Preface

Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) Transcriber’s Notes Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation and ligatures have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged. In particular * are used frequently throughout in various quantities and spacings. These have been reproduced as nearly as possible. Rythm is spelled thus throughout and has not been corrected Italics are represented thus _italic_. Footnotes are presented at the end of each volume. [Illustration] THE PATH. A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE BROTHERHOOD OF HUMANITY, THEOSOPHY IN AMERICA, AND THE STUDY OF OCCULT SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND ARYAN LITERATURE. VOL. I.—1886-’7. PUBLISHED AND EDITED AT NEW YORK BY WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. 1887. Copyright 1887, by WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. THE PATH. VOL. I, 1886-1887. INDEX. A PAGE A Year on the Path 353 Activities in Theosophy 30, 32, 62, 64, 95, 96, 127, 158, 191, 223 Animal Magnetism and Star Colors 129 Announcement 288 Apollonius and Mahatmas 197, 274 AUM 4 B Biogen Series 124 Body, Polarity of 84 Boehme, Jacob, on Soul of Man 149 Buddha’s Religion, Nature and Office of 24 C Caballah of Old Testament 8, 103, 134 Chela’s Diary, Hindu 65, 97, 131, 169 Christianity, What is True 355 Common Sense of Theosophy 225 Corner Stone, The 215 Correspondence 59, 93, 95, 124, 188, 320 D Diary of Hindu Chela 65, 97, 131, 169 E Effects of Thought 341 Elementals and Elementary Spirits 289, 321 Environment 346 Evolution of Individual and Reticence of Mahatmas 184 Evolution and Rotation 304 G Gates of Gold, Through the 372 H Heralds from the Unseen 361 Hermes Trismegistus 167 Hermetic Philosophy 87, 112, 281 Higher Life, Living the 114, 152 Hindu Chela’s Diary 65, 97, 131, 169 Hindu Symbolism 220, 251, 334, 371 Human Body, Polarity of 84 I Individual Evolution 184, 304 Inworld and Outworld 56 K Kaballah 8, 103, 134 Karma 175 L Light on the Path 335 Lines from Lower Levels 263 Literary Notes 28, 55, 89, 92, 124, 156, 189, 222, 287, 319 Living the Higher Life 114, 152 M Magic, Considerations on 377 Mahatmas and Apollonius 197, 274 „ Reticence of 184 „ Theosophical 257 Man, Soul of 149 Master, Teachings of, The 253, 278 Mohammedanism or Sufism 41, 68, 108, 139, 180, 199 Morals, Theosophic 161, 165 Musings on True Theosophist’s Path 155, 208, 339 Mystery of Numbers 37 N Nature and Office of Buddha’s Religion 24 Numbers, Mystery of 37 O Occultism, Poetical 211, 245, 270, 331, 383 Old Testament Caballah 8, 103, 134 P Papyrus 359 Path, A Year on the 353 „ Light on the 335 „ The 188, 189 Plato 102 Poetry 56, 384 Poetical Occultism 211, 245, 270, 331, 383 Polarity of Human Body 84 Prophecy, Theosophical 27, 57 R Reincarnation and Spirits 232, 320 Religion of Buddha 24 Reticence of Mahatmas 184 Reviews 28, 55, 89, 92, 124, 156, 189, 222, 287, 319 Rosicrucians, Society of 217 Rotation and Individual Evolution 304 S Salutatory 1 Sanscrit Pronunciation 95 Seership 14 Singing Silences 144 Society of the Rosicrucians 217 Solitude, Thoughts in 308 Soul of Man 149 Spirits and Reincarnation, Theories About 232, 320 Studies in the Upanishads 33, 121 Sufism 41, 68, 108, 139, 180, 199 Symbolism, Hindu 220, 251, 334, 370 „ Theosophical 51 T Tea Table Talk 284, 314, 348, 380 Teachings of The Master 253, 278 Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits 232, 320 Theosophic Morals 161, 165 Theosophical Activities 30, 32, 62, 64, 95, 96, 127, 158, 191, 222, 317 Theosophical Mahatmas 257 Theosophical Society, What is the 193, 300 Theosophical Symbolism 51 Theosophist’s Path, Musings on the True 155, 208, 339 Theosophy, Common Sense of 225 Thought Effects 341 Thoughts in Solitude 308, 367 Through the Gates of Gold 372 True Christianity, What is 355 U Udgitha, What is the 61 Universal Unity 384 Unwritten Message Becomes Visible 93 Upanishads, Studies in the 33, 121 W What is the Theosophical Society? 193, 300 What is True Christianity? 355 AUM Unveil, O Thou who givest sustenance to the world, that face of the true sun, which is now hidden by a vase of golden light! so that we may see the truth, and know our whole duty. In him who knows that all spiritual beings are the same in kind with the Supreme Spirit, what room can there be for delusion of mind, and what room for sorrow, when he reflects on the identity of spirit.—_Yajur Veda._ THE PATH. VOL. I. APRIL, 1886. NO. 1. _The Theosophical Society, as such, is not responsible for any opinion or declaration in this magazine, by whomsoever expressed, unless contained in an official document._ Where any article, or statement, has the author’s name attached, he alone is responsible, and for those which are unsigned, the Editor will be accountable. This magazine is not intended either to replace or to rival in America _The Theosophist_, nor any other journal now published in the interest of Theosophy. Whether we are right in starting it the future alone will determine. To us it appears that there is a field and a need for it in this country. No cultivating of this field is necessary, for it is already ripe. _The Theosophist_ is the organ of the Theosophical Society, now spread all over the civilized world, its readers and subscribers are everywhere, and yet there are many persons who will not subscribe for it although they are aware of its existence; and furthermore, being an Indian publication, it necessarily follows, because of certain peculiar circumstances, that it cannot be brought to the attention of a large class of persons whom this journal will endeavor to reach. But while the founders of THE PATH are Theosophists, they do not speak authoritatively for the Theosophical Society. It is true that had they never heard of Theosophy, or were they not members of the Society, they would not have thought of bringing out this magazine, the impulse for which arose directly from Theosophical teachings and literature. It is because they are men, and therefore interested in anything concerning the human race, that they have resolved to try on the one hand to point out to their fellows a Path in which they have found hope for man, and on the other to investigate all systems of ethics and philosophy claiming to lead directly to such a path, regardless of the possibility that the highway may, after all, be in another direction from the one in which they are looking. From their present standpoint it appears to them that the true path lies in the way pointed out by our Aryan forefathers, philosophers and sages, whose light is still shining brightly, albeit that this is now Kali Yuga, or the age of darkness. The solution of the problem, “What and Where is the Path to Happiness,” has been discovered by those of old time. They thought it was in the pursuit of Raja Yoga, which is the highest science and the highest religion—a union of both. In elaborating this, they wrote much more than we can hope to master in the lifetime of this journal, and they have had many kinds of followers, many devotees, who, while earnestly desiring to arrive at truth, have erred in favor of the letter of the teachings. Such are some of the mendicants of Hindoostan who insist upon the verbal repetition of OM for thousands of times, or upon the practice of postures and breathing alone, forgetting that over all stands the real man, at once the spectator of and sufferer by these mistakes. _This is not the path._ At the same time we do not intend to slight the results arrived at by others who lived within our own era. They shall receive attention, for it may be that the mind of the race has changed so as to make it necessary now to present truths in a garb which in former times was of no utility. Whatever the outer veil, the truth remains ever the same. The study of what is now called “practical occultism” has some interest for us, and will receive the attention it may merit, but is not _the_ object of this journal. We regard it as incidental to the journey along the path. The traveller, in going from one city to another, has, perhaps, to cross several rivers; may be his conveyance fails him and he is obliged to swim, or he must, in order to pass a great mountain, know engineering in order to tunnel through it, or is compelled to exercise the art of locating his exact position by observation of the sun; but all that is only incidental to his main object of reaching his destination. We admit the existence of hidden, powerful forces in nature, and believe that every day greater progress is made toward an understanding of them. Astral