Chapter XIII : Realities and Illusions
Pages covered : From p.461, beginning of the chapter to p. 465 top.
Modern sceptical unbelief in achievements of ancients :
It is generally believed that ancient people had not made much advance in knowledge of nature’s laws. But an impartial study reveals that they had made great advances, much more than the modern world has so far made, in the fields of psychology and physics. These two disciplines with them went hand in hand, and they probed hidden potencies in the objects of the natural world and powers of the human mind and soul, which are terra incognita for our modern science. Such claims are disbelieved in and ridiculed.
For instance, the ancient lore of the talisman is pooh-poohed as an old superstition. When it is said by philosophers that the seven spirits of the Apocalypse have direct relation to the seven occult powers in nature, it is dismissed as an absurdity. Bare mention of magicians working wonders through certain Kabalistic rites convulses sceptics with laughter. But those who have taken the trouble to inform themselves know that the ancients achieved as great discoveries in psychology and physics and that their explorations have left few secrets to be discovered by posterity.
Ancient Alchemical symbols no more ridiculous than symbols of modern chemistry :
The ancients preserved and conveyed their knowledge in symbols which moderns don’t understand. While the geometrical figure pentacle, for instance, is no more than any figure of Euclidean geometry for the modern man, the student of occult science knows that it is a synthetic figure which expresses in concrete form a profound truth in nature. No more strange are the symbols of Alchemists to the one versed in that science than the chemical symbols and formulae of the modern chemistry to the student of chemistry. For instance, the symbol of Azoth of the Alchemist represents creative principle in nature, called in Theosophy Astral Light. The symbol encompasses three different levels of being in its signification : the divine, the philosophical synthesis, and the physical synthesis. Incomprehensibility and strangeness of Alchemical symbols felt by the professors of the modern science lies in the fact that they (the modern) know of only the physical and are entirely ignorant of the psychic and the spiritual side of nature. Hermetic philosophers, on the other hand, were past masters in their practical knowledge of, and control over, occult forces and potencies in Nature, and psychological powers in man.
The ancient science and the art of talisman :
When a magnet is applied to a piece of iron the latter also becomes magnetized, and it, in its turn, can magnetize other pieces of iron. The iron piece so magnetized does not, on that account, change its physical and chemical properties, neither weighs less or more, but one of the most subtle potencies of nature has entered into its substance, giving it a potency it had not before.
Talisman is made by the same principle with this difference that: i) the talisman may be any object—a piece of paper, a shred of a fabric, a bit of a metal ; and ii) it has been magnetized, ie., has been imbued with a potency by the influence of the greatest of magnets in nature—the human will. And it is capable of producing certain results according to the will of the person who makes it—for good or bad purpose, for healing or for cursing.
What is this subtle agent in nature which human will can act upon, and which animals employ in a limited way ?
The bloodhound can trace a fugitive, wherever he may be hiding, if allowed to sniff at an article handled by him, from the scene of crime to his hiding place. If a psychometer is given a manuscript or an object, however old, he can come to know all about the person who was in contact with it, simply by applying the said object to his forehead or pit of the stomach etc. He enters into conscious sympathy with the surroundings of that object and the persons who were in contact with it and describe them all in detail. (Interested people can refer to the book, “The Soul of Things” by Prof. Denton, which is accessible in google search)
This is an illustration of the 7th and the 10th propositions of Oriental psychology (see either Isis Unveiled vol. ii, p. 587-588, or extract of it in Basic propositions of psychology in the homepage of www.ultindia.org)
Magnetic vampirism
There are some people who are magnetic vampires. They have the faculty of drawing to themselves the vital magnetism of others, themselves thus gaining in strength and draining the one who was robbed of his vitality and rendered weakened thereby. This is true of animals also. Experienced breeders tell that young animals should not be herded with old ones, and intelligent physicians forbid parents to have young children occupy their own bed. When David was weak and old his vital forces were recruited by having a young person brought in close contact with him so that he could absorb her strength. So did an empress of Russia who was so feeble in her last days of her life, physicians advised her to keep a robust young peasant girl in her bed at night.
Dr. Kerner gives the description of the Seeress of Provost, Mme Hauffe—who stated that she supported her life merely on the atmosphere of the people surrounding her and their magnetic emanations, which were quickened in an extraordinary way by her presence. This is an instance of magnetic vampirism. She absorbed by drawing to herself the life of those who were strong enough to spare their vitality in the shape of volatilized blood. Dr. Kerner reported that these persons were more or less affected by this forcible loss.
