Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - Book 1 - Rama Prasad

One distinctive accomplishment of the Theosophical movement was to champion two pre-eminent works of Eastern philosophy: the Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and so a post on the Yoga Sutras is long overdue.  This introduction text by Rama Prasad (a fine Indian scholar and Theosophist who made some significant pioneering contributions to the field of eastern philosophy) is a basic summary of the four books of the sutras, with some suggestive observations of an esoteric nature, from his translation: Patanjalis Yoga Sutras with the Commentary of Vyasa and the Gloss of Vachaspati Misra (1912).

The aphorisms of Patanjali on the Yoga Sutras are contained in four chapters and are nearly two hundred in number. The author of the aphorisms is said to be the same Patanjali who wrote the famous commentary on Panini’s aphorisms, under the name of the Mahtabashya or thr Great Commentary. Another work is also attributed to him-the great work on Medicine. If so, he was not only a great Grammarian and a great Philosopher, but a Great Physician. He prescribed for the body, mind and spirit all three. The age of Patanjali is now generally fixed at three centuries before Christ.  (Dr. Rajendra Lala Mitra's preface to his Edition of the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali and also his paper on Gonikaputra and Gonardiya as names of Patanjali, pp. 361 et seq the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1883.)

The word Yoga comes from a Sanskrit root which means "to go to trace, to meditate." Others however derive it from a root which means to join ; and Yoke in English is said to be the same word as Yoga. Both roots are feasible - in the case of the root to join, Yoga would mean the science that teaches the method of joining the human soul with God. 

The philosophy of Patanjali is essentially Dualistic. The Jivas or Purusas or human egos are separate individual entities and exist from eternity; so is also Prakriti, and so also Isvara or God. It thus believes in three Eternal Co-existent principles, the God; the Man and the Matter. 

But man is found to be involved in matter, to have fallen from its pristine state of purity. The aim of Yoga is to free (viyoga) man from the meshes of matter. But the highest form of matter is mind- the Citta (a term which would include that which is technically known as manas, as Ahamkara and as Buddhi). The students of Samkhya need not be told that the first product of Prakriti or the-root-matter is Mahat or the Great Principle-the Buddhi, then comes the Ahamkara or I-principle-the matter through which can function the I-ness : and then the Manas or I , the matter which is the vehicle of thought. These three vehicles-the thought-vehicle (Manas), the  I-vehicle (Ahamkara), the Pure-Reason vehicle (Buddhi)--constitute Chitta or the subtlest form of Matter. To free man from the fetters of this Chitta is thus the problem of Yoga. 

The man when freed from all vehicles, remains in his own form called Svarupa. It is not made of Prakritic matter. It is the body which belongs to man-is part of man from eternity-the body in which he dwells in Mukti in super-celestial worlds. It is the body in which the Triune God is directly active-Isvara, Prana and Sri-or the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. This svarupa-deha, is the body of Prana-the body of Christ of the gnostics. This is the incorruptible undecaying body, the spiritual body. 

But when man is not in his Own-Form (Svarupa), he functions naturally in the lower vehicles, and his form is there the form of his vehicles -whether it be of Buddhic, Ahamkaric or Manasic matter. In fact the man of Psychology is this triad-Ahamkara, Buddhi and Manas. The human consciousness in whatever lower body it may function is always a dual consciousness-it must be alternately pleasurable or painful. Pleasure and pain are the marks of consciousness functioning in Chitta. The Svarupa consciousness is only above all pains. 

Next to this primary division of all consciousness, as regards their nature ; the consciousness as regards its quality is five-fold:-(l) it may be a true consciousness of some objective reality-something which is outside the man and his vehicles ; or (2) it may be an incorrect consciousness of outward reality ; or (3) it may be a hallucination ; or (4) it may be non-perception of anything external but of rest; or (5) it may be the reviving of old perceptions.

In other words, the consciousness looked at from the subjective or emotional point of view is either pleasurable or painful; looked at from the objective or cognitional point of view it is i) true perceptions, (ii) false perceptions, (iii) hallucinations, (iv) sleep, and (v) memory.

Thus both the emotional and the intellectual aspect of the Chitta or the Triune Man is to be checked. But how is it to be checked. The answer is by constant practice and want of attachment or Dispassion. There must be constant exertion to keep the mind on one point. This is called Abhyasa. The intellectual functioning of the Chitta is to be checked by Abhyasa-putting the mind to think of one object, and as soon as it strays away from it to bring it back again to the same point. This practice or Abhyasa, steadily persevered in, would make the mind one-pointed, with the help of Viveka or discrimination. 

As regards the emotional sides of the mind, it must be checked by Vairagya or dispassion. Pleasure or Pain, attraction or repulsion, love and hatred can be controlled only by this world-weariness--realisation that there is nothing in this world or the next worth striving after, worth desiring or worth hating. The highest form of Vairagya will be attained when one will realise his separateness from all Prakritic vehicles-when he can say "I am not Body, or Desire, or mind, or Reason or I-ness."

The state of Samadhi or trance induced by Practice and Dispassion is two-fold-Samprajnata and Asamprajnata. In the first, the man has shut off from his consciousness all external impressions, but his internal self-initiated activities have not ceased. In the other, oven these are stopped. 

There are some entities whose consciousness is in a state of Samadhi naturally, who have not to acquire it by any exertion. These are the classes of beings called Videhas and Prakritilayas. Their consciousness is cosmic. The Videhas are Devas. They are Mukta from the beginning : but in some future Kalpa they may come into the world-cycle. The Prakritilayas are Adhikari Purusas, the great office-holders in the cosmic hierarchy. They are the perfect ones of the past Kalpa. 

