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Bookshop: On the ground floor of Gloucester Place, we have the UK’s largest selection of theosophical works, by authors such as H. P. Blavatsky, W. Q. Judge, Annie Besant and G. de Purucker. We can supply by mail (post order to Bookshop at address above) and all items from the recommended reading range are available to purchase online. Bookshop opening hours/contact details (the same as the Library): Tuesdays to Fridays, 2.00 - 6.30 pm: Sundays, 4.00 - 8.30 pm when there is an evening lecture. For further details telephone the Librarian on 020 7563 9816 |
BOOK DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER NO 3 |
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Mahatmas & Chelas |
A Mahatma is a personage, who, by special training and education, has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of reincarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided that they do not go against the purposes of Nature and thus bring on their own annihilation. This process of the self-evolution of the MAHATMA extends over a number of "incarnations," although, comparatively speaking, they are few. Now, what is it that incarnates? The occult doctrine shows that the first three principles die more or less with what is called the physical death. The fourth principle, together with the lower portions of the fifth, in which reside the animal propensities, has Kama Loka for its abode, where it suffers the throes of disintegration; it is the higher Manas, the pure man, which is associated with the sixth & seventh principles, that goes into Devachan to enjoy there the effects of its good Karma, and then to be reincarnated as a higher individuality. An entity that is passing through the occult training in its successive births gradually has less and less of that lower Manas until there arrives a time when its whole Manas is centred in the higher individuality, when such a person may be said to have become a MAHATMA. The real MAHATMA is not his physical body but that higher Manas which is inseperably linked to the Alma and its vehicle (the sixth principle) - a union effected by him in a comparatively short period by passing through the process of self-evolution. When, therefore, people express a desire to "see a MAHATMA," they really do not seem to understand what it is they ask for. How can they, by their physical eyes hope to see that which transcends that sight? By what standard are they to judge whether the Maya before them reflects the image of a true MAHATMA or not? Higher things can be perceived only by a sense pertaining to those things. Whoever therefore wants to see the real MAHATMA must use his intellectual sight. He must so elevate his Manas that its perception will be clear and all mists created by Maya dispelled. His vision will then be bright and he will see the MAHATMAS wherever he may be, for, being merged into the sixth and the seventh principles, which are ubiquitous and omnipresent, the MAHATMAS may be said to be everywhere. But although the whole of humanity is within the mental vision of the MAHATMAS, they cannot be expected to take a special note of every human being, unless that being by his special acts draws their particular attention to himself. The highest interest of humanity, as a whole, is their special concern, for they have identified themselves with that Universal Soul which runs through Humanity, and he who would draw their attention must do so through that Soul which pervades everywhere. This perception of the Manas may be called 'faith’ which should not be confounded with blind belief. The true perception of the Manas is that enlightened belief accompanied by knowledge, i.e., experience, for “true knowledge brings with it faith". Faith is the perception of the Manas, while knowledge, in the true sense of the term, is the capacity of the Intellect, i.e., it is spiritual perception. The higher individuality of man ,composed of his higher Manas, the sixth and the seventh principles, should work as a unity, and then only can it obtain "divine wisdom," for divine things can be sensed only by divine faculties. Thus the desire which should prompt one to apply for chelaship is to so far understand the operations of the Law of Cosmic Evolution as will enable one to work in harmonious accord with Nature. Abridged version of an article first published in the Theosophist for July 1884, and reprinted verbatim in 'Teachers and Disciples', a pamphlet also containing: Lodges of Magic, Are Chelas ‘Mediums' ? , Chelas, ' 'The Theosophical Mahatmas' ,Chelas and Lay Chelas, Madame Blavatsky on ‘The Himalayan Brothers' , and Can the Mahatmas Be Selfish? Available priced £1.50/21p post.
A useful introduction to the subject is 'Man and His Seven Principles: Ancient Basis for a New psychology' (£3. 50/21p post) by Leoline Wright, while 'The Etheric Double? The Far-Reaching Effects of a False Assumption ' (£1.00/21p post) by the late Geoffrey Farthing will help students avoid some of the mistakes commonly made by those unfamiliar with the literature of the Esoteric Philosophy. |
HATHA YOGA … AND RAJA YOGA |
"Vedanta teaching lays stress on renunciation by the mind, and not physical distance from temptation, as crucial to yogic realization. The well-known Ashtavakra-samhita categorically says: 'Liberation is attained when the mind does not desire or grieve or reject or accept or feel happy or angry.' "The basic difference between Raja-yoga and Hatha-yoga lies here. Hatha-yoga is a system for controlling the body and breath in order to discipline the mind and achieve the siddhis or psychic powers. Raja-yoga recognizes the value of a healthy, balanced and orderly use of the body and therefore includes a number of suitable breathing and bodily exercises in its training. But this is only incidental and peripheral, the main task being to bring about the transmutation of consciousness … Madame Blavatsky says:
"Here I must digress that the term Hatha-yoga is now widely used outside India to describe the practice of the kind of exercises and postures which are admissible in Raja-yoga also, but in Indian tradition Hatha-yoga refers to the system of psycho- physiological training that H.P.B. mentions and which included extreme mortification of the body and the use of bizarre methods to obtain psychic powers. The warnings which have been given at various times against Hatha-yoga refer to such a system and its methods. "It should be realized that there is no causal relation between body and mind, so that, by taking steps to train and control the body, a person can automatically have a well-tuned mind. A healthy body is only an aid to keep the mind in a state of alertness … Democrates is reputed to have said: 'The perfection of the soul will correct the depravity of the body; but the strength of the body without reasoning does not render the soul better.’
