{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_55833/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_55833","id":"gutenberg_55833","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55833","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Judge, William Quan, 1851-1896","Theosophists -- United States -- Correspondence","Theosophy"],"text":"LETTERS\n                                 THAT\n                            HAVE HELPED ME\n\n                              COMPILED BY\n                           _JASPER NIEMAND_\n\n                       Reprinted from \"The Path\"\n\n                            SEVENTH EDITION\n\n                                  THE\n                     UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS\n                        Los Angeles, California\n                                 1920\n\n\n\n\n                                  To\n                               Z. L. Z.\n                            the Greatest of\n                        the Exiles, and Friend\n                      of all Creatures, from his\n                    Younger Brother, the Compiler.\n                            JASPER NIEMAND\n                                 1891\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n    \"_Seeking for freedom I go to that God who is the light of his own\n    thoughts. A man who knows him truly passes over death; there is no\n    other path to go_\"\n\n  --UPANISHADS.\n\n\nIn the _Path_ for May, 1887, we find these words: \"We need a\nliterature, not solely for highly intellectual persons, but of a more\nsimple character, which attempts to appeal to ordinary common-sense\nminds who are really fainting for such moral and mental assistance as\nis not reached by the more pretentious works.\"\n\nThe experience of one student is, on the whole, the experience of all.\nDetails differ, however. Some are made more instantly rich than others:\nthey are those who put forth more vigorous and generous effort; or they\nhave a Karmic store which brings aid. What Theosophists know as Karma,\nor the law of spiritual action and reaction, decides this, as it works\non all the planes, physical, moral, mental, psychical, and spiritual\nalike. Our Karma may be worked out on any one of these planes when our\nlife is chiefly concentrated upon it, no matter upon what other plane\nany special initiative impulse or branch of it originated.\n\nThe writer, when first he became a Theosophical student, had the aid\nof an advanced occultist in his studies. This friend sent him, among\nothers, the letters which, in the hope that they may assist others as\nthey have the original recipient, are here published. They are not\nexhaustive treatises; they are hints given by one who knew that the\nfirst need of a student is to learn _how to think_. The true direction\nis pointed out, and the student is left to clarify his own perceptions,\nto draw upon and enlarge his own intuitions, and to develop, as every\ncreated thing must at last develop, by his own inward exertions. Such\nstudents have passed the point where their external environment can\naffect their growth favorably. They may learn from it, but the time has\nalso come to resist it and turn to the internal adjustment to higher\nrelations only.\n\nThe brevity of these letters should not mislead the reader. Every\nstatement in them is a statement of law. They point to causes of which\nlife is an effect; that life arising from the action of Spirit in\nNature, and which we must understand as it is manifested within us\nbefore we can advance on the Path. There is a scientific meaning within\nall these devotional or ethical injunctions, for the Wisdom-Religion\nnever relaxes her hold upon Science or attempts to dissever an effect\nfrom its cause. Most of these admonitions have their base in the\nconstitution of the Arch\u00e6us, or World-Soul, and the correlation of its\nenergies; others, still, adhere in the Eternal.\n\nNo less should the reader guard himself against a slight estimate\narising from the exquisite modesty of Z. An occultist is never so truly\na man of power as when he has wholly learned and exhibits this truth:\n\n\"And the power the disciple shall desire is that which shall make him\nappear as nothing _in the eyes of men_.\"\n\nThe inner eye, the _power of seeing_, looks deeper into the source\nof a man's knowledge and takes it at its true value. Those men who\nare sharers in the Divine, whose first office is to give, are often\nprotected from the demands and curiosity of the careless by a simple\nexterior which deceives the worldly sense. Some men are great because\nof the Power which stands behind them, the divine energies which flow\nthrough them; they are great through having learned how to receive this\ncelestial influx from higher spheres of Being; they are the appointed\nministrants, the true servitors of the Law and pupils of Masters whose\noffice is humanitarian and universal.\n\nSuch aid is never volunteered; it follows the Karmic behest, and, when\ngiven, leaves the student free to follow it or not, as his intuitions\nmay direct. There is not a shadow or vestige of _authority_ in the\nmatter, as the world understands the word _authority_. Those who travel\nthe unknown way send messages back, and he who can receives them. Only\na few of the first steps are here recorded and the first impediments\nsurmounted. No hints of magic lore are to be found; no formulas\nof creed or occult powers; the questions of an awakening soul are\nanswered, and the pilgrim is shown where lies the entrance to the Path.\nThe world at large seeks the facts of occult science, but the student\nwho has resolved to attain desires to find the true road. What may seem\nto others as mere ethics is to him practical instruction, for as he\nfollows it he soon perceives its relation to facts and laws which he\nis enabled to verify, and what seemed to him the language of devotion\nmerely, is found to be that of science; but the science is spiritual,\nfor the Great Cause is pure Spirit.\n\nMany students must at some time stand where the writer then stood, at\nthe beginning of the way. For all these this correspondence is made\npublic, and they are urged to look within the printed words for their\nimperishable meaning. They may be cheered to find the footprints of\na comrade upon the rugged Path, above which the light of Truth ever\nshines. Yet even this light is not always a clear splendor. It may\nseem \"in the daytime a cloud, and by night a pillar of fire.\" We must\nquestion every external aspect, even that of Faith itself, for the\nsecret and germ of things lies at their core. Let us purify even our\nFaith; let us seek Truth herself, and not our preconceptions of Truth.\nIn her mirror we shall never see our own familiar face: that which we\nsee is still ourselves, because our real self is truth.\n\nAs the Theosophical movement gathers new momentum, fresh recruits may\nbe aided by those letters which so greatly sustained me, or encouraged\nby some copartnership of thought, and that, too, in the real issue\nconfronting them. We first take this issue to be the acquirement of\noccult knowledge. Soon we find that the meaning of all really informed\noccult writers eludes us. We find that books only serve to remind us of\nwhat we knew in the long past, perhaps when \"journeying with Deity\",\nand the echoes awakened within us are so faint that they are rarely to\nbe caught. Whether we study philosophies, metaphysics, physics, ethics,\nharmony, astrology, natural sciences, astralism, magnetism or what not,\nwe meet with endless contradiction and differentiation; we forever\nrequire to strike the balance of our own intuition. We discover that\nthe final word has not yet been _written down_ upon any of the higher\nsubjects (unless it be on mathematics, and scarcely on that), and that\nall our learning is but a finger-post to that supreme knowledge of\nTruth which is only found and closely guarded within the human heart.\nThrown back upon our inner perceptions for continual readjustment, on\nevery side of experience this warning confronts us: _Stand ready to\nabandon all thou hast learned!_ Not knowing the one center, we cannot\nthoroughly know any sub-center. The cause unknown, effects mislead us.\nThen we turn to that mysterious center whereby the One is manifest in\nman, and we begin the study of the heart, both in itself and in the\nlife it has instituted about us.\n\nTo be put into more direct communication with the world of cause\nis now the student's most pressing need. One thing alone prevents\nthis,--himself. He is of such gross fibre that he cannot be \"porous\nto thought, bibulous of the sea of light\". To the refinement and\ndispersal of this lower self--of the man he now takes himself to be--he\nthen directs his will. Each man has a different mode of doing this, but\neach who advances at all finds that with every new period of his inner\nlife a new self rises before him. Looking back over a group of weeks or\nmonths, he is amazed to see what manner of man he was then, and smiles\nthat pitying smile which we bestow upon the faded letters of our youth.\n\nYet some there be who ossify there in their rut; let them struggle\nmightily to break up the mass which has resisted all environment, all\nchange, all the conditions of progressive life. They have done for\nthemselves what the enemy strives to do for others; they are the rock\nin their own path.\n\nWhat our Eastern brothers call \"the sheaths of the heart\" fall away\none by one; when the last bursts open there is a silence, the silence\nof the mystic death. But \"the dead shall arise,\" and from that death\nsprings up the first tender growth of eternal life.\n\nUp to this point we shall not travel in the ensuing pages. Yet having\nrealized the real issue so forcibly that his whole strength was at the\nstart directed towards self-knowledge and the right use of Thought, the\nwriter offers a part of his first instructions to those of his comrades\nwho, single-hearted and of royal Faith, hold Truth to be dearer than\nall material life and seek it on the hidden way. There is no tie in\nthe universe equal to that which binds such comrades together. It has\nbeen forged in the fires of unspeakable anguish; it has been rivetted\nby a dauntless purpose and a unique, because Divine, Love. The fierce\nhatred of seen and unseen worlds cannot tamper with it so long as a\nman remains true to himself, for this larger life is himself, and as\nhe grows towards it his self-imposed fetters fall away and he stands,\nat last, a free soul, in the celestial Light which is Freedom itself,\nobedient only to the Law of its own divine Being. To reach it, let us\nobey the law of our own Being, for, truly, _Being is One_.\n\nMy comrades, wherever you are, I salute you.\n\n  JASPER NIEMAND, F. T. S.\n\n\n\n\nLETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME\n\n\n\n\nI.\n\n\n  MY DEAR JASPER:\n\nNow let me elevate a signal. Do not think much of me, please. Think\nkindly of me; but oh, my friend, direct your thoughts to the Eternal\nTruth. I am, like you, struggling on the road. Perhaps a veil might\nin an instant fall down from your spirit, and you would be long ahead\nof us all. The reason you have had help is that in other lives you\ngave it to others. In every effort you made to lighten another mind\nand open it to Truth, you were helped yourself. Those pearls you found\nfor another and gave to him, you really retained for yourself in the\nact of benevolence. For when one lives thus to help others, he is\nthereby putting in practice the rule to try and \"kill out all sense of\nseparateness,\" and thus gets little by little in possession of the true\nlight.\n\nNever lose, then, that attitude of mind. Hold fast in silence to all\nthat is your own, for you will need it in the fight; but never, _never_\ndesire to get knowledge or power for any other purpose than to give it\non the altar, for thus alone can it be saved to you.\n\nSo many are there around me who are ardent desirers and seekers,\ndevotees; but they are doing it because the possession seems valuable.\nPerhaps I see in you--I hope I mistake not--a pure desire to seek\nKnowledge for its own sake, and that all others may be benefitted. So\nI would point out to you the only royal road, the one vehicle. Do all\nthose acts, physical, mental, moral, for the reason that they must be\ndone, instantly resigning all interest in them, offering them up upon\nthe altar. What altar? Why, the great spiritual altar, which is, if\none desires it, in the heart. Yet still use earthly discrimination,\nprudence, and wisdom.\n\nIt is not that you must rush madly or boldly out _to do_, _to do_. Do\nwhat you find to do. Desire ardently to do it, and even when you shall\nnot have succeeded in carrying anything out but some small duties,\nsome words of warning, your strong desire will strike like Vulcan upon\nother hearts in the world, and suddenly you will find that done which\nyou had longed to be the doer of. Then rejoice that another had been so\nfortunate as to make such a meritorious Karma. Thus, like the rivers\nrunning into the unswelling, passive ocean, will your desires enter\ninto your heart.\n\nI find all your remarks just; and besides, there seems to be a real\nspirit behind them. Do not fear nor fail because you feel dark and\nheavy. The very rage you feel will break the shrine that covers the\nmystery after a while. No one can really help you. No one can open your\ndoors. You locked them up, and only you can open them. When you open\nany door, beyond it you find others standing there who had passed you\nlong ago, but now, unable to proceed, they are there waiting; others\nare there waiting for you. Then you come, and, opening a door, those\nwaiting disciples perhaps may pass on; thus on and on. What a privilege\nthis, to reflect that we may perhaps be able to help those who seemed\ngreater than ourselves!\n\nO, what a groan Nature gives to see the heavy Karma which man has piled\nupon himself and all the creatures of the three worlds! That deep sigh\npierces through my heart. How can the load be lifted? Am I to stand for\nmyself, while the few strong hands of Blessed Masters and Their friends\nhold back the awful cloud? Such a vow I registered ages ago to help\nthem, and I must. Would to great Karma I could do more! And you! do\nwhat you can.\n\nPlace your only faith, reliance, and trust on Karma.\n\n  Z.\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\n\n  MY DEAR BROTHER:\n\nYour last long letter came duly to hand and has been read with much\npleasure. It is quite rare to find one willing to enter this movement\non the basis you have laid down for yourself, and my previous letter\nwas written in order to see what your attitude really was, and also\nbecause I then felt from your writing that you were really in earnest.\nAnd before yours of to-day, I fell to thinking about you and wondering\nwhether a future of power, a brilliancy of knowledge, was not your\naspiration, and what effect certain occurrences would have upon that.\n\nJudge, then, my pleasure in reading your words exactly answering my\nmental inquiries of yesterday and placing you in the right position.\n\nIt is true, we must aspire ardently, and blessed is the one who, after\nthe first aspiration, is wise enough to see the Truth.\n\nThree qualities forever encompass us: _Satwa_ (truth and stability),\n_Rajas_ (action, war, aspiration, ambition), _Tamas_ (indifference,\nignorance, darkness).\n\nNone may be ignored. So the path lies from Tamas, up through war,\nambition, and aspiration, to Satwa, or truth and stability. We are now\nin Rajasika regions, sometimes lifting our fingers up to the hem of the\ngarment of Satwa, ever aspiring, ever trying to purify our thoughts\nand free ourselves from the attachment to actions and objects. So, of\ncourse, the ardent student naturally aspires for power. This is wise.\nBut he must soon begin to see what he must do for real progress. For\ncontinual aspiration for power merely is sure to sow for us the giant\nweed of self, which is the giant spoken of in _Light on the Path_.\n\nAs to the Theosophical Society, all should be admitted, for we can\nrefuse _no one_. If this is a Universal Brotherhood, we can make no\ndistinctions; but we can put ourselves right in the beginning by seeing\nthat people do not enter with mistaken notions of what we have. And\nyet with all our precautions, how often we find persons who are not\nreally sincere themselves judging us by their standard, unbelieving in\nour sincerity. They enter; they find that each must study for himself\nand that no guides are told off to each one; then they are disgusted.\nThey forget that \"the kingdom of heaven must be taken by violence.\" We\nhave also had to suffer from our friends. People who have joined us in\nsecret like Nicodemus; they have stood idly by, waiting for the Cause\nto get strong or to get fashionable, and leaving all the hard fighting\nto be done by a few earnest men who defied the hosts of Materialism\nand of Conventionality. Had they spoken for their Cause, more earnest\npeople would long ago have heard of the movement, instead of being kept\naway until now, like yourself, for want of knowledge that it existed.\n\nYou will find that other members care for nothing but Theosophy, and\nare yet forced by circumstances to work in other fields as well. What\nmoments they have left are devoted to the Cause, and in consequence\nthey have no unoccupied hours; each moment, day and evening, is filled\nup, and therefore they are happy. Yet they are unhappy that they\ncannot give their entire working time to the Cause in which some have\nbeen from the beginning. They feel, like Claude St. Martin, a burning\ndesire within them to get these truths to the ears of all men. They\nare truths, and you are in the right path. In America it is as easy\nto find the Light of Lights as in India, but all around you are those\nwho do not know these things, who never heard of them, and yet many\nof our fellow members are only anxious to study for their own benefit.\nSometimes, if it were not for my reliance on those Great Beings\nwho beckon me ever on, I would faint, and, leaving these people to\nthemselves, rush off into the forest. So many people like Theosophy,\nand yet they at once wish to make it select and of high tone. It is for\nall men. It is for the common people, who are ever with us. Others,\nagain, come in and wait like young birds for food to be put into them:\nthey _will not think_, and ages must pass before they will progress.\n\nYou misunderstood a little the words \"Do not think much of me.\"\nUnderline \"much,\" but not \"think.\" You will please think all the\nthoughts you will of me, but do not place me on any pinnacle: that's\nall I meant.\n\nA constant endeavor towards perfecting the mere mortal machine is folly.\nThereby we sometimes fail to live up to our own intuitions. This habit\ngoes on for some time, but will get weaker as other senses (inner ones)\nbegin to appear. Yet know the new fully before being off with the old.\n\nInasmuch as we learn almost solely from each other--as we are all here\nfor each other--the question of the effect of affinities upon our acts\nand thoughts is enormous and wide. It anon saves us, and anon damns.\nFor we may meet in our lives a person who has a remarkable effect,\neither for good or ill, because of the affinities engendered in past\nlives. And now our eyes are open, we act to-day for the future.\n\nThat you may pass beyond the sea of darkness, I offer you my life and\nhelp.\n\n  Z.\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\n\nSay, Brother Jasper, are you tired? I am. Not tired of fate or of the\ngreat \"Leaders of the World,\" but with all these people who gape and\ngape and are (excuse me) so Americanly \"independent,\" as if men were\never independent of each other.\n\nYou ask about the \"moment of choice.\" It is made up of all moments.\nIt is not in space or time, but is the aggregation of those moments\nflying by us each instant. It is referred to in _Esoteric Buddhism_\nas a period not yet arrived for the race, when it will as a whole be\ncompelled to make choice for good or evil. But any single individual\ncan bring on the period for himself. When it will or has come, the\nuninstructed cannot tell. For the student of occultism it may come in\nthe next instant, or it may come one hundred lives after. But it cannot\ncome this instant unless all the previous lives have led up to it. Yet\nas regards the student, even if it be presented to him and he refuse,\nhe will be brought to the choice in future existences, with the whole\nbody of his race. Race influences are insidious and powerful. For\ninstance, my race has its peculiarities deeply seated and inherited\nfrom an extraordinary past. I must be under their influence in this\nbody as a necessary part of my experience. In another life I might\nhave been a prosaic Hottentot, or an Englishman, and in a succeeding\none I might be under the influence of other race peculiarities. Those\ninfluences are, then, guiding me every moment, and each thought I have\nadds to them now, for either my own future use or for some other person\nwho will come under the power of part of the force generated now by me.\n\nAs to the sub-conscious mind. It is difficult to explain. I find\nconstantly that I have ideas that internally I thoroughly understand,\nand yet can find no language for them. Call it sub-conscious if you\nlike. It is there and can be affected; indeed, it is affected every\nmoment. It is a nearness to the universal mind. So if I desire to\ninfluence--say your mind--I do not formulate your sub-conscious plane,\nbut firmly and kindly think of you and think of the subject I wish you\nto think of. This must reach you. If I am selfish, then it has more\ndifficulty to get there; but if it be brotherly, then it gets there\nmore easily, being in harmony with the universal mind and the Law. The\nPsychical Society speaks of it, and says that the influence \"emerges\ninto the lower mind\" by one or more of the channels. But they do not\nknow what those \"channels\" are, or even if they do exist. In fact, the\nwhole subject of mind is only faintly understood in the West. They say\n\"mind,\" meaning the vast range and departments of that which they call\nmind, whereas there must be a need for the names of those departments.\nWhen the true ideas are grasped, the names will follow. Meanwhile we\nmust be satisfied with \"mind\" as including the whole thing. But it does\nnot. Certainly it is not ordinary mental motion--ratiocination--to\ngrasp in an instant a whole subject, premises and conclusions, without\nstopping to reason. It cannot be called a _picture_, for with some\nit comes as an idea, and not as a picture. Memory. What is that? Is\nit brain-impression; or similarity of vibration, recognized upon\nbeing repeated and then producing a picture? If so, then the power to\nrecognize the vibration as the same as before is separate from the\nmatter which vibrates. And if the power inhere in the brain cells,\nhow is it possible, when we know they are constantly being changed?\nYet memory is perfect, no matter what happens. That it is above brain\nis clear, because a man may be killed by having his brain blown to\natoms, and yet his \"shell\" can give all the incidents of his life, and\nthey are not taken from the brain, for that is dead. Where, then, is\nthe sub-conscious mind? And where are the channels, and how are they\nconnected? I think through the heart, and that the heart is the key to\nit all, and that the brain is only the servant of the heart,[A] for\nremember that there is in it the \"small dwarf who sits at the centre.\"\nThink it out on that line now for yourself--or any other line that you\nmay choose, but _think_.\n\n  As ever,\n  Z.\n\n[Footnote A: Not the physical heart, but the real centre of life in\nman.--J. N.]