body formation, clairvoyance, looking into the astral light, and controlling elementals, is all possible, but not all profitable. The electrical current, which when resisted in the carbon, produces intense light, may be brought into existence by any ignoramus, who has the key to the engine room and can turn the crank that starts the dynamo, but is unable to prevent his fellow man or himself from being instantly killed, should that current accidentally be diverted through his body. The control of these hidden forces is not easily obtained, nor can phenomena be produced without danger, and in our view the attainment of true wisdom is not by means of phenomena, but through the development which begins within. Besides that, mankind in the mass are not able to reach to phenomena, while every one can understand right thought, right speech, and right action. True occultism is clearly set forth in the _Bhagavat-Gita_, and _Light on the Path_, where sufficient stress is laid upon practical occultism, but after all, Krishna says, the kingly science and the kingly mystery is devotion to and study of the light which comes from within. The very first step in true mysticism and true occultism is to try to apprehend the meaning of Universal Brotherhood, without which the very highest progress in the practice of magic turns to ashes in the mouth. We appeal, therefore, to all who wish to raise themselves and their fellow creatures—man and beast—out of the thoughtless jog trot of selfish every-day life. It is not thought that Utopia can be established in a day; but through the spreading of the idea of Universal Brotherhood, the truth in all things may be discovered. Certainly, if we all say that it is useless, that such highly strung, sentimental notions cannot obtain currency, nothing will ever be done. A beginning must be made, and has been by the Theosophical Society. Although philanthropic institutions and schemes are constantly being brought forward by good and noble men and women, vice, selfishness, brutality and the resulting misery, seem to grow no less. Riches are accumulating in the hands of the few, while the poor are ground harder every day as they increase in number. Prisons, asylums for the outcast and the magdalen, can be filled much faster than it is possible to erect them. All this points unerringly to the existence of a vital error somewhere. It shows that merely healing the outside by hanging a murderer or providing asylums and prisons, will never reduce the number of criminals nor the hordes of children born and growing up in hot-beds of vice. What is wanted is true knowledge of the spiritual condition of man, his aim and destiny. This is offered to a reasonable certainty in the Aryan literature, and those who must begin the reform, are those who are so fortunate as to be placed in the world where they can see and think out the problems all are endeavoring to solve, even if they know that the great day may not come until after their death. Such a study leads us to accept the utterance of Prajapati to his sons: “Be restrained, be liberal, be merciful;” it is the death of selfishness. AUM! The most sacred mystic syllable of the Vedas, is Aum. It is the first letter of the Sanscrit alphabet, and by some it is thought to be the sound made by a new born child when the breath is first drawn into the lungs. The daily prayers of the Hindu Brahmin are begun and ended with it, and the ancient sacred books say that with that syllable the gods themselves address the most Holy One. In the Chandogya Upanishad its praises are sung in these words:[1] Let a man meditate on the syllable OM called the udgitha,[2] * * it is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth. It is then commanded to meditate on this syllable as the breath, of two kinds, in the body—the vital breath and the mere breath in the mouth or lungs, for by this meditation come knowledge and proper performance of sacrifice. In verse 10 is found: “Now, therefore, it would seem to follow that both he who knows the true meaning of OM, and he who does not, perform the same sacrifice. But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith and the Upanishad is more powerful.” Outwardly the same sacrifice is performed by both, but that performed by him who has knowledge, and has meditated on the secret meaning of OM partakes of the qualities inhering in OM, which need just that knowledge and faith as the medium through which they may become visible and active. If a jeweler and a mere ploughman sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter. Shankaracharya in his _Sharir Bhashya_, dwells largely on OM, and in the _Vayu Purana_, a whole chapter is devoted to it. Now as Vayu is air, we can see in what direction the minds of those who were concerned with that purana were tending. They were analyzing sound, which will lead to discoveries of interest regarding the human spiritual and physical constitution. In sound is tone, and tone is one of the most important and deep reaching of all natural things. By tone, the natural man, and the child, express the feelings, just as animals in their tones make known their nature. The tone of the voice of the tiger is quite different from that of the dove, as different as their natures are from each other, and if the sights, sounds and objects in the natural world mean anything, or point the way to any laws underlying these differences, then there is nothing puerile in considering the meaning of tone. The Padma Purana says that: “The syllable OM is the leader of all prayers; let it therefore be employed in the beginning of all prayers,” and Manu, in his laws, ordains: “A Brahmin, at the beginning and end of a lesson on the Vedas, must always pronounce the syllable OM, for unless OM precede, his learning will slip away from him, and unless it follows, nothing will be long retained.” The celebrated Hindoo Raja, Ramohun Roy, in a treatise on this letter, says: “OM, when considered as one letter, uttered by the help of one articulation, is the symbol of the Supreme Spirit. ‘One letter (OM) is the emblem of the Most High, Manu II, 83.’ But when considered as a triliteral word consisting of अ (a), उ (u), म (m), it implies the three _Vedas_, the three _states_ of human nature, the three _divisions_ of the universe, and the three _deities_—Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, agents in the _creation_, _preservation_ and _destruction_ of this world; or, properly speaking, the three principal attributes of the Supreme Being personified in those three deities. In this sense it implies in fact the universe controlled by the Supreme Spirit.” Now we may consider that there is pervading the whole universe a single homogeneous resonance, sound, or tone, which acts, so to speak, as the awakener or vivifying power, stirring all the molecules into action. This is what is represented in all languages by the vowel _a_, which takes precedence of all others. This is the word, the _verbum_, the _Logos_ of St. John of the Christians, who says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”[3] This is creation, for without this resonance or motion among the quiescent particles, there would be no visible universe. That is to say, upon sound, or as the Aryans called it, _Nada Brahma_ (divine resonance), depends the evolution of the visible from the invisible. But this sound _a_, being produced, at once alters itself into _au_, so that the second sound _u_, is that one made by the first in continuing its existence. The vowel _u_, which in itself is a compound one, therefore represents preservation. And the idea of preservation is contained also in creation, or evolution, for there could not be anything to preserve, unless it had first come into existence. If these two sounds, so compounded into one, were to proceed indefinitely, there would be of course no destruction of them. But it is not possible to continue the utterance further than the breath, and whether the lips are compressed, or the tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, or the organs behind that used, there will be in the finishing of the utterance the closure or _m_ sound, which among the Aryans had the meaning of _stoppage_. In this last letter there is found the destruction of the whole word or letter. To reproduce it a slight experiment will show that by no possibility can it be begun with _m_, but that _au_ invariably commences even the utterance of _m_ itself. Without fear of successful contradiction, it can be asserted that all speech begins with _au_, and the ending, or destruction