Blavatsky on the Efficacy of Funeral Ceremonies

The text below was written in response to a question concerned mainly about problems with Parsi funeral customs in response to early Theosophical writings on Devachan. The original text quotes from the Desatir. This work is similar to the Zohar, in that it is a mystical text that claims to have ancient origins, and is newly presented in mysterious circumstances, a mode of presentation occasionally found with esoteric texts. Blavatsky supports the intrinsic validity of the text, but it has been disparaged  by most modern scholars, a notable exception being Henri Corbin, who accepts the intrinsic merit of its mystical content.

In every country, as among all the peoples of the world from the beginning of history, we see that some kind of burial is performed—but that very few among the so-called savage primitive races had or have any funeral rites or ceremonies. The well-meaning tenderness felt by us for the dead bodies of those whom we loved or respected, may have suggested, apart from the expression of natural grief, some additional marks of family respect for them who have left us forever. But rites and ceremonies as prescribed by our respective Churches and their theologians, are an afterthought of the priest, an outgrowth of theological and clerical ambition, seeking to impress upon the laity a superstition, a well-paying awe and dread of a punishment of which the priest himself knows nothing beyond mere speculative and often very illogical hypotheses. 

The Brahmin, the Mobed, the Augur, the Rabbi, the Moolah and the Priest, impressed with the fact that their physical welfare depended far more upon his parishioners, whether dead or alive, than the spiritual welfare of the latter on his alleged mediatorship between men and God, found the device expedient and good, and ever since worked on this line. Funeral rites have originated among the theocratically governed nations, such as the ancient Egyptians, Aryans, and Jews. Interwoven with, and consecrated by the ceremonies of theology, these rites have been adopted by the respective religions of nearly all the nations, and are preserved by them to this day; for while religions differ considerably among themselves, the rites often surviving the people as the religion to which they owed their origin have passed from one people to another. 

Thus, for instance, the threefold sprinkling with earth with which the Christian is consigned to the tomb, is handed down to the Westerners from the Pagan Greeks, and Romans; and modern Parseeism owes a considerable portion of its prescribed funeral rites, we believe, to the Hindus, much in their present mode of worship being due to the grafts of Hinduism. Abraham and other Patriarchs were buried without any rites, and even in Leviticus (19:28) the Israelites are forbidden to “make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks” upon themselves.

Nor, from the occult standpoint, do such rites benefit in the least the departed soul. The correct comprehension of the law of Karma is entirely opposed to the idea. As no person’s karma can be either lightened or overburdened with the good or bad actions of the next of kin of the departed one, every man having his karma independent and distinct from that of his neighbour—no more can the departed soul be made responsible for the doings of those it left behind. As some make the credulous believe that the four principles may be made to suffer from colics, if the survivors ate immoderately of some fruit.  

Zoroastrianism and Hinduism have wise laws—far wiser than those of the Christians—for the disposal of their dead, but their superstitions are still very great. For while the idea that the presence of the dead brings pollution to the living is no better than a superstition, unworthy of the enlightened age we live in, the real cause of the religious prohibition to handle too closely the dead and to bury them without first subjecting the bodies to the disinfectant process of either fire, vultures or aqua-fortis (the latter the prevailing method of the Parsees in days of old) was as beneficent in its results as it was wise, since it was the best and most necessary sanitary precaution against epidemics. The Christians might do worse than borrow that law from the “Pagans,” since no further than a few years back, a whole province of Russia was nearly depopulated, in consequence of the crowded condition of its burial ground. Too numerous interments within a limited space and a comparatively short time saturate the earth with the products of decomposition to such a degree, as to make it incapable of further absorbing them, and the decomposition under such a condition being retarded its products escape directly into the atmosphere, bringing on epidemic diseases and plagues. “Let the dead bury their dead”—were wise words, though to this day no theologian seems to have understood their real and profound meaning. There were no funeral rites or ceremonies at the death of either Zoroaster, Moses, or Buddha, beyond the simple putting out of the way of the living the corpses of them who had gone before.

Note 1 - Twelve hours at least had to elapse between the death of the person and the burning or the destruction by any other means of the corpse of the dead. This old law was equally forgotten by the Brahmins as by the Zoroastrians. It was not the act of burning that was forbidden, but the burning before the corpse was empty, viz. before the inner principles had had time to get entirely liberated. As the aqua fortis was thought possessed of an occult property to that effect, hence the preliminary burning of the flesh by this means—with the Fersendajians.