\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\n\n  DEAR SIR AND BROTHER:\n\nIn cogitating lately I thought of you in respect to some of my own\nthoughts. I was reading a book and looking around within myself to see\nhow I could enlarge my idea of brotherhood. Practice in benevolence\nwill not give it its full growth. I had to find some means of reaching\nfurther, and struck on this, which is as old as old age.\n\nI am not separate from anything. \"I am that which is.\" That is, I am\nBrahma, and Brahma is everything. But being in an illusionary world,\nI am surrounded by certain appearances that seem to make me separate.\nSo I will proceed to mentally state and accept that I am all these\nillusions. I am my friends,--and then I went to them in general and in\nparticular. I am my enemies; then I felt them all. I am the poor and\nthe wicked; I am the ignorant. Those moments of intellectual gloom are\nthe moments when I am influenced by those ignorant ones who are myself.\nAll this in my nation. But there are many nations, and to those I go in\nmind; I feel and I am them all, with what they hold of superstition or\nof wisdom or evil. All, all is myself. Unwisely, I was then about to\nstop, but the whole is Brahma, so I went to the Devas and Asuras;[B]\nthe elemental world, that too is myself. After pursuing this course\nawhile I found it easier to return to a contemplation of all men as\nmyself. It is a good method and ought to be pursued, for it is a step\ntoward getting into contemplation of the All. I tried last night to\nreach up to Brahma, but darkness is about his pavilion.\n\nNow what does all this insanity sound like? I'll tell you what: if it\nwere not for this insanity I would go insane. But shall I not take\nheart, even when a dear friend deserts me and stabs me deep, when I\nknow that he is myself?\n\n  NAMASTAE!\n\n  Z.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI found the above letter still more valuable when I remembered that\nBrahma is \"the universal expansive force of Nature\"--from _Brih_, to\nexpand; and so stated in an article by H. P. Blavatsky in _Five Years\nof Theosophy_. In the _Dhammapada_ we are told to think ourselves to be\nthe sun and stars, the wet and dry, heat and cold; in short, to feel\nall experience, for we can live all out in the mind.\n\n  J. N.\n\n[Footnote B: Gods and demons.--J. N.]\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nI wish I could answer your letter as you ought to have it done. But I\nfeel my inability. However, our duty is to never consider our ability,\nbut to do what comes to be done in whatever way we can, no matter how\ninadequate the work appears to others. When we stop to consider our\nweakness, we think, by comparison, of how another would do it. Our\n_only right is in the act itself_. The consequences are in the great\nBrahm. So I will just say what comes.\n\nI feel the sadness in your letter, but know that you will rebound from\nthat. Do not let the sadness of knowledge create despair; that sadness\nis less than the joy of Truth. Abstract Truth, even, has necessarily\nin it all the mercy there is in the whole. Its sternness is only a\nreflection from our own imperfections, which make us recognize the\nstern aspect alone. We are not the only ones to suffer upon the Path.\nLike ourselves, Masters have wept, though They do not now weep. One of\nthem wrote some years ago: \"Do you suppose we have not passed through\nmany times worse trials than you now think you are in?\" The Master\noften seems to reject and to hide his (spiritual) face, in order that\nthe disciple may try. On the doors and walls of the temple the word\n\"TRY\" is written. (\"The Brothers\" is a better designation than Mah\u00e2tmas\nor Masters.)\n\nAlong the path of the true student is sadness, but also there is\ngreat joy and hope. Sadness comes from a more just appreciation of\nthe difficulties in one's way, and of the great wickedness of the\nindividual and collective heart of man. But look at the great fountain\nof hope and of joy in the consideration that the Brothers exist,\nthat They were men too; They had to fight the fight; They triumphed,\nand They work for those left after Them. Then beyond Them are \"the\nFathers,\" that is, the spirits of \"just men made perfect,\" those Who\nlived and worked for humanity ages ago and Who are now out of our\nsphere, but Who nevertheless still influence us in that Their spiritual\nforces flow down upon this earth for all pure souls. Their immediate\ninfluence is felt by Masters, and by us through the latter.\n\nNow, as you say, it is all Faith; but what is Faith? It is the\nintuitional feeling--\"_that is true_.\" So formulate to yourself certain\nthings as true that you feel to be true, and then increase your faith\nin them.\n\nDon't be anxious. Don't get \"maddened.\" Because in the fact that you\nare \"maddened\" (of course in the metaphorical sense) is found the\nproof that you are anxious. In a worldly sense it is perhaps well to\nbe anxious about a highly important matter, but in occultism it is\ndifferent, for the Law takes no account of our projects and objects,\nor our desire to be ahead or behind. So, if we are anxious, we raise a\nbarrier against progress, by perturbation and straining harshly. You\nwrote to B. that what is his, is his. Then the converse is true; what\nis not, is not. Why don't you take your own medicine?\n\n  Yours,\n  Z.\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nIt is a great advance that you hear the bells, which few hear, and\nevidence that you are where you can hear them; that is a great deal\nindeed. Do not look for the voice of the bells, but regard the _ideas_\nwhich thereupon come into the head, and apply to them the touchstone of\nyour own Soul, just as you advised B. The fact that you feel \"dead\" is\nsomething you should not worry about. It is likely that you are under\nthe operation of a law which prevails in nature, that you will find\nreferred to in an article in _Path_ Magazine for April, '86, page 14.\nIt is that the soul goes to a new place or new surroundings and becomes\nsilent there awhile--what you call \"dead\"--and draws strength there,\nbegins to get accustomed to its new surroundings, after which it begins\nto move about. This is seen in ordinary life in the bashfulness of a\nboy. That is, the bashfulness is the shyness felt in new surroundings,\nand is just what happens when the soul goes to a new place or into new\nsurroundings. There can be no loss or detriment to our efforts. Every\naspiration higher brightens up the road connecting the higher and lower\nself. No doubt of that. It is not _what_ is done, but the spirit in\nwhich the least thing is done that is counted. Hear the word of the\nMaster.\n\n\"He who does the best he knows how and that he can do, does enough for\nus.\"\n\nThe mere fact that a man appreciates these truths and feels these\naspirations is proof that he is on the right road. It is well to tread\nit _now_. We will not always live. Death must come. How much better,\nthen, to embrace death while thus at work than to swerve off only to\nbe brought up with suddenness in after lives. Immediate rebirth is for\nthose who are always working with their hearts on Master's work and\nfree from self interest.\n\nThe one Spirit is in all, is the property of each, therefore It is\nalways there, always with us, and, by reflecting on that, little room\nis left for sorrow or delusion. If we believe that the soul of all is\nmeasured by the whole of Time and not by a part, then we care not for\nthese moments which relate alone to our body. If we live in our hearts\nwe soon prove that space and time exist not. Nothing foreign to Master\nenters there; our faults are not there. The heart reaches Him always,\nand no doubt He replies. He does I know. He helps us while He leaves us\nto ourselves. He needs not to stoop to see our devotion, for that is of\na supernal quality and reaches anywhere.\n\nNo, I do not say nor have I said that you ought to do something other\nthan you do. We each do what we can. None of us can be the judge of\nany creature existing; so I do not judge you in the least respect.\nYour life may in the great sum total be greater than any life I ever\nled or that any one has led. Whether you are in America, Europe, or\nIndia makes no difference. This is seeking conditions. I have come\nto understand that Masters themselves must have worked themselves up\nout of much worse conditions than we are in. No matter where we are,\nthe same spirit pervades all and is accessible. What need, then, to\nchange places? We do not change ourselves by moving the body to another\n_locus_. We only put it under a different influence. And in order to\nchange we must have got to dislike the place we moved from. That is\n_attachment by opposites_, and that will produce detriment, as does all\nthat disturbs the equilibrium of the soul. You know the same result is\nproduced by two exact opposites, and thus extremes meet.\n\nThat hot flame you speak of is one of the experiences, as are also the\nsounds. There are so many, many of these things. Often they result\nfrom extreme tension or vibration in the aura of an aspirant of pure\ndevotion. They are himself, and he should be on his guard against\ntaking them for wonders. Often they are \"apparitions in Brahm.\" They\nare like new lights and sights to a mariner on an unfamiliar coast.\nThey will go on, or alter, or stop. You are only to carefully note\nthem, and \"do not exhibit wonder nor form association.\"\n\nI cannot say more. All help you extend to any other soul is help to\nyourself. It is our duty to help all, and we must begin on those\nnearest to us, for to run abroad to souls we might possibly help we\nagain forsake our present duty. It is better to die in our own duty,\nhowever mean, than to try another one. So lift your head and look\naround upon the hulks of past imagined faults. They were means and\nteachers. Cast all doubt, all fear, all regret aside, and freely take\nof truth what you may contain right on every step. It will thus be\nwell. Eternal Truth is one and indivisible, and we may get from the\nFathers (Pitris) flashes now and then of what is true.\n\nWords are things. With me and in fact. Upon the lower plane of social\nintercourse they are things, but soulless and dead because that\nconvention in which they have their birth has made abortions of them.\nBut when we step away from that conventionality they become alive in\nproportion to the reality of the thought--and its purity--that is\nbehind them. So in communication between two students they are things,\nand those students must be careful that the ground of intercourse is\nfully understood. Let us use with care those living messengers called\nwords.\n\nWhere I see you mistaken I will speak, to warn my Brother who\ntemporarily knows not. For did I not call on the bugle, perhaps other\nthings might switch him off to where perhaps for the time he would be\npleased, but would again be sorry, and then when his mistake was plain\nhe would justly sigh to me across dark centuries of separation that I\nhad been false to my duty of warning.\n\n  As ever,\n  Z.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe new plane to which the soul may go, referred to in this letter,\nis the astral plane. It is the plane next above the material one,\nand consists of a subtile order of matter. When a student turns his\nattention to the higher life and desires intensely to find the way,\nhis soul has begun to awaken and to speak. It has heard the voice of\nthe spirit. Then the inner senses begin to unfold, at first ever so\ngently, so tenderly, we scarce hear their report. But the soul has\nthen turned its attention to the astral plane, that being the next one\nto be learned on the way upward; its energy is transferred from the\nmaterial plane to this one, and we have an influx of many confused\ndreams and strange experiences, awake and asleep. These may or may not\ncontinue; all depends upon the individual soul and upon Karma. It is a\nmost confusing plane, and, generally speaking, we may say that those\nstudents are more fortunate who make a marked degree of progress in\nspiritual things without having any conscious experience of the astral\nplane. For then they can later on learn it _from above_, instead of\nfrom below, and with far less danger to themselves. The whole must\nbe known, but we may progress in various ways, even by discontinuous\ndegrees, only then we must go back later on, to what we passed by.\nSuch a going back does not imply detriment or loss of degree, for such\ncannot be lost when once gained in reality.\n\nWith regard to the astral plane being a more subtile order of matter,\nthis truth is often denied by clairvoyants and untrained seers. They do\nnot distinguish between the psychic senses and the spiritual. They can\nsee through gross matter, such as a wall, the human body, and so forth,\nas if it were glass, but they cannot see through astral substance, and\nhence they believe its forms and all the pictures and shapes in the\nastral light to be real. Only the adept sees through these illusions,\nwhich are far more powerful because composed of a subtile order of\nmatter: subtile energies, fine forces have a highly increased rate\nof power over grosser ones. The adept has at his command the rate of\nvibration which dispels them or drives them asunder. In speaking of\nthe astral plane, I mean the lower soul plane, and not that higher and\npurified quality which the author of _Light on the Path_ calls the\n\"divine astral.\"\n\nBy anxiety we exert the constrictive power of egoism, which densifies\nand perturbs our magnetic sphere, rendering us less permeable to the\nefflux from above.\n\n  J. N.\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nI have your letter, Comrade, in which you say how much you wish there\nwere some Adepts sent to the United States to help all true students.\nYet you know well They do not need to come here in person, in order\nto help. By going carefully over your letter there appears to be the\npossibility of the seed of doubt in your heart as to the wise ordering\nof all things, for all are under the Law, and Masters first of all.\nMind, I only say the \"_possibility of the seed of doubt_.\" For I judge\nfrom my own experience. Well do I remember when I thought as you say,\nhow much better 'twould be if some one were there.\n\nIf that is allowed to remain it will metamorphose itself into a seed\nand afterward a plant of doubt. Cast it right out! It does not now\nshow as seed of doubt, but it will be a case of metamorphosis, and the\nchange would be so great as to deceive you into thinking it were never\nfrom the same root. The best stand to take is that it is all right\nas it is now, and when the time comes for it to be better it will be\nso. Meanwhile we have a duty to see that we do all we can _in our own\nplace_ as we see best, undisturbed and undismayed by aught.\n\nHow much I have in years gone away said and thought those very words of\nyours and to no profit! Why do you care what becomes of a million human\nbeings? Are not millions going to death daily with no one to tell them\nof all this? But did you suppose that all this was not provided for?\n\"And heavenly death itself is also well provided for.\" Now, then, you\nand I must learn to look on the deaths or the famishing of millions of\nbeings with unfaltering heart. Else we had better give it all up now.\nConsider that at this moment are so many persons in various far distant\nplaces who cannot ever hear these truths. Do you grieve for them? Do\nyou realize their state? No; you realize only partially the same thing\namong those with whom it was your present lot to be born--I mean the\nnation. Do you want to do more than your best? Do you covet the work of\nanother? No; you do not. You will sit calmly where you are, then, and,\nwith an unaffected heart, picture to yourself the moral and physical\ndeaths and famines which are now without the possibility of prevention\nor amelioration. Your faith will know that _all_ is provided for.\n\nI do not say that you must attain to that calm _now_ or give up seeking\nthe Way; but I do say that you must admit that such an attainment must\nbe absolutely tried for. For of such is the trial, and why should we\ncare? _We must some day be able to stand any shock_, and to get ready\nfor that time we must be now triumphant over some smaller things. Among\nothers is the very position you and I are now in; that is, standing\nour ground and feeling ourselves so much and so awfully alone. But\nwe know that They have left us a commandment. That we keep, although\nnow and then objects, senses, men, and time conspire to show us that\nMasters laugh at us. It is all a delusion. It is only one consequence\nof our past Karma now burning itself out before our eyes. The whole\nphantasmagoria is only a picture thrown up against the Screen of Time\nby the mighty magic of Prakriti (Nature). But you and I are superior\nto Nature. Why, then, mind these pictures? Part of that very screen,\nhowever, being our own mortal bodies, we can't help the _sensation_\nderived therefrom through our connection with the body. It is only\nanother form of cold or heat; and what are they? They are vibrations;\nthey are _felt_; they do not really exist in themselves. So we can\ncalmly look on the picture as it passes fragmentarily through those\nfew square feet contained within the superficial boundaries of our\nelementary frame. We _must_ do so, for it is a copy of the greater, of\nthe universal form. For we otherwise will never be able to understand\nthe greater picture. Now, then, is there not many a cubic inch of your\nown body which is entitled to know and to be the Truth in greater\nmeasure than now? And yet you grieve for the ignorance of so many other\nhuman beings! Grieve on; and I grieve too. Do not imagine that I _am_\nwhat is there written. Not so. I am grieving just the same outwardly,\nbut inwardly trying what I have just told you. And what a dream all\nthis is. Here I am writing you so seriously, and now I see that you\nknow it all quite well and much better than I do.\n\nYet, my dear Jasper, now and then I feel--not Doubt of Masters who\nhear any heartbeat in the right direction, but--a terrible Despair of\nthese people. Oh, my God! The age is black as hell, hard as iron. It\nis iron, it is Kali Yuga. Kali is always painted black. Yet Kali Yuga\nby its very nature, and terrible, swift momentum, permits one to do\nmore with his energies in a shorter time than in any other Yuga. But\nheavens, what a combat! Demons from all the spheres; waving clouds of\nsmoky Karma; dreadful shapes; stupefying exhalations from every side.\nExposed at each turn to new dangers. Imagine a friend walking with you\nwho you see is in the same road, but all at once he is permeated by\nthese things of death and shows a disposition to obstruct your path,\nthe path of himself. Yes; the gods are asleep for awhile. But noble\nhearts still walk here, fighting over again the ancient fight. They\nseek each other, so as to be of mutual help. We will not fail them. To\nfail would be nothing, but to stop working for Humanity and Brotherhood\nwould be awful. We cannot: we will not. Yet we have not a clear road.\nNo, it is not clear. I am content if I can see the next step in advance\nonly. You seek _The Warrior_. He is here, somewhere. No one can find\nhim for you. You must do that. Still He fights on. No doubt He sees you\nand tries to make you see Him. Still He fights on and on.\n\nHow plainly the lines are drawn, how easily the bands are seen. Some\nwant a certificate, or an uttered pledge, or a secret meeting, or\na declaration, but without any of that I see those who--up to this\nhour--I find are my \"companions.\" They need no such folly. They are\nthere; they hear and understand the battle-cry, they recognize the\nsign. Now where are the rest? Many have I halted, and spoken the exact\nwords to them, have exposed to them my real heart, and they heard\nnothing: they thought that heart was something else. I sigh to think\nhow many. Perhaps I overlooked some; perhaps some did not belong to me.\nThere are some who partly understood the words and the sign, but they\nare not sure of themselves; they know that they partake of the nature,\nbut are still held back.\n\nDo you not see, Jasper, that your place in the ranks is well known? You\nneed no assurances because they are _within_ you. Now what a dreadful\nletter; but it is all true.\n\nA student of occultism after a while gets into what we may call a\npsychic whirl, or a vortex of occultism. At first he is affected by the\nfeelings and influences of those about him. That begins to be pushed\noff and he passes into the whirl caused by the mighty effort of his\nHigher Self to make him remember his past lives. Then those past lives\naffect him. They become like clouds throwing shadows on his path. Now\nthey seem tangible and then fade away, only a cloud. Then they begin to\naffect his impulse to action in many various ways. To-day he has vague\ncalling longings to do something, and, critically regarding himself,\nhe cannot see in this life any cause. It is the bugle note of a past\nlife blown almost in his face. It startles him; it may throw him down.\nThen it starts before him, a phantom, or, like a person behind you\nas you look at a mirror, it looks over his shoulder. Although dead\nand past they yet have a power. He gets too a power and a choice. If\nall his previous past lives were full of good, then irresistible is\nthe force for his benefit. But all alike marshal up in front, and he\nhastens their coming by his effort. Into this vortex about him others\nare drawn, and their germs for good or ill ripen with activity. This is\na phase of the operation of Karmic stamina. The choice is this. These\nevents arrive one after the other and, as it were, offer themselves.\nIf he chooses wrong, then hard is the fight. The one chosen attracts\nold ones like itself perhaps, for all have a life of their own. Do you\nwonder that sometimes in the case of those who rush unprepared into the\n\"circle of ascetics\" and before the ripe moment, insanity sometimes\nresults? But then that insanity is their safety for the next life, or\nfor their return to sanity.\n\nReceive my brotherly assurances, my constant desire to help you.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn respect to Karmic action it is well to recall the statement of\nPatanjali that \"works exist only in the shape of mental deposits.\"\n(Book 2, Aph. 12, A.) By \"works\" is here meant Karma, the stock of\nworks, or Action. Its results remain as mental deposits or potential\nenergies in the higher part of the fifth principle, and when it\nre\u00efncarnates those seeds are there to \"ripen on the tablets of the\nmind\" whenever they are exposed to favoring circumstances. Sometimes\nthey remain dormant for want of something to arouse them, as in the\ncase of children. \"The mental deposits of works, collected from time\nwithout beginning in the ground of the mind, as they by degrees arrive\nat maturation, so do they, existing in lesser or greater measure (the\nsum of merit being less than that of demerit, or conversely) lead\nto their effects in the shape of rank, raised or lowered, ... or\nexperience of good or ill.