of speech, is in _m_. The word “tone” is derived from the Latin and Greek words meaning sound and tone. In the Greek the word “tonos” means a “stretching” or “straining.” As to the character of the sound, the word “tone” is used to express all varieties, such as high, low, grave, acute, sweet and harsh sounds. In music it gives the peculiar quality of the sound produced, and also distinguishes one instrument from another; as rich tone, reedy tone, and so on. In medicine, it designates the state of the body, but is there used more in the signification of strength, and refers to strength or tension. It is not difficult to connect the use of the word in medicine with the divine resonance of which we spoke, because we may consider tension to be the vibration, or quantity of vibration, by which sound is apprehended by the ear, and if the whole system gradually goes down so that its tone is lowered without stoppage, the result will at last be dissolution for that collection of molecules. In painting, the tone also shows the general drift of the picture, just as it indicates the same thing in morals and manners. We say, “a low tone of morals, an elevated tone of sentiment, a courtly tone of manners,” so that tone has a signification which is applied universally to either good or bad, high or low. And the only letter which we can use to express it, or symbolize it, is the _a_ sound, in its various changes, long, short and medium. And just as the _tone_ of manners, of morals, of painting, of music, means the real character of each, in the same way the tones of the various creatures, including man himself, mean or express the real character; and all together joined in the deep murmur of nature, go to swell the _Nada Brahma_, or Divine resonance, which at last is heard as the music of the spheres. Meditation on tone, as expressed in this Sanscrit word OM, will lead us to a knowledge of the secret Doctrine. We find expressed in the merely mortal music the seven divisions of the divine essence, for as the microcosm is the little copy of the macrocosm, even the halting measures of man contain the little copy of the whole, in the seven tones of the octave. From that we are led to the seven colors, and so forward and upward to the Divine radiance which is the Aum. For the Divine Resonance, spoken of above, is not the Divine Light itself. The Resonance is only the outbreathing of the first sound of the entire Aum. This goes on during what the Hindoos call a Day of Brahma, which, according to them, lasts a thousand ages.[4] It manifests itself not only as the power which stirs up and animates the particles of the Universe, but also in the evolution and dissolution of man, of the animal and mineral kingdom, and of solar systems. Among the Aryans it was represented in the planetary system by Mercury, who has always been said to govern the intellectual faculties, and to be the universal stimulator. Some old writers have said that it is shown through Mercury, amongst mankind, by the universal talking of women. And wherever this Divine Resonance is closed or stopped by death or other change, the Aum has been uttered there. These utterances of Aum are only the numerous microcosmic enunciations of the Word, which is uttered or completely ended, to use the Hermetic or mystical style of language, only when the great Brahm stops the outbreathing, closes the vocalization, by the _m_ sound, and thus causes the universal dissolution. This universal dissolution is known in the Sanscrit and in the secret Doctrine, as the _Maha Pralaya_; _Maha_ being “the great,” and _Pralaya_ “dissolution.” And so, after thus arguing, the ancient Rishees of India said: “Nothing is begun or ended; everything is changed, and that which we call death is only a transformation.” In thus speaking they wished to be understood as referring to the manifested universe, the so-called death of a sentient creature being only a transformation of energy, or a change of the mode and place of manifestation of the Divine Resonance. Thus early in the history of the race the doctrine of conservation of energy was known and applied. The Divine Resonance, or the _au_ sound, is the universal energy, which is conserved during each Day of Brahma, and at the coming on of the great Night is absorbed again into the whole. Continually appearing and disappearing it transforms itself again and again, covered from time to time by a veil of matter called its visible manifestation, and never lost, but always changing itself from one form to another. And herein can be seen the use and beauty of the Sanscrit. Nada Brahma is Divine Resonance; that is, after saying _Nada_, if we stopped with Brahm, logically we must infer that the _m_ sound at the end of Brahm signified the Pralaya, thus confuting the position that the Divine Resonance existed, for if it had stopped it could not be resounding. So they added an _a_ at the end of the Brahm, making it possible to understand that as _Brahma_ the sound was still manifesting itself. But time would not suffice to go into this subject as it deserves, and these remarks are only intended as a feeble attempt to point out the real meaning and purpose of Aum. For the above reasons, and out of the great respect we entertain for the wisdom of the Aryans, was the symbol adopted and placed upon the cover of this magazine and at the head of the text. With us OM has a signification. It represents the constant undercurrent of meditation, which ought to be carried on by every man, even while engaged in the necessary duties of this life. There is for every conditioned being a target at which the aim is constantly directed. Even the very animal kingdom we do not except, for it, below us, awaits its evolution into a higher state; it unconsciously perhaps, but nevertheless actually, aims at the same target. “Having taken the bow, the great weapon, let him place on it the arrow, sharpened by devotion. Then, having drawn it with a thought directed to that which is, hit the mark, O friend—the Indestructible. OM is the bow, the Self is the arrow, Brahman is called its aim. It is to be hit by a man who is not thoughtless; and then as the arrow becomes one with the target, he will become one with Brahman. Know him alone as the Self, and leave off other words. He is the bridge of the Immortal. Meditate on the Self as OM. Hail to you that you may cross beyond the sea of darkness.”[5] HADJI-ERINN. AUM! KABBALAH. The Kabbalah was formerly a tradition, as the word implies, and is generally supposed to have originated with the Jewish Rabbins. The word is of Hebrew origin, but the esoteric science it represents did not originate with the Jews; they merely recorded what had previously been traditional. The Kabbalah is a system of philosophy and theosophy, that was obtained at a very remote period of time by the wise men of the east, through the unfoldment of the intuitive perceptions. Self consciousness forms the basis of mind, and knowledge is acquired through the reception of activities from without, which are recorded in consciousness; there are two sources through which knowledge is received—one subjective, the other objective. The former gives us a knowledge of the causal side of the cosmos, and the latter, the objective or material side, which is the world of effects, on account of being evolved from the former. “The outward doth from the inward roll, And the inward dwells in the inmost soul.” If this be true, the great first cause—God, has evolved out of Himself the esoteric or subjective world, in which He is to be found manifested. Out of the subjective, by change of energy and substance through law, He evolved the objective world. Therefore, the antecedents of the objective are to be found in the unseen or invisible portion of the universe. In a work we are preparing for the press, which has been a study for over thirty years, we will show what spirit is, that it is self-generating and self-sustaining, and from it, through volition, the cosmos was evolved. Do not understand by the above remark that spirit becomes matter, through evolution, and that the universe is a huge _Divine Personality_. We have too high a conception and reverence for Deity, to suppose for an instant, that He became a material being through the evolution of the universe. He is not in any manner _personally associated_ with _either_ the esoteric or exoteric cosmos. _Spirit is distinct from matter but not from energy; energy is the source of matter. It is therefore through energy and law that God is associated with the universe. The law is His Providence, and