In the case, however, of ordinary entities-for the Videhas and the Prakritilayas do not stand in need of Yoga- the method of suppressing Chitta-functions consists in having faith, energy, retentive-memory, meditation and wisdom. One must cultivate these qualities in order to become a successful Yogi. 

The success is quicker according to the amount of energy put in by the person in his practice. But the best and the safest method of Yoga is the love of God. Loving God with all one's heart and soul, would quickly bring about the cessation of all mental functions. God is a spirit untouched by sorrow, action and its fruition. He is Omniscient, He is the Teacher of all, and from eternity. His mystic name is Om. One must recite this Om constantly meditating on its letters and their imports; and thus all obstacles to concentration will be removed, and the Inner Self will manifest itself. The obstacles to concentration are disease, languor, doubt, heedlessness, laziness, sensuality, delusion, &c, mentioned in I. 30. But when the mind is concentrated, there is no pain or despondency, no fidgetiness, no difficulty of breathing. To attain concentration and remove these obstacles, the aspirant must practice to fix his attention on One Point, One Truth. Of course the highest Truth is God and so the constant attitude of the mind should be God-pointed. 

The aspirant must strictly regulate his conduct as regards others. He must show happiness and feel happiness when dealing with those who are happy. Let him have no feeling of jealousy towards them. He must show compassion towards those who are suffering. He must not be callous to the miseries of others. He must be complacent towards the virtuous, and hate not the sinner. These are the moral attributes that he must try to cultivate. 

There are, however, some particular methods which quickly bring about concentration; one of them is the regulation of the breath. The monotony of slowly breathing in and breathing out brings about hypnosis. Fixing the attention on various parts of the body, such as the tip of the nose, palate, &C., are also helpful. The astral senses are developed by this means, and when the practitioner gets first-hand knowledge of astral sights, sounds, &C., his doubts are removed, and he feels more earnestness in pursuing the path. 

If the astral development is not wanted, the practitioner may concentrate his attention on the light in the heart and upon the thought " I am." This also steadies the mind.

Or he may fix his attention on some great and holy saint or sage such as Zoroaster, the Buddha, the Christ, &c. 

Or he may fix his attention on the objects of his dreams. Sometimes in dream he may be shown a great Deva or a great Teacher. Let him not reject it as fancy. By fixing his attention on it he may acquire steadiness of mind. 

Or he may fix his attention on the ideas that pass through his mind just before he goes to sleep, the pictures that arise when one is half-awake and half-asleep-the hypnopompic (as Myers calls them). Or he may fix his attention on the pictures that one sees just before awakening-the hypnogogic. If he can fix his attention on these, he may easily pass into hypnosis. 

By such concentration all mental impurities are removed, and the mind becomes like a pure crystal that reflects truly and correctly all objects that are presented to it. They are no longer distorted pictures or dim and dull reflections of outer verities. The mental vehicle is purified, and the knowledge that now arises is far more true than any knowledge that he had before. The mind, however, enters as an element in every such knowledge, and the. past ideas and memories tinge such knowledge. This state is called Savitarka or mixed up trance. But when the mind reflects only the object, without adding to it anything from its own associations and storehouse, it is pure idea and is Nirvitarka Samadhi. In this state the light of the Self shines out on purified mind. It is not only a pure crystal that faithfully reflects the outer objects, but it is illumined, as if it were, by a light which was dormant within its own inmost centre. Such a mind is called the Truth-bearing mind. It has truth within it and truth without-a mass of truth -a tree carrying the fruit of truth-a female full with truth. Up to this time the objects of the mind were mere ideas and inferences, mere thoughts.  

Now the contents of the mind are things, the very things as it were, and not merely thoughts of things. The mind modifies itself, as it were, into - the very thing itself; and thus the thing is known more truly and essentially than it was known ever before. In this state of mind, the time and space cannot impede the perception of the object. The object may be inside a box, behind a wall or hundreds of miles off, the mind faithfully reproduces it. The object may be the subtlest and the minutest, not visible even under the strongest microscope, the mind reproduces it. For it no longer depends upon the senses for its knowledge, but has become the all-sense itself. In this way the mind becomes the highest sensory: by constant practice the mind gets into the habit of reflecting the trance objects. But even this habit is ultimately to be conquered if one wishes to rise to the higher levels of what is called the seedless trance. 

The First Chapter thus, in fifty-one aphorisms, gives what may be called the theory or the science of Yoga. An ardent and intelligent person can learn enough from this chapter alone to become a practical Yogin. But for men of ordinary intellect, more detailed teaching is necessary. The Second Chapter enters into such teaching. It may be called the art of Yoga-the technique of it. 

Book 2 

Theosophy Book Review: Zanoni - Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton

Zanoni by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton was originally published by Saunders and Otley, London, in three volumes, in 1842. According to the author: ‘’As a work of imagination, “Zanoni” ranks, perhaps, amongst the highest of my prose fictions.’’

A friend of Charles Dickens, he himself was no Dickens in terms of writing with social and psychological insight, although he he was socially conscious and pursued political causes and was a conscientious historical novelist with works such as The Last Days of Pompeii (1834).

He was a prolific, versatile writer, very popular, with a knack for putting characters into dramatic situations and getting them out suspensefully, and he remains quite popular with the book collector market. Zanoni has become quite a studied work in academia, considered as an exemplary type of the the supernatural Gothic hero, pioneered for example with Zastrozzi by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1810. 

 Zanoni is a very lyrical romantic tragedy set against the backdrop of the French revolution, featuring the last two members of a secret group of alchemists who have discovered the ‘’elixir of life’’. Beginning in an artistic milieu of painting and music, it is full of picturesque melodrama and often digresses into idealistic asesthetic reflexions typical of the romantic period, including abundant quotes from various poets such as Ariosto and Goethe. The mystical scenes are quite inspired.