\" (Book 2, Aph. 13, B.) The mind energizes\nand impels us to fresh action. The impulse lies within, in germ, and\nmay be ripened by interior or exterior suggestion. Can we, then, be\ntoo careful to guard the ground of the mind, to keep close watch over\nour thoughts? These thoughts are dynamic. Each one as it leaves the\nmind has a _vis viva_ of its own, proportionate to the intensity with\nwhich it was propelled. As the force or work done, of a moving body, is\nproportionate to the square of its velocity, so we may say that the\nforce of thoughts is to be measured by the square or quadrupled power\nof their spirituality, so greatly do these finer forces increase by\nactivity. The spiritual force, being impersonal, fluidic, not bound to\nany constricting center, acts with unimaginable swiftness. A thought,\non its departure from the mind, is said to associate itself with an\nelemental; it is attracted wherever there is a similar vibration, or,\nlet us say, a suitable soil, just as the winged thistle-seed floats\noff and sows itself in this spot and not in that, in the soil of its\nnatural selection. Thus the man of virtue, by admitting a material or\nsensual thought into his mind, even though he expel it, sends it forth\nto swell the evil impulses of the man of vice from whom he imagines\nhimself separated by a wide gulf, and to whom he may have just given a\nfresh impulse to sin. Many men are like sponges, porous and bibulous,\nready to suck up every element of the order preferred by their nature.\nWe all have more or less of this quality: we attract what we love, and\nwe may derive a greater strength from the vitality of thoughts infused\nfrom without than from those self-reproduced within us at a time when\nour nervous vitality is exhausted. It is a solemn thought, this, of our\nresponsibility for the impulse of another. We live in one another, and\nour widely different deeds have often a common source. The occultist\ncannot go far upon his way without realizing to what a great extent he\nis \"his brother's keeper.\" Our affinities are ourselves, in whatever\nground they may live and ripen.\n\n  J. N.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nI seize a few moments to acknowledge your letter. This is a period of\nwaiting, of silence. Nothing seems alive. All oracles are silent. But\nthe great clock of the Universe still goes on, unheeding. On Sunday I\nengaged in Meditation and received some benefit. I wished I could see\nyou to speak of it. Yet these things are too high for words, and when\nwe approach the subjects we are not able to give expression to our\nthoughts. We do not live up to our highest soul possibilities. All that\nprevents our reaching up to the high thoughts of the far past is our\nown weakness, and not the work of any other. How petty seem the cares\nof this earth when we indulge in deep reflection; they are then seen\nfor what they are, and later on they are obliterated. It is true that\nthe road to the gods is dark and difficult, and, as you say, we get\nnothing from them at first call; we have to call often. But we can on\nthe way stop to look ahead, for no matter how sombre or howsoever weak\nourselves, the Spectator sees it all and beckons to us, and whispers,\n\"Be of good courage, for I have prepared a place for you where you will\nbe with me forever.\" He is the Great Self; He is ourselves.\n\nThe Leaders of the world are always trying to aid us. May we pass the\nclouds and see them ever. All our obstructions are of our own making.\nAll our power is the storage of the past. That store we all must have;\nwho in this life feels it near is he who has in this life directed his\nthoughts to the proper channel. That others do not feel it is because\nthey have lived but blindly. That you do not feel it and see it more is\nbecause you have not yet directed all your mental energies to it. This\ngreat root of Karmic energy can be drawn upon by directing the fire\nof our minds in that direction. Towards Love of course is the right\nway; the Love of the Divine and of all beings. If we feel that after\nall we are not yet \"Great Souls\" who participate in the totality of\nthose \"Souls who wait upon the gods,\" it need not cast us down: we are\nwaiting our hour in hope. Let us wait patiently, in the silence which\nfollows all effort, knowing that thus Nature works, for in her periods\nof obscuration she does naught where that obscuration lies, while\ndoubtless she and we too are then at work on other spheres.\n\nThat described by you is not the soul; it is only a partial experience.\nDid you know the Soul, then could you yourself reply to all those\nquestions, for all knowledge is there. In the soul is every creature\nand every thought alike. That sinking down of your thoughts to the\ncenter is practice. It can be done and we cannot explain it; we can\nonly say \"do it.\" Still do not hunger to do these things. The first\nstep in _becoming_ is Resignation. Resignation is the sure, true, and\nroyal road. Our subtle motives, ever changing, elude us when we seek\nit. You are near to it; it needs a great care. But while the body may\nbe requiring time to feel its full results, we can instantly change the\nattitude of the mind. After Resignation, follow (in their own order)\nSatisfaction, Contentment, Knowledge. Anxiety to do these things is\nan obscurant and deterrent. So try to acquire patient Resignation.\nThe lesson intended by the Karma of your present life is _the higher\npatience_. I can tell you nothing on this head; it is a matter for self\nand practice. Throw away every wish to get the power, and seek only for\nunderstanding of thyself. Insist on carelessness. Assert to yourself\nthat it is not of the slightest consequence what you were yesterday,\nbut in every moment strive for that moment; the results will follow of\nthemselves.\n\nThe Past! What is it? Nothing. Gone! Dismiss it. You are the past of\nyourself. Therefore it concerns you not as such. It only concerns you\nas you now are. In you, as now you exist, lies _all_ the past. So\nfollow the Hindu maxim: \"Regret nothing; never be sorry; and cut all\ndoubts with the sword of spiritual knowledge.\" Regret is productive\nonly of error. I care not what I _was_, or what any one _was_. I only\nlook for what I am each moment. For as each moment is and at once is\nnot, it must follow that if we think of the past we forget the present,\nand while we forget, the moments fly by us, making more past. Then\nregret nothing, not even the greatest follies of your life, for they\nare gone, and you are to work in the present which is both past and\nfuture at once. So then, with that absolute knowledge that all your\nlimitations are due to Karma, past or in this life, and with a firm\nreliance ever now upon Karma as the only judge, who will be good or\nbad as you make it yourself, you can stand anything that may happen\nand feel serene despite the occasional despondencies which all feel,\nbut which the light of Truth always dispels. This verse always settles\neverything:\n\n\"In him who knows that all spiritual beings are the same in kind with\nthe Supreme Being, what room can there be for delusion and what room\nfor sorrow when he reflects upon the unity of spirit?\"\n\nIn all these inner experiences there are tides as well as in the ocean.\nWe rise and fall. Anon the gods descend, and then they return to\nheaven. Do not _think_ of getting them to descend, but strive to raise\n_yourself_ higher on the road down which they periodically return,\nand thus get nearer to them, so that you shall in fact receive their\ninfluences sooner than before.\n\nAdios. May you ever feel the surge of the vast deeps that lie beyond\nthe heart's small ebb. Perhaps our comrades are coming nearer. Who\nknows? But even if not, then we will wait; the sun must burst some day\nfrom the clouds. This will keep us strong while, in the company of the\nDweller of the Threshold, we have perforce to stare and sham awhile.\n\n  Z.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe \"higher patience\" alluded to also requires a care. It is the fine\nline between pride and humility. Both are extremes and mistakes;\noscillations from one to the other are only a trifle better. How shall\nwe be proud when we are so small? How dare we be humble when we are so\ngreat? In both we blaspheme. But there is that firm spot between the\ntwo which is the place \"neither too high nor too low\" on which Krishna\ntold Arjuna to sit; a spot _of his own_. It is the firm place which our\nfaith has won from the world. On it we are always to stand calmly, not\novershadowed by any man however great, because each of us contains the\npotentialities of every other. \"Not overshadowed\" does not mean that\nwe are not to show reverence to those through whom the soul speaks.\nIt is the great soul we reverence, and not the mortal clay. We are to\nexamine thoughtfully all that comes to us from such persons, and all\nthat comes to us from any source wearing the aspect of truth, and try\nfaithfully to see wherein it may be true, laying it aside, if we fail,\nas fruit not ripe for us yet. We are not to yield up our intuitions to\nany being, while we may largely doubt our judgment at all times. We\nare not to act without the inner asseveration, but we must not remain\nignorant of the serious difficulty of separating this intuitive voice\nfrom the babble and prattle of fancy, desire, or pride. If we are just\nto ourselves we shall hold the balance evenly. How can we be just to\nany other who are not just to ourselves? In the Law a man suffers as\nmuch from injustice to himself as to another; it matters not in whose\ninterests he has opposed the universal currents; the Law only knows\nthat he has tried to deflect them by an injustice. It takes no account\nof persons nor even of ignorance of the Law. It is an impartial,\nimpersonal force, only to be understood by the aid of the higher\npatience, which at once dares all and endures all.\n\n\"Never regret anything.\" Regret is a thought, hence an energy. If we\nturn its tide upon the past, it plays upon the seeds of that past and\nvivifies them; it causes them to sprout and grow in the ground of the\nmind: from thence to expression in action is but a step. A child once\nsaid to me when I used the word \"Ghosts,\" \"Hush! Don't think of them.\nWhat we think of always happens.\" There are no impartial observers like\nchildren when they think away from themselves.\n\n  J. N.\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\n\n  DEAR SIR AND BROTHER:\n\nTell your friend and inquirer this: No one was ever converted into\nTheosophy. Each one who _really_ comes into it does so because it is\nonly \"an extension of previous beliefs.\" This will show you that Karma\nis a true thing. For no idea we get is any more than an extension\nof previous ones. That is, they are cause and effect in endless\nsuccession. Each one is the producer of the next and inheres in that\nsuccessor. Thus we are all different and some similar. My ideas of\nto-day and yours are tinged with those of youth, and we will thus\nforever proceed on the inevitable line we have marked out in the\nbeginning. We of course alter a little always, but never until our old\nideas are extended. Those _false_ ideas now and then discarded are\nnot to be counted; yet they give a shadow here and there. But through\nBrotherhood we receive the knowledge of others, which we consider\nuntil (if it fits us) it is ours. As far as your private conclusions\nare concerned, use your discrimination always. Do not adopt any\nconclusions merely because they are uttered by one in whom you have\nconfidence, but adopt them when they coincide with your intuition. To\nbe even unconsciously deluded by the influence of another is to have a\ncounterfeit faith.\n\nSpiritual knowledge includes every action. Inquirers ought to read the\n_Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_. It will give them food for centuries if they read with\nspiritual eyes at all. Underneath its shell is the living spirit that\nwill light us all. I read it ten times before I saw things that I did\nnot see at first. In the night the ideas contained in it are digested\nand returned partly next day to the mind. It is the study of adepts.\n\nLet no man be unaware that while there is a great joy in this belief\nthere is also a great sorrow. Being true, being _the Law_, all the\ngreat forces are set in motion by the student. He now thinks he has\ngiven up ambition and comfort. The ambition and comfort he has given\nup are those of the lower plane, the mere reflections of the great\nambitions and comforts of a larger life. The rays of truth burn up the\ncovers time has placed upon those seeds, and then the seeds begin to\nsprout and cause new struggles. Do not leave any earnest inquirer in\nignorance of this. It has cost others many years and tears of blood to\nself-learn it.\n\nHow difficult the path of action is! I see the future dimly, and\nunconsciously in such case one makes efforts either for or against it.\nThen Karma results. I could almost wish I did not hear these whispers.\nBut he who conquers himself is greater than the conquerors of worlds.\n\nPerhaps you see more clearly now how Karma operates. If one directs\nhimself to eliminating all old Karma, the struggle very often becomes\ntremendous, for the whole load of ancient sin rushes to the front on a\nman and the events succeed each other rapidly; the strain is terrific,\nand the whole life fabric groans and rocks. As is said in the East, you\nmay go through the appointed course in 700 births, in seven years, or\nin seven minutes.\n\nThe sentence in _Light on the Path_ referred to by so many students is\nnot so difficult as some others. One answer will do for all. The book\nis written on the basis of Re\u00efncarnation, and when it says the soiled\ngarment will fall again on you, it means that this will happen in some\nother life, not necessarily in this, though that may be too. To \"turn\naway in horror\" is _not_ detachment. Before we can hope to prevent any\nparticular state of mind or events reaching us in this or in another\nlife, _we_ must in fact be detached from these things. Now _we_ are\nnot our bodies or mere minds, but the _real_ part of us in which\nKarma inheres. Karma brings everything about. It attaches to our real\ninner selves by attachment and repulsion. That is, if we love vice or\nanything, it seizes on us by attachment thereto; if we hate anything,\nit seizes on our inner selves by reason of the strong horror we feel\nfor it. In order to prevent a thing we must understand it; we cannot\nunderstand while we fear or hate it. We are not to love vice, but are\nto recognize that it is a part of the whole, and, trying to understand\nit, we thus get above it. This is the \"doctrine of opposites\" spoken\nof in _Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_. So if we turn in horror now (we may feel sad\nand charitable, though) from the bad, the future life will feel that\nhorror and develop it by reaction into a re\u00efncarnation in a body and\nplace where we must in material life go through the very thing we hate\nnow. As we are striving to reach God, we must learn to be as near like\nHim as possible. He loves and hates not; so we must strive to regard\nthe greatest vice as being something we must not hate while we will not\nengage in it, and then we may approach that state where we will know\nthe greater love that takes in good and evil men and things alike.\n\nGood and Evil are only the two poles of the one thing. In the Absolute,\nEvil is the same thing in this way. One with absolute knowledge can\n_see_ both Good and Evil, but he does not _feel_ Evil to be a thing to\nflee from, and thus he has to call it merely the other pole. We say\nGood or Evil as certain events seem pleasant or unpleasant to us or\nour present civilization. And so we have coined those two words. They\nare bad words to use. For in the Absolute one is just as necessary\nas the other, and often what seem evil and \"pain\" are not absolutely\nso, but only necessary adjustments in the progress of the soul. Read\n_Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_ as to how the self seems to suffer pain. What is Evil\nnow? Loss of friends? No; if you are self-centered. Slander? Not if\nyou rely on Karma. There is only evil when you rebel against immutable\ndecrees that must be worked out. You know that there must be these\nbalancings which we call Good and Evil. Just imagine one man who really\nwas a high soul, now living as a miser and enjoying it. You call it an\nevil; he a good. Who is right? You say \"Evil\" because you are speaking\nout of the True; but the True did know that he could never have passed\nsome one certain point unless he had that experience, and so we see\nhim now in an evil state. Experience we must have, and if we accept it\nat our own hands we are wise. That is, while striving to do our whole\nduty to the world and ourselves, we will not live the past over again\nby vain and hurtful regrets, nor condemn any man, whatever his deeds,\nsince we cannot know their true cause. We are not Karma, we are not the\nLaw, and it is a species of that hypocrisy so deeply condemned by It\nfor us to condemn any man. That the Law lets a man live is proof that\nhe is not yet judged by that higher power. Still we must and will keep\nour discriminating power at all times.\n\nAs to rising above Good and Evil, that does not mean to do evil, of\ncourse. But, in fact, there can be no _real_ Evil or Good; if our aim\nis right our acts cannot be evil. Now all acts are dead when done; it\nis in the heart that they are conceived and are already there done; the\nmere bodily carrying out of them is a dead thing in itself. So we may\ndo a supposed good act and that shall outwardly appear good, and yet as\nour motive perhaps is wrong the act is naught, but the motive counts.\n\nThe great God did all, good and bad alike. Among the rest are what\nappear Evil things, yet he must be unaffected. So if we follow\n_Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_, second chapter, we must do only those acts we believe\nright for the sake of God and not for ourselves, and if we are\nregardless of the consequences we are not concerned if they _appear_ to\nbe Good or Evil. As the heart and mind are the real planes of error,\nit follows that we must look to it that we do all acts merely because\nthey are there to be done. It then becomes difficult only to separate\nourselves from the act.\n\nWe can never as human beings rise above being the instruments through\nwhich that which is called Good and Evil comes to pass, but as that\nGood and Evil are the result of comparison and are not in themselves\nabsolute, it must follow that we (the real \"_we_\") must learn to rise\ninternally to a place where these occurrences appear to us merely as\nchanges in a life of change. Even in the worldly man this sometimes\nhappens.\n\nAs, say Bismarck, used to moving large bodies of men and perhaps for\na good end, can easily rise above the transient Evil, looking to a\ngreater result. Or the physician is able to rise above pain to a\npatient, and only consider the good, or rather the result, that is to\nfollow from a painful operation. The patient himself does the same.\n\nSo the student comes to see that he is not to do either \"Good\" or\n\"Evil,\" but to do any certain number of acts set before him, and\nmeanwhile not ever to regard much his line of conduct, but rather his\nline of motive, for his conduct follows necessarily from his motive.\nTake the soldier. For him there is nothing better than lawful war.\nQuery. Does he do wrong in warring or not, even if war is unlawful? He\ndoes not unless he mixes his motive. They who go into war for gain or\nrevenge do wrong, but not he who goes at his superior's order, because\nit is his present duty.\n\nLet us, then, extend help to all who come our way. This will be true\nprogress; the veils that come over our souls fall away when we work for\nothers. Let that be the real motive, and the _quality_ of work done\nmakes no difference.\n\n  Z.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt would seem that Good and Evil are not inherent in things themselves,\nbut in the uses to which those things are put by us. They are\nconditions of manifestation. Many things commonly called immoral\nare consequences of the unjust laws of man, of egotistic social\ninstitutions: such things are not immoral _per se_, but relatively so.\nThey are only immoral in point of time. There are others whose evil\nconsists in the base use to which higher forces are put, or to which\nLife--which is sacred--is put, so that here also evil does not inhere\nin them, but in ourselves; in our misuse of noble instruments in lower\nwork. Nor does evil inhere in us, but in our ignorance; it is one of\nthe great illusions of Nature. All these illusions cause the soul to\nexperience in matter until it has consciously learned every part: then\nit must learn to know the whole and all at once, which it can only do\nby and through reunion with Spirit; or with the Supreme, with the Deity.\n\nIf we take, with all due reverence, so much of the standpoint of the\nSupreme as our finite minds or our dawning intuition may permit, we\nfeel that he stands above unmoved by either Good or Evil. Our good\nis relative, and evil is only the limitation of the soul by matter.\nFrom the material essence of the Deity all the myriad differentiations\nof Nature (Prakriti, cosmic substance), all the worlds and their\ncorrelations are evolved. They assist the cyclic experience of the\nsoul as it passes from state to state. How, then, shall we say\nthat any state is evil in an absolute sense? Take murder. It seems\nan evil. True, we cannot _really_ take life, but we can destroy a\nvehicle of the divine Principle of Life and impede the course of a\nsoul using that vehicle. But we are more injured by the deed than any\nother. It is the fruit of a certain unhealthy state of the soul. The\ndeed sends us to hell, as it were, for one or more incarnations; to\na condition of misery. The shock, the natural retribution, our own\nresultant Karma, both the penalties imposed by man and that exacted by\noccult law, chasten and soften the soul. It is passed through a most\nsolemn experience which had become necessary to its growth and which\nin the end is the cause of its additional purification. In view of\nthis result, was the deed evil? It was a necessary consequence of the\nlimitations of matter; for had the soul remained celestial and in free\nBeing, it could not have committed murder. Nor has the immortal soul,\nthe spectator, any share in the wrong; it is only the personality, the\nelementary part of the soul, which has sinned. All that keeps the soul\nconfined to material existence is evil, and so we cannot discriminate\neither. The only ultimate good is Unity, and in reality nothing but\nthat exists. Hence our judgments are in time only. Nor have we the\nright to exact a life for a life. \"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord\n(Law); I will repay.\" We become abetters of murder in making such human\nlaws. I do not say that every experience must be gone through bodily,\nbecause some are lived out in the mind. Nor do I seek to justify any.\nThe only justification is in the Law.\n\nThe innocent man unjustly murdered is rewarded by Karma in a future\nlife. Indeed, any man murdered is reimbursed, so to say; for while that\nmisfortune sprang from his Karma, occult law does not admit of the\ntaking of life. Some men are the weapons of Karma in their wrong-doing,\nbut they themselves have appointed this place to themselves in their\npast.\n\nThe Great Soul needed just that body, whatever the errors of its\nnature, or its physical environment, and to disappoint the soul is\na fearful deed for a man. For it is only man, only the lower nature\nunder the influence of Tamas (the quality of darkness), which feels\nthe impulse to take life, whether in human justice, for revenge, for\nprotection, or so on. \"The soul neither kills nor is killed.\" What we\nknow as ourselves is only the natural man, the lower principles and\nmind, presided over by the false consciousness. Of the soul we have but\nbrief and partial glimpses--in conscience or intuition--in our ordinary\nstate. There are, of course, psychic and spiritual states in which\nmore is known. Thus nature wars against nature, always for the purpose\nof bringing about the purification and evolution of the soul. Nature\nexists only for the purpose of the soul. If we think out the subject\nupon these lines, we can at least see how rash we should be to conclude\nthat any deed was unmixed evil, or that these distinctions exist in the\nAbsolute. It alone is; all else is phenomenal and transitory; these\ndifferences disappear as we proceed upward. Meanwhile we are to avoid\nall these immoral things and many others not so regarded by the crowd\nat all, but which are just as much so because we know to what increased\nignorance and darkness they give rise through the ferment which they\ncause in the nature, and that this impedes the entrance of the clear\nrays of Truth.