His will the executive._ A miracle is an impossibility, for it requires a suspension of the law upon which the universe is reared. To suspend this law for one moment, would disarrange the harmony of the entire universe. Therefore, the suspension of this unique law, which controls energy in the production of substance and matter, would immediately suspend evolution, and the entire universe and all that is associated with it, would at once become disintegrated. The Providential law, being one of harmony, applies to everything outside of the spirit of God, and therefore cannot be violated with impunity. The beauties of nature result from its harmony, and when it is violated, discord ensues. We see this in nationalities, society, individuals, and in fact in all departments of nature. If the violation goes beyond certain limits, revolution is the result, and if it is not corrected, destruction naturally follows. The greater the violation the more difficult it is to overcome the discordancy. Dissipation is sure to be rewarded with sickness, and if carried too far, with death. Luxury and licentiousness, if persisted in, will destroy society as well as nationalities. History affords us ample proof of this. This law, no matter how slightly violated, brings its comparative punishment, and when obeyed, its corresponding reward. After these preliminary remarks, we turn to our subject, the Kabbalah, and show how it has been preserved and transmitted or handed down from one generation to another. The study of external nature alone affords us no evidence of a future life—on the contrary, it tends to disprove it, which accounts for the agnostic belief, which has become so prevalent of late years. In the investigation of external phenomena, we recognize matter, energy and life; the latter we are told is the result of protoplasmic cell action—the same of mind. The _continuity_ observed through all the departments of nature, implies that there is a law controlling energy in the production of forms. If energy had nothing to guide it, its movements would be erratic, and nature would become a conglomerate discordant mass. Now, the existence of a law implies a law giver, for it is not self-creating or self-sustaining, therefore we logically conclude that there is something back of material nature that is not recognized by the external senses. What proof have we of the existence of an external world, except through consciousness? An unborn child, if it possessed reasoning faculties, would deny the existence of its own mother. A person born blind can have no conception of the beauties of nature, and if the sense of touch be suspended with that of sight, we could form no conception of solidity. If born deaf, of the harmony and discord of sound or of music. _We therefore perceive that we can have no conception of the existence of an external world, except through neural activities recorded in consciousness_, and without the unfoldment of the inner consciousness, we can form no opinion of a future life. In fact, logically speaking, we have the same grounds for denying its existence as we would have of the external world, providing objective consciousness was closed. This accounts for the doubt, uncertainty, and fear respecting the future, which is intensified by the present system of religious teachings. The spiritual world is as much a reality as this, in fact more so, for it undergoes no change, as this one does. The study of Theosophy has demonstrated to the writer that there is another source of knowledge which can only be acquired through the cultivation of a plane of consciousness, which is not reached by objective neural activities, but can be by unfoldment of inner consciousness. It is the development of this state of consciousness that brings us _en rapport_ with the esoteric world. The question now arises, how are we to develop this much desired condition? It can only be accomplished through the harmony of the moral attributes of the spirit. Harmony is the only passport to Heaven, and the absence of harmony, which is discord, is the only passport to what christianity terms Hell. Therefore, heaven and hell are only conditions of the spirit, which are beautifully illustrated in the 20th chapter of the Apocalypse, where it describes the angel descending from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a chain. With the key he unlocked hell, and with the chain he bound the devil for a thousand years. The angel is the representative of holiness and purity, which is only attained through the harmony of the spirit; the key is a symbol of light, and the chain that of truth; hell is supposed to be the abode of darkness, and the devil a spirit of falsehood and error. We will now ask the question, is there anything to banish darkness, but light? Anything to disperse falsehood and error, but truth? Christ was an Essene, and this secret order was a branch of the Kabbalah. St. John was his favorite disciple, whom he fully initiated into the mysteries. During this disciple’s exile on the Isle of Patmos or Patmo, he wrote the Apocalypse, which is a profound Kabbalistic production, describing the unity, duality, ternary and septenary of the Kabbalah. The ancient adepts found from experience, that in order to develop the interior or subjective consciousness, it was necessary (allegorically speaking) to “wear the cloak of Apollonius;” that is, to withdraw from the outer world, practice to the fullest extent, self-denial, and spend their wakeful moments in esoteric meditation. In order to isolate themselves from society, they established secret sanctuaries, in which they met for mutual communion and religious exercises. As they advanced in spiritual knowledge they found that there were various grades of harmony in the subjective or spiritual world, and each individual on leaving this life gravitated, as it were, to the sphere with which he was in harmony. They divided their sanctuaries into seven degrees to correspond with the harmonies in esoteric nature, and to each degree there were three years of spiritual probation. As harmony results from the analogy of contraries, there were as many degrees of discord as there were of harmonies. The former they designated hell. The material cosmos, that is what we call the external world, was, as it were, middle ground between the two, which they called Hades, into which the soul passed at death, and the spirit was made cognizant of its record while on earth. Physical death, they claimed was merely a change from a physical to a spiritual condition; the soul or spiritual body being formed at the same time that the physical was, but in a very different manner. After death, the soul either ascended or descended, depending not upon gravity, but upon harmony. It will thus be perceived that each degree in the sanctuary required a separate or distinct initiation for each one, which was intended to represent a higher state of moral and intellectual advancement. The last or seventh degree was the one of perfection which brought about illumination, when the subjective world was as much a reality to the inward or subjective consciousness as the outward world is to the objective. When this condition of moral and intellectual unfoldment was obtained, all interest in this life was gone and the spirit longed for separation from its physical casket. The neophyte seeking spiritual knowledge could only attain to the wisdom of the different degrees by advancing morally, so as to be in harmony with the degrees. The knowledge thus obtained was never recorded, but communicated verbally in symbolic language. By this means it was kept a profound secret, and handed down traditionally. The first record we have of the Kabbalah was made by Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Simeon Ben Jochai; the former compiled _The Sepher Jetzirah_, “Book of Creation,” and the latter, _The Sepherhaz Sohar_, “Book of Light.” The first is regarded by the Kabbalist at the key of the second. The Sohar has never been translated, and as a late Bishop of the Church of England justly states, never will be by a Christian. This is owing to its symbolic character, which can only be interpreted by a Kabbalist. It is in three volumes, in unpointed Hebrew, and consists of a mixture of Armenic and Semetic languages. The Sepher Jetzirah may be procured in three languages, the Hebrew, Latin and German. [Illustration: FIG. A. and FIG. B.] We now come to the most interesting part of our subject. The key to the Kabbalah is the “_Word_,” consisting of four Hebrew letters, which may be arranged