The characters of Zanoni and his teacher Mejnour can be said to be loosely based on the occult historical figures of Cagliostro and the Count of St-Germain. The novel became quite popular in Theosophical circles, with several authors such as H. P. Blavatsky, Mabel Collins, Mitford Godolphin, William Q. Judge, Franz Hartmann, T. Subba Row and the Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett all comment on its use of mystical adepts, the elixir of life, the augoeides/Adonai character and especially the chapter called ‘’The Dweller on the Threshold’’.

The occult aspects of the novel cannot be said to be realistic portrayals of theosophical doctrines (there is no cognoscence of reincarnation, for example), but rather imaginative fantasized dramatizations of certain occult realities that are in an esoteric spirit that theosophical writers appreciated along with several profound esoteric observations. With A Strange Story (1850) and The Coming Race(1871) (a seminal, influential science-fiction work which pioneered the hollow earth theory) , it can be considered part of Bulwer Lytton’s trilogy of occult novels which are full of mystical interest.

Characters:

Zanoni – an initiate into Chaldean wisdom

Mejnour – an older companion and fellow initiate

Clarence Glyndon – an English artist who aspires to the secret knowledge

Viola Pisani – a beautiful and pure-hearted Neapolitan opera singer

Mervale – a commonsensical and conventional-minded friend of Glyndon

Nicot – a debased and selfish revolutionary

Fillide – A Greek gypsy who becomes Glyndon’s lover

Book i. — The Musician. (10 Chapters)

Gaetano Pisani is a gifted Neopolitan Italian violinist who composes strange music. Viola, his beautiful and sensitive daughter becomes an opera singer. When both of parents die, she is left alone. Clarence Glyndon is an aspiring British painter who is enamored with Viola. One day, a charming, eloquent, mysterious visitor, Zanoni, visits her town and attends one her concerts.

Book ii. — Art, Love, and Wonder. 10 Chapters)

Glyndon pursues courtship with Viola and meets the charismatic Zanoni, who is the talk of Neapolitan high society, and learns of the existence of secret spiritual arts. Zanoni warns him of the difficulties and suggest that he marry Viola instead.

Book iii. — Theurgia. (18 Chapters)

Glyndon is struck with a powerful desire to learn the occult arts and is introduced to Zanoni’s teacher Mejnour and begins preliminary studies. Zanoni becomes enamored with Viola, as does the Italian prince Macari, who tries to poison Zanoni, who kills the prince in a swordfight.

Book iv. — The Dweller of the Threshold. (11 Chapters)

Viola and Zanoni leave Italy to live at Zanoni's retreat in Greece They have a son. Zanoni begins to groom his son with mystical influences. Glyndon is tried in his mystical apprenticeship and fails. He partakes of the elixir of life improperly and awakens the Dweller on the Threshold. Viola and Zanoni are forced to leave their home in Greece due to a plague.

Book v. — The Effects of the Elixir. (6 Chapters)

Glyndon returns to worldly life and is successful in business, but is unstable and dissolute. He reunites with his sister, who dies of illness. He renews acquaintances with Nicot, whom he had met in Italy, who informs him of the storms of the French Revolution that are brewing.

Book vi. — Superstition Deserting Faith. (9 Chapters)

Glyndon meets Viola in Paris and influences her to leave Zanoni, influenced by her superstitions that he is in league with devil. She leaves him,  taking their son with her.

Book vii. — The Reign of Terror. (17 Chapters)

Glyndon attempting to escape Paris during the period of persecutions following the French Revolution, asks Nicot for passports for him and Viola. But Nicot, to gain revenge because his advances to Viola were rejected, has her imprisoned with her child, to be executed by the guillotine. Zanoni meets Glyndon and with Zanoni’s help, he realizes the errors of his bitterness and dissolute ways and regains spiritual faith. The dweller on the threshold that had been haunting him begins to fade. Meanwhile Zanoni, possessing important political information concerning Robespierre, persuades an official to allow Zanoni to be placed ahead of Viola on the execution list. They are reunited in prison. Zanoni is executed and Viola is saved, because her execution date coincides with the downfall and execution of Robespierre on July 28 1794, but she dies of grief. The child survives.

Astrology: Fall Equinox - September 22, 2020

World on Fire

The major aspect in this chart is a Mars-Mercury-Saturn T-Square, part of a series of Mars squares to the Jupiter-Pluto-Saturn conjunction, which began in early August. (A T-square aspect pattern is formed when points in opposition also form a square with another point. The T-square is characterized by important obstacles that need to  be overcome, along with the energy and drive to do so). This series began a month after the last of a series of three eclipses around the Summer solstice (July 5). Below are a few examples of some events occurring near those aspects:

Mars square Jupiter (Aug.4)

A huge explosion killed at least 100 people near the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut, with more fatalities feared. This provoked protests that led to the government resigning. More than 4,000 others were injured. Belarus protests and Chicago protests began. Tropical Storm Isaias pushed up the East Coast spawning tornadoes and killing at least six people.

Mars (in Aries) square Pluto (Aug. 13)

Belarus is still in upheaval after the weekend's controversial election that led to an alleged landslide victory for longtime President Alexander Lukashenko. Police have been cracking down on protesters, and authorities say 6,000 people have been arrested and one person was killed. The protests in Lebanon escalate with large street protests. Seventeen Chicago police officers were injured and at least 24 people were arrested during protests downtown that turned violent. Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalize relations in a historic truce.