\n\nI doubt that the soul knows the moral or immoral. For just consider for\na moment the case of a disembodied soul. What is sin to it when freed\nfrom that shell--the body? What does it know then of human laws or\nmoralities, or the rules and forms of matter? Does it even see them?\nWhat lewdness can it commit? So I say that these moralities are of this\nplane only, to be heeded and obeyed there, but not to be postulated\nas final or used as a balance to weigh the soul which has other laws.\nThe free soul has to do with essences and powers all impersonal; the\nstrife of matter is left behind. Still higher and above as within all,\nthe passionless, deathless spirit looks down, knowing well that, when\nthe natural has once again subsided into its spiritual source, all\nthis struggle and play of force and will, this waxing and waning of\nforms, this progression of consciousness which throw up coming clouds\nand fumes of illusion before the eye of the soul, will have come to an\nend. Even now, while we cannot master these high themes, we can have a\npatient trust in the processes of evolution and the Law, blaming and\njudging no man, but living up to our highest intuitions ourselves. _The\nreal test of a man is his motive_, which we do not see, nor do his acts\nalways represent it.\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nYou ask me about the \"three qualities sprung from Nature,\" mentioned\nin the _Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_. They exist potentially (latent) in _Purush_\n(Spirit), and during that time spoken of in the _Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_ as the\ntime when He produces all things after having devoured them (which is\nthe same thing as Saturn devouring his children), they come forth into\nactivity, and therefore are found _implicating_ all beings, who are\nsaid not to be free from their influence.\n\n\"Being\" here must refer to formed beings in all worlds. Therefore\nin these forms the qualities _exist_ [for _form_ is derived from\nNature=Prakriti=Cosmic Substance.--J. N.], and at the same time\n_implicate_ the spectator (soul) who is in the form. The Devas are\ngods--that is, a sort of spiritual power who are lower than the Ishwara\nin man. They are influenced by the quality of Satwa, or Truth. They\nenjoy a period of immense felicity of enormous duration, but which\nhaving _duration_ is not an eternity.\n\nIt is written: \"Goodness, badness, and indifference--the qualities thus\ncalled--sprung from Nature, influence the imperishable soul within the\nbody.\"\n\nThis imperishable soul is thus separated from the body in which the\nqualities influence it, and also from the qualities which are not it.\nIt is Ishwara. The Ishwara is thus implicated by the qualities.\n\nThe first or highest quality is Satwa, which is in its nature pure and\npleasant, and implicates Ishwara by connection with pleasant things and\nwith knowledge. Thus even by dwelling in Satwa the soul is implicated.\n\nThe second quality is Raja and causes action; it implicates the soul\nbecause it partakes of avidity and propensity, and causing actions thus\nimplicates the soul.\n\nThe third, Tamo quality, is of the nature of indifference and is the\ndeluder of all mortals. It is fed by ignorance.\n\nHere, then, are two great opposers to the soul, _ignorance_ and\n_action_. For action proceeding from Raja assisted by Satwa does not\nlead to the highest place; while ignorance causes destruction. Yet when\none knows that he is ignorant, he has to perform actions in order to\ndestroy that ignorance. How to do that without always revolving in the\nwhirl of action [Karma, causing rebirths.--J. N.] is the question.\n\nHe must first get rid of the idea that he himself really does anything,\nknowing that the actions all take place in these three natural\nqualities, and not in the soul at all. The word \"qualities\" must be\nconsidered in a larger sense than that word is generally given.\n\nThen he must place all his actions on devotion. That is, sacrifice all\nhis actions to the Supreme and not to himself. He must either (leaving\nout indifference) set himself up as the God to whom he sacrifices, or\nthe other real God--Krishna, and all his acts and aspirations are done\neither for himself or for the All. Here comes in the importance of\nmotive. For if he performs great deeds of valor, or of benefit to man,\nor acquires knowledge so as to assist man, and is moved to that merely\nbecause he thinks _he_ will attain salvation, he is only acting for his\nown benefit and is therefore sacrificing to himself. Therefore he must\nbe devoted inwardly to the All; that is, he places all his actions on\nthe Supreme, knowing that he is not the doer of the actions, but is the\nmere witness of them.\n\nAs he is in a mortal body, he is affected by doubts which will spring\nup. When they do arise, it is because he is ignorant about something.\nHe should therefore be able to disperse doubt \"by the sword of\nknowledge.\" For if he has a ready answer to some doubt, he disperses\nthat much. All doubts come from the lower nature, and _never_ in any\ncase from higher nature. Therefore as he becomes more and more devoted\nhe is able to know more and more clearly the knowledge residing in his\nSatwa part. For it says:\n\n\"A man who, perfected in devotion (or who persists in its cultivation)\nfinds spiritual knowledge spontaneously in himself in progress of\ntime.\" Also: \"The man of doubtful mind enjoys neither this world nor\nthe other (the Deva world), nor final beatitude.\"\n\nThe last sentence is to destroy the idea that if there is in us this\nhigher self it will, even if we are indolent and doubtful, triumph over\nthe necessity for knowledge, and lead us to final beatitude in common\nwith the whole stream of man.\n\nThe three qualities are lower than a state called Turya, which is a\nhigh state capable of being enjoyed even while in this body. Therefore\nin that state, there exists none of the three qualities, but there the\nsoul sees the three qualities moving in the ocean of Being beneath.\nThis experience is not only met with after death, but, as I said, it\nmay be enjoyed in the present life, though of course consciously very\nseldom. But even consciously there are those high Yogees who can and\ndo rise up to Nirvana, or Spirit, while on the earth. This state is\nthe fourth state, called Turya. There is no word in English which will\nexpress it. In that state the body is alive though in deep catalepsy.\n[Self-induced by the Adept.--J. N.] When the Adept returns from it\nhe brings back _whatever he can_ of the vast experiences of that\nTurya state. Of course they are far beyond any expression, and their\npossibilities can be only dimly perceived by us. I cannot give any\ndescription thereof because I have not known it, but I perceive the\npossibilities, and you probably can do the same.\n\nIt is well to pursue some kind of practice, and pursue it either in a\nfixed place, or in a mental place which cannot be seen, or at night.\nThe fact that what is called Dharana, Dhyana, and Sam\u00e1dhi may be\nperformed should be known. (See Patanjali's yoga system.)\n\nDharana is selecting a thing, a spot, or an idea, to fix the mind on.\n\nDhyana is contemplation of it.\n\nSam\u00e2dhi is meditating on it.\n\nWhen attempted, they of course are all one act.\n\nNow, then, take what is called the well of the throat or pit of the\nthroat.\n\n1st. Select it.--Dharana.\n\n2d. Hold the mind on it.--Dhyana.\n\n3d. Meditate on it.--Sam\u00e1dhi.\n\nThis gives firmness of mind.\n\nThen select the spot in the head where the Shushumna nerve goes. Never\nmind the location; call it the top of the head. Then pursue the same\ncourse. This will give some insight into spiritual minds. At first it\nis difficult, but it will grow easy by practice. If done at all, the\nsame hour of each day should be selected, as creating a habit, not\nonly in the body, but also in the mind. Always keep the direction of\nKrishna in mind: namely, that it is done for the whole body corporate\nof humanity, and not for one's self.\n\nAs regards the passions: Anger seems to be the _force_ of Nature; there\nis more in it, though.\n\nLust (so-called) is the gross symbol of love and desire to create. It\nis the perversion of the True in love and desire.\n\nVanity, I think, represents in one aspect the illusion--power of\nNature; Maya, that which we mistake for the reality. It is nearest\nalways to us and most insidious, just as Nature's illusion is ever\npresent and difficult to overcome.\n\nAnger and Lust have some of the Rajasika quality; but it seems to me\nthat Vanity is almost wholly of the Tamogunam.\n\nMay you cross over to the fearless shore.\n\n  Z.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs regards the practices of concentration suggested in this letter,\nthey are only stages in a life-long contemplation; they are means to\nan end, means of a certain order among means of other orders, all\nnecessary, the highest path being that of constant devotion and entire\nresignation to the Law. The above means have a physiological value\nbecause the spots suggested for contemplation are, like others, vital\ncenters. Excitation of these centers, and of the magnetic residue of\nbreath always found in them, strengthens and arouses the faculties of\nthe inner man, the magnetic vehicle of the soul and the link between\nmatter and spirit. This is a form of words necessary for clearness,\nbecause in reality matter and spirit are one. We may better imagine an\ninfinite series of force correlations which extend from pure Spirit to\nits grossest vehicle, and we may say that the magnetic inner vehicle,\nor astral man, stands at the halfway point of the scale. The secret\nof the circulation of the nervous fluid is hidden in these vital\ncenters, and he who discovers it can use the body at will. Moreover,\nthis practice trains the mind to remain in its own principle, without\nenergizing, and without exercising its tangential force, which is so\nhard to overcome. Thought has a self-reproductive power, and when the\nmind is held steadily to one idea it becomes colored by it, and, as\nwe may say, all the correlates of that thought arise within the mind.\nHence the mystic obtains knowledge about any object of which he thinks\nconstantly in fixed contemplation. Here is the rationale of Krishna's\nwords: \"Think constantly of me; depend on me alone; and thou shalt\nsurely come unto me.\"\n\nThe pure instincts of children often reveal occult truths. I heard a\ngirl of fifteen say recently: \"When I was a small child I was always\nsupposin'. I used to sit on the window seat and stare, stare, at the\nmoon, and I was supposin' that, if I only stared long enough, I'd get\nthere and know all about it.\"\n\nSpiritual culture is attained through concentration. It must be\ncontinued daily and every moment to be of use. The \"Elixir of Life\"\n(_Five Years of Theosophy_) gives us some of the reasons for this\ntruth. Meditation has been defined as \"the cessation of active,\nexternal thought.\" Concentration is the entire life-tendency to a given\nend. For example, a devoted mother is one who consults the interests\nof her children and all branches of their interests in and before\nall things; not one who sits down to think fixedly about one branch\nof their interests all the day. Life is the great teacher; it is the\ngreat manifestation of Soul, and Soul manifests the Supreme. Hence all\nmethods are good, and all are but parts of the great aim, which is\nDevotion. \"Devotion is success in actions,\" says the _Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2_.\nWe must use higher and lower faculties alike, and beyond those of mind\nare those of the Spirit, unknown but discoverable. The psychic powers,\nas they come, must also be used, for they reveal laws. But their value\nmust not be exaggerated, nor must their danger be ignored. They are\nmore subtle intoxicants than the gross physical energies. He who relies\nupon them is like a man who gives way to pride and triumph because he\nhas reached the first wayside station on the peaks he has set out to\nclimb. Like despondency, like doubt, like fear, like vanity, pride,\nand self-satisfaction, these powers too are used by Nature as traps to\ndetain us. Every occurrence, every object, every energy may be used for\nor against the great end: in each Nature strives to contain Spirit, and\nSpirit strives to be free. Shall the substance paralyze the motion, or\nshall the motion control the substance? The interrelation of these two\nis manifestation. The ratio of activity governs spiritual development;\nwhen the great Force has gained its full momentum, It carries us to the\nborders of the Unknown. It is a Force intelligent, self-conscious, and\nspiritual: its lower forms, or vehicles, or correlates may be evoked by\nus, but Itself comes only of Its own volition. We can only prepare a\nvehicle for It, in which, as Behmen says, \"the Holy Ghost may ride in\nIts own chariot.\"\n\n\"The Self cannot be known by the _Vedas_, nor by the understanding,\nnor by much learning. He whom the Self chooses, by him alone the Self\ncan be gained.\"\n\n\"The Self chooses him as his own. But the man who has not first turned\naside from his wickedness, who is not calm and subdued, _or whose mind\nis not at rest_, he can never obtain the Self, even by knowledge.\"\n\nThe italics are mine; they indicate the value of that stage of\ncontemplation hitherto referred to as that in which the mind has ceased\nto energize, and when the pure energies of Nature go to swell the\nfountain of Spirit.\n\nIn regard to the phrase in the above letter that the Adept \"brings back\n_what he can_\" from Turya, it is to be understood as referring to the\nfact that all depends upon the co\u00f6rdination of the various principles\nin man. He who has attained perfection or Mah\u00e2tmaship has assumed\ncomplete control of the body and informs it at will. But, of course,\nwhile in the body he is still, to some extent, as a soul of power,\nlimited by that body or vehicle. That is to say, there are experiences\nnot to be shared by that organ of the soul called by us \"the body,\" and\nbeyond a certain point its brain cannot reflect or recall them. This\npoint varies according to the degree of attainment of individual souls,\nand while in some it may be a high point of great knowledge and power,\nstill it must be considered as limited compared with those spiritual\nexperiences of the freed soul.\n\nThe work upon which all disciples are employed is that of rendering\nthe body more porous, more fluidic, more responsive to all spiritual\ninfluences which arise in the inner center, in the soul which is an\nundivided part of the great Soul of all, and less receptive of the\noutside material influences which are generated by the unthinking world\nand by those qualities which are in nature. Abstract thought is said\nto be \"the power of thinking of a thing apart from its qualities;\" but\nthese qualities are the phenomenal, the evident, and they make the most\nimpression upon our senses. They bewilder us, and they form a part of\nthat trap which Nature sets for us lest we discover her inmost secret\nand rule her. More than this: our detention as individual components\nof a race provides time for that and other races to go through\nevolutionary experience slowly, provides long and repeated chances for\nevery soul to amend, to return, to round the curve of evolution. In\nthis Nature is most merciful, and even in the darkness of the eighth\nsphere to which souls of _spiritual_ wickedness descend, her impulses\nprovide opportunities of return if a single responsive energy is left\nin the self-condemned soul.\n\nMany persons insist upon a perfect moral code tempered by social\namenities, forgetting that these vary with climate, nationalities, and\ndates. Virtue is a noble offering to the Lord. But insomuch as it is\nmere bodily uprightness and mere mental uprightness, it is insufficient\nand stands apart from uprightness of the psychic nature or the virtue\nof soul. The virtue of the soul is true Being; its virtue is, to be\nfree. The body and the mind are not sharers in such experiences,\nthough they may afterward reflect them, and this reflection may inform\nthem with light and power of their own kind. Spirituality is not\nvirtue. It is impersonality, in one aspect. It is as possible to be\nspiritually \"wicked\" as to be spiritually \"good.\" These attributes are\nonly conferred upon spirituality by reason of its use for or against\nthe great evolutionary Law, which must finally prevail because it is\nthe Law of the Deity, an expression of the nature and Being of the\nUnknown, which nature is towards manifestation, self-realization, and\nre\u00e4bsorption. All that clashes with this Law by striving for separate\nexistence must in the long run fail, and any differentiation which\nis in itself incapable of re\u00e4bsorption is reduced to its original\nelements, in which shape, so to say, it can be reabsorbed.\n\nSpirituality is, then, a condition of Being which is beyond expression\nin language. Call it a rate of vibration, far beyond our cognizance.\nIts language is the language of motion, in its incipiency, and its\nperfection is beyond words and even thought.\n\n\"The knowledge of the Supreme Principle is a divine silence, and the\nquiescence of all the senses.\"--(_Clavis of Hermes._)\n\n\"Likes and dislikes, good and evil, do not in the least affect the\nknower of Brahm, who is bodiless and always existing.\"--(_Crest Jewel\nof Wisdom._)\n\n\"Of that nature which is beyond intellect many things are asserted\naccording to intellection, but it is contemplated by a cessation of\nintellectual energy better than with it.\"--(_Porphyrios._)\n\nThought is bounded, and we seek to enter the boundless. The intellect\nis the first production of Nature which energizes for the experience\nof the soul, as I said. When we recognize this truth we make use of\nthat natural energy called Thought for comparison, instruction, and the\nremoval of doubt, and so reach a point where we restrain the outward\ntendencies of Nature, for, when these are resolved into their cause and\nNature is wholly conquered and restrained, that cause manifests itself\nboth in and beyond Nature.\n\n\"The incorporeal substances in descending are divided and multiplied\nabout individuals with a diminution of power; but when they ascend by\ntheir energies beyond bodies, they become united and exist as a whole\nby and through exuberance of power.\"--(_Porphyrios._)\n\nThese hints may suffice for such minds as are already upon the way.\nOthers will be closed to them. Language only expresses the experiences\nof a race, and since ours has not reached the upper levels of Being\nwe have as yet no words for these things. The East has ever been the\nhome of spiritual research; she has given all the great religions\nto the world. The Sanscrit has thus terms for some of these states\nand conditions, but even in the East it is well understood that the\nformless cannot be expressed by form, or the Illimitable by the limits\nof words or signs. The only way to know these states is to _be_ them:\nwe never can _really_ know anything which we are not.\n\n  J. N.\n\n\n\n\nXI.\n\n\nIt has been with regret that I hear of your serious illness, Jasper.\nWhile life hangs in the balance, as it would seem yours does and for\nsome time will, you will feel much depression.\n\nNow it is not usual to thus calmly talk to a person of his death, but\nyou do not mind, so I talk. I do not agree with you that death is well.\nYours is not a case like that of ---- who _was_ to die and decided to\naccept life from Great Powers and work on for Humanity amid all the\nthroes and anguish of that body. Why should you not live now as long as\nyou can in the present body, so that in it you may make all the advance\npossible and by your life do as much good as you can to the Cause and\nman? For you have not yet as Jasper Niemand had a chance to entitle\nyou to _extraordinary_ help after death in getting back again soon, so\nthat you would die and run the chance of a long Devachan and miss much\nthat you might do for _Them_. Such are my views. Life is better than\ndeath, for death again disappoints the Self. Death is _not_ the great\ninformer or producer of knowledge. It is only the great curtain on the\nstage to be rung up next instant. Complete knowledge must be attained\nin the triune man: body, soul, and spirit. When that is obtained, then\nhe passes on to other spheres, which to us are unknown and are endless.\nBy living as long as one can, one gives the Self that longer chance.\n\n\"Atmanam atmana pashya\" (Raise the Self by the self--_G\u00eet\u00e2_) does not\nseem to be effective after the threshold of death is passed. The union\nof the trinity is only to be accomplished on earth in a body, and\n_then_ release is desirable.\n\nIt is not for myself that I speak, Brother, but for thee, because in\ndeath I can lose no one. The living have a greater part in the dead\nthan the dead have in the living.\n\nThe doubt which you now feel as to success is morbid. Please destroy\nit. Better a false hope with no doubt, than much knowledge with doubts\nof your own chances. \"He that doubteth is like the waves of the sea,\ndriven by the wind and tossed.\" Doubt is not to be solely guarded\nagainst when applied to Masters (whom I know you doubt not). It is most\nto be guarded and repelled in relation to oneself. Any idea that one\ncannot succeed, or had better die than live because an injured body\nseems to make success unattainable, is _doubt_.\n\nWe dare not hope, but we _dare_ try to live on and on that we may serve\nThem as They serve the Law. We are not to try to be chelas or to do any\none thing in this incarnation, but only to know and to be just as much\nas we can, and the possibility is not measured. Reflect, then, that it\nis only a question of being overcome--by what? By something outside.\nBut if you accuse or doubt yourself, you then give the enemy a rest; he\nhas nothing to do, for you do it all yourself for him, and, leaving you\nto your fate, he seeks other victims. Rise, then, from this despondency\nand seize the sword of knowledge. With it, and with Love, the universe\nis conquerable. Not that I see thee too despondent, Jasper, but I fain\nwould give thee my ideas, even did something kill thee against our will\nnext day.\n\nAm glad that although the body is painful, you yourself are all right.\nWe have in various ways to suffer, and I do not doubt it is a great\nadvance if we can in the midst of physical suffering grasp and hold\nourselves calm and away from it. Yet also the body must be rested.\nRest, and let the anxieties to do lie still and dormant. By that they\nare not killed, and when the body gets stronger more is known.\n\nYou have been in storms enough. A few moments' reflection will show you\nthat we make our own storms. The power of any and all circumstances is\na fixed, unvarying quality, but as _we_ vary in our reception of these,\nit appears to us that our difficulties vary in intensity. They do not\nat all. We are the variants.\n\nIf we admit that we are in the stream of evolution, then each\ncircumstance must be to us quite right. And in our failures to perform\nset acts should be our greatest helps, for we can in no other way learn\nthat calmness which Krishna insists upon. If all our plans succeeded,\nthen no contrasts would appear to us. Also those plans we make may\nall be made ignorantly and thus wrongly, and kind Nature will not\npermit us to carry them out. We get no blame for the plan, but we may\nacquire Karmic demerit by not accepting the impossibility of achieving.