in a cross inclosed in a circle, Fig. A. The Christian Kabbalist inserted the Hebrew letter Sin, as a representative of Christ in the ineffable name, Fig. B. The four-lettered name was the one given to Moses on the Mount, with the understanding that it represented his (Jehovah) verbalization in the universe. The Word was held in profound reverence by all, Kabbalists as well as the Jews, and all ancient secret orders, and was never spoken audibly, in fact never mentioned, except in the last initiation, when it was whispered in the initiate’s ear by the Grand Master of Ceremonies. The knowledge and power the Word confers upon the recipient of its meaning is given in a fragment of a clavicle of Solomon: “I, Solomon, King of Israel and Palmyra, have sought and obtained in part, the Holy Chocmah, which is the wisdom of Adonai. I have become King of the spirit of heaven and of earth, master of the inhabitants of the air, and the souls of the sea, because I procured the key of the occult gate of light. I have accomplished great things by the virtue of _Schema Hamphorasch_, and by the thirty-two paths of the _Sepher Jetzirah_. Number, weight and measure determine the form of all things, substance is one, and God created it eternally. Happy is he who knows the letters and numbers; numbers are ideas, and ideas are forces, and forces Elohim. The synthesis of Elohim is Schema. Schema is one, and its pillars are two, its power is three, its form four. Its reflection gives eight, and eight multiplied by three, gives the twenty-four thrones of wisdom. On each throne rests a crown of three jewels, each jewel bears a name, each name an absolute idea. There are seventy-two names on the twenty-four crowns of Schema. Thou shalt write these names on thirty-six talismans, two on each talisman—one on each side. Thou shalt divide these talismans into four series of nine each, according to the number of the letters of the Schema. On the first series engrave the letter Jod, figure of the blooming rod of Aaron; on the second series the letter He, figure of the cup of Joseph; on the third series the letter Vau, the figure of the source of David, my Father; on the fourth series the letter He, the figure of the Jewish shekel. The thirty-six talismans will be a book that will contain all the secrets of nature, and by their divers combinations, thou wilt make the Genii and Angels speak.” The Schema represents the four-lettered name; when mathematically constructed into seventy-two different forms, it is called Schema-hamphorasch, and represents seventy-two paths of wisdom, which constitute the keys of universal science. The history of the Kabbalah is yet to be written, which can only be accomplished by one versed in its secrets. Historians have not done it justice, they have debased it by associating it with necromancy or the black art, which is to the Kabbalah what false religion is to pure Christianity. The kernel lies hidden in the rubbish of the past, where it has been preserved for future generations. When it is disrobed of its vile and obnoxious covering it will be found to have lost none of its beauty and brilliancy. The light of the Orient has been preserved by the wise men of the east, in symbols and allegorical language, and when the time arrives, which is not far distant, someone possessing the key, which is the _Word_, will unlock its mysteries and bring it forth in its divine purity, to enlighten the present and future generations. The cycle of Tritheme, which commenced in 1878, will prepare someone to bring it forth from its oblivion, and through its teachings a new train of thought will be instituted and an impetus given to the moral and emotional development which will be the harbinger of a bright future. Science will take new strides, religion will throw aside her thread-bare garment and assume a new dress, which will accord with the teachings and example of Christ. When this occurs, the conflict between religion and science will cease and harmony be established. The two then will be like brother and sister, aiding each other in the development of the intellectual and moral attributes of the spirit. It is no fault of science that a difference between them has occurred, it has advanced while religion has been carrying on a warfare about creeds and dogmas, which has retarded her progress. Christianity of to-day is as different from what it was in the first and second centuries of the Christian era, as modern masonry is different from what it was in ancient times. Religion has attempted to control humanity through fear, having created a devil to keep man in subjection, and force the belief that God, who is the quintessence of purity and holiness, is a vindictive and angry being, who takes delight in chastising those who through ignorance violate the Divine Law. While this religious conflict has been progressing, christianity has gradually lost its hold on the public mind. At the same time humanity longs to know something of the future which science cannot give. How is this emotional or moral want to be supplied? for humanity cannot progress intellectually beyond objective knowledge, without the development of the moral attributes. We venture the assertion that if the same advancement had been made in the development of the emotional attributes of the spirit, as has been in the intellectual, there would have been no agnosticism, and science would be far in advance of what it is. Science has about reached the limit of objective knowledge and cannot advance until it acquires a knowledge of this world’s antecedents, which will enable it to correct numerous errors and give an impetus to further development. This cannot be done so long as they ignore the existence of a subjective consciousness. The Kabbalah embodies both philosophy and theosophy. The former gives us a knowledge of the universe, and the latter teaches man how to know himself and his God. It will also elevate masonry and all secret organizations having their rise from it, by showing that ancient masonry was not merely a social and beneficial order like modern masonry, but an organization for the unfolding of the moral and intellectual attributes. The Kabbalah has shown its fruits in philosophy through such minds as Thales, Solon, Plato, Pythagoras, Göethe, and many others. In religion through Zoroaster, Confucius, Christ, Old and New Testament, and the Early Christians, and later through the United Brethren, to which Jacob Behmen belonged, and other theosophic sects. If the views we have advanced be correct, that it is through the development of the inner consciousness that man attains to a knowledge of the subjective or causal world, and that the knowledge of the Kabbalah will enable us to unfold these faculties, how urgent we all should be to have its secrets revealed. SETH PANCOAST. SEERSHIP. The following remarks are not intended to be a critique upon the literary merits or demerits of the poem which is taken as the subject of criticism. In 1882, _The Theosophist_[6] published a review of “The Seer, a Prophetic Poem,” by Mr. H. G. Hellon, and as clairvoyance is much talked of in the West, it seemed advisable to use the verses of this poet for the purpose of inquiring, to some extent, into the western views of Seership, and of laying before my fellow seekers the views of one brought up in a totally different school. I have not yet been able to understand with the slightest degree of distinctness, what state is known as “Seership” in the language of western mysticism. After trying to analyze the states of many a “seer,” I am as far as ever from any probability of becoming wiser on the subject, as understood here, because it appears to me that no classification whatever exists of the different states as exhibited on this side of the globe, but all the different states are heterogeneously mixed. We see the state of merely catching glimpses in the astral light, denominated _seership_, at the same time that the very highest illustrations of that state are called _trances_. As far as I have yet been able to discover, “Seership,” as thus understood here, does not come up to the level of _Sushupti_, which is the dreamless state in which the mystic’s highest consciousness—composed of his highest intellectual and ethical faculties—hunts for and seizes any knowledge he may be in need of. In this state the mystic’s lower nature is at rest (paralyzed): only his highest nature roams into the ideal world in quest of food. By _lower nature_, I mean his physical, astral or psychic, lower emotional and intellectual principles, including the lower fifth.