vi si bl e

physi cal matter al so i s te mporari l y re m ove d fro m th e body
.

of th e m ed iu m h owever di ffic ul t i t may be for u s to real ize

,

th e poss ib i l i ty of su ch a tran sfer I have m ysel f seen

.

i nstances in wh i ch th i s ph e no m en on u ndoub tedl y took

place an d was evi den ced by a very co nsi derab l e l oss of
,

weigh t i n th e m ed i u m s phys i cal body Si m i lar cases are

’
.

describ ed i n C ol onel O lc o tt s Peop le fr o m file O t/zer

’

a n d i n U n Cas d e ’
by M A A k sako w . . .

Th e reason why th e bei ngs directi n g a sé a nce fi n d i t

e a8 1 e r.
to operate i n dark n ess or i n y ery
Sub dued l igh t w i l l n ow b e man i fest s i nce W h y D a Pk ‘

,
n e s s is
th e i r power wo ul d u sual l y be 1 n su ffic1 en t to r e q u ir e d
h ol d t ogeth er a materi al i zed form or eve n a spi ri t han d
fo i m ore than a very fe w secon ds a m i dst t h e i n ten se vi bra
ti on s set u p by bril l ian t l igh t .

lh e f la b /Mu of séa m e r wi l l n o dou bt h ave n oti ced th at

“
'

material izati on s are of three ki n d s z—Fi rst th ose wh i ch are ,

tangi bl e bu t n ot vi si bl e & seco n d th ose wh i c h are vi si bl e

,

bu t n ot tangi bl e & an d th i rd th ose wh i ch are both vi si bl e

,

an d t angi bl e To th e fi rst k i nd wh i ch i s m u ch th e m ost

.
,

co m m on bel ong th e i n vi si bl e spi ri t b an ds wh ic h so fre

,

q u en t l y s t rok e th e face s of th e si tters or carry s m al l obj ec ts

a bou t t h e room an d th e vocal organ s fro m wh i ch th e
,
”
“
d i rec t voi ce proceeds . I n thi s case an order of m atter
,

i s bei ng u sed wh i c h ca n n ei th er refl ect n or obstru ct l igh t ,

bu t wh i c h i s capabl e u n der certai n con di ti on s of sett i ng

u p vi brati on s i n th e at m osph ere wh i ch a ffect u s as s ou n d .

A variati o n of th i s class i s th at k i n d of parti al

S p i r it
Ph o t o gr a p h s
.
m aterial i zati o n wh i ch th ough ,
i n capabl e o f
refl ecti ng an y l igh t th at we ca n see i s yet abl e ,

t o affec t s o m e of th e u l tra vi ol e t rays an d can th erefore

-
,

make a m ore or l es s defi n i t e i m pressi o n u po n t h e ca m era an d ,

so provi de u s wi t h what are k n ow n as spi ri t ph otograph s .

W h en th ere i s not s u ffici en t power avai l abl e to p rodu ce a

perfec t m aterial i zati on we s o m eti m es get th e vaporou s l ook -

i ng for m wh ich c on sti tu tes ou r secon d class an d i n su ch a ,

case th e spi ri ts u sual l y warn th eir s i tte rs that t h e form s

“ ”

wh i ch appea r m u s t n ot be tou ch ed I n the rarer case of a

.

fu l l mate rial i za ti on th ere is su ffici en t power to h ol d t ogether ,

at l east for a few m o m en ts a form wh i ch can be both see n

,

an d tou ch ed .

W h en a n A dept or pu pi l fi nds i t n ecessa ry for an y

pu rp ose to mate rial i z e h i s m en tal or astral veh i cl e h e does ,

n ot draw u po n ei th er h i s own e th e ri c dou bl e or an y o n e “

 1 20

t he n tak e h i s s hee t of paper and i magi n i ng he saw th e

, ,

l ette r wri tt e n t h ereon i n h i s M aster s han d w oul d proceed ’

t o obj ecti fy t h e wri t i ng as before descri bed I f h e fou n d .

i t di ffi cu l t to perfor m s i m u l tan eo u sl y th e two O perati on s .

o f d rawi ng h i s material fro m th e su rrou n di ng eth er an d

preci pi t a t i ng t h e wri ti ng on th e paper h e m igh t h ave ei th er ,

ord i nary i n k or a s mal l quan t i ty o f col ou red powder on the

t abl e besi de h i m wh i ch bei ng al ready de n se matter cou l d
, , ,

be d raw n u po n m ore readi ly .