\nIgnorance of the law cannot be pleaded among men, but ignorance of fact\nmay. In occultism, even if you are ignorant of some facts of importance\nyou are not passed over by _The Law_, for It has regard for no man, and\npursues Its adjustments without regard to what we know or are ignorant\nof.\n\nIf you are at all cast down, or if any of us is, then by just that\nmuch are our thoughts lessened in power. One could be confined in a\nprison and yet be a worker for the Cause. So I pray you to remove from\nyour mind any distaste for present circumstances. If you can succeed in\nlooking at it all as _just what you in fact desired_, then it will act\nnot only as a strengthener of your good thoughts, but will reflexly act\non your body and make it stronger.\n\nAll this reminds me of H., of whose failure you now know. And in this\nbe not disappointed. It could hardly be otherwise. Unwisely he made\nhis demands upon the Law before being quite ready. That is, unwisely\nin certain senses, for in the greater view naught can be unwise. His\napparent defeat, at the very beginning of the battle, is for him quite\nof course. He went where the fire is hottest and made it hotter by\nhis aspirations. All others have and all will suffer the same. For it\nmakes no difference that his is a bodily affection; as all these things\nproceed from mental disturbances, we can easily see the same cause\nunder a physical ailment as under a mental divagation. Strangely, too,\nI wrote you of the few who really do stay, and soon after this news\ncame and threw a light--a red one, so to say--upon the information of\nH's retreat. See how thought interlinks with thought on all planes when\nthe True is the aim.\n\nWe ourselves are not wholly exempt, inasmuch as we daily and hourly\nfeel the strain. Accept the words of a fellow traveller; these: Keep\nup the aspiration and the search, but do not maintain the attitude\nof despair or the slightest repining. Not that you do. I cannot find\nthe right words; but surely you would know all, were it not that some\ndefects hold you back.\n\nThe darkness and the desolation are sure to be ours, but it is only\nillusionary. Is not the Self pure, bright, bodiless, and free,--and art\nthou not that? The daily waking life is but a penance and the trial of\nthe body, so that _it_ too may thereby acquire the right condition. In\ndreams we see the truth and taste the joys of heaven. In waking life it\nis ours to gradually distill that dew into our normal consciousness.\n\nThen, too, remember that the influences of this present age are\npowerful for producing these feelings. What despair and agony of doubt\nexist to-day in all places. In this time of upturning, the wise man\n_waits_. He bends himself, like the reed, to the blast, so that it\nmay blow over his head. Rising, as you do, into the plane where these\ncurrents are rushing while you try to travel higher still, you feel\nthese inimical influences, although unknown to you. It is an age of\niron. A forest of iron trees, black and forbidding, with branches of\niron and brilliant leaves of steel. The winds blow through its arches\nand we hear a dreadful grinding and crashing sound that silences the\nstill small voice of Love. And its inhabitants mistake this for the\nvoice of God; they imitate it and add to its terrors. Faint not, be not\nself-condemned. We both are that soundless OM; we rest together upon\nthe bosom of Master. You are not tired; it is that body, now weak, and\nnot only weak but shaken by the force of your own powers, physical and\npsychical. But the wise man learns to assume in the body an attitude of\ncarelessness that is more careful really than any other. Let that be\nyours. You are judge. Who accepts you, who dares judge but yourself?\nLet us wait, then, for natural changes, knowing that if the eye is\nfixed where the light shines, we shall presently know what to do. This\nhour is not ripe. But unripe fruit gets ripe, and falls or is plucked.\nThe day must surely strike when you will pluck it down. You are no\nlonger troubled by vain fears or compromises. When the great thought\ncomes near enough, you will go. We must all be servants before we can\nhope to be masters in the least.\n\nI have been re-reading the life of Buddha, and it fills me with\na longing desire to give myself for humanity, to devote myself to\na fierce, determined effort to plant myself nearer the altar of\nsacrifice. As I do not always know just what ought to be done, I must\nstand on what Master says: \"Do what you _can_, if you ever expect to\nsee Them.\" This being true, and another Adept saying, \"Follow the Path\nThey and I show, but do not follow _my_ path,\" why then, all we can do,\nwhether great or small, is to do just what we can, each in his proper\nplace. It is sure that if we have an immense devotion and do our best,\nthe result will be right for Them and us, even though we would have\ndone otherwise had we known more when we were standing on a course of\naction. A devoted Chela once said: \"I do not mind all these efforts at\nexplanation and all this trouble, for I always have found that that\nwhich was done in Master's name was right and came out right.\" What is\ndone in those names is done without thought of self, and motive is the\nessential test.\n\nSo I am sad and not sad. Not sad when I reflect on the great Ishwar,\nthe Lord, permitting all these antics and shows before our eyes. Sad\nwhen I see our weakness and disabilities. We must be serene and do what\nwe can. Ramaswamier rushed off into Sikkhim to try and find Master, and\nmet someone who told him to go back _and do his duty_. That is all any\nof us can do; often we do not know our duty, but that too is our own\nfault; it is a Karmic disability.\n\nYou ask me how you shall advise your fellow student. The best advice is\nfound in your own letter to me in which you say that the true monitor\nis within. That is so. Ten thousand Adepts can do one no great good\nunless we ourselves are ready, and They only act as suggestors to us\nof what possibilities there are in every human heart. If we dwell\nwithin ourselves, and must live and die by ourselves, it must follow\nthat running here and there to see any thing or person does not in\nitself give progress. Mind, I do not oppose consorting with those\nwho read holy books and are engaged in dwelling on high themes. I am\nonly trying to illustrate my idea that this should not be dwelt on\nas an end; it is only a means and one of many. There is no help like\nassociation with those who think as we do, or like the reading of good\nbooks. The best advice I ever saw was to read holy books or whatever\nbooks tend to elevate yourself, as you have found by experience.\nThere must be some. Once I found some abstruse theological writings\nof Plotinus to have that effect on me--very ennobling, and also an\nexplanation of the wanderings of Ulysses. Then there is the _G\u00eet\u00e2_.\nAll these _are instinct with a life of their own_ which changes the\nvibrations. Vibration is the key to it all. The different states are\nonly differences of vibration, and we do not recognize the astral or\nother planes because we are out of tune with their vibrations. This is\nwhy we now and then dimly feel that others are peering at us, or as if\na host of people rushed by us with great things on hand, not seeing us\nand we not seeing them. It was an instant of synchronous vibration. But\nthe important thing is to develop the Self in the self, and then the\npossessions of wisdom belonging to all wise men at once belong to us.\n\nEach one would see the Self differently and would yet never see it,\nfor to see it is to _be_ it. But for making words we say, \"See it.\" It\nmight be a flash, a blazing wheel, or what not. Then there is the lower\nself, great in its way, and which must first be known. When first we\nsee it, it is like looking into a glove, and for how many incarnations\nmay it not be so? We look inside the glove and there is darkness; then\nwe have to _go inside_ and see that, and so on and on.\n\nThe mystery of the ages is man; each one of us. Patience is needed in\norder that the passage of time required for the bodily instrument to\nbe altered or controlled is complete. Violent control is not as good as\ngentle control continuous and firmly unrelaxed. The Seeress of Prevorst\nfound that a gentle current did her more good than a violent one would.\nGentleness is better because an opposition current is always provoked,\nand of course if that which produces it is gentle, it will also be the\nsame. This gives the unaccustomed student more time and gradual strength.\n\nI think your fellow-student will be a good instrument, but we must not\nbreak the silence of the future lest we raise up unknown and difficult\ntribes who will not be easy to deal with.\n\nEvery situation ought to be used as a means. This is better than\nphilosophy, for it enables us to know philosophy. You do not progress\nby studying other people's philosophies, for then you do but get their\ncrude ideas. Do not crowd yourself, nor ache to puzzle your brains with\nanother's notions. You have the key to self and that is all; take it\nand drag out the lurker inside. You are great in generosity and love,\nstrong in faith, and straight in perception. Generosity and love are\nthe abandonment of self. That is your staff. Increase your confidence,\nnot in your abilities, but in the great All being thyself.\n\nI would to God you and all the rest might find peace.\n\n  Z.\n\n\n\n\nXII.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nThere are so many questioners who ask about Chelaship[C] that your\nletter comes quite apropos to experiences of my own. You say that\nthese applicants must have some answer, and in that I agree with you.\nAnd whether they are ready or unready, we must be able to tell them\nsomething. But generally they are not ready, nor, indeed, are they\nwilling to take the first simple step which is demanded. I will talk\nthe matter over with you for your future guidance in replying to such\nquestions; perhaps also to clear up my own mind.\n\nThe first question a man should ask himself (and by \"man\" we mean\npostulants of either sex) is: \"When and how did I get a desire to know\nabout chelaship and to become a chela?\"; and secondly, \"What is a\nchela, and what chelaship?\"\n\nThere are many sorts of chelas. There are lay chelas and probationary\nones; accepted chelas and those who are trying to fit themselves to be\neven lay chelas. Any person can constitute himself a lay chela, feeling\nsure that he may never in this life consciously hear from his guide.\nThen as to probationary chelas, there is an _invariable_ rule that\nthey go upon seven years' trial. These \"trials\" do not refer to fixed\nand stated tests, but to all the events of life and the bearing of the\nprobationer in them. There is no _place_ to which applicants can be\nreferred where their request could be made, because these matters do\nnot relate to places and to officials: this is an affair of the inner\nnature. We _become_ chelas; we obtain that position in reality because\nour inner nature is to that extent opened that it can and will take\nknowledge: we receive the guerdon at the hands of the Law.\n\nIn a certain sense every sincere member of the Theosophical Society is\nin the way of becoming a chela, because the Masters do some of Their\nwork with and for humanity through this Society, selected by Them as\nTheir agent. And as _all_ Their work and aspiration are to the end of\nhelping the race, no one of Their chelas can hope to remain (or become)\nsuch, if any selfish desire for personal possessions of spiritual\nwealth constitutes the motive for trying to be a chela. Such a motive,\nin the case of one already a chela, acts instantly to throw him out of\nthe ranks, whether he be aware of his loss or not, and in the case of\none trying to become a chela it acts as _a bar_. Nor does a real chela\nspread the fact that he is such. For this Lodge is not like exoteric\nsocieties which depend upon favor or mere outward appearances. It is\na real thing with living Spirit-men at its head, governed by laws\nthat contain within themselves their own executioners, and that do\nnot require a tribunal, nor accusations, nor verdicts, nor any notice\nwhatever.\n\nAs a general thing a person of European or American birth has extreme\ndifficulty to contend with. He has no heredity of psychical development\nto call upon; no known assembly of Masters or Their chelas within\nreach. His racial difficulties prevent him from easily seeing within\nhimself; he is not introspective by nature. But even he can do much if\nhe purifies his motive, and either naturally possesses or cultivates\nan ardent and unshakeable faith and devotion. A faith that keeps him\na firm believer in the existence of Masters even through years of\nnon-intercourse. They are generous and honest debtors and always repay.\nHow They repay, and when, is not for us to ask. Men may say that this\nrequires as blind devotion as was ever asked by any Church. _It does_,\nbut it is a blind devotion to Masters who are Truth itself; to Humanity\nand to yourself, to your own intuitions and ideals. This devotion to\nan ideal is also founded upon another thing, and that is that a man\nis hardly ready to be a chela unless he is able to stand _alone_ and\nuninfluenced by other men or events, _for he must stand alone_, and he\nmight as well know this at the beginning as at the end.\n\nThere are also certain qualifications which he must possess. These are\nto be found in _Man, a Fragment of Forgotten History_ towards the\nclose of the book, so we will not dwell upon them here.\n\nThe question of the general fitness of applicants being disposed of,\nwe come to the still more serious point of the relations of Guru and\nChela, or Master and Disciple. We want to know what it really is to be\na pupil of such a Teacher.\n\nThe relation of Guru and Chela is nothing if it is not a spiritual one.\nWhatever is merely outward, or formal, as the relation established by\nmere asking and acceptance, is not spiritual, but formal, and is that\nwhich arises between _teacher_ and _pupil_. Yet even this latter is\nnot in any way despicable, because the teacher stands to his pupil,\nin so far forth as the relation permits, in the same way as the Guru\nto his Chela. It is a difference of degree; but this difference of\ndegree is what constitutes the distinction between the spiritual and\nthe material, for, passing along the different shadings from the\ngrossest materiality to as far as we can go, we find at last that\nmatter merges into spirit. (We are now speaking, of course, about what\nis commonly called _matter_, while we well know that in truth the thing\nthus designated is not really matter, but an enormous illusion which\nin itself has no existence. The real matter, called _mulaprakriti_ by\nthe Hindus, is an invisible thing or substance of which our matter\nis a representation. The real matter is what the Hermetists called\n_primordial earth_; a, for us, intangible phase of matter. We can\neasily come to believe that what is really called _matter_ is not\nreally such, inasmuch as we find clairvoyants and nervous people seeing\nthrough thick walls and closed doors. Were this _matter_, then they\ncould not see through it. But when an ordinary clairvoyant comes face\nto face with _primordial matter_, he or she cannot see beyond, but is\nmet by a dead wall more dense than any wall ever built by human hands.)\n\nSo from earliest times, among all but the modern western people, the\nteacher was given great reverence by the pupil, and the latter was\ntaught from youth to look upon his preceptor as only second to his\nfather and mother in dignity. It was among these people a great sin, a\nthing that did one actual harm in his moral being, to be disrespectful\nto his teacher even in thought. The reason for this lay then, and no\nless to-day does also lie, in the fact that a long chain of influence\nextends from the highest spiritual guide who may belong to any man,\ndown through vast numbers of spiritual chiefs, ending at last even in\nthe mere teacher of our youth. Or, to restate it in modern reversion\nof thought, a chain extends up from our teacher or preceptors to the\nhighest spiritual chief in whose ray or descending line one may happen\nto be. And it makes no difference whatever, in this occult relation,\nthat neither pupil nor final guide may be aware, or admit, that this is\nthe case.\n\nThus it happens that the child who holds his teacher in reverence and\ndiligently applies himself accordingly with faith, does no violence\nto this intangible but mighty chain, and is benefited accordingly,\nwhether he knows it or not. Nor again does it matter that a child has\na teacher who evidently gives him a bad system. This is his Karma, and\nby his reverent and diligent attitude he works it out, and transcends\nerstwhile that teacher.\n\nThis chain of influence is called the _Guruparampara chain_.\n\nThe Guru is the _guide or readjuster_, and may not always combine the\nfunction of teacher with it.\n\n  Z.\n\n[Footnote C: Chela means disciple. It is a Sanscrit word.--J. N.]\n\n\n\n\nXIII.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nWe now have passed from the mere usual and worldly relations of teacher\nand pupil to that which we will call the _Lodge_ for the nonce.\n\nThis Lodge is not to be taken up in the pincers of criticism and\nanalyzed or fixed. It is at once everywhere and nowhere. It contains\nwithin its boundaries all real Masters, students, guides, and Gurus, of\nwhatever race or creed or no creed. Of it has been said:\n\n\"Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Lodge. It is the whole body of\nSages in all the world. It cannot be described even by those who are in\nit, but the student is not prohibited from imagining what it is like.\"\n\nSo therefore at any time any one of its real teachers or disciples will\ngladly help any other teacher or disciple. But we are not to conclude\nthat, because all are trying to spread truth and to teach the world,\nwe, who call ourselves chela-aspirants or known chelas of any certain\nperson whom we call Guru, can place ourselves at the same moment under\nthe _direct_ tutelage of more than one Guru.\n\nEach man who determines in himself that he will enter the Path, has a\nGuru. But the time between that determination and the hour when he will\nreally know The Master may be long indeed; in some cases it is very\nshort.\n\nWe must now occupy a moment in some consideration of divisions.\n\nJust as the merest private in the army has a general who guides the\nwhole but whom he cannot reach except through the others who are\nofficers, so in this order we find divisions of Gurus as well as\ndivisions of disciples.\n\nThere is the Great Guru, who is such to many who never know Him or see\nHim. Then there are others who know Him, and who are Gurus to a number\nof chelas, and so on until we may imagine a chela who may be a known\nGuru to another chela below him.\n\nThen, again, there may be chelas who are acting as\nGuru--unacknowledged, because _pro tempore_ in function--to one or more\nother chelas.\n\nNow he who makes the resolution above-mentioned, does thereby make a\nbond that rests in the highest Law. It is not a thing to be lightly\ndone, because its consequences are of a serious nature. Not serious in\nthe way of disasters or awful torments or such, but serious in respect\nto the clearness and brilliancy of those rays of Truth which we wish to\nreach us.\n\nWe have thereby in a sense--its degree determined by the sincerity and\npower of our motive--taken ourselves out of the common, vast, moving\nherd of men who are living--as to this--like dumb animals, and have\nknocked at a door. If we have reverenced our teacher we will now revere\nour unknown Guru. We must stand interiorly in a faithful attitude. We\nmust have an abiding, settled faith that nothing may shake. For it is\nto mighty Karma we have appealed, and as the Guru _is Karma_ in the\nsense that He never acts against Karma, we must not lose faith for an\ninstant. For it is this faith that clears up the air there, and that\nenables us to get help from all quarters.\n\nThen perhaps this determinant or postulant or neophyte decides for\nhimself that he will for the time take as teacher or guide some other\nchela whose teachings commend themselves. It is not necessary that any\nout-spoken words should pass between these two.\n\nBut having done this, even in thought, he should then apply himself\ndiligently _to the doctrine of that teacher_, not changing until he\nreally finds he has another teacher or has gone to another class. For\nif he takes up one merely to dispute and disagree--whether outwardly or\nmentally, he is thereby in danger of totally obscuring his own mind.\n\nIf he finds himself not clearly understanding, then he should with\nfaith try to understand, for if he by love and faith vibrates into the\nhigher meaning of his teacher, his mind is thereby raised, and thus\ngreater progress is gained.\n\nWe now come to the possible case of an aspirant of that royal and\nkingly faith who in some way has really found a person who has advanced\nfar upon _the Path_. To this person he has applied and said: \"May I be\naccepted, and may I be a chela of either thee or some other?\"\n\nThat person applied to then perhaps says: \"Not to me; but I refer you\nto some other of the same class as yourself, and give you to him to\nbe his chela: serve him.\" With this the aspirant goes, say to the one\ndesignated, and deliberately both agree to it.\n\nHere is a case where the real Master has recommended the aspirant to\na co-worker who perchance is some grade higher than our neophyte, and\nthe latter is now in a different position from the many others who are\nsilently striving and working, and learning from any and all teachers,\nbut having no specialized Guru for themselves. This neophyte and his\n\"little guru\" are connected by a clear and sacred bond, or else both\nare mere lying children, playing and unworthy of attention. If the\n\"little guru\" is true to his trust, he occupies his mind and heart with\nit, and is to consider that the chela represents Humanity to him for\nthe time.\n\nWe postulated that this \"little guru\" was in advance of the chela. It\nmust then happen that he says that which is sometimes not clear to\nhis chela. This will all the more be so if his chela is new to the\nmatter. But the chela has deliberately taken that guru, and must try to\nunderstand _the doctrine of that teacher_.\n\nThe proper function of the Guru is to readjust, and not to pour in vast\nmasses of knowledge expressed in clear and easily comprehended terms.\nThe latter would be a piece of nonsense, however agreeable, and not any\nwhit above what any well-written book would do for its reader.\n\nThe faith and love which exist between them act as a stimulus to both,\nand as a purifier to the mind of the chela.\n\nBut if the chela, after a while, meets another person who seems to know\nas much as his \"little guru,\" and to express it in very easy terms, and\nthe chela determines to take him as a teacher, he commits an error.\nHe may listen to his teaching and admire and profit by it, but the\nmoment he mentally determines and then in words asks the other to be\nhis teacher, he begins to rupture the bond that was just established,\nand possibly may lose altogether the benefit of both. Not necessarily,\nhowever; but certainly, if he acquaints not his \"little guru\" with the\nfact of the new adoption of teacher, there will be much confusion in\nthat realm of being wherein both do their real \"work\"; and when he does\nacquaint his \"little guru\" with the fact of the newly-acquired teacher,\nthat older guru will retire.