“A general misconception on this subject seems to prevail. One confines oneself for some time in a room, and passively gazes at one's nose, a spot on the wall, or, perhaps, a crystal, under the impression that such is the true form of contemplation enjoined by Raj Yoga. Many fail to realize that true occultism requires a physical, mental, moral and spiritual development to un on parallel lines, and injure themselves, physically and spiritually, by practice of what they falsely believe to be Dhyan. … 'Raj Yoga encourages no sham, requires no physical postures. It has to deal with the inner man whose sphere lies in the world of thought. To have the highest ideal placed before oneself and strive incessantly to rise up to it, is the only true concentration recognized by Esoteric Philosophy which deals with the inner world of noumena, not the outer shell of phenomena.”
“A careful study of Patanjali's priceless aphorisms on Raja Yoga is immensely valuable to all who wish to learn the discipline of true meditation while at the same time discerning the sharp contrast between the psycho-spiritual and the psycho-physical systems of yogic training. Metaphysics and ethics are linked through psychology. A therapeutic program of self -study, undertaken with discrimination and detachment, is integral to the progressive realization of knowledge of spiritual law and a calm reliance upon the moral order. The subtle extemalizations implicit in the seperative ... portraits of human nature found in all psycho-physical systems of self-development, are incompatible with Gnostic metaphysics ... and subvert the ethical ideal of compassionate direction of all one's emanations. The 'divine discipline' involves a grasp of correspondences between the universal and the particular ... and requires a noetic fusion of the psychological and the spiritual. ...”
“The ‘Higher EGO’ cannot act directly on the body, as its consciousness belongs to quite another plane and planes of ideation; the 'lower' Self does; and its action and behaviour depend on its free will and choice as to whether it will gravitate more towards its parent ("the Father in Heaven") or the "animal" which it informs, the man of flesh. The ‘Higher Ego’, as part of the essence of the UNIVERSAL MIND, is unconditionally omniscient on its own plane, and only potentially so in our terrestrial sphere, as it has to act through - the Personal Self.”
“Meditation is a positive attitude of mind, a state of consciousness rather than a system or a time period of intensive brain-mind thinking. One should be positive in attitude, but quietly so; positive as the mountains of granite, and as serene and peaceful, avoiding the disturbing influences of the ever-active and feverish mentality . And, above everything else, impersonal. Meditation in the better sense is the raising of the mind to the plane where intuition guides, and the holding of the consciousness in thought there. But one can meditate also on evil things and, alas, many do just this. “It is possible so to meditate before falling asleep that one's soul ascends to the gods, and is refreshed and strengthened by its confabulations with those divine beings. Fill the heart with thoughts of love and compassion for all, and the mind with some lofty idea and dwell on it calmly. “Meditation is the holding of a thought steady in the mind, and allowing the consciousness to work interiorly upon this thought, easily and with delight. All other forms of yoga which depend more or less upon exterior aids, such as posturings, breathings, positions of hands and fingers and feet, etc., belong to the lower parts of hatha-yoga and are little more than crutches, because distracting the mind to these exterior methods and away from the main objective of true yoga itself, which is a reversal of the mind from exterior to inner and spiritual things. Thus all forms of the lower yoga, now become so popular in the West, usually do more harm than good.”