Note 2—A ceremony to furnish the shell “with an armour” against terrestrial attraction need not be repeated “a number of years” to become efficacious, could it but be performed by a person versed in the knowledge of the Magi of old. One such ceremony on the night of death would suffice. But where is the Mobed or priest capable of performing it now? It requires a true occultist—and these are not found at every street corner. Hence—it becomes useless to add ruin to the living, since the dead cannot be helped. (The Theosophist, June & August, 1883)

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras -Book 2 - Rama Prasad

Continuing a basic summary of the four books of  Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, by Rama Prasad, with some suggestive observations of an esoteric nature, from the introduction to his translation: Patanjalis Yoga Sutras with the Commentary of Vyasa and the Gloss of Vachaspati Misra (1912). See   Part 1

 The art of Yoga consists in bringing under control and purifying the three lower vehicles of man, namely, the body, the mind and the spiritual Self- the astro-physical, mental, and the causal bodies. The astro-physical body is to be purified and brought under control by what are called ascetic practices,- early rising, bathing, fasting, bearing hardships, etc., in short, all that go under the name of Tapas-or austerities. The mental body must be purified and strengthened by study, by acquiring knowledge. An ignorant person cannot be a Yogi. The causal or spiritual body is to be developed by entire devotion to God. Thus an atheist cannot be a true Yogi (In Raja Yoga, these three bodies are called Sthulopadi, Sukshmopadhi, and Karanopadhi in Sanskrit, ed.).

These three helps-austerities, study and resignation to the will of God facilitate trance and remove " afflictions." (Sanskrit: klesha, ed.) The "affliction" is the technical name of certain intellectual and emotional weaknesses to which all human beings are liable. They are five in number :-(l) The first is the Nescience or Wrong Notion of things objective-mistaking the non-eternal for the eternal, the impure for the pure, the painful for the pleasurable, or non-Self for the Self. (2) The second is the wrong notion about things subjective-identifying one's Self with the vehicles in which the Self function, taking the bodies for the soul. These two are intellectual defects, (3) The third is the emotional weakness. It is the desire natural of man, running after pleasant things. (4) The fourth also is emotional- hatred of things that give pain. Thus these two-love and hate are emotional defects. The fifth defect is neither intellectual nor emotional-it is instinctive- the instinct of self-preservation-the instinctive fear of death-the love of life. These are the five " afflictions of Yoga - Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dvesa and Abhinivesa- Nescience, Egoism, love and hatred and instinctive dread of death.  These "afflictions" are destroyed by meditation and the methods already mentioned. 

These "afflictions" are the root of the body of transmigration, the root of re-incarnation, of birth, life and suffering. The pleasure and pain which a man suffers are the result of his past acts, the virtuous acts are the seed of pleasure, the vicious of pain. The word " affliction" is thus a purely technical term, for it includes the high heavenly pleasure also which is the result of virtuous actions. But in the philosophy of Yoga as well as that of Sankhya--all such pleasures are also considered as pains: because philosophically the world is painful, all its experiences, even those which people call pleasurable, are painful to the philosopher. This is stated in the memorable aphorism, II. 15, p. 100. 

All world-experience being thus painful, the philosopher seeks to find the root-cause of this experience and this is the conjunction of the knower and the knowable-the Self and the not-Self. Because man is tied with mind, and cannot extricate himself from the embraces of mind-matter that he suffers. When he masters the mind, and is not her slave, then there is no pain-there is no necessary experiencing of joy and sorrow. The non-ego to which the man is tied has the three well-known attributes or Gunas - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas- the Light, the Activity and the Inertia-is the source of all elements, and producer of all sensations and senses. 

The Yoga system of cosmogony is the same as that of the Sankhya, so far as the evolution of the world-elements out of the Primordial matter called Prakriti is concerned. It is summarised in II. 19. 

What is the nature of the Self ? This question naturally arises after one has learned the nature of the non-Self. The man is pure consciousness : I and the non-Self exists for him. If man is pure consciousness, how does he perceive the non-Self? He knows the non-ego by a sort of reflex action. The mind catches the reflection of the non-Self ; and the man becomes conscious of that reflection. The man is thus the seer of the pictures in the mind. The non-ego or the knowable thus exists for the sake of the Man. In the state of Mukti (liberation, ed.), there exists no knowable for that Man. Though to the Perfect Man there is no knowable, it does not mean that the knowable ceases to exist. It exists with regard to the other souls that have not reached perfection.