I t i s of c ou rse o bvi ou s tha t t h e possessi o n of th i s power

wou l d be a very dangerou s weapo n i n th e han d s of a n
u n scru pu l ou s person si nce i t i s j u st as easy t o i m i tate on e
,

man s han dwri t i ng as an oth er s an d i t wou l d be i m possi b le

’ ’

t o d e t ec t by a ny ord i nary m ean s a forgery c om m i tted i n

t h i s man n er A pu pi l defi n i tel y c on nected wi th a n y M aster
.

has al ways a n i n fal l i bl e test by wh i ch h e k n ows wh et h er

an y m essage real ly em ana tes fro m that M as ter or n o t b ut ,

for oth ers t h e proof of i ts o ri gi n m u st al ways l i e s olel y

i n th e con t en ts of th e l etter an d th e spi ri t breath i ng
t h rough i t as th e h an dwri t i ng h o wever cl everl y i m i ta t ed
, , ,

i s of a bsol u t ely n o val u e as evi den ce .

A s t o speed a pu pi l n ew to th e work of preci pi tati on

,

w oul d probabl y be a bl e t o i m age o nl y a few word s at a

t i m e a n d wo ul d th erefore get o n hardl y m ore rapi dl y t han
, , ,

i f he wrote h i s l etter i n th e ord i nary way bu t a m ore ,

experi enced i ndi vi d ual w h o cou ld visuali ze a wh ol e page

or perh aps th e e n t i re l e t ter at o nce woul d get th rough h i s
work wi t h greater facil i ty I t i s i n th i s man n e r th at q u i te
.

l o ng l et te rs are s o m e ti m es produ c e d i n a few seco nds at

W h e n a pi c tu re has to be preci pi tated th e m eth od i s

p re c i se l y t h e sa m e ,
e xcept that h e re i t is absol u te ly
 IZ I

n ecessary that th e en tire sce ne sh oul d be vi sual i zed at

o n ce and if m any col ours are re q ui red there i s th e
,

add iti onal com pl i cati o n of man u fact uri ng them k eepi ng ,

th em separate an d reprodu ci ng accu ratel y t he exact ti nts

,

of t he sce ne to be represen ted Eviden tly t here i s scope

.

here fo r th e exerci se of the arti sti c facu l ty an d i t m u st n ot ,

be su ppose d that every i n habi tan t of th e astral pla ne cou ld

by th i s m eth od produ ce an equal ly good p i ctu re & a man
w h o had been a great arti s t i n l i fe an d had th erefore ,

l earn t h ow to see an d what t o l ook for woul d certai n l y ,

be very m u ch m ore successfu l than t he ordi nary person i f

h e attem p ted precipi tati on wh e n o n th e astral plan e after
dea th .

T he slate wri ti ng for th e produ cti on of wh i ch u n der tes t

-
,

con d iti on s so m e of th e greatest m ediu ms have

bee n so fam ou s i s so meti mes produ ced by
,

prec ipi tati o n th ough m ore fre q u en tl y th e

,

fragm e nt of pen ci l en cl osed between th e slates i s gu i ded

by a sp iri t h an d of wh ic h onl y j u st th e ti ny poi n ts su ffici en t
,

to grasp i t are material i zed .