\n\nNone of this is meant for those minds which do not regard these matters\nas sacred. A Guru is a sacred being in that sense. Not, of course, in a\ngeneral sense--yet even if so regarded _when worthy_ it is better for\nthe chela,--but in all that pertains to the spiritual and real life. To\nthe high-strung soul this is a matter of _adoption_; a most sacred and\nvaluable thing, not lightly taken up or lightly dropped. For the Guru\nbecomes for the time the spiritual _Father_ of the chela; that one who is\ndestined to bring him into life or to pass him on to Him who will do so.\n\nSo as the Guru is the _adjuster_ in reality, the chela does not--except\nwhere the Guru is known to be a great Sage or where the chela does it\nby nature--give slavish attention to every word. He hears the word\nand endeavors to assimilate the meaning underneath; and if he cannot\nunderstand he lays it aside for a better time, while he presently\nendeavors to understand what he can. And if even--as is often so in\nIndia--he cannot understand at all, he is satisfied to be near the\nGuru and do what may properly be done for him; for even then his\nabiding faith will eventually clear his mind, of which there are many\nexamples, and regarding which how appropriate is the line:\n\n\"They also serve who only stand and wait.\"\n\n  Z.\n\n\n\n\nXIV.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nWhat I wrote in my last is what may be properly said to earnest\ninquirers who show by their perseverance that they are not mere idle\ncuriosity-seekers, desirous of beguiling the tedium of life with new\nexperiments and sensations. It is not _what_ is done, but the spirit in\nwhich the least thing is done for Them who are all, that is counted.\n\nYou ask the names of the seven rays or lodges. The names could not be\ngiven if known to me. In these matters names are always realities, and\nconsequently to give the name would be to reveal the thing itself.\nBesides, if the names were given, the ordinary person hearing them\nwould not understand them. Just as if I should say that the name of\nthe first is X, which expresses nothing at all to the mind of the\nhearing person. All that can be said is that there exist those seven\nrays, districts, or divisions, just as we say that in a town there are\nlegislators, merchants, teachers, and servants. The difference is that\nin this case we know all about the town, and know just what those names\nmean. The name only directs the mind to the idea or essential quality.\n\nAgain I must go. But Brothers are never parted while they live for the\nTrue alone.\n\n  Z.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe foregoing letters point clearly to one conclusion concerning\nthat great Theosophist, Madame Blavatsky, though she is unnamed and\nperhaps unthought of there. Since she sacrificed--not so calling it\nherself--all that mankind holds dear to bring the glad tidings of\nTheosophy to the West, that West, and especially the Theosophical\nSociety, thereby stands to her as a chela to his Guru, in so far as it\naccepts Theosophy. Her relation to these Theosophists has its being\nin the highest Law, and cannot be expunged or ignored. So those who\nregard her personality, and, finding it discordant from theirs, try to\nreach The Masters by other means _while disregarding or underrating\nscornfully her high services_, violate a rule which, because it is\nnot made of man, cannot be broken with impunity. Gratitude and the\ncommon sentiment of man for man should have taught them this, without\noccult teaching at all. Such persons have not reached that stage of\nevolution where they can learn the higher truths. She who accepts the\npains of the rack in the torments of a body sapped of its life force\nby superb torrents of energy lavished on her high Cause; she who has\nbraved the laughter and anger of two continents, and all the hosts of\ndarkness seen and unseen; she who now lives on, only that she may take\nto herself the Karma of the Society and so ensure its well being, has\nno need of any man's praise; but even she has need of justice, because,\nwithout that impulse in our hearts and souls toward her, she knows\nthat we must fail for this incarnation. As the babe to the mother, as\nharvest to the earth, so are all those bound to her who enjoy the fruit\nof her life. May we try, then, to understand these occult connections\nbrought about by the workings of Karma, and bring them to bear upon our\ndiurnal, as well as our theosophical, life. Madame Blavatsky is for\nus the next higher link in that great chain, of which no link can be\npassed over or missed.\n\nIn further illustration of this letter, I might cite the case of a\nfriend of mine who was at once fired with Theosophy on first hearing\nof it and ardently desired to become a chela. Certainly he had\nknown these truths in other lives, for all seemed familiar to him,\nand, though he was what is called \"a man of the world,\" he accepted\nthe philosophy, measured some of its possibilities intuitively, and\nwhile careful to do his duty and cause no jars, he ranged his life,\nespecially his inner life, to suit these views. The question of\nchelaship assumed great prominence in his mind. He knew of no chelas;\nknew not where to knock or whom to ask. Reflection convinced him that\nreal chelaship consisted in the inner attitude of the postulant; he\nremembered magnetic and energetic laws, and he said to himself that he\ncould at will constitute himself a chela to the Law, at least so far as\nhis own attitude went, and if this did not satisfy him, it was a proof\nthat he desired some personal reward, satisfaction, or powers in the\nmatter, and that his motive was not pure. He was slow to formulate his\ndesires, even to his own mind, for he would not lightly make demands\nupon the Law; but he at last determined to put his own motives to the\ntest; to try himself and see if he could stand in the attitude of a\nfaithful chela, unrecognized and apparently unheard. He then recorded\nin his own mind an obligation to serve Truth and the Law as a chela\nshould, always seeking for light and for further aid if possible,\nrecognizing meanwhile that the obligation was on his side only, and\nthat he had no claims on Masters, and only such as he himself could by\nthe strength of his own purpose institute upon the Law. Wherever he\ncould hear of chelas and their duties he listened or read; he tried to\nimagine himself in the position of an accepted chela, and to fill, so\nfar as in him lay, the duties of that place, living up to all the light\nhe had. For he held that a disciple should always think and act towards\nthe highest possibilities, whether or not he had yet attained these,\nand not merely confine himself to that course of action which might be\nconsidered suited to his lower class or spiritual estate. He believed\nthat the heart is the creator of all real ties, and it alone. To raise\nhimself by himself was then his task. This attitude he resolved to\nmaintain life after life, if needs were, until at last his birthright\nshould be assured, his claim recognized by the Law.\n\nHe met with trials, with coldness from those who felt rather than saw\nhis changed attitude; he met with all the nameless shocks that others\nmeet when they turn against the whirlpool of existence and try to\nfind their way back into the true currents of life. Great sorrows and\nloneliness were not slow to challenge his indomitable will. But he\nfound work to do; and in this he was most fortunate, for to work for\nothers is the disciple's joy, his share in the Divine life, his first\naccolade by which he may know that his service is accepted. This man\nhad called upon the Law in faith supreme, and he was answered. Karma\nsent him a friend, and soon he began to get new knowledge, and after a\ntime information reached him of a place or person where he might apply\nto become a chela on probation. It was not given him as information\nusually is; nothing of the sort was told him; but with his extending\nknowledge and opening faculties a conviction dawned upon him that he\nmight pursue such and such a course. He did so, and his prayer was\nheard. He said to me afterwards that he never knew whether he would not\nhave shown greater strength of mind by relying wholly upon the reality\nof his unseen, unacknowledged claim, until the moment should come when\nMasters should accept and call him. For of course he held the ideal of\nMasters clearly before his mind all this while. Perhaps his application\nshowed him to be weaker than he supposed, in so far as it might\nevidence a need on his part for tangible proof of a fact in which his\nhigher nature prompted him to believe without such proof. Perhaps it\nwas but natural and right, on the other hand, that after silent service\nfor some time he should put himself on record at the first opportunity\ngranted him by Karma.\n\nHe applied, then. I am permitted to give a portion of the answer he\nreceived, and which made clear to him the fact that he was already\naccepted in some measure before his application, as his intuition had\ntold him. The answer may be of untold value to others, both as clearly\nsetting forth the dangers of forcing one's way ahead of one's race, and\nalso by its advice, admonitions, and evidence that the Great Beings\nof the Orient deal most frankly and gently with applicants. Also it\nmay mark out a course for those who take the wise plan of testing\nthemselves in silence before pushing their demands upon the Law. For\nthis at once heightens their magnetic vibrations, their evolutionary\nratio; their flame burns more brilliantly and attracts all kinds of\nshapes and influences within its radius, so that the fire is hot\nabout him. And not for him alone: other lives coming in contact with\nhis feel this fierce energy; they develop more rapidly, and, if they\nhave a false or weak place in their nature, it is soon discovered and\noverthrows them for a time. This is the danger of coming into \"the\ncircle of ascetics\"; a man must be strong indeed who thus thrusts\nhimself in; it is better as a rule to place oneself in the attitude of\na disciple and impose the tests oneself: less opposition is provoked.\nFor forces that are foiled by the Adept may hurl themselves on the\nneophyte who cannot be protected unless his Karma permits it, and there\nare always those opposing forces of darkness waiting to thin the ranks\nof the servitors of the Good Law.\n\nUp to this point, then, we may follow this student, and then we lose\nsight of him; not knowing whether he progressed or failed, or still\nserves and waits, because such things are not made known. To tell so\nmuch as this is rare, and, since it is permitted, it must be because\nthere are many earnest students in this country who need some such\nsupport and information. To these I can say that, if they constitute\nthemselves faithful, unselfish disciples, they are such in the\nknowledge of the Great Law, so long as they are true, in inmost thought\nand smallest deed, to the pledges of their heart.\n\nANSWER TO Y. Says Master:\n\n    \"_Is Y. fully prepared for the uphill work? The way to the goal\n    he strives to reach is full of thorns and leads through miry\n    quagmires. Many are the sufferings the chela has to encounter;\n    still more numerous the dangers to face and conquer._\n\n    \"_May he think over it and choose only after due reflection. No\n    Master appealed to by a sincere soul who thirsts for light and\n    knowledge, has ever turned his face away from the supplicant. But\n    it is the duty of those who call for laborers and need them in\n    their fields, to point out to those who offer themselves in truth\n    and trust for the arduous work, the pitfalls in the soil as the\n    hardship of the task._\n\n    \"_If undaunted by this warning Y. persists in his determination,\n    he may regard himself as accepted as----. Let him place himself\n    in such case under the guidance of an older chela. By helping him\n    sincerely and devotedly to carry on his heavy burden, he shall\n    prepare the way for being helped in his turn._\"\n\n(Here follow private instructions.)\n\n    \"_Verily if the candidate relies upon the Law, if he has patience,\n    trust, and intuition, he will not have to wait too long. Through\n    the great shadow of bitterness and sorrow that the opposing powers\n    delight in throwing over the pilgrim on his way to the Gates of\n    Light, the candidate perceives that shining Light very soon in his\n    own soul, and he has but to follow it. Let him beware, however,\n    lest he mistake the occasional will-o'-the-wisp of the psychic\n    senses for the reflex of the great spiritual Light; that Light\n    which dieth not, yet never lives, nor can it shine elsewhere than\n    on the pure mirror of Spirit...._\n\n    \"_But Y. has to use his own intuitions. One has to dissipate\n    and conquer the inner darkness before attempting to see into\n    the darkness without; to know one's self before knowing things\n    extraneous to one's senses._\"\n\nAnd now, may the Powers to which my friend Y. has appealed _be\npermitted by still greater and much higher Powers_ to help him. This is\nthe sincere and earnest wish of his truly and fraternally,\n\n  [Symbol: Triangle]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThis letter also shows incidentally how one Adept may serve another\nstill higher by reporting or conveying His reply.\n\n\nTO ASPIRANTS FOR CHELASHIP\n\nSincere interest in Theosophic truth is often followed by sincere\naspiration after Theosophic life, and the question continually recurs,\nWhat are the conditions and the steps to chelaship; to whom should\napplications be made; how is the aspirant to know that it has been\ngranted?\n\nAs to the conditions and the discipline of chelaship, not a little\nhas been disclosed in _The Theosophist_, _Man_, _Esoteric Buddhism_,\nand other works upon Theosophy; and some of the qualifications,\ndifficulties, and dangers have been very explicitly set forth by Madame\nBlavatsky in her article upon \"Theosophical Mahatmas\" in the _Path_ of\nDecember, 1886. To everyone cherishing even a vague desire for closer\nrelations to the system of development through which Masters are\nproduced, the thoughtful study of this article is earnestly commended.\nIt will clear the ground of several misconceptions, deepen the sense of\nthe seriousness of such an effort, and excite a healthy self-distrust\nwhich is better before than after the gate has been passed.\n\nIt is entirely possible, however, that the searching of desire and\nstrength incited by that article may only convince more strongly\nof sincerity, and that not a few readers may emerge from it with\na richer purpose and a deeper resolve. Even where there is not a\ndistinct intention to reach chelaship, there may be an eager yearning\nfor greater nearness to the Masters, for some definite assurance of\nguidance and of help. In either of these cases the question at once\narises before the aspirant, Who is to receive the application, and how\nis its acceptance to be signified?\n\nThe very natural, indeed the instinctive, step of such an aspirant\nis to write to an officer of a Theosophical Society. None the less\nis this a mistake. For a Theosophical Society is an _exoteric_ body,\nthe Lodge of Masters wholly _esoteric_. The former is a voluntary\ngroup of inquirers and philanthropists, with avowed aims, a printed\nConstitution, and published officers, and, moreover, expressly\ndisavowing any power, as a Society, to communicate with Masters; the\nlatter is an Occult Lodge, of whose address, members, processes,\nfunctions, nothing is known. It follows, therefore, that there is no\nperson, no place, no address to which an aspirant may appeal.\n\nLet it be supposed, however, that such an inquiry is preferred to a\nperson advanced in Occult study, versed in its methods and tests and\nqualifications. Assuredly his reply would be directly to this effect:--\n\n\"If you were now fitted to be an accepted chela, you would of yourself\nknow how, where, and to whom to apply. For the becoming a chela _in\nreality_ consists in the evolution or development of certain spiritual\nprinciples latent in every man, and in great measure unknown to your\npresent consciousness. Until these principles are to some degree\nconsciously evolved by you, you are not in practical possession of the\nmeans of acquiring the first rudiments of that knowledge which now\nseems to you so desirable. Whether it is desired by your mind or by\nyour heart is still another important question, not to be solved by any\none who has not yet the clew to Self.\n\n\"It is true that these qualities can be developed (or forced) by the\naid of an Adept. And most applicants for chelaship are actuated by a\ndesire to receive instructions directly from the Masters. They do not\nask themselves what they have done to merit a privilege so rare. Nor\ndo they consider that, all Adepts being servants of the Law of Karma,\nit must follow that, did the applicant now merit Their visible aid,\nhe would already possess it and could not be in search of it. The\nindications of the fulfilment of the Law are, in fact, the partial\nunfolding of those faculties above referred to.\n\n\"You must, then, reach a point other than that where you now stand,\nbefore you can even ask to be taken as a chela on probation. All\ncandidates enter the unseen Lodge in this manner, and it is governed\nby Laws containing within themselves their own fulfilment and not\nrequiring any officers whatever. Nor must you imagine that such a\nprobationer is one who works under constant and known direction of\neither an Adept or another chela. On the contrary, he is tried and\ntested for at least seven years, and perhaps many more, before the\npoint is reached when he is either accepted (and prepared for the first\nof a series of initiations often covering several incarnations), or\nrejected. And this rejection is not by any body of men just as they\nincline, but is the natural rejection by Nature. The probationer\nmay or may not hear from his Teacher during this preliminary period;\nmore often he does not hear. He may be finally rejected and not know\nit, just as some men have been on probation and have not known it\nuntil they suddenly found themselves accepted. Such men are those\nself-developed persons who have reached that point in the natural order\nafter many incarnations, where their expanded faculties have entitled\nthem to an entrance into the Hall of Learning or the spiritual Lodge\nbeyond. And all I say of men applies equally to women.\n\n\"When anyone is regularly accepted as a chela on probation, the first\nand only order he receives (for the present) is to work unselfishly\nfor humanity--sometimes aiding and aided by some older chela--_while\nstriving to get rid of the strength of the personal idea_. The ways\nof doing this are left to his own intuition entirely, inasmuch\nas the object is to develop that _intuition_ and to bring him to\n_self-knowledge_. It is his having these powers in some degree that\nleads to his acceptance as a probationer, so that it is more than\nprobable that you have them not yet save as latent possibilities. In\norder to have in his turn any title to help, he must work for others,\nbut that must not be his motive for working. He who does not feel\nirresistibly impelled to serve the Race, whether he himself fails or\nnot, is bound fast by his own personality and cannot progress until he\nhas learned that _the race is himself_ and not that body which he now\noccupies. The ground of this necessity for a pure motive was recently\nstated in _Lucifer_ to be that 'unless the intention is entirely\nunalloyed, the spiritual will transform itself into the psychic, act\non the astral plane, and dire results may be produced by it. The\npowers and forces of animal nature can be equally used by the selfish\nand revengeful as by the unselfish and all-forgiving; forgiving; the\npowers and forces of spirit lend themselves only to the perfectly pure\nin heart.'\n\n\"It may be stated, however, that even those natural forces cannot be\ndiscovered by any man who has not obtained the power of getting rid of\nhis personality in some degree. That an emotional desire to help others\ndoes not imply this freedom from personality may be seen by the fact\nthat, if you were now perfected in unselfishness in the _real_ sense,\nyou would have a conscious existence separate from that of the body\nand would be able to quit the body at will: in other words, to be free\nfrom all sense of self is to be an Adept, for the limitations of self\ninhibit progress.\n\n\"Hear also the words of the Master, taken from Sinnett's _The Occult\nWorld_. 'Perhaps you will better appreciate our meaning when told that\nin our view the highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity become\ntainted with selfishness if, in the mind of the philanthropist, there\nlurks the shadow of a desire for self-benefit or a tendency to do\ninjustice, even when these exist unconsciously to himself.'\n\n\"While setting forth these facts, as well as the dangers and\ndifficulties--both those set ones appointed by the laws of the Lodge\nand the more innumerable ones adjudged by Karma and hastened by the\nefforts of the neophyte, it should also be stated that the Masters\ndesire to deter no man from entering the path. They are well aware,\nhowever, from the repeated trials and records of centuries, and from\ntheir knowledge of our racial difficulties, how few are the persons who\nhave any clew to their own real nature, which is the foe they attempt\nto conquer the moment they become pupils of the occult. Hence They\nendeavor, so far as Karma permits, to hold unfit individuals back from\nrash ventures, the results of which would recoil upon their unbalanced\nlives and drive them to despair. The powers of evil, inadequately\ndefied by the ignorant man, revenge themselves upon him as well as upon\nhis friends, and not upon those who are above their reach. Although\nthese powers are not hideous objective shapes coming in tangible ways,\nthey are none the less real and dangerous. Their descent in such\ninstances cannot be prevented; _it is Karma_.\n\n\"To lose all sense of self, then, implies the loss of all that ordinary\nmen must value in themselves. It therefore behooves you to seriously\nconsider these points:\n\n\"1st. What is your motive in desiring to be a chela? You think that\nmotive is well known to you, whereas it is hidden deep within you,\nand by that hidden motive you will be judged. It has flared up from\nunseen regions upon men sure of themselves, has belched out in some\nlurid thought or deed of which they esteemed themselves incapable, and\nhas overthrown their life or reason. Therefore test yourself ere Karma\ntests you.\n\n\"2d. What the place and duties of a true neophyte are.\n\n\"When you have seriously considered both for twenty-one days, you may,\nif your desire remains firm, take a certain course open to you. It is\nthis.\n\n\"Although you do not now know where you can offer yourself to Masters\nthemselves as a chela on probation, yet, in forming that desire in\nyour heart and in re-affirming it (if you do) after due consideration\nof these points, you have then to some extent called upon the Law,\nand it is within your power to constitute yourself a disciple, so far\nas in you lies, through the purity of your motive and effort _if both\nare sufficiently sustained_. No one can fix a period when this effort\nwill bear fruit, and, if your patience and faith are not strong enough\nto bear you through an _unlimited_ (so far as you know) period of\nunselfish work for humanity, you had better resign your present fancy,\nfor it is then no more than that. But if otherwise, you are to work for\nthe spiritual enlightenment of Humanity in and through the Theosophical\nSociety (which much needs such laborers), and in all other modes and\nplanes as you best can, remembering the word of Masters: 'He who does\nwhat he can and all that he can, and all that he knows how to do, does\nenough for us.' This task includes that of divesting yourself of all\npersonality through interior effort, because that work, if done in the\nright spirit, is even more important to the race than any outward work\nwe can do. Living as you now are, on the outward plane chiefly, your\nwork is due there and is to be done there until your growth shall fit\nyou to pass away from it altogether.