A question is often asked: If the ultimate goal is the separation of man from the non-Self, the knowable, why was this conjunction between the two brought about? Why was man tied down to non-Self, to matter-mind ? The answer to this is: In order that Man may perfect his nature by acquiring all experiences and passing through them. Unless the Man learns all that the Matter-Mind has to teach, the conjunction is not broken. The effective cause of this conjunction lies in the Avidya-the Wrong Notion (or ignorance, ed.). When, therefore, the Ayidya or Nescience is removed, the  conjunction is removed and the Man shakes off the eternal burden. How is the Avidya to be removed? The Avidya being Wrong Notion, can be removed only by Right Notion call Viveka-Khyati or Discriminative knowledge. His discriminative knowledge has seven stages-four dealing with the phenomenal knowledge and three with the mental or subjective notions, as described in II. 27. It is on reaching this that the title of Adept or Kusala is given to the Yogi. 

The acquisition of this Adeptship is through the practice of eightfold Yoga. The famous phrase Ashtanga Yoga refers to this. The eight accessories of Yoga are enumerated in II. 29. Five of these are external, as with the last three. The eight Angas are so important that it can well bear repetition here. 

First, Practice Restraint, i.e., be moral. This restraint or Yama consists of five sub-divisions :-(a) do not kill or injure any being. Be kind to all. Ahimsa; (b) Speak and act truth; (c) Steal not, nor acquire illicit gains ; (d) Practise continence and celibacy; d) Be not avaricious. These are universal rules. 

Second, Niyama or Observance. This is also five-fold :(a) Be clean in body and mind, (b) Be contented, (c) Practise asceticism and austerity, (d) Study sacred books, (e) Be devoted to God. 

While practising Yama and Niyama, if obstacles arise, always try to think of the opposite quality. If he feels a strong desire to tell a falsehood, let him not fight the desire, by a frontal attack, by checking it. Let him substitute the opposite desire-the beauty of truthfulness. If he hates another, let him think of the good qualities of that man. If he is in danger of breaking the vow of celibacy, let him think of the glorious future of the Brahmachari. Pratipasa ga Bhavana-thinking of the contrary- is the key of success. It is the great strategy in this moral battle, and is embodied in II. 33. The moral qualities mentioned in Yama, must be absolutely observed-no sophistical diminution of their absolute nature is allowed to the Yogi. To him the moral laws are absolute. Thus the first rule of Ahimsa says " kill not." This is an absolute rule. There cannot be any exceptions or reservations. The enemies of the country, the renegades of religion, the blasphemers of sages and saints, the murderer, the criminal-kill none. To Yogi the vow of non-killing is absolute. He must not kill even in self-defence of himself or of his near and dear ones. Hence the rule says : "They (Yama) are the great vow universal, and not limited by caste, country, age and condition." (II. 31). So also with truth. One must not lie for the sake of one's country or State or Brahmana or cow, &c. Not only this: there are certain omissions which become as bad as actual commissions of these sins. He incurs sin if he causes another to do it or permits its being done. 

The third Anga of Yoga is Asana or posture. No particular posture is obligatory, but the posture must be such as is steady and easy; not painful or irksome. The various postures given in books of Hatha Yoga such as Gheranda Samhita or Siva Samhita are useful as physical exercises, for the otherwise sedentary Yogi. 

The fourth Anga of Yoga is the much abused Pranayama or the Regulation of breath. The Yoga has come to mean, in the thoughts of many, posturing and nose-closing. But the right regulation of breath as a mental and physical effect was pointed out long ago. The Western science has come to recognise its advantages and Books of Breathing are not as rare now as they were when we first wrote about it in 1882. 

The fifth anga of Yoga is Pratyahara or Abstraction. It is a state of catalepsy when the senses do not come into contact with their objects. It is the state of the inhibition of the senses. A pistol may be fired near the ear of the Yogi and he will not hear it. Ammonia may be held under his nostrils and he will not smell it, and so on. 

All the above five are Bahiranga or the external. The internal Yoga which has to deal with the mind and mind alone consists of the last three Angas-Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. 