Five Years of Theosophy £11.00/2.73 post Of related interest: Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali - a version by W Q Judge £4.00/47p post. |
HELENA BLAVATSKY: WESTERN ESOTERIC MASTERS |
North Atlantic Books, California, 2004 H.P. Blavatsky gave a life of service in the dissemination of esoteric knowledge and is still the guiding light for students of Theosophy today, over one hundred years after her death. But the sheer volume of her literary output can be baffling to the beginning student, and even presents dilemmas to those of us with a little more experience under their belts. So it is a welcome sight indeed to see a new volume in the 'Western Esoteric Masters Series' devoted to the founder of our movement. Professor Goodrick-Clarke maps the main contours of Blavatsky's thought through a series of essential quotations, while his illuminating commentary gives vital historical and intellectual background. This is an excellent introduction to authentic Theosophy and a valuable guide to the teachings of Madame Blavatsky. We reproduce below a few (slightly abridged) passages from his introduction, followed by an outline of the contents. 'The growing interest in spiritualism, psychical research, and ritual magic in the nineteenth century revealed the gap which had opened up between religion and science in the West. The achievements of the industrial revolution and science increasingly gave man mastery over the physical world, but their rational and materialist principles jeopardized his sense of meaning. The progress of science challenged a view of man which emphasized sin, the omnipotence of God, the need for grace, and a preoccupation with the life hereafter. Natural science also negated the biblical explanation of human life: a nature entirely subject to mechanical laws conflicted with Hebrew and Christian ideas concerning miracles and the will of God. This dissolution of man ' s place within a divine order was crystallized by the publication of The Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin. ' Widespread dissatisfaction with the hegemony of science in Western culture and its preoccupation with the concrete and factual interacted with a lack of confidence in traditional Christianity. Theosophy addressed these concerns in a progressive way. Adapting contemporary scientific ideas to posit the idea of spiritual evolution through countless worlds and eras, it supplied dignity and purpose to man's earthly life within a cosmic context. While spiritualism alleged survival after death, Theosophy located human destiny in an emanationist cosmology and anthropology that had their roots in both Neo-Platonism and Oriental religions. ... ‘ "The Secret Doctrine' is a two-volume work, comprising some 1,500 pages and purporting to be the fundamental knowledge from which all religion, philosophy and science have grown. It claims to be based on the "Stanzas of Dzyan," a mysterious ancient religious text unknown to scholarship. This doctrinal statement of Blavatsky's mature Theosophy was based on three principles: 1) the existence of one absolute reality, the infinite and eternal cause of all; 2) the periodicity of the universe: its appearance, growth, waning and disappearance; 3) the identity of ‘all Souls with the Universal Over-Soul’. Inspired by these principles, The Secret Doctrine contains four fundamental sets of ideas: evolution; man's septenary constitution; karma and reincarnation; and after-death states. 'The Western esoteric tradition is rooted in Neo-Platonism and related schools that teach emanationism: the soul's journey of separation from the Absolute and its return. Theosophy's particular achievement lay in combining the modern scientific idea of evolution, rephrased as emanation and return, with ideas taken from Oriental religions. The first volume, "Cosmogenesis," describes how the primal unity of unmanifest Being breaks up into differentiation and multiformity and so fills space with conscious evolving beings. The commentaries on the initial Stanzas of Dzyan show how a new cycle of the universe begins, with successive agents of creation manifesting and acting to transform spirit into material forms, Although the Sanskrit and Tibetan terminology is taken from Hinduism and Buddhism, the theme is a variant of Hermeticism, with spirit gradually "falling" into matter. A spark of Divine Fire is wrapped in matter. 'After this universal cosmogony, Blavatsky explains the evolution of the planets within the context of the septenary principles. Like man, planets have a sevenfold constitution. Each has two astral, mental, and spiritual bodies in addition to a physical globe. Evolution takes place on descending and ascending arcs. The fourth or most material of the globes is the only one visible to the human eye. There are also several levels of evolution: mineral, vegetable, animal, human, and superhuman. Successive waves of life or levels of evolution pass from one globe to another. As mineral evolution is finishing on one globe, it passes to the second, and vegetable evolution begins on the first, and so on, The earth will experience seven rounds or stages of evolution. The first three take it through the process of materialization; the fourth crystallizes it; the last three take it gradually out of physical back into spiritual form. 'The cosmic impersonality of these accounts only serves as a background for the central theme of The Secret Doctrine, guaranteeing its abiding interest to religious seekers. Individual human destiny and moral problems of individual development are the ultimate focus of the work, which tells of the individual soul's reincarnation according to the karma, the law of cause and effect, in each preceding life, all the while seeking to evolve on higher spiritual planes. The present life and circumstances of an individual are the result of his deeds and thoughts in past lives. Theosophists do not believe that humans can reincarnate as animals, but re-embodiment on earth will occur until the individual soul can overcome all the forces that tie it to this planet. Contents: From Spiritualism to Occultism; Special offer: Available for £10 (RRP £12.99) plus £1.00 post. |
| A definitive edition of The Secret Doctrine edited by Boris de Zikoff has recently been reprinted in hardback format bt Theosophical Publisdhing House, Adyar. This 3 volume work (volumes 1 & 2 as in the original plus index/bibliography) is available to TS members for £20 plus post of £7.20 |
Professional quality AUDIO TAPES from the Book Dept. STANZAS OF DZYAN HPB's 'Secret Doctrine' consists of commentaries to these archaic Stanzas; a presentation for meditation & reflection. £8.95/35p post BHAGAVAD GITA - Annie Besant's translation. £15.99/47p post THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE - Extracts from the 'Book of Golden Precepts', by HPB. £10.99/47p post LIGHT ON THE PATH - An inspirational work dictated to Mabel Collins in the early days of the Society. £10.99/47p post HOW TO MEDITATE - An introduction prepared by the TS in America. £8.95/35p post |
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