Mars square Saturn (Aug. 24)

Protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, took to the streets to vent their anger over the shooting of Jacob Blake by police. Buildings and cars were set on fire last night. Blake, a 29-year-old Black father, was shot in the back multiple times by an officer on Sunday as he tried to enter an SUV. A 17-year-old from Illinois has been arrested and charged with homicide in a fatal shooting that left two dead during protests Tuesday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The police chief there said the teen "was involved in the use of firearms to resolve whatever conflict was in place." Nationwide, the unrest stemming from the police shooting of a Black father, Jacob Blake, over the weekend has crystallized into serious action.  Tens of thousands of Belarusians defied a warning from the military and demonstrated in the streets of Minsk on Sunday, demanding that the country's longtime President Alexander Lukashenko step down after winning re-election in a disputed vote.

Moreover, the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has already smashed records for the number of named storms so early in the season, but the record 2005 hurricane season was much worse this early in the season in large part because of its substantial impact in the U.S. and elsewhere. The Summer season has seen record-breaking forest fires in California and many other regions.

Because Mars goes retrograde on Sep 9., to Nov. 13,  these aspects will reappear, albeit less intense and more focused on the past. Low energy, lack of libido, simmering anger, and stifled passions are some effects of a Mars retrograde. Note that the second round of Mars squares begins just before the equinox, with Mars square Saturn (Sept. 20):

Mars square Saturn (Sept. 29)

Mars square Pluto. (Oct. 9)

Mars square Jupiter (Oct. 19)

When Mars goes direct again, these powerful aspects go exact for a third time, coinciding with the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction (December 21) and carries into 2021 as Mars enters Taurus and Saturn enters Aquarius:

Mars (in Aries) square Pluto (in  Capricorn)  Dec. 23

Mars  (in Taurus)  square Saturn  (in Aquarius)  Jan. 13, 2021

Mars  square Jupiter  Jan. 23, 2021

According to Robert Hand: ‘’Mars is an energy planet. Specifically it rules the energy that an individual uses to maintain himself in the face of pressure from his environment… Mars is also connected with work and physical energy, and often its transit signify a day when you feel very energetic and vigorous. In fact one way to ensure that a Mars transit  will not cause disputes or arguments with others, which is a sign of malfunctioning Mars energy, is to have plenty of hard work to do The negative side of Mars most often manifests itself when there is no other outlet for its energies…The only real danger with Mars is that its energies, when sublimated to the physical level, can signify accidents, specifically from burns  or fire, and illnesses involving fever and infection. This is often the result of frustrated ego energies, although you may have to dig around in your psyche to realize this. You must learn to express your resentments and anger, for they are a legitimate part of your being’’ (217-218).

Mars square Jupiter

1-      Can be very energetic and successful, if one avoids tendencies for reckless impulsiveness and wild optimism.

2-     Forward looking, can further new projects, temptation to overextend, overtax oneself, risk of accidents

3-     Desire for expansion and growth, can lead to domineering and egotistical behavior, both qualities and flaws are amplified.

Mars square Saturn

1-      Frustration and irritation, sense of inadequacies, blocked assertion, inhibitions, overwhelmed by imaginary inner fears.

2-     Negative reinforcement and discouragement from authority figures, need to learn to act with knowledge of who you are.

3-     Not a good time to start new initiatives - need to proceed slowly and cautiously, through and careful.

Mars square Pluto

1-      High energy level, highly ambitious, time for creatively transforming world around you.

2-     Fierce power struggles and disagreements, opposition, ego conflicts, conflict between individual versus  group, powerful authority figures.

3-     Unfinished loose ends can cause failure and unravelling; temptation for ruthlessness and deceit. Victims of ruthless, dangerous attacks, violence.

A Mars, Mercury, Saturn T-Square could make for some intense, impulsive discussions and decisions. There could be problems of red tape, re-doing tasks you thought you finished, problems getting from point A to point B, delays in communication, negative thinking, hyper-sensitivity and criticism. Not a good time to finalize agreements. The high energy could be used to progress with deep, long-standing disputes if one uses caution, patience, and carefulness.

Jupiter trine Neptune

On a more positive note, the Jupiter-Neptune trine (with three exact passes, February 20, July 27, October 14) helps counter-balance the difficult, volatile Mars squares. It’s main characteristics are:

1-      Fulfilling ideals, idealistic goals, positive outlook with naïve tendencies

2-     Altruistic, desire to help those in need,  devotion to charitable causes

3-     Religious, philosophical and spiritual concerns are strong, interest in alternative spirituality, spiritual insights, encounters possible.

4-     Urge to gamble, financially careless

Additionally, Sun trine Saturn brings a feeling of being grounded, stable and focused, slow and steady productivity,  with a practical, professional, and business-like common sense.

Although Mars is more quiet during the month of November, when the US federal election occurs (Nov. 3), the final of three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions occurs on November 12, Mars stations direct on November 13, and there's a Penumbral lunar Eclipse on November 30, followed by a total solar Eclipse on December 14 and Saturn enters Aquarius on December 18, which makes for a steady series of astrological events to set the stage for last major conjunction at the Winter solstice.

References

Robert Hand, Planets in Transit. Atgen, PA,, Whitford Press. 2001.

https://cafeastrology.com/astrology-of-2020.html

  

Theosophical Concepts

Mars

Kartikeya (Sk), or Kartika. The Indian God of War, son of Siva, born of his seed fallen into the Ganges. He is also the personification of the power of the Logos. The planet Mars. Kartika is a very occult personage, a nursling of the Pleiades, and a Kumâra. (See Secret Doctrine.)

Nergal (Chald.). On the Assyrian tablets he is described as the “giant king of war, lord of the city of Cutha”. It is also the Hebrew name for the planet Mars, associated invariably with ill-luck and danger. Nergal-Mars is the “shedder of blood”. In occult astrology it is less malefic than Saturn, but is more active in its associations with men and its influence on them. (Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary)

Each a double sign or male-female [ in ancient astrological Magic] - viz.: it was Taurus-Eve, and Scorpio was Mars-Lupa, or Mars with the female wolf [ in relation to Romulus]. (Page 154) So, as these signs were opposites of each other, yet met in the centre, they were connected; and so in fact it was, and in a double sense, the conception of the year was in Taurus, as the conception of Eve by Mars, her opposite, in Scorpio. The birth would be at the winter solstice, or Christmas.