[7] Yet even the knowledge obtained during the Sushupti state must be regarded, from this plane, as theoretical and liable to be mixed upon resuming the application of the body, with falsehood and with the preconception of the mystic’s ordinary waking state, as compared with the true knowledge acquired during the several initiations. There is no guarantee held out for any mystic that any experience, researches or knowledge that may come within his reach in any other state whatever, is accurate, except in the mysteries of initiation. But all these different states are necessary to growth. _Yagrata_—our waking state, in which all our physical and vital organs, senses and faculties find their necessary exercise and development, is needed to prevent the physical organization from collapsing. _Swapna_—dream state, in which are included all the various states of consciousness between Yagrata and Sushupti, such as somnambulism, trance, dreams, visions, &c.—is necessary for the physical faculties to enjoy rest, and for the lower emotional and astral faculties to live, become active, and develop; and _Sushupti_ state, comes about in order that the consciousnesses of both Yagrata and Swapna states may enjoy rest, and for the fifth principle, which is the one active in Sushupti, to develop itself by appropriate exercise. In the equilibrium of these three states lies true progress. The knowledge acquired during Sushupti state, might or might not be brought back to one’s physical consciousness; all depends upon his desires, and according as his lower consciousnesses are or are not prepared to receive and retain that knowledge. The avenues of the ideal world are carefully guarded by elementals from the trespass of the profane. Lytton makes Mejnour say:[8] “We place our tests in ordeals that purify the passions and elevate the desires. And nature in this controls and assists us, for it places awful guardians and unsurmountable barriers between the ambitions of vice and the heaven of loftier science.” The desire for physical enjoyment, if rightly directed, becomes elevated, as a desire for something higher, gradually becoming converted into a desire to do good to others, and thus ascending, ceases to be a desire, and is transformed into an element of the sixth principle. The control by nature to which Mejnour refers, in found in the natural maximum and minimum limits; there cannot be too much ascension, nor can the descent be too quick or too low. The assistance of nature is found in the Turya state, in which the adept takes one step and nature helps for another. In the Sushupti state, one might or might not find the object of his earnest search, and as soon as it is found, the moment the desire to bring it back to normal consciousness arises; that moment Sushupti state is at an end for the time being. But one might often find himself in an awkward position, when he has left that state. The doors for the descent of the truth into the lower nature are closed. Then his position is beautifully described in an Indian proverb: “The bran in the mouth and the fire are both lost.” This is an allusion to a poor girl who is eating bran, and at the same time wants to kindle the fire just going out before her. She blows it with the bran in her mouth; the bran falls on the dying ashes, extinguishing them completely; she is thus a double loser. In the Sushupti state, the anxiety which is felt to bring back the experience to consciousness, acts as the bran with the fire. Anxiety to have or to do, instead of being a help as some imagine, is a direct injury, and if permitted to grow in our waking moments, will act with all the greater force on the plane of Sushupti. The result of these failures is clearly set forth by Patanjali.[9] Even where the doors to the lower consciousness are open, the knowledge brought back from Sushupti state, might, owing to the distractions and difficulties of the direct and indirect routes of ascent and descent, be lost on the way either partially or wholly, or become mixed up with misconceptions and falsehood. But in this search for knowledge in Sushupti, there must not remain a spark of indifference or idle inquisitiveness in the higher consciousness. Not even a jot of lurking hesitation about entering into the state, nor doubt about its desirability, nor about the usefulness or accuracy of the knowledge gleaned on former occasions, or to be presently gleaned. If there is any such doubt or hesitancy, his progress is retarded. Nor can there be any cheating or hypocrisy, nor any laughing in the sleeve. In our normal wakeful state it always happens that when we believe we are earnestly aspiring, some one or more of the elements of one or more of our lower consciousnesses belie us, make us feel deluded and laugh at us, for such is the self-inconsistent nature of desire. In this state, which we are considering there are subjective and objective states, or classes of knowledge and experience, even as there are the same in Yagrata. So, therefore, great care should be taken to make your aims and aspirations _as high as possible_ while in your normal condition. Woe to him who would dare to trifle with the means placed at his disposal in the shape of Sushupti. One of the most effectual ways in which western mystics could trifle with this, is to seek for the missing links of evolution, so as to bring that knowledge to the normal consciousness, and then with it to extend the domain of “scientific” knowledge. Of course, from the moment such a desire is entertained, the one who has it is shut out from Sushupti.[10] The mystic might be interested in analyzing the real nature of the objective world, or in soaring up to the feet of _Manus_,[11] to the spheres where Manava intellect is busy shaping the mould for a future religion, or had been shaping that of a past religion. But here the maximum and minimum limits by which nature controls, are again to be taken account of. One essential feature of Sushupti is, as far as can now be understood, that the mystic must get at all truths through but one source, or path, viz: through the divine world pertaining to his own lodge (or teacher), and through this path he might soar as high as he can, though how much knowledge he can get is an open question. Let us now inquire what state is the seership of the author of our poem “The Seer,” and try to discover the “hare’s horns” in it. Later on we may try to peep into the states of Swedenborg, P. B. Randolph, and a few of the “trained, untrained, natural born, self-taught, crystal, and magic mirror seers.” I look at this poem solely to point out mistakes so as to obtain materials for our study. There are beauties and truths in it which all can enjoy. In ancient days it was all very well for mystics to write figuratively so as to keep sacred things from the profane. Then symbolism was rife in the air with mysticism, and all the allegories were understood at once by those for whom they were intended. But times have changed. In this materialistic age it is known that the wildest misconceptions exist in the minds of many who are mystically and spiritually inclined. The generality of mystics and their followers are not free from the superstitions and prejudices which have in church and science their counterpart. Therefore in my humble opinion there can be no justification for writing allegorically on mysticism, and by publication, placing such writings within reach of all. To do so is positively mischievous. If allegorical writings, and misleading novels are intended to popularize mysticism by removing existing prejudices, then the writers ought to express their motives. It is an open question whether the benefit resulting from such popularization is not more than counterbalanced by the injury worked to helpless votaries of mysticism, who are misled. And there is less justification for our present allegorical writers than there was for those of Lytton’s time. Moreover, in the present quarter of our century, veils are thrown by symbolical or misleading utterances, over much that can be safely given out in plain words. With these general remarks let us turn to “The Seer.” In the Invocation, addressed evidently to the Seer’s guru,[12] we find these words: “When in delicious dreams I leave this life, And in sweet trance unveil its mysteries; Give me thy light, thy love, thy truth divine!” _Trance_ here means only one of the various states known as cataleptic or somnambulic, but certainly neither Turya nor Sushupti. In such a trance state very few of the mysteries of “this life,” or even of the state of trance itself, could be unveiled. The so-called Seer can “enjoy” as harmlessly and as uselessly as a boy who idly swims in the lagoon, where he gains no knowledge and may end his sport in death. Even so is the one who swims, cuts capers, in the astral light, and becomes lost in something strange which surpasses all his comprehension. The difference between such a Seer and the ordinary sensualist, is, that the first indulges both his astral and physical senses to excess, while the latter his physical senses only. These occultists fancy that they have removed their interest from _self_, when in reality they have only enlarged the limits of experience and desire, and transferred their interest to the things which concern their larger span of life.