An occurre nce wh i ch occasi onal ly tak es place at séa m es ,

an d m ore frequ en tl y am ong Eastern Y ogi s i s

e v it a t io n
—
,
L
wha t i s cal l ed l evi tat ion that i s th e fl oa t i ng ,
.

of a h u man b ody i n th e ai r N o dou bt whe n th i s takes

.

p lace i n th e case of a m ed iu
”
m h e i s often
,
s i mpl y upborn e
by spiri t han ds bu t there i s anoth er an d m ore scie nti fi c
,

m eth od of acco mpl i shi ng th i s feat wh i ch i s al ways u sed i n

the Eas t an d occasi o nal l y h ere al so O ccu l t scien ce i s
,
.

ac q uai n ted wi t h a m ean s of n eu tral izi ng or e ven en ti rel y

reversi ng th e attracti on of gravi ty an d i t i s obvi ou s th at by
,

th e j u d ici ou s u se of th i s power al l th e phe nom ena of l ev i

tatio n in ay be easi ly prod uc ed I t was no dou b t by a
‘

.
k n owledge of th i s secret tha t so m e o f th e air sh i ps o f -

ancie n t I n dia an d A tlan ti s were rai sed fro m the earth an d

made l igh t en ough to be readi l y m oved an d d i rec ted & an d
n o t i m pro bably t h e sam e ac q uai n tan ce wi th natu re s fi n er ’

forces grea t l y faci l i t ated th e labo urs of th ose wh o rai sed th e

en orm ou s bl ock s of s ton e so m eti m es u sed i n cycl opea n
arch i t ec t u re or i n th e bu i l di ng of th e Pyra m i ds an d Ston e
,

h enge .

W i t h t h e k n owl edge o f th e forces of natu re wh i ch th e

reso urces of th e a stral plan e pl ace at th e
co m man d o f i ts i n hab i tan ts th e produ cti o n of
”
what are cal led sp i ri t l igh ts i s a very easy
“

ma t t er wh eth er th ey be of th e m i l d ly ph osph oresce n t or

,

t h e dazzl i ng el ec tri cal variety o r th ose c u ri ou s dan ci n g

,

gl ob u l es of l igh t i n to wh i ch a certai n class o f fi re e le me n tal s

so readi l y tran sform th e m sel ves .Si n ce al l l igh t co nsi sts
si m pl y of vi brat i on s of th e eth er i t i s o bvi ou s t hat any on e
,

wh o k n ows h ow to set u p th ese vi bra ti on s ca n readi ly

prod uce a n y k i n d of l igh t th at h e wi sh es .

I t i s by t h e a i d o f th e e t h eri c el e m en tal e sse nce al so th a t

th e re markabl e feat of h and l i ng fi re u nharm ed
i s generall y perform ed th ough th ere are as
,

u sual other ways i n wh ich i t can be d on e .

Th e t h i n n es t layer of eth eri c su bstance ca n be so m an ip u

la t ed as t o be absol u tely i m pervi ou s to h eat an d wh en th e ,

h an d of a m edi u m or si tter i s covered wi th th i s h e may pi c k

—
u p burn i ng c oal or red h ot i ro n w i th perfec t safety
M os t of th e occu rren ces of t he séa m e roo m have n o w
-

bee n referred to bu t there are o ne or two of

,

the rarer ph en om ena of t h e o u ter worl d w h i ch

m u st not be l eft q u i te wi th ou t m e n ti on i n o u r
li s t
. Th e tra n s m u ta ti on o f m e tals i s c om m on l y s u pposed to
,
 1 24

o f t he physi ca l body are

i s i m possi bl e to to uc h th e key n ote of on e w i th ou t im m
diate ly setti ng u p e xac tl y
oth er.
 CO N C LU S I O N .

IT i s h oped that an y reader wh o has been su fficientl y

.

i n terested to fol l ow thi s treati se t hu s far m ay by th i s ti m e

.

have a gen eral i dea of t h e astral plan e an d i ts possi bi l i ti es ,

su ch as w i l l en abl e h i m to u n derstan d an d fi t i nto th ei r

proper places i n i ts sch em e an y facts i n con n ecti o n wi th i t
wh i ch h e m ay p ick u p i n h i s readi ng Though on l y th e
.

rough est sk etch has been given of a very great su bj ect ,

enough h as perhaps bee n sai d to sh ow t he extrem e

i mportan ce of astral percepti o n i n t h e stu dy of b iol ogy ,

phys ics ch e m i stry astron o m y m edi ci n e an d h i story an d

, , , , ,

th e great i mpu l se wh ic h m igh t be given to al l th ese sci e n ces

by i ts devel op m en t .