On the contrary, by conception in Scorpio - viz., of Lupa by Taurus - birth would be in Leo. Scorpio was Chrestos in humiliation, while Leo was Christos in triumph. While Taurus-Eve fulfilled astronomical functions, Mars-Lupa fulfilled spiritual ones by type. [ Op. cit.,296.] The author bases all this on Egyptian correlations and meanings of Gods and Goddesses, but ignores the Aryan, which are far earlier. Mooth or Mouth, was the Egyptian cognomen of Venus, (Eve, mother of all living) [as Vach, mother of all living, a permutation of Aditi, as Eve was one of Sephira] or the moon. Plutarch (Isis, 374) hands it down that Isis was sometimes called Muth, which word means mother . . . (Issa, אשח woman). (Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled 2, p.372).

Speaking of Adam, Kain, Mars, etc., as personifications, we find the author of “The Source of Measures” enunciating our very esoteric teachings in his Kabalistic researches. Thus he says: — “Now Mars was the lord of birth and of death, of generation and of destruction, of ploughing, of building, of sculpture or stone-cutting, of Architecture . . . . in fine, of all . . . . arts. He was the primeval principle, disintegrating into the modification of two opposites for production. Astronomically, too, he held the birthplace of the day and year, the place of its increase of strength, Aries, and likewise the place of its death, Scorpio. He held the house of Venus, and that of the Scorpion. He, as birth, was good; as death, was Evil. As good, he was light; as bad, he was night. As good, he was man; as bad, he was woman. He held the cardinal points, and as Cain, or Vulcan, or Pater Sadic, or Melchizadek, he was lord of the Ecliptic, or balance, or line of adjustment, and therefore was the just one. The ancients held to there being seven planets, or great gods, growing out of eight, and Pater Sadik, the Just or Right One, was lord of the eighth, which was Mater Terra. (“Source of Measures,” p. 186-70.) (The Secret Doctrine 1,392-93) 

Capricorn

The Fifth group is a very mysterious one, as it is connected with the Microcosmic Pentagon, the five-pointed star representing man. In India and Egypt these Dhyanis were connected with the Crocodile, and their abode is in Capricornus. These are convertible terms in Indian astrology, as this (tenth) sign of the Zodiac is called Makara, loosely translated “crocodile.” … He is the “Dragon of Wisdom” or Manas, the “Human Soul,” Mind, the Intelligent principle, called in our esoteric philosophy the “Fifth” principle.

The fifth group of the celestial Beings is supposed to contain in itself the dual attributes of both the spiritual and physical aspects of the Universe; the two poles, so to say, of Mahat the Universal Intelligence, and the dual nature of man, the spiritual and the physical. Hence its number Five, multiplied and made into ten, connecting it with Makara, the 10th sign of Zodiac. (The Secret Doctrine 1 219-220)

 

Some Hints on Theosophical Parenting and Child Education

The following article was written during Blavatsky’s time in London and gives some simple, common sense reflections that are still relevant today and retain a freshness that can be seen in the educational philosophy of modern alternative education schools. Some Thoughts About Fairies, Lucifer  v5 January, 1890, p382, by the same author, has some related matter of interest.

"Ye open the Eastern windows, That look towards the sun."

(Children, HenryWadworth Longfellow, Birds of Passage, 1858)

The Natural Child-like quality

IN these two lines a great poet expresses one of his thoughts about children, and the idea is full of suggestion to anyone who has come in contact with the fresh and natural mind of a child, who has watched its intuitive powers, and its simple faith that accepts truth without question, — nay, not only without question, but with clear understanding, as if, indeed, it still retained some glow from those "trailing clouds of glory" which so soon grow dim and "fade into the light of common day". These little ones do,indeed, "open the Eastern windows" for us, letting in sunlight and air on our shadowed and stifled lives; and by our very love for them they draw us into a higher life, and often do more to educate us than we do to train them.We see in the natural child the unconsciousness of self that we have lost —the simple regard for things as they are, stripped of the world's opinion of them — the frank, outspoken word and revealment of their thought, which puts to shame our use of language to conceal thought, the natural modesty and refinement which is as far as possible removed from our grown-up propriety, which is measured only by what other people say. All these contrasts between ourselves and them bring before us many thoughts. And two specially prominent questions occur to us: (1) Why do we not make ourselves more child-like?(2) Why do we not endeavour to keep our children child-like?

Materialistic Education

If we are earnest Theosophists — that is, if we are earnestly trying to live up to the spiritual truths in our own form of religious belief, which it is one of the great aims of Theosophy to show us — we have already answered the first question by trying to cultivate the teachable mind, the open heart and clear spirit, without which very little growth can go on;we are trying to make thought and life harmonious, to put aside shams and selfishness, prejudice and pride, and in very truth to "become as little children". And our efforts with ourselves, our struggles in our own growth, bring forcibly home to us the need for looking seriously into the defects in modern methods of educating children. Seeing the hard task of uprooting so much that has become ingrained in our characters, the difficult warfare against habits, mental and bodily, which we have only just begun to try and conquer — seeing all this, we must ask ourselves, Can we not save our children the same long, hard struggle, or, at any rate, mitigate it by equipping them at the outset with proper weapons, and teaching them how to use them ? Whilst we are striving to become more child-like, we see the children growing rapidly into old men and women, becoming hard and materialistic, almost before they can speak plainly, and losing that lovely freshness and clearness of soul so valuable to the aftergrowth, so necessary to spiritual development.