[13] Invoking a Guru’s blessings on your own higher nature for the purpose of sustaining you in this trance state, is as blasphemous and reprehensible an act of assisting descent, and conversion of higher into lower energies, as to invoke your Guru to help you in excessive wine drinking; for the astral world is also material. To be able to solve the mysteries of any consciousness whatever, even of the lowest physical, while in trance, is as vain a boast of the hunters for such a state, as that of physiologists or mesmerists. While you are in trance state, if you are not ethical enough in your nature, you will be tempted and forced, by your powerful lower elements, to pry into the secrets of your neighbors, and then, on returning to your normal state, to slander them. The surest way to draw down your higher nature into the miry abyss of your physical and astral world, and thus to animalize yourself, is to go into trance or to aspire for clairvoyance. “And thou, (Guru) left me looking upward through the veil, To gaze into thy goal and follow thee!” These lines are highly presumptuous. It is impossible, even for a very high Hierophant, in _any of his states whatever_, to gaze into his Guru’s goal;[14] his subjective consciousness can but _barely_ come up to the level of the normal or objective consciousness of his Guru. It is only during the initiation that the initiated sees not only his own immediate goal, but also Nirvana, which of course includes his Guru’s goal also; but after the ceremony is over he recollects only his own immediate goal for his next “class,” but nothing beyond that.[15] This is what is meant by the God Jehovah saying to Moses: “And I will take away mine hand and Thou shalt see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” And in the Rig Veda it is said:[16] “Dark is the path of Thee, who art bright; the light is before Thee.” Mr. Hellon opens his poem with a quotation from _Zanoni_: “Man’s first initiation is in trance; in dreams commence all human knowledge, in dreams he hovers over measureless space, the first faint bridge between spirit and spirit—this world and the world beyond.” As this is a passage often quoted approvingly, and recognized as containing no misconceptions, I may be permitted to pass a few remarks, first, upon its intrinsic merits, and secondly, on Lytton himself and his Zanoni. I shall not speak of the rage which prevails among mystical writers, for quoting without understanding what they quote. In _Swapna_ state man gets human, unreliable knowledge, while divine knowledge begins to come in Sushupti state. Lytton has here thrown a gilded globule of erroneous ideas to mislead the unworthy and inquisitive mysticism hunters, who unconsciously price the globule. It is not too much to say that such statements in these days, instead of aiding us to discover the true path, but give rise to numberless patent remedies for the evils of life, remedies which can never accomplish a cure. Man-made edifices called true Raja Yoga,[17] evolved in trance, arise confronting each other, conflicting with each other, and out of harmony in themselves. Then not only endless disputation arises, but also bigotry, while the devoted and innocent seekers after truth are misled, and scientific, intelligent, competent men, are scared away from any attempt to examine the claims of the true science. As soon as some one sided objective truth is discovered by a Mesmer, a defender of ancient Yoga Vidya,[18] blows a trumpet crying out, “Yoga is self mesmerization, mesmerism is _the key_ to it, and animal magnetism develops spirituality and is itself spirit, God, Atman,” deluding himself with the idea that he is assisting humanity and the cause of truth, unconscious of the fact that he is thus only degrading Yoga Vidya. The ignorant medium contends that her “control” is divine. There seems to be little difference between the claims of these two classes of dupes, and the materialist who sets up a protoplasm in the place of God. Among the innumerable hosts of desecrated terms are _Trance_, _Yoga_, _Turya_, _initiation_, &c. It is therefore no wonder that Lytton, in a novel, has desecrated it and misapplied it to a mere semi-cataleptic state. I, for one prefer, always to limit the term _Initiation_ to its true sense, viz., those sacred ceremonies in which alone “Isis is unveiled.” Man’s first initiation is _not_ in trance, as Lytton means. Trance is an artificial, waking, somnambulistic state, in which one can learn nothing at all about the real nature of the elements of our physical consciousness, and much less any of any other. None of Lytton’s admirers seems to have thought that he was chaffing at occultism, although he believed in it, and was not anxious to throw pearls before swine. Such a hierophant as Mejnour—not Lytton himself—could not have mistaken the tomfoolery of somnambulism for even the first steps in Raja Yoga. This can be seen from the way in which Lytton gives out absolutely erroneous ideas about occultism, while at the same time he shows a knowledge which he could not have, did he believe himself in his own chaffing. It is pretty well recognized that he at last failed, after some progress in occultism as a high accepted disciple. His Glyndon might be Lytton, and Glyndon’s sister Lady Lytton. The hieroglyphics of a book given him to decipher, and which he brought out as Zanoni, must be allegorical. The book is really the master’s ideas which the pupil’s highest consciousness endeavors to read. But they were only the mere commonplaces of the master’s mind. The profane and the cowardly always say that the master descends to the plane of the pupil. Such can never happen. And precipitation of messages from the master is only possible when the pupil’s highest ethical and intuitive faculties reach the level of the master’s normal and objective state. In Zanoni, this is veiled by the assertion that he had to _read_ the hieroglyphics—they did not _speak_ to him. And he confesses in the preface that he is by no means sure that he has correctly deciphered them. “Enthusiasm,” he says, “is when that part of the soul which is above intellect, soars up to the Gods, and there derives the inspiration.” Errors will therefore be due to wilful misstatements or to his difficulty in reading the cipher. “In dreams I see a world so fair, That life would love to linger there; And pass from this to that bright sphere. In dreams ecstatic, pure and free, Strange forms my inward senses see, While hands mysterious welcome me.” Such indefinite descriptions are worse than useless. The inward senses are psychic senses, and their perceiving strange forms and mere appearances in the astral world is not useful or instructive. Forms and appearances in the astral light are legion, and take their shape not only from the seer’s mind unknown to himself, but are also in many cases, reflections for other people’s minds. “Oh, why should mine be ever less And light ineffable bless Thee, in thy starry loneliness,” seems to be utterly unethical. Here the seer is in the first place jealous of the light possessed by his guru, or he is grasping in the dark, ignorant even of the _rationale_ of himself being in lower states than his guru. However, Mr. Hellon has not erred about the existence of such a feeling. It does and should exist in the trance and dreaming state. In our ordinary waking state, attachments, desires, &c., are the very life of our physical senses, and in the same way the emotional energies manifest themselves on the astral plane in order to feed and fatten the seer’s astral senses, sustaining them during his trance state. Unless thus animated, his astral nature would come to rest. No proof is therefore needed for the proposition that any state which is sustained by desires and passions cannot be regarded as anything more than as a means for developing one part of the animal nature. Van Helmont is of the same opinion as Mr. Hellon.