Book 3 

Mohini Chatterji on Karma – Sowing and Reaping 1

From May to September 1886, an intriguing short story by Mohini Chatterji ran in the Theosophist, entitled Sowing and Reaping. It is a fascinating story about karma and reincarnation in the east and the west, and contains certain recondite passages involving the teachings of a spiritual guide to a student, sometimes of an esoteric nature, some extracts which will be featured in a short series of posts.

The teaching is hard to understand, Master,” I said to my venerated Brahmin preceptor. " If desire for an object forges a fresh link in the chain of material bondage in which the soul is held, it is obvious that, as no action can take place otherwise than in consequence of desire of some sort—some want demanding fulfillment the student of the Spiritual Science would have to become a St. Simon Stylites.[1] Where, then, is there room for the performance of duty?” 

“It is true, my son,” replied the Master, “there is a cessation of action for the liberated soul, whether embodied or disembodied, but forcible repression of activity is not the rest of the beatified soul. Truth cannot be obtained by pretence. It does not avail to shut your eyes and say you are liberated if you are really not so. Constant repetition of the name of medicine does not cure disease, says Sankara.[2] It is not for you to say “ I shall be inactive,” but when your soul awakes there will be no action for you. That rest which is emancipation is as independent of your will as is the sensation of heat when fire is near. You can approach the fire or go away from it according to choice, but you cannot help being affected by the heat when you are near its source. If you are hot you are not cooled by merely saying that you are cool. Again, a determination to be inactive, on the face of it shows that the unity of being, the Supreme Spirit, has not been realized. There is no determination necessary to bring into existence that which already exists.”

“But, master, deign to explain how Buddha worked on for forty years after his liberation.” 

"Ah my son, it is a great mystery which you will not comprehend. I believe you are now satisfied that the root of false faith and doubt is not intellectual but moral deficiency. So long as there is the slightest trace of personal desire in you the Law of Karma will govern your evolution, you will enjoy the fruit of the good that you do, and suffer for your evil acts. When spiritual knowledge extinguishes all personal desire and removes the individual from the operation of Karma, then only can the purified soul comprehend the nature of those who are liberated while in the flesh. Those who have attained this condition of freedom from Karma are alone entitled to admission into our Brotherhood.” "

“But how does one get beyond Karma ?”

“As I have said, by a natural elimination of all personal desire.” 

“Then, on the instant I renounce my personality, renounce all self-seated, desire, Master, then bid me follow you to the home of rest and leave this world of passion behind.” 

“ Ah, my son,” said the Brahman ascetic smiling, “ you can no more renounce your personality in that way than you can renounce the colour of your skin. Cessation of karma comes only from the excess of good karma. Remember what is said in the Bhagavad Gita :—It is better to perish in the performance of one’s own duty; the performance of another’s duty is attended with danger.[3] Seek not to leave the life that is yours till it drops from you of itself. The vow that you were taking has really to be taken in silence by your soul when it is temporarily freed from your body. Practice the seven virtues, rectitude, gentleness, modesty, devotion to truth, patience, sympathy and right knowledge, and if your soul attain s the required purity, you will find me ready to receive you this day twelvemonth. But it is right that you should not be kept in ignorance’ of what ensues when the mysterious vow is taken. You will cease to acquire new karma, but the old karma will have to exhaust itself. The wheel will continue to move even after the potter’s hand has ceased to turn it. The causes, previously generated by you, which in the ordinary course of nature would take a number of incarnations to work themselves off, will be crowded into a very short space of time, and your whole being will suffer a convulsion from which nothing will save you but unselfishness and determination of will. Think of this and beware while there yet is time. But if this day twelve-month finds you as resolute as you are now, you shall have permission to try your footsteps on the path that leads to the higher life. But I give you the warning, the path is rugged and steep. I have no right to interfere with the birth right liberties of a human being; you can but obey your karma, the behests of your soul in other incarnations, the ancestors of the present. Now, farewell. Remember this day twelve-month.”

The Theosophist, May, 1886. v. 7, no. 80, pp. 517-18

---

[1] Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite (c. 390? – 459) was a Syriac ascetic saint who achieved notability for living 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar near Aleppo (in modern Syria).

[2] Adi Shankaracharya (733–746 CE) was an Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. He is credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism. See Vivekachudaman, verse 62.

[3] Bhagavad Gita, 18, 47

Part 2

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)