Excessive Stimulation of the Mind

To acknowledge the evil is the first step, to remedy it, a harder task, but one that as earnest Theosophists we must not shirk. For, as each one of us has to find the truth within himself — and only so can it be perceived and known — so it behoves us to help our children to keep the clear mirror of the soul untainted, and free from everything that can distort the Divine images reflected on its surface.Our first aim should be to promote the harmonious development of all the faculties; to strive after bodily, mental, and spiritual perfection, and to endeavour to make the advance equal in each. If we strain the mind and starve the body, we warp and destroy both. To starve the mind and soul produces equally disastrous results; but perhaps our worst error nowadays is the excessive stimulation of the mind, especially the lower critical faculty, and the almost total disregard and stunting of the imagination.The senses should be cultivated; indeed, they are not trained sufficiently, but, at the same time, they should not be regarded as the only avenues to knowledge.

Training the Senses

To train a child to see — really to see an object on which its eye rests — not only quickens and sharpens the sense of sight, but gives it a power of creating and holding mind pictures which stand out clear and strong, and also develops higher powers and greater capacity for abstract thought than we can have any idea of until we have tried the experiment upon ourselves; so with all the senses. We do not want our brains burdened with confused masses of acts and images, and half-blurred memories, a kaleidoscopic tangle of colours and forms and ideas coming and going whether we wish it or not. How much more, then, should we try to train the young growing brain of a child, to give it few ideas, and those clear ones — few images, and those distinct — to nourish its mind with a small quantity of easily digested food, instead of pouring a perpetual stream of miscellaneous knowledge into its brain, the very amount alone preventing its being of any use. Pouring in— not drawing out — such is modern education to a very great extent. Together with this cultivation of the senses should the reasoning faculties grow, but kept in subjection as half-developed powers, not dragged into prominence, otherwise conceit and self-confidence shut out further knowledge. In children,and in uneducated people, the intuitive powers are strong; but as the logical faculty develops, the intuition becomes less prominent, and, if resolutely set aside, disregarded, and unused, will wither and lie entirely dormant; and as an unused limb hampers and warps the body, so will this dormant faculty hamper and warp the soul. The logical powers, trained side by side with the intuitional, will produce the highest form of intellect — the intellect that may be more rightly named genius.

Humility

A natural child is humble and anxious to learn, ready to reverence and respect what is higher and wiser than itself, and this reverence should be fostered and carefully guarded, not by parents and others in authority setting themselves up on a pedestal, and all the time allowing the child to see weaknesses and want of dignity that destroy the authority and respect at once, but by influencing and commanding their obedience and regard by showing them that we are fallible as they are, struggling against temptation and faults, doing wrong and getting punished for it like themselves, but still trying to follow a high ideal, and reverencing all that is wiser than ourselves. If we show them ourselves thus striving, we step down and take them by the hand and draw them upwards with us, instead of landing on what is to a child an unreachable level of supposed goodness, with the chance of the child losing all faith in that goodness by seeing we are but human after all. First, then, train the senses in due order and with full knowledge of their limitations, letting the child see that where these stop short, faith begins — that side by side with the visible, tangible world, lies that larger and more real invisible world, to be believed in first, and afterwards to be apprehended and known as the child grows and develops.

Self-Knowledge and Self-Control

So we lay a groundwork on which to build self-knowledge, and together with this must be built its inseparable companion, self-control. From the very beginning a child should be taught this, and the little efforts at self-command and the conquest of uncontrolled impulses give a child a sense of power, strength and reliance that cannot be given by any outward authority. Let it see that faults and tendencies to wrong-doing are not to be excused on the ground of natural defect or bad example of others, but as so many difficulties to be overcome, so many opportunities for self-conquest, so many lessons set for us to learn, for our final good and well-being. Never let a child say, "I cannot do this". Put in its way only such tasks as are within its power, and see that the required effort is made, or better leave it unattempted. For successful effort braces and inspirits the whole being, and gives confidence, whilst nothing so deteriorates the character as half-done work.

Gentle Discipline

Unquestioning obedience is another most necessary factor in education. But commands should be few and certain. Wavering indecision in issuing commands is fatal to authority. No child should be irritated with a host of petty orders and rules, but the habit of instant obedience, when once the word of command has gone forth, should be established early. No one can rule till he has learned to obey. It is difficult in a short space to touch on the wide and important question of punishment, but a few general remarks may be made. Theosophists should bear in mind the law of Karma, and carry it out in their training. Punishments should rather be called consequences — the inevitable result of a cause. A child should be made to see that certain effects follow certain of its actions as surely as night follows day. And due warning of the effect should be given. If you do such or such an action, this or that penalty will follow! Parents should never punish in anger, never lose temper with a child; but calmly administer the previously threatened payment for breach of law. Children are very quick to perceive, and the certainty of the effect is the only deterrent to the act in future. Punishments depriving children of food or play, or any of the necessaries of life, should be avoided, likewise long tasks that try the brain or nerves; and, of course, all threats of unknown bogies or other methods of working on their fears are as wicked as they are useless. Too many people punish offences against custom and manners as heavily, if not more so, than moral delinquencies. This gives a child a very false idea of the relative proportion of human and Divine law. In all our action and attitude towards children, love, and love alone, should be apparent as our motive power. Discipline and teaching alike prompted by our desire for their final welfare. Pain and sorrow, pleasure and happiness, given in the same loving spirit, for the same wise and good end; and the more we realize that our own education goes on in the same way, the more will our children see and understand the use of our discipline.