What is this subtle fluid of nature by which all things are made and which pervades all Nature ? Says a proposition of ancient psychology :
There is one common vital principle which pervades the universe, and it is controllable by perfected human WILL.
This is one of the basic principles of ancient Magic. One illustration is given of a practical application of this law in nature :
HPB gives an instance of exhibition of human will to move Akasa—the all-pervading common vital principle of nature. An Adept in magic in Bengal makes a few passes over a piece of common tin, the in-side of a dish cover, regarding it attentively for a few moments, seemed to grasp the imponderable fluid by handfuls and throw it against the surface. When the tin had been exposed to the full glare of light for about 6 seconds the bright surface was suddenly covered with a film. Then patches of darker hue began coming out on its surface. In about three minutes the tin was handed back to people watching. It was found that the surface was imprinted with a picture or a photograph of the landscape that stretched before them.—faithful as nature itself, and every colour perfect. It remained for about 48 hours and then slowly faded away.
The will of the Adept condensed upon the tin a thin film of Akasa, which made it for the time being like a sensitized photographic plate. Light did the rest.
The action of the human Will in curing diseases ;
Persons versed in this science can cure diseases by imparting the desired virtues drawn from Akasa and infuse the same on an inanimate object which is put in contact with the patient. The faith of the patient is a crucial factor here.
Faith in humans has creative potency. The secret of healing potency lies in the intensity of faith, which acts and moves occult forces of nature to cure diseases and produce such prodigies.
What then is the difference between modern chemistry and ancient Theurgy or Hermetic science ?
Modern chemistry is no less a magician than the Hermetic art. But there is a vast difference between the two, and it is this : Hermetic science recognized the duality of nature, and, therefore, has twice as wide a field for experimental research as the chemist. The ancient animated statues, called into being, out of the elements, the shapes of elemental forces of nature, the Kabalistic gnomes. Salamanders, sylphs and undines. He did not create them but simply opened the door of invisible inner nature so as to permit the occult forces to step into view, under certain favourable conditions.
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Pages covered : From p.461, beginning of the chapter to p. 465 top.
Modern sceptical unbelief in achievements of ancients :
It is generally believed that ancient people had not made much advance in knowledge of nature’s laws. But an impartial study reveals that they had made great advances, much more than the modern world has so far made, in the fields of psychology and physics. These two disciplines with them went hand in hand, and they probed hidden potencies in the objects of the natural world and powers of the human mind and soul, which are terra incognita for our modern science. Such claims are disbelieved in and ridiculed.
For instance, the ancient lore of the talisman is pooh-poohed as an old superstition. When it is said by philosophers that the seven spirits of the Apocalypse have direct relation to the seven occult powers in nature, it is dismissed as an absurdity. Bare mention of magicians working wonders through certain Kabalistic rites convulses sceptics with laughter. But those who have taken the trouble to inform themselves know that the ancients achieved as great discoveries in psychology and physics and that their explorations have left few secrets to be discovered by posterity.
Ancient Alchemical symbols no more ridiculous than symbols of modern chemistry :
The ancients preserved and conveyed their knowledge in symbols which moderns don’t understand. While the geometrical figure pentacle, for instance, is no more than any figure of Euclidean geometry for the modern man, the student of occult science knows that it is a synthetic figure which expresses in concrete form a profound truth in nature. No more strange are the symbols of Alchemists to the one versed in that science than the chemical symbols and formulae of the modern chemistry to the student of chemistry. For instance, the symbol of Azoth of the Alchemist represents creative principle in nature, called in Theosophy Astral Light. The symbol encompasses three different levels of being in its signification : the divine, the philosophical synthesis, and the physical synthesis. Incomprehensibility and strangeness of Alchemical symbols felt by the professors of the modern science lies in the fact that they (the modern) know of only the physical and are entirely ignorant of the psychic and the spiritual side of nature. Hermetic philosophers, on the other hand, were past masters in their practical knowledge of, and control over, occult forces and potencies in Nature, and psychological powers in man.