\n\n\"In following this course you work towards a fixed point under\nobservation,--as is, indeed, the whole Theosophic body, which is now,\n_as a body_, a chela of Masters, but specialized from other members in\nthe sense that your definite aim and trust are understood and taken\ninto consideration by the unseen Founders and the Law. The Theosophical\nSociety then stands to you, for the time being, as any older chela\nmight who was appointed for you to aid and to work under. _You are\nnot_, understand, a chela on probation, since no one without authority\ncan confer or announce such a privilege. But if you succeed in lifting\nyourself and others spiritually, it will be known, _no matter what the\nexternal silence may seem to be_, and you will receive your full dues\nfrom Those who are honest debtors and ministers of the Just and Perfect\nLaw. You must be ready to work, to wait, and to aspire in _silence_,\njust as all do who have fixed their eyes on this goal. Remember that\nyour truest adviser is to be found, and constantly sought, _within\nyourself_. Only by experience can you learn to know its voice from\nthat of natural instinct or mere logic, and strengthen this power, by\nvirtue of which the Masters have become what They are.\n\n\"Your choice or rejection of this course is the first test of yourself.\nOthers will follow, whether you are aware of them or not, for the first\nand only right of the neophyte is--_to be tried_. Hence silence and\nsorrow follow his acceptance instead of the offer of prompt aid for\nwhich he looks. Yet even that shall not be wanting; those trials and\nreverses will come only from the Law to which you have appealed.\"\n\n  J. N.\n\n\n\n\nXV.\n\n\n  DEAR JASPER:\n\nI gave your letter to a distressed soul: she returned thanks, saying it\nwas a cooling draught to one athirst. The thanks of course are yours.\nNow this lady says it was refreshment to the weary, that letter. True,\nor she would not say it. But it was not so to me nor to you.\n\nWe needed it not. But she illustrates a certain state of progress.\nShe is not yet where we are; but which is happier? She is happier,\nbut poorer in hope. We are not all too happy, but are rich in hope,\nknowing the prize at the end of time, and not deterred by the clouds,\nthe storms, the miasms and dreadful beasts of prey that line the road.\nLet us, then, at the very outset wash out of our souls all desire for\nreward, all hope that we may attain. For so long as we thus hope and\ndesire, we shall be separated from the Self. If in the Self all things\n_are_, then we cannot wish to be something which we can only compass by\nexcluding something else.\n\nSo being beyond this lady so grateful, we find that everything we\nmeet on this illusory plane of existence is a lure that in one way or\nanother has power to draw us out of our path. That is the point we are\nat, and we may call it the point where lures of Maya have omnipresent\npower. Therefore we must beware of the illusions of matter.\n\nBefore we got to this stage we knew well the fateful lure, the dazzling\nmirror of the elemental Self, here and there in well-defined places,\nand intrenched as it was, so to say, in strongly-marked defenses. Those\nwe assaulted; and that was what it desired, for it did think that it\nthen had no need to exercise the enchantment which is hard because so\nsubtle, and so distributed here and there that we find no citadels\nto take, no battalions in array. But now our dearest friends are\nunconsciously in league with the deceptive in nature. How strongly do\nI realize the dejection of Arjuna as he let his bow drop from his hand\nand sat down on his chariot in despair. But he had a sure spot to rest\nupon. He used his own. He had Krishna near, and he might fight on.\n\nSo in passing along those stages where the grateful lady and others\nare, we may perhaps have found one spot we may call our own and possess\nno other qualification for the task. That spot is enough. It is our\nbelief in the Self, in Masters: it is the little flame of intuition we\nhave allowed to burn, that we have fostered with care.\n\nThen come these dreadful lures. They are, in fact, but mere carcasses,\nshells of monsters from past existences, offering themselves that we\nmay give them life to terrify us as soon as we have entered them either\nby fear or love. No matter which way we enter, whether by attachment or\nby repugnant horror, it is all one: they are in one case vivified by a\nlover; in the other by a slave who would be free but cannot.\n\nHere it is the lure of enjoyment of natural pleasures, growing out of\nlife's physical basis; there it is self-praise, anger, vanity, what\nnot? Even these beautiful hills and river, they mock one, for they live\non untrammelled. Perhaps they do not speak to us because they know the\nsuperiority of silence. They laugh with each other at us in the night,\namused at the wild struggle of this petty man who would pull the sky\ndown. Ach! God of Heaven! And all the sucklings of Theosophy wish that\nsome great, well-diplom\u00e6d Adept would come and open the secret box;\nbut they do not imagine that other students have stepped on the spikes\nthat defend the entrance to the way that leads to the gate of the Path.\nBut we will not blame them, nor yet wish for the things--the special\nlots--that some of them have abstracted, because now that we know the\ndreadful power that despair and doubt and violated conscience have,\nwe prefer to prepare wisely and carefully, and not rush in like fools\nwhere angels do not pass uninvited.\n\nBut, Companion, I remind you of the power of the lure. This Path passes\nalong under a sky and in a clime where every weed grows a yard in the\nnight. It has no discrimination. Thus even after weeks or months of\ndevotion, or years of work, we are surprised at small seeds of vanity\nor any other thing which would be easily conquered in other years of\ninattentive life, but which seem now to arise as if helped by some\ndamnable intelligence. This great power of self-illusion is strong\nenough to create a roaring torrent or a mountain of ice between us and\nour Masters.\n\nIn respect to the question of sex. It is, as you know, given much\nprominence by both women and men to the detriment of the one sex or the\nother, or of any supposed sex. There are those who say that the female\nsex is not to be thought of in the spirit; that all is male. Others say\nthe same for the female. Now both are wrong. In the True there is no\nsex, and when I said \"There all men are women and all women are men,\"\nI was only using rhetoric to accentuate the idea that neither one nor\nthe other was predominant, but that the two were coalesced, so to say,\ninto _one_. In the same way you might say, \"men are animals there and\n_vice versa_.\" Mind, this is in regard to Spirit, and not in regard\nto the psychical states. For in the psychical states there are still\ndistinctions, as the psychical, though higher than the material, is not\nas high as Spirit, for it still partakes of matter. For in the Spirit\nor Atma _all_ experiences of _all_ forms of life and death are found\nat once, and he who is one with the Atma knows the whole manifested\nUniverse at once. I have spoken of this condition before as the Turya\nor fourth state.\n\nWhen I say that the female _principle_ represents matter, I do not mean\n_women_, for they in any one or more cases may be full of the masculine\nprinciple, and _vice versa_.\n\nMatter is illusionary and vain, and so the female element is\nillusionary and vain, as well as tending to the _established order_.[D]\nSo in the _Kaballa_ it is said that the woman is a wall about the man.\nA balance is necessary, and that balance is found in women, or the\nwoman element. You can easily see that the general tendency of women\nis to keep things as they are and not to have change. Woman--not here\nand there women--has never been the pioneer in great reforms. Of course\nmany single individual women have been, but the tendency of the great\nmass of the women has always been to keep things as they are until\nthe men have brought about the great change. This is why women always\nsupport any established religion, no matter what,--Christian, Jewish,\nBuddhist, or Brahmin. The Buddhist women are as much believers in their\nreligion and averse from changing it as are their Christian sisters\nopposed in the mass to changing theirs.\n\nNow as to telling which element predominates in any single person,\nit is hard to give a general test rule. But perhaps it might be\nfound in whether a person is given to abstract or concrete thought,\nand similarly whether given to mere superficial things or to deep\nfundamental matters. But you must work that out, I think, for yourself.\n\nOf course in the spiritual life no organ _disappears_, but we must find\nout what would be the mode of operation of any organ in its spiritual\ncounterpart. As I understand, the spiritual counterparts of the organs\nare _powers_, and not organs, as the eye is the power to see, the ear\nthe power to hear, and so on. The generative organs would then become\nthe creative power and perhaps the Will. You must not suppose that in\nthe spirit life the organs are reproduced as we see them.\n\nOne instance will suffice. One may see pictures in the astral light\nthrough the back of the head or the stomach. In neither place is there\nany eye, yet we see. It must be by the power of seeing, which in the\nmaterial body needs the specialized place or specializing organ known\nas the eye. We hear often through the head without the aid of the\nauricular apparatus, which shows us that there is the power of hearing\nand of transmitting and receiving sounds without the aid of an external\near or its inside cerebral apparatus. So of course all these things\nsurvive in that way. Any other view is grossly material, leading to a\ndeification of this unreal body, which is only an image of the reality,\nand a poor one at that.\n\nIn thinking over these matters you ought always to keep in mind the\nthree plain distinctions of _physical, psychical, and spiritual, always\nremembering that the last includes the other two_. All the astral\nthings are of the psychical nature, which is partly material and\ntherefore very deceptive. But all are necessary, for they are, they\nexist.\n\nThe Deity is subject to this law, or rather it is the law of the Deity.\nThe Deity desires experience or self-knowledge, which is only to be\nattained by stepping, so to say, aside from self. So the Deity produces\nthe manifested universes consisting of matter, psychical nature, and\nspirit. In the Spirit alone resides the great consciousness of the\nwhole; and so it goes on ever producing and drawing into Itself,\naccumulating such vast and enormous experiences that the pen falls down\nat the thought. How can that be put into language? It is impossible,\nfor we at once are met with the thought that the Deity must know all\nat all times. Yet there is a vastness and an awe-inspiring influence\nin this thought of the Day and Night of Brahman. It is a thing to\nbe thought over in the secret recesses of the heart, and not for\ndiscussion. _It is the All._\n\nAnd now, my Brother, for the present I leave you. May your restored\nhealth enable you to do more work for the world.\n\nI salute you, my Brother, and wish you to reach the terrace of\nenlightenment.\n\n  Z.\n\n[Footnote D: Through its negative or passive quality.--J. N.]\n\n\n\n\n  _Letters That Have Helped Me_\n\n  Volume II\n\n\n\n\n                                LETTERS\n                                 THAT\n                            HAVE HELPED ME\n\n                                VOL. II\n\n                              COMPILED BY\n                   _THOMAS GREEN and JASPER NIEMAND_\n\n                             THIRD EDITION\n\n                                  THE\n                     UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS\n                        Los Angeles, California\n                                 1920\n\n\n\n\n                              In Devotion\n                           TO THE IMMORTALS\n                                and in\n                        The Service of Humanity\n                           This little book\n                                is laid\n                            Upon the Altar\n\n                                           _June, 1905_\n\n\n\n\n    THE MASTER'S LOVE IS BOUNTIFUL; ITS LIGHT SHINES UPON THY FACE AND\n    SHALL MAKE ALL THE CROOKED WAYS STRAIGHT FOR THEE.\n\n  _Farewell Book._\n\n\n\n\n    HITHERTO I HAVE BEEN AN EXILE FROM MY TRUE COUNTRY; NOW I RETURN\n    THITHER. DO NOT WEEP FOR ME; I RETURN TO THAT CELESTIAL LAND WHERE\n    EACH GOES IN HIS TURN.\n\n  _Hermes Trismegistos._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                             PAGE\n\n  FOREWORD                      7\n\n  LETTERS                      11\n\n  EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS        59\n\n  AN OCCULT NOVEL              89\n\n  WILLIAM Q. JUDGE            105\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\n\nOne marked difference will be noticed between this, the second volume\nof LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME, and the earlier volume. That first\nvolume had a unity of purpose and development, setting forth, as it\ndid, in due sequence, the salient points of the eastern teaching. This\nunity palpably arose from the fact that the series of letters was\nwritten to one individual, and thus followed along a line suited to the\nunfolding needs and the studies of that individual, as to those of all\nfellow students pursuing an identical line of thought.\n\nThe present volume, on the contrary, consists of letters, and extracts\nfrom letters, written to a number of people in different parts of the\nworld. In many instances, an extract only was sent to the compilers\nby individuals appealed to, that of their store something might be\ngiven to their fellow-men. In other instances, the entire letter\nwas sent, but contained personal or other matter, which could not\nbe published. In still other instances, the entire letter is given.\nIt has been thought best to omit all headings and endings to these\nletters, in order that no discrimination shall be made in respect of\nthe recipients, thus leaving the truths which the letters embody to\nstand out in their own relief, unmarred by a label and a name. Many\nof the extracts were published in _The Irish Theosophist_, and others\nstill in the \"Tea-Table\" of _The Path_, where \"Quickly\" stood for Mr.\nJudge. It was the wish of Mr. Judge, expressed in writing to one of the\ncompilers, that the series should be republished (with the addition of\nother matter) as a second volume of the earlier work. The compilers\nare thus carrying out the direct wishes of Mr. Judge.\n\nDuring the lifetime of Mr. Judge, it was possible to rearrange, to\nsuggest excision or amplification, or the grouping of various extracts\nas one letter; and it was possible as well to annotate, since Mr. Judge\nread all proof, and was always ready to consider any suggestions,\nwhile he was also pleased to see that his annotator had grasped his\nmeaning, or to correct errors in this respect. It is evident that such\nrearrangement, adding as it would to the completeness and the unity\nof a series, is much to be desired. It was hoped to continue this\nmethod with the present volume; but the death of the writer has made it\nimpossible. We can only publish some letters completely, as they stand,\nand group together such extracts as remain.\n\nOne point more. A great number of letters have thus come up. One\ncompiler alone has many score, all written since the publication of\nthe first volume, and ranging over that period of years in which the\ntrials of Mr. Judge became increasingly heavy, a period to which his\nunexpected death set a term. How great were these trials, none well\nknew except the Master Whom he so devotedly served. The last letter of\nall was written but a very short while before his death. In no single\nletter out of all these numbers--in no letter that the compilers have\nseen--is there a harsh or condemnatory word said of the authors of his\ntrials. He accepts the bitter, the profound injustice done him without\none word which could impugn the faith he held, the teachings he gave\nout. Surprise there is; annoyance once or twice at the waste of time,\nthe irrational deeds and words. And then he turns him to that wise\ncompassion which knows that it is not he who is wronged who is in truth\nthe sufferer, but he who inflicts a wrong.\n\nMr. Judge always taught the truest Occultism, the highest path. When\nhis hour of trial struck, step by step he followed along that path. In\nthe destiny of the crucified, whether Christs, or Christ-disciples, it\nis always seen that the loudest denial comes from those most helped,\nmost served. It is he who sits \"at meat\" with them who betrays them.\nAnd of all the long time of martyrs, never one has been exonerated to\nhis era, justified to his age. This fact alone should make thinking men\npause, remembering further that the crowd always prefers that Barabbas\nshould be released unto them.\n\nThe great drama ever follows the same lines. The initiate, be he\ndisciple or be he adept, cannot defend himself; this is the inexorable\nlaw. But he has all the tenderest support that his great predecessors\nalong the path of thorns can bestow; all the joy of a battle nobly\nfought; all the gratitude of those among his fellows whose intuition\ncan follow him behind the veil which screens the initiate from our\nsight.\n\nSo it comes about that these letters breathe the compassion, the\npatience, the brotherliness their author lived to inculcate. Sorrow,\nindeed, he felt; but he put it bravely by. His great and kind heart\nremained sound to the core. He sweetened the hours of bitterness by\nprofound resignation to The Law. He was one of those of whom it is\nwritten: \"He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.\"\n\nFor the helping of mankind we publish these letters. To the judgment of\nposterity we commit them, knowing well that in the eternal spaces the\nTruth alone prevails. He who is here seen sustaining and consoling his\nfellows during the saddest hours of his life and down to the doors of\nthe tomb, was in his turn upheld--not alone by a great faith and by an\nAll-Compassionate Hand--but also by the Love enshrined in his own quiet\nheart. To The Master he left the rest.\n\n  THE COMPILERS.\n\n\n\n\nLETTERS\n\n\nI.\n\n  DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS:\n\nI do not think that you will take it amiss that I again intrude myself\nbefore you. I am so far off, and the place where my old friend and\nteacher--the one who pointed out to me the way that must bring us, if\nfollowed, to the light and peace and power of truth--is so dear to me,\nI would fain speak with those, my fellow-workers, who now live where\nshe worked, and where her mighty soul left the body she used for our\nadvantage. This is surely sufficient reason.\n\nRefer to the Master's letter in _The Occult World_ and you will find\nhim saying that the Masters are philanthropists and care only for\nthat. Hence, the very oldest F.T.S. who has been selfish, and not\nphilanthropic, has never come under the notice of the Masters, has\nnever done anything, in fact, toward the development of the soul in his\npossession, nothing for the race of man. It is not membership in the\nT.S., or any other mystical body, that brings us near the Masters, but\njust such philanthropic work with just the pure motive.\n\nThen I know, and say plainly--for as so close to each other we should\nplainly speak--that some of us, maybe all, have waited and wondered,\nand wished and hoped, for what? Variously expressed thus: one wants to\ngo to the Master, not knowing even if it be fitting; another wants to\nknow what is the vague longing inside; another says that if the inner\nsenses were but developed and hopes the Master would develop them, and\nso on; all, however, expressed by what the Master has himself written,\n\"You want to find out about us, of our methods of work, and for that\nyou seek along the line of occultism.\" Well, it is right for us to seek\nand to try and to want to reach to Them, for otherwise we never will in\nany age get where such Beings are. But as wise thinkers we should act\nand think wisely. I know many of you and what I am saying should help\nsome as it does me also.\n\nYou are all on the road to Masters, but as we are now, with the weak\nand hereditarily diseased bodies we have, we could not live an hour\nwith Masters did we jump suddenly past space to Them. Some too have\ndoubt and darkness, the doubt mostly as to themselves. This should not\nbe harboured, for it is a wile of the lower man striving to keep you\nback among the mediocre of the race. When you have lifted yourself up\nover that level of the race, the enemy of man strikes and strives at\nall times to bring clouds of doubt and despair. You should know that\nall, everyone, down to the most obscure, who are working steadily,\nare as steadily creeping on to a change, and yet on and on to other\nchanges, and all steps to the Master. Do not allow discouragement\nto come in. Time is needed for all growth, and all change, and all\ndevelopment. Let time have her perfect work and do not stop it.\n\nHow may it be stopped? How many have thought of this I do not know, but\nhere is a fact. As a sincere student works on, his work makes him come\nevery day nearer to a step, and if it be an advance then it is certain\nthere is a sort of silence or loneliness all around in the forest of\nhis nature. Then he may stop all by allowing despair to come in with\nvarious reasons and pretexts; he may thus throw himself to where he\nbegan. This is not arbitrary law but Nature's. It is a law of mind, and\nthe enemies of man take advantage of it for the undoing of the unwary\ndisciple. I would never let the least fear or despair come before me,\nbut if I cannot see the road, nor the goal for the fog, I would simply\nsit down and wait; I would not allow the fog to make me think no road\nwas there, and that I was not to pass it. The fogs must lift.\n\nWhat then is the panacea finally, the royal talisman? It is DUTY,\nSelflessness. Duty persistently followed is the highest yoga, and is\nbetter than mantrams or any posture, or any other thing. If you can do\nno more than duty it will bring you to the goal. And, my dear friends,\nI can swear it, the Masters are watching us all, and that without fail\nwhen we come to the right point and really deserve They manifest to us.\nAt all times I know They help and try to aid us as far as we will let\nThem.\n\nWhy, the Masters are anxious (to use a word of our own) that as many\nas possible may reach to the state of power and love They are in. Why,\nthen, suppose they help not? As they are Atman and therefore the very\nlaw of Karma itself, They are in everything in life, and every phase of\nour changing days and years. If you will arouse your faith on this line\nyou come nearer to help from Them than you will recognise.\n\nI send you my love and hope, and best thoughts that you may all find\nthe great light shining around you every day. It is there.\n\n  Your brother,\n  WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.\n\n\nII.