The Secret Power of Thought

And here we touch on the root of the whole subject. It is our growth, our education, that affects them. It is what we think and what we believe that has most effect on them. When we realize, as all students of Occultism must realize, that our unspoken word, our most secret thought, is given out by usunconsciously, and either taints or purifies the subtle atmosphere around us, and takes effect for good or evil on those with whom we come in contact, then, and then only, do we wake up to our terrible responsibilities, and the need for the most searching cleansing of those thoughts, the need for high and lofty ideals for perpetually dwelling in thought on all that is good and beautiful, that no inward taint of ours may sully their purity, nor infect them with evil. They can in this way imbibe our faith, our deepest religious beliefs, our love of and trust in the Divine, just as they will no less surely catch our want of faith,our doubt and cynical discontent with life. Let us, then, as children too, members of the one great family, by our striving, our own growth in goodness, our own sense of the unity and harmony of all things, make an atmosphere of sunshine and purity for our children to live in, and from the very beginning of their young lives inculcate those larger lessons of universal Brotherhood which Theosophists are endeavouring to teach, so shall we no less than they open windows towards the East for them and for ourselves.

Francis Annesley - Some Hints on the Theosophical Training of Children - March, 1890 ,“Theosophical Siftings” Volume 3 The Theosophical Publishing Society, England"

The author of this article may possibly be Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (1857-1941), an English architect and furniture and textile designer.

15 Great Christian Mystics

There has been a remarkable revival of Christian mysticism in recent times, with the work of people such as Richard Rohr and Bernard McGinn. Rightly so, because there is much that can be learned from the deep spiritual experience of these enlightened souls, but it can be difficult to delve into the rich history of mystics and their writings. There are many lists out there, very different from this one, and that's fine. Below is an attempt at a selection that is meant to be introductory, chosen for readability, accessibility, diversity of period and culture, and popularity. What might be surprising to find is that one thing that most of these mystics have in common is a sense of practicality. Like in any spiritual tradition, one progresses on the path step by step, and considerable attention is given to imparting a solid, grounded, ethical education, firmly focused on mundane concerns, as a solid, necessary foundation.

1- Evagrius Ponticus  (345–399 AD), was a Christian monk and ascetic. One of the most influential theologians in the late fourth-century church, he was well known as a thinker, polished speaker, and gifted writer. He left a promising ecclesiastical career in Constantinople and traveled to Jerusalem, where in 383 he became a monk at the monastery of Rufinus and Melania the Elder. He then went to Egypt and spent the remaining years of his life in Nitria and Kellia, marked by years of asceticism and writing. He was a disciple of several influential contemporary church leaders, including Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Macarius of Egypt. He was a teacher of others, including John Cassian and Palladius.

Evagrius. Evagrius of Pontus: The Greek Ascetic Corpus, translated by Robert E. Sinkewicz. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press 2003.

2- John Cassian (c.AD 360 – c.435),  was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Churches for his mystical writings. Cassian is noted for his role in bringing the ideas and practices of Christian monasticism to the early medieval West. Around 420, at the request of Bishop Castor of Aptia Julia in Gallia Narbonensis, Cassian wrote two major spiritual works, the "De institutis coenobiorum" (Institutes of the Coenobia) and the "Conlationes" or "Collationes patrum in scetica eremo" (Conferences of the Desert Fathers). In these, he codified and transmitted the wisdom of the Desert Fathers of Egypt. The Institutes deal with the external organization of monastic communities, while the Conferences deal with "the training of the inner man and the perfection of the heart." 

3- John Climacus was a 6th-7th-century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai. Of John's literary output we know only the Ladder of Divine Ascent, composed in the early seventh century, The Ladder describes how to raise one's soul and body to God through the acquisition of ascetic virtues. Climacus uses the analogy of Jacob's Ladder as the framework for his spiritual teaching. Each chapter is referred to as a "step", and deals with a separate spiritual subject. There are thirty Steps of the ladder, which correspond to the age of Jesus at his baptism and the beginning of his earthly ministry. Within the general framework of a 'ladder', Climacus' book falls into three sections. The first seven Steps concern general virtues necessary for the ascetic life, while the next nineteen (Steps 8–26) give instruction on overcoming vices and building their corresponding virtues. The final four Steps concern the higher virtues toward which the ascetic life aims. The final rung of the ladder—beyond prayer, stillness, and even dispassion is love. Originally written simply for the monks of a neighboring monastery, the Ladder swiftly became one of the most widely read and much-beloved books of Byzantine spirituality.
4- Isaac the Syrian (c. 613 – c. 700),  was a 7th-century Church of the East Syriac Christian bishop and theologian best remembered for his written works on Christian asceticism. He is regarded as a saint in the Assyrian Church of the East and in the Chaldean Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition. When still quite young, he entered a monastery where he devoted his energies towards the practice of asceticism. After many years of studying at the library attached to the monastery, he emerged as an authoritative figure in theology. Shortly after, he dedicated his life to monasticism and became involved in religious education throughout the Beth Qatraye region. He was ordained bishop of Nineveh but he administrative duties did not suit his retiring and ascetic bent: he requested to abdicate after only five months, and went south to the wilderness of Mount Matout, a refuge for anchorites.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, Revised Second Edition, by Holy Transfiguration Monastery (2011)

5- Hildegard of Bingen (1098 –1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. Hildegard was elected magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136; she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165. One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play. She wrote theological, botanical, and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, and poems, while supervising miniature illuminations in the Rupertsberg manuscript of her first work, Scivias. She is also noted for the invention of a constructed language known as Lingua Ignota.

Hildegard's most significant works were her three volumes of visionary theology: Scivias ("Know the Ways", composed 1142–1151), Liber Vitae Meritorum ("Book of Life's Merits" or "Book of the Rewards of Life", composed 1158–1163); and Liber Divinorum Operum ("Book of Divine Works", also known as De operatione Dei, "On God's Activity", composed 1163/4–1172 or 1174). In these volumes, the last of which was completed when she was well into her seventies, Hildegard first describes each vision, whose details are often strange and enigmatic, and then interprets their theological contents in the words of the "voice of the Living Light."