Yet i ts attai n m en t sh oul d n ever be regarded as an en d

i n i tsel f si n ce any m ean s adopted wi th that obj ect i n Vi ew
,

woul d i nevi tably l ead to what i s cal le d i n th e East th e

[a u é M -a m eth o d of devel op m en t — a syste m by wh i ch certai n

psych i c powers are i n deed acqu ired bu t o nl y for th e

,

presen t personal i ty & an d si n ce t hei r acqu i si ti o n i s su r

rou n ded b y no safeguards th e stu den t i s extrem el y l ik el y
,

to m i su se th e m To th i s cl ass belon g al l system s whi ch

.

i n volve th e u se of drugs i n vocati on of el em ental s or th e

, ,

pract i ces of H atha Yoga .

T he other m eth od wh i ch i s cal led th e [Mar/a m

‘

, ,

cons i sts of Raj Yoga or sp i r i tual progress an d th ough i t ,

‘
may be so m e wh at slo we r than th e oth er whatever i s ,

1 25
 1 26

acq u i re d al ong th i s l i n e i s gai ned for th e permane n t

i n d ivi d ual i ty an d n ever l os t agai n wh i l e th e gui d i ng care
, ,

of a M aster en su res perfect safety fro m m i su se of power as

l ong as h i s orders are scrupu l ou sl y obeyed Th e open i ng .

o f a s t ral vi si on m u st b e regarded t h en on l y as a stage i n th e

devel o pm e n t o fso m e th ing i n fi n itel y n ob ler m erel y as a step -
,

an d a very s mal l s t ep on that great U pward Path wh i ch

,

l eads m en to th e su bl i m e h ei gh ts of Adeptsh i p an d beyon d ,

eve n that th rough gl ori ou s vi stas of wi sdo m an d power su ch

as ou r fi ni te m i n ds can not n ow con cei ve .

Yet l et n o one th i n k i t a n u n m i xed bl essi ng to have th e

wid er sigh t o f t h e astral pl ane for upo n o ne i n wh o m that
,

vi si on i s open ed th e sorrow an d m isery t h e evi l an d th e ,

greed of t h e worl d press as an ever presen t bu rden u n t i l h e

-
,

oft e n feel s i n cl i ned to ech o th e passi o nat e adj urati on o f

Sch i l l er “
W h y hast th ou cast m e th u s i n to t h e tow n of t h e
ever bl i n d t o proclai m th i n e oracl e wi th th e open ed se n se &
-
,

Tak e back th i s sad cl ear sigh ted ness tak e fro m m i n e eyes
t h i s cru el l igh t & Gi ve m e back m y bl i n dne ss —th e h appy
-

”
dark n ess of m y sen ses tak e back th y dreadful gi ft l Th i s
feel i ng i s perh aps n ot an u n natu ral on e i n th e earl i er stages
of th e Path yet h ig h er sigh t a n d d eeper k n owledge soon
,

b ri ng to th e stu den t th e perfec t certai n ty that al l th i ngs a re

work i n g t ogeth er for th e eve n tual good of al l —th at
t h u li p i g
I lo u r a f e r o r , k e an o e n n flo w e r ,
h l l t uth t
S a r uth p d
a fe r t r e x an

p l t
F o r t h e su n m ay a e , a nd t h e s ars m ay fa , il
h ll t d
Bu t th e L A W o fG O O D s a s an .

pl d u gl
I ts s e n o r i u g
o w s an d its n fl e nce ro w s
tu l pp
A s N a r e s s o w w o r k a e ars
’

F ro m ph y t m l l
th e z o o e s a to t h e L o R Ds o fa l
l ,

Th ugh l p
ro y
k a as and c ro r e s o f e ars .

W illia m Bylcs So ns , Prin t e rs , 1 29 Fl

e e t S t re e t , Lo ndo n , a nd Bradfo rd .
THE THEOSOPHIOAL PUBLI S HI NG SOCI ET Y
H ol ds a l arge stock o f work s on

TH E O S O PHY ,

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F O L K - L O RE , etc .

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[ ms/ fr ee 01 1
f
r are/f f
o a ddr ess .

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and i n q u i r i es con nected wi th
Li teratu re an d th e Pu bl i sh i ng Depart m en t ,
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