[19] We cannot, therefore, for a moment believe that in such a state the “I” of that state is _Atman_.[20] It is only the false “I”; the vehicle for the real one. It is _Ahankára_—lower self, or individuality of the waking state, for even in trance state, the lower sixth principle plays no greater part and develops no more than in the wakeful state. The change is only in the field of action: from the waking one to the astral plane, the physical one remaining more or less at rest. Were it otherwise, we would find somnambules day by day exhibiting increase of intellect, whereas this does not occur. Suppose that we induce the trance state in an illiterate man. He can then read from the astral counterpart of Herbert Spencer or Patanjali’s books as many pages as we desire, or even the unpublished ideas of Spencer; but he can never make a comparison between the two systems, unless that has already been done by some other mind in no matter what language. Nor can any somnambule analyze and describe the complicated machinery of the astral faculties, much less of the emotional ones, or of the fifth principle. For in order to be analyzed they must be at rest so that the higher self may carry on the analysis. So when Mr. Hellon says: “A trance steals o’er my spirit now,” he is undoubtedly wrong, as Atman, or spirit, cannot go into a trance. When a lower plane energy ascends to a higher plane it becomes silent there for a while until by contact with the denizens of its new home its powers are animated. The somnambulic state has two conditions, (a) waking, which is psycho-physiological or astro-physical; (b) sleeping, which is psychical. In these two the trance steals partly or completely only over the physical consciousness and senses. “And from my forehead peers the sight,” etc. This, with much that follows, is pure imagination or misconception. As for instance, “floating from sphere to sphere.” In this state the seer is confined to but one sphere—the astral or psycho-physiological—no higher one can he even comprehend. Speaking of the period when the sixth sense shall be developed, he says: “No mystery then her sons shall find, Within the compass of mankind; The one shall read the other’s mind.” In this the seer shows even a want of theoretical knowledge of the period spoken of. He has madly rushed into the astral world without a knowledge of the philosophy of the mystics. Even though the twelfth sense were developed—let alone the physical sixth—it shall ever remain as difficult as it is now, for people to read one another’s mind. Such is the mystery of Manas.[21] He is evidently deluded by seeing the apparent triumphs during a transitional period of a race’s mental development, of those minds abnormally developed which are able to look into the minds of others; and yet they do that only partially. If one with a highly developed sixth principle were to indulge for only six times in reading other’s minds, he would surely drain that development down to fatten the mind and desires. Moreover, Mr. Hellon’s seer seems to be totally unaware of the fact that the object of developing higher faculties is not to peer into the minds of others, and that the economy of the occult world gives an important privilege to the mystic, in that the pages of his life and _manas_ shall be carefully locked up against inquisitive prowlers, the key safely deposited with his guru, who never lends it to any one else. If with the occult world the laws of nature are so strict, how much more should they be with people in general. Otherwise, nothing would be safe. The sixth sense would then be as delusive and a curse to the ignorant as sight and learning are now. Nor shall this sixth sense man be “perfect.” Truth for him shall be as difficult to attain through his “sense,” as it is now. The horizon shall have only widened, and what we are now acquiring as truth will have passed into history, into literature, into axiom. “Sense” is always nothing else than a channel for desire to flow through and torment ourselves and others. The whole poem is misleading, especially such expressions as: “His spirit views the world’s turmoil; behold his body feed the soil.—A sixth sense race borne ages since, to God’s own zone.” Our higher self—Atman—can never “view the world’s turmoil,” nor behold the body. For supposing that it did view the body or the world’s turmoil, it would be attracted to them, descending to the physical plane, where it would be converted more or less into physical nature. And the elevation of a sixth sense race unphilosophically supposes the raising up of that sense, which certainly has only to do with our physical nature, at most our astro-physical nature, to the sphere of God or Atman. By merely training the psychical powers true progress is not gained, but only the enjoyment of those powers; a sort of alcohol on the astral plane, which results in unfavorable Karma. The true path to divine wisdom is in performing our duty unselfishly in the station in which we are placed, for thereby we convert lower nature into higher, following Dharma—our whole duty. MURDHNA JOTI. THE NATURE AND OFFICE OF BUDDHA’S RELIGION. _From a dissertation by the Rt. Rev. H. Sumangala, High Priest of Adam’s Peak, Ceylon._[22] What must a religion chiefly reveal? A religion, as such, must for the most part propound what is not generally seen and felt in the nature of sentient beings. It must also proclaim “the ways and means” by which the good of the world is attained. These _teachings_ are essential to a religion or it would, at best, become only a system of philosophy or a science of nature. We find these two essentials fully treated in the religion of Buddha. Buddha says:[23] “The world has mounted on the passions and is suspended therefrom—that is, the thoughts of men are hanging down from the lusts and other evils. The whole world is encompassed by decay; and Death overwhelms us all, (consumption and decay ever slowly but steadily creep in and eat into each and everything in existence, and it is here likened to something like land encircled by sea). Nature has subjected us to birth, decay and death, _and the deeds of our past lives are covered by the terrors of death from our view_, although the time of their action is not very far removed from our present state of existence. Hence it is that we do not view the scenes of our past births. Human life before it arrives at its final destiny, is ever inseparable from Jâti, Jarâ, Marana, etc., (birth, infirmities, death, etc.). As we are at present we are in sorrow and pain, and we have not yet obtained the highest object of our being. It behooves us, therefore, to exert ourselves everytime and by all means to attain to our _summum ultimum_, and we have to use and practice ‘the ways and means’ shown in religion in earnestness and integrity.” Now what are they as set forth in Buddhism? “The man who is ever fully in the observance of the precepts of morality; who sees and understands things well and truly; who has perfect and serene command over his thoughts; and who has his mind fixed well in proper contemplation. I say, that such a man alone will safely pass over the dreadful torrent of metempsychosis, which is indeed hard to be gone over safely and without meeting with great obstacles and difficulties.” The way to holiness of being, to destruction of sorrows, pain and sufferings, and to the path to Nirvana and to its attainment, is, the starting of memory, on the body, on sensation, on mind and on the true doctrines, largely discoursed on by the Lord Gautama Buddha. “Men are sanctified by their deeds, their learning, their religious behavior, their morals, and by leading a holy life; _they do not become holy by race or wealth_.”[24] Buddha has opened up to us a supreme path for sanctification; described in detail in many verses of His _Dharmá_.[25] He says: “Oh Bhikkus! what is the holy path which ought to be walked over to destroy pain and sorrows? It is the _ariya_ path, consisting of eight members or component parts, which are: Right Seeing or correct belief; right Thinking; right Words; right Actions; right Living; right Exertions; right Recollecting; and right Composing of Mind—_the practice of Yoga_.” Of all the paths this, the eight membered one, is the Supremest; of the Truths, the fourfold one is the highest; of all classes of knowledge, that of Nirvana is the most excellent, and of all bipeds Buddha is the highest and most supremely exalted and enlightened.