6- Bonaventure (1221 –1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian medieval Franciscan, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he was also Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor". Bonaventure was regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages.

Journey of the Soul into God - Itinerarium Mentis in Deum translation and Introduction by Zachary Hayes, OFM, and Philotheus Boehner, OFM, vol. 2, 2002.

7- John of Ruusbroec (1294 –1381) was one of the Flemish mystics. In total, Ruysbroeck wrote twelve books, seven epistles, two hymns and a prayer. All were written in Middle Dutch.Around 1340, Ruysbroeck wrote his masterpiece, The Spiritual Espousals. The 36 surviving Dutch manuscripts, as well as translations into Latin and Middle High German, are evidence of the book’s popularity. Some of the text was also translated into Middle English (via the Latin translation) as The Chastising of God's Children (which was later printed by Wynkyn de Worde). Around the same time, he also wrote a short treatise, The Sparkling Stone, which was also translated into Middle English.

8- Henry Suso (1295-1366) was a German Dominican friar and the most popular vernacular writer of the fourteenth century. An important author in both Latin and Middle High German, he is also notable for defending Meister Eckhart's legacy after Eckhart was posthumously condemned for heresy in 1329.

Suso was very widely read in the later Middle Ages. There are 232 extant manuscripts of the Middle High German Little Book of Eternal Wisdom. The Latin Clock of Wisdom was even more popular: over four hundred manuscripts in Latin. The Clock was therefore second only to the Imitation of Christ in popularity among spiritual writings of the later Middle Ages. Wolfgang Wackernagel and others have called Suso a "Minnesinger in prose and in the spiritual order" or a "Minnesinger of the Love of God" both for his use of images and themes from secular, courtly, romantic poetry and for his rich musical vocabulary. The mutual love of God and man which is his principal theme gives warmth and color to his style.

9- Walter Hilton (c. 1340–1396) was an English Augustinian mystic, whose works became influential in the 15th century. The first book of The Scale of Perfection is addressed to a woman recently enclosed as an anchoress, providing her with appropriate spiritual exercises; the bulk of its 93 chapters deal with the extirpation of the "foul image of sin" in the soul – the perversion of the image of the Trinity in the three spiritual powers of Mind, Reason and Will (reflecting the Father, Son and Holy Spirit respectively, according to a tradition drawn from St Augustine) – through a series of meditations on the seven deadly sins. The second book’s major themes are reformation of the soul in faith alone and in both faith and feeling. The latter is described in an extended metaphor as a spiritual journey to Jerusalem, or "peace" in meditation, a gift which is also its own giver, Christ.

10- Julian of Norwich (late 1342 – after 1416) was the greatest of all the English anchorites of the Middle Ages. She wrote the earliest surviving book in the English language to be written by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love. She lived throughout her life in the English city of Norwich, an important centre for commerce that also had a vibrant religious life, but which during her lifetime was a witness to the devastating effects of the Black Death of 1349, the English Peasants' Revolt, which affected large parts of England in 1381, and the suppression of the Lollards.

In 1373, aged thirty and so seriously ill she thought she was on her deathbed, Julian received a series of visions or "shewings" of the Passion of Christ and of Mary, mother of Jesus. She recovered from her illness and wrote two versions of her experiences, the earlier one being completed soon after her recovery, and a much longer version being written many years later.

11- Teresa of Ávila (1515 –1582), was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, author, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. Active during the Counter-Reformation, she was a reformer in the Carmelite Order of her time; the movement she initiated, later joined by Saint John of the Cross, eventually led to the establishment of the Discalced Carmelites, though neither she nor John was alive when the two orders separated.

Teresa of Ávila, Way of Perfection, London, 2012.

The Interior Castle - The Mansions, TAN Books, 1997. 

12- John of the Cross  (1542 – 1591) was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, a Roman Catholic saint, a Carmelite friar and a priest, who was born at Fontiveros, Old Castile. Saint John of the Cross is considered one of the foremost poets in the Spanish language. Although his complete poems add up to fewer than 2500 verses, two of them—the Spiritual Canticle and the Dark Night of the Soul—are widely considered masterpieces of Spanish poetry, both for their formal stylistic point of view and their rich symbolism and imagery. A four-stanza work, Living Flame of Love, describes a greater intimacy, as the soul responds to God's love.

The Collected Works of St John of the Cross (Eds. K. Kavanaugh and O. Rodriguez), Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC, revised edition, 1991.

13- Francis de Sales (1567 –  1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is honored as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God. These last qualities come through in Sales' books, the most famous of which was Introduction to the Devout Life, which – unusual for the time – was written specially for laypeople. In it he counseled charity over penance as a means of progressing in the spiritual life. Sales also left the mystical work, the "Treatise on the Love of God", and many highly valued letters of spiritual direction, including those with Jane Frances de Chantal compiled in the Letters of Spiritual Direction.

Introduction to the Devout Life (Translated and Edited by John K. Ryan), Doubleday, 1972.

14- Jakob Böhme (1575 –1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his first book, commonly known as Aurora, caused a great scandal. In contemporary English, his name may be spelled Jacob Boehme; in seventeenth-century England it was also spelled Behmen, approximating the contemporary English pronunciation of the German Böhme.

The Way to Christ (inc. True Repentance, True Resignation, Regeneration or the New Birth, The Supersensual Life, Of Heaven & Hell, The Way from Darkness to True Illumination) edited by William Law, Diggory Press

15- Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (c. 1614 –1691) served as a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. Christians commonly remember him for the intimacy he expressed concerning his relationship to God as recorded in a book compiled after his death, the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God.