The ancient science and the art of talisman :
When a magnet is applied to a piece of iron the latter also becomes magnetized, and it, in its turn, can magnetize other pieces of iron. The iron piece so magnetized does not, on that account, change its physical and chemical properties, neither weighs less or more, but one of the most subtle potencies of nature has entered into its substance, giving it a potency it had not before.
Talisman is made by the same principle with this difference that: i) the talisman may be any object—a piece of paper, a shred of a fabric, a bit of a metal ; and ii) it has been magnetized, ie., has been imbued with a potency by the influence of the greatest of magnets in nature—the human will. And it is capable of producing certain results according to the will of the person who makes it—for good or bad purpose, for healing or for cursing.
What is this subtle agent in nature which human will can act upon, and which animals employ in a limited way ?
The bloodhound can trace a fugitive, wherever he may be hiding, if allowed to sniff at an article handled by him, from the scene of crime to his hiding place. If a psychometer is given a manuscript or an object, however old, he can come to know all about the person who was in contact with it, simply by applying the said object to his forehead or pit of the stomach etc. He enters into conscious sympathy with the surroundings of that object and the persons who were in contact with it and describe them all in detail. (Interested people can refer to the book, “The Soul of Things” by Prof. Denton, which is accessible in google search)
This is an illustration of the 7th and the 10th propositions of Oriental psychology (see either Isis Unveiled vol. ii, p. 587-588, or extract of it in Basic propositions of psychology in the homepage of www.ultindia.org)
Magnetic vampirism
There are some people who are magnetic vampires. They have the faculty of drawing to themselves the vital magnetism of others, themselves thus gaining in strength and draining the one who was robbed of his vitality and rendered weakened thereby. This is true of animals also. Experienced breeders tell that young animals should not be herded with old ones, and intelligent physicians forbid parents to have young children occupy their own bed. When David was weak and old his vital forces were recruited by having a young person brought in close contact with him so that he could absorb her strength. So did an empress of Russia who was so feeble in her last days of her life, physicians advised her to keep a robust young peasant girl in her bed at night.
Dr. Kerner gives the description of the Seeress of Provost, Mme Hauffe—who stated that she supported her life merely on the atmosphere of the people surrounding her and their magnetic emanations, which were quickened in an extraordinary way by her presence. This is an instance of magnetic vampirism. She absorbed by drawing to herself the life of those who were strong enough to spare their vitality in the shape of volatilized blood. Dr. Kerner reported that these persons were more or less affected by this forcible loss.
What is this subtle fluid of nature by which all things are made and which pervades all Nature ? Says a proposition of ancient psychology :
There is one common vital principle which pervades the universe, and it is controllable by perfected human WILL.
This is one of the basic principles of ancient Magic. One illustration is given of a practical application of this law in nature :
HPB gives an instance of exhibition of human will to move Akasa—the all-pervading common vital principle of nature. An Adept in magic in Bengal makes a few passes over a piece of common tin, the in-side of a dish cover, regarding it attentively for a few moments, seemed to grasp the imponderable fluid by handfuls and throw it against the surface. When the tin had been exposed to the full glare of light for about 6 seconds the bright surface was suddenly covered with a film. Then patches of darker hue began coming out on its surface. In about three minutes the tin was handed back to people watching. It was found that the surface was imprinted with a picture or a photograph of the landscape that stretched before them.—faithful as nature itself, and every colour perfect. It remained for about 48 hours and then slowly faded away.
The will of the Adept condensed upon the tin a thin film of Akasa, which made it for the time being like a sensitized photographic plate. Light did the rest.
The action of the human Will in curing diseases ;
Persons versed in this science can cure diseases by imparting the desired virtues drawn from Akasa and infuse the same on an inanimate object which is put in contact with the patient. The faith of the patient is a crucial factor here.
Faith in humans has creative potency. The secret of healing potency lies in the intensity of faith, which acts and moves occult forces of nature to cure diseases and produce such prodigies.
What then is the difference between modern chemistry and ancient Theurgy or Hermetic science ?
Modern chemistry is no less a magician than the Hermetic art. But there is a vast difference between the two, and it is this : Hermetic science recognized the duality of nature, and, therefore, has twice as wide a field for experimental research as the chemist. The ancient animated statues, called into being, out of the elements, the shapes of elemental forces of nature, the Kabalistic gnomes. Salamanders, sylphs and undines. He did not create them but simply opened the door of invisible inner nature so as to permit the occult forces to step into view, under certain favourable conditions.
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