\n\nOnce more in the absence of ---- I send you a word of brotherly\ngreeting. I would ask you to read it impersonally in every part, as I\nhave no reserved thoughts and no ulterior aim in it, and have not had\nany letters or news from anyone to lead me to write. We are so far away\nfrom each other that now and then such a greeting is well, and should\nbe taken in the spirit it is sent. It is not possible to send to any\nother household as none other exists in the Society, you being unique\nin this, that you are the only one. Here we have no such thing, all\nnearly living at other places, and this being merely a centre for work.\n\nMany times have co-operative households been tried and failed. One was\ntried here and is famous. It was called the Brook Farm, but it had\nno such high aim and philosophy behind it as you have, and thus the\npersonal frictions developed at any place of close intimacy broke it\nup. That should be a guide to you to enable you to watch and avoid.\nYours may alter in number and in _personnel_, but can never really\nbe broken up if the aim is high and the self-judgment is strict and\nnot self-righteous. I am not accusing you of this, but only stating\na common human danger, from which the Theosophist is not at any time\nexempt. Indeed, he is in danger in your centre from the fact that\nstrong force revolves around it. Hence all must be ever careful, for\nthe personal element is one that ever has a tendency to delude us as it\nhides behind various walls and clothes itself in the faults, real or\nimaginary, of _others_.\n\nYour centre being the only one as yet of such size, it is useful to\nthink how you may best all act as to make it truly international. Each\none has a right to his or her particular \"crank,\" of course, but no one\nought to think that anyone else is to be judged from not being of the\nsame stripe of \"crank.\" One eats meat, another does not. Neither is\nuniversally right, for the kingdom of heaven does not come from meat,\nor from its absence. Another smokes and another does not; these are\nneither universally right nor wrong, as smoke for one is good and for\nanother is bad; the true cosmopolitan allows each to do in such matters\nas he likes. Essentials are the only things on which true occultism\nand Theosophy require an agreement, and such temporary matters as food\nand other habitual daily things are not essentials. One may make\na mistake, too, of parading too much his or her particular line of\nlife or act. When this is done the whole world is bored, and nothing\neffective or lasting is gained except a cranky impression.\n\nIn a place like yours, where so many of all sorts of nature are\ntogether, there is a unique opportunity for gain and good in the\nchance it gives one for self-discipline. There friction of personality\nis inevitable, and if each one learns the great \"give and take,\" and\nlooks not for the faults of the others but for the faults he sees in\nhimself, because of the friction, then great progress can be made. The\nMasters have said that the great step is to learn how to get out of\nthe rut each one has by nature and by training, and to fill up the old\ngrooves. This has been misconstrued by some who have applied it to mere\nouter habits of life, and forgotten that its real application is to the\nmental grooves and the astral ones also. Each mind has a groove, and\nis not naturally willing to run in the natural groove of another mind.\nHence comes often friction and wrangle. Illustrate it by the flanged\nwheel of the steam-engine running on a track. It cannot run off nor\non a track of broader or narrower gauge, and so is confined to one.\nTake off the flange and make the face of the wheel broader, and then\nit can run on any road that is at all possible. General human nature\nis like the engine, it is flanged and run for a certain size of track,\nbut the occultist or the would-be one should take off the flange and\nhave a broad-faced wheel that will accommodate itself to the other\nmind and nature. Thus in one life even we might have the benefit of\nmany, for the lives of other men are lived beside us unnoticed and\nunused because we are too broad and flanged in wheel, or too narrow and\nflanged also. This is not easy, it is true, to change, but there is no\nbetter opportunity than is hourly presented to you in the whole world,\nto make the alteration. I would gladly have such a chance, which Karma\nhas denied me, and I see the loss I incur each day by not having it\nthere or here. You have it, and from there should go out to all the\nearth soon or late, men and women who are broad and free and strong for\nthe work of helping the world. My reminding you of all this is not a\ncriticism, but is due to my own want of such an opportunity, and being\nat a distance I can get a clearer view of the case, and what you have\nfor your own benefit and also for all others.\n\nIt is natural for one to ask: \"What of the future, and what of the\ndefined object, if any, for our work?\" That can be answered in many ways.\n\nThere is, first, our own work, in and on ourselves, each one. That has\nfor its object the enlightenment of oneself for the good of others.\nIf that is pursued selfishly some enlightenment comes, but not the\namount needed for the whole work. We have to watch ourselves so as to\nmake of each a centre from which, in our measure, may flow out the\npotentialities for good that from the adept come in large and affluent\nstreams. The future then, for each, will come from each present moment.\nAs we use the moment so we shift the future up or down for good or ill;\nfor the future being only a word for the present--not yet come--we have\nto see to the present more than all. If the present is full of doubt or\nvacillation, so will be the future; if full of confidence, calmness,\nhope, courage and intelligence, thus also will be the future.\n\nAs to the broader scope of the work, that comes from united effort of\nthe whole mass of units. It embraces the race, and as we cannot escape\nfrom the destiny of the race we have to dismiss doubt and continue at\nwork. The race is, as a whole, in a transition state, and many of its\nunits are kept back by the condition of the whole. We find the path\ndifficult because, being of the race, the general race tendencies very\nstrongly affect us. This we cannot do away with in a moment. It is\nuseless to groan over it; it is also selfish, since we, in the distant\npast, had a hand in making it what it now is. The only way we can alter\nit is by such action now as makes of each one a centre for good, a\nforce that makes \"for righteousness,\" and that is guided by wisdom.\nFrom the great power of the general badness we each one have a greater\nfight to wage the moment we force our inner nature up beyond the dead\nlevel of the world. So before we attempt that forcing we should, on the\nlower plane, accumulate all that we can of merit by unselfish acts,\nby kind thoughts, by detaching our minds from the allurements of the\nworld. This will not throw us out of the world, but will make us free\nfrom the great force which is called by B\u0153hme the \"Turba,\" by which he\nmeant the immense power of the unconscious and material basis of our\nnature. That material base being devoid of soul is more inclined on\nthis plane to the lower things of life than to the higher.\n\nHence, until we have in some degree conquered that, it is useless for\nus to be wishing, as so many of us do, to see the Masters and to be\nwith Them. They could not help us unless we furnish the conditions, and\na mere desire is not the needed condition. The new condition calls for\na change in thought and nature.\n\nSo the Masters have said this is a transition age, and he who has ears\nto hear will hear what has thus been said. We are working for the new\ncycles and centuries. What we do now in this transition age will be\nlike what the great Dhyan Chohans did in the transition point--the\nmidway point--in evolution at the time when all matter and all types\nwere in a transition and fluid state. They then gave the new impulse\nfor the new types, which resulted later in the vast varieties of\nnature. In the mental development we are now at the same point and what\nwe now do in faith and hope for others and for ourselves will result\nsimilarly on the plane to which it is all directed. Thus in other\ncenturies we will come out again and go on with it. If we neglect it\nnow, so much the worse for us then. Hence we are not working for some\ndefinite organisation of the new years to come, but for a change in the\nManas and Buddhi of the Race. That is why it may seem indefinite, but\nit is, nevertheless, very defined and very great in scope. Let me refer\nyou to that part of _The Secret Doctrine_, penned by Master Himself,\nwhere the midway point of evolution is explained in reference to the\nungulate mammals. It should give you a glimpse of what we have to do,\nand remove all vain longings for a present sojourn with our unseen\nguides and brothers. The world is not free from superstition, and\nwe, a part of it, must have some traces left of the same thing. They\nhave said that a great shadow follows all innovations in the life of\nhumanity; the wise one will not bring on that shadow too soon and not\nuntil some light is ready to fall at the same time for breaking up the\ndarkness.\n\nMasters could give now all the light and knowledge needed, but there\nis too much darkness that would swallow up all the light, except for a\nfew bright souls, and then a greater darkness would come on. Many of us\ncould not grasp nor understand all that might be given, and to us would\nresult a danger and new difficulty for other lives, to be worked out in\npain and sorrow. It is from kindness and love that Masters do not blind\nus with the electric flash of truth complete.\n\nBut concretely there is a certain object for our general work. It is\nto start up a new force, a new current in the world, whereby great and\nlong-gone Gnanis, or wise ones, will be attracted back to incarnate\namong men here and there, and thus bring back the true life and the\ntrue practices. Just now a pall of darkness is over all that no Gnani\nwill be attracted by. Here and there a few beams strike through this.\nEven in India it is dark, for there, where the truth is hid, the thick\nveil of theological dogma hides all; and though there is a great hope\nin it the Masters cannot pierce through to minds below. We have to\neducate the West so that it may appreciate the possibilities of the\nEast, and thus on the waiting structure in the East may be built up a\nnew order of things for the benefit of the whole. We have, each one of\nus, to make ourselves a centre of light; a picture gallery from which\nshall be projected on the astral light such scenes, such influences,\nsuch thoughts, as may influence many for good, shall thus arouse a new\ncurrent, and then finally result in drawing back the great and the good\nfrom other spheres from beyond the earth. This is not spiritualism at\nall, for it has no reference to the denizens of spook-land in any way.\n\nLet us then have great faith and confidence. See how many have gone\nout from time to time from your centre to many and distant parts of\nthe world, and how many will continue to go for the good and the gain\nof man of all places. They have gone to all parts, and it must be that\neven if the centre should be disrupted from causes outside of you, its\npower and reality will not be destroyed at all, but will ever remain,\neven after all of it may have gone as far as bricks and mortar are\nconcerned.\n\nI give you my best wishes and brotherly greeting for the new year and\nfor every year that is to come.\n\n  Affectionately yours,\n  WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.\n\n\nIII.\n\nI send you this, and you will keep it, using it later on when I give\nthe word. It is to be headed by me later.\n\nThe Theosophical movement was begun as a work of the Brotherhood of\nwhich H. P. B. is a member, and in which the great Initiate, who was by\nher called Master, is one of the Chiefs.\n\nIt was started among Western people by Western people, the two chief\nagents being H. P. B., a Russian, and H. S. Olcott, an American. The\nplace where it was started was also Western--the City of New York.\n\nBut notwithstanding that the Brotherhood thus had it begun, it must, as\na Society, be kept with a free platform, while, at the same time, its\nmembers are individually free to take and hold what belief they find\napproved by conscience, provided that belief does not militate against\nUniversal Brotherhood. Hence they are at perfect liberty to believe in\nthe Lodge of that Brotherhood and in its messengers, and also to accept\ntheir doctrines as to man, his nature, powers and destiny as given out\nby the messengers on behalf of the Lodge.\n\nThe fact is significant that the Theosophical movement was thus, as\nsaid, begun in the Western world, in the country where the preparations\nfor the new root race are going on, and where that new root is to\nappear. This was not to give precedence to any one race or country over\nanother, or to reduce any race or country, but was and is according to\nthe law of cycles, which is a part of evolution. In the eye of that\ngreat Law no country is first or last, new or old, high or low, but\neach at the right time is appropriate for whatever the work is that\nmust be performed. Each country is bound up with all the others and\nmust assist them.\n\nThis movement has, among others, an object which should be borne in\nmind. It is the union of the West with the East, the revival in the\nEast of those greatnesses which once were hers, the development in the\nWest of that Occultism which is appropriate for it, so that it may, in\nits turn, hold out a helping hand to those of older blood who may have\nbecome fixed in one idea, or degraded in spirituality.\n\nFor many centuries this union has been worked towards and workers have\nbeen sent out through the West to lay the foundations. But not until\n1875 could a wide public effort be made, and then the Theosophical\nSociety came into existence because the times were ripe and the workers\nready.\n\nOrganisations, like men, may fall into ruts or grooves of mental and\npsychic action, which, once established, are difficult to obliterate.\nTo prevent those ruts or grooves in the Theosophical movement, its\nguardians provided that necessary shocks should now and then interpose\nso as to conduce to solidarity, to give strength such as the oak\nobtains from buffetting the storm, and in order that all grooves of\nmind, act, or thought, might be filled up.\n\nIt is not the desire of the Brotherhood that those members of the\nTheosophical movement who have, under their rights, taken up a belief\nin the messengers and the message should become pilgrims to India. To\narouse that thought was not the work nor the wish of H. P. B. Nor is\nit the desire of the Lodge to have members think that Eastern methods\nare to be followed, Eastern habits adopted, or the present East made\nthe model or the goal. The West has its own work and its duty, its own\nlife and development. Those it should perform, aspire to and follow,\nand not try to run to other fields where the duties of other men are\nto be performed. If the task of raising the spirituality of India, now\ndegraded and almost suffocated, were easy, and if thus easily raised\ncould it shine into and enlighten the whole world of the West, then,\nindeed, were the time wasted in beginning in the West, when a shorter\nand quicker way existed in the older land. But in fact it is more\ndifficult to make an entry into the hearts and minds of people who,\nthrough much lapse of time in fixed metaphysical dogmatism, have built,\nin the psychic and psycho-mental planes, a hard impervious shell around\nthemselves, than it is to make that entry with Westerners who, although\nthey may be meat eaters, yet have no fixed opinions deep laid in a\nfoundation of mysticism and buttressed with a pride inherited from the\npast.\n\nThe new era of Western Occultism definitely began in 1875 with the\nefforts of that noble woman who abandoned the body of that day not long\nago. This does not mean that the Western Occultism is to be something\nwholly different from and opposed to what so many know, or think they\nknow, as Eastern Occultism. It is to be the Western side of the one\ngreat whole of which the true Eastern is the other half. It has, as its\nmission, largely entrusted to the hands of the Theosophical Society, to\nfurnish to the West that which it can never get from the East; to push\nforward and raise high on the circular path of evolution now rolling\nWest, the light that lighteth every man who cometh into the world--the\nlight of the true self, who is the one true Master for every human\nbeing; all other Masters are but servants of that true One; in it all\nreal Lodges have their union.\n\nWoe is set apart--not by Masters but by Nature's laws--for those who,\nhaving started in the path with the aid of H. P. B. shall in any way\ntry to belittle her and her work, still, as yet not understood and\nby many misunderstood. This does not mean that a mere person is to\nbe slavishly followed. But to explain her away, to belittle her, to\nimagine vain explanations with which to do away with what is not liked\nin that which she said, is to violate the ideal, is to spit back in\nthe face of the teacher through whom the knowledge and the opportunity\ncame, to befoul the river which brought you sweet waters. She was and\nis one of those servants of the universal Lodge sent to the West to\ntake up the work, well knowing of the pain and obloquy and the insult\nto the very soul--worst of all insults--which were certain from the\nfirst to be hers. \"Those who cannot understand her had best not try to\nexplain her: those who do not find themselves strong enough for the\ntask she plainly outlined from the beginning had best not attempt it.\"\nShe knew, and you have been told before, that high and wise servants\nof the Lodge have remained with the West since many centuries for the\npurpose of helping it on to its mission and destiny. That work it\nwould be well for the members of the Theosophical movement to continue\nwithout deviating, without excitement, without running to extremes,\nwithout imagining that Truth is a matter of either longitude or\nlatitude: the truth of the soul's life is in no special quarter of the\ncompass, it is everywhere round the whole circle, and those who look in\none quarter will not find it.\n\n(This letter is marked in red pencil, by the hand of Mr. Judge,\n\"unfinished.\" In fact, it ends with the word \"will,\" as above, but in\npublishing earlier some extracts from this letter, the owner had the\npermission of the writer to supply the last three words, which he had\nintended to place there when called away, and in his haste for the\npost, in returning, had omitted to add.)\n\n\nIV.\n\nTO THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLICATION SOCIETY:\n\nIt is with great regret that I learn from recent London advices that\nthe Managers of the Society there think that the Tract, \"Epitome of\nTheosophy,\" which appeared in _The Path_, is \"too advanced to be\nreprinted now, and that what is needed is 'a stepping-stone from\nfiction to philosophy.'\"\n\nPermit me to say that I cannot agree with this opinion, nor with the\npolicy which is outlined by it. The opinion is erroneous, and the\npolicy is weak as well as being out of accord with that of the Masters.\nThose Masters have approved the project of the new Society and are\nwatching the unfolding of its policy.\n\nIf I had made up that Epitome wholly myself I might have some\nhesitation in speaking in this way, but I did not. The general idea of\nsuch a series of tracts was given to me some two years ago, and this\none was prepared by several students who know what the people need.\nIt is at once comprehensive and fundamental. It covers most of the\nground, and if any sincere reader grasps it he will have food for his\nreflection of the sort needed.\n\nIf, however, we are to proceed by a mollified passage from folly (which\nis fiction) to philosophy, then we at once diverge from the path\nmarked out for us by the Masters; and for this statement I can refer\nto letters from Them in my hands. I need only draw your attention to\nthe fact that when those Masters began to cause Their servants to give\nout matter in India, They did not begin with fiction, but with stern\nfacts such as are to be found in the _Fragments of Occult Truth_, which\nafterwards became Mr. Sinnett's _Esoteric Buddhism_. We are not seeking\nto cater to a lot of fiction readers and curiosity hunters, but to the\npressing needs of earnest minds. Fiction readers never influenced a\nnation's progress. And these earnest minds do not desire, and ought not\nto be treated to a gruel which the sentence just quoted would seem to\nindicate as their fate.\n\nThen again, I beg to remind my English brothers in this enterprise that\nthey should remember that the United States contain more theosophists\nand possible subscribers and readers than the whole of Europe. They\ndo not want fiction. They want no padding in their search for truth.\nThey are perfectly able to grasp that which you call \"too advanced.\"\nThe Master some years ago said that the U. S. needed the help of the\nEnglish body of theosophists. That they did not get, and now do not\nrequire it so much, and their ideas and needs must be considered by us.\nWe have twenty-one Branches to your three in Great Britain, and each\nmonth, nearly, sees a new Branch. Several have written me that they\nunderstand the T.P.S. is to give them _good_ and _valuable_ reprints\nand not weak matters of fiction.\n\nI therefore respectfully urge upon you that the weak and erroneous\npolicy to which I have referred shall not be followed, but that strong\nlines of action be taken, and that we leave fiction to the writers who\nprofit by it or who think that thus people's minds can be turned to the\nTruth. If a contrary line be adopted then we will not only disappoint\nthe Master (if that be possible) but we will in a very large sense be\nguilty of making false representations to a growing body of subscribers\nhere as well as elsewhere.\n\n  I am, Fraternally Yours,\n  WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.\n\n\nV.\n\nIt is a relief to turn from these eternal legal quibbles (of my\nbusiness) to say a word or two on eternal matters.\n\nNow and then there are underlined sentences occurring in _The Path_.\nThese ought to be studied. One about one yogee not doing anything not\nseen in another yogee's mind will open up a subject. Reticence does not\nalways mean ignorance: if we dig out the knowledge we drag down at the\nsame time rocks and debris of other sorts, whereas, if a miner hands us\nthe nugget, that is all we get at the time. So a slight reticence often\nresults in our going at the digging ourselves.\n\nIn September _Path_ is another. Getting back the memory of other lives\nis really the whole of the process, and if some people don't understand\ncertain things it is either because they have not got to that point in\ntheir other lives or because no glimmer of memory has yet come.\n\nThe communion of saints is a reality, and it often happens that those\nbrought up in the same school speak the same language. While not\nbeing one, such are very like co-scholars no matter when or where.\nFurthermore, there are some peculiar natures in this world who, while\nthey are like mirrors or sponges that reflect and absorb from others\ncertain information, still retain a very strong individuality of their\nown. So it is with this gentleman whose letter you enclose. There is\nscarcely any doubt that he, if he tells true tales, sees in the astral\nlight. The description of things \"moving about like fishes in the sea\"\nis a real description of one of the manners in which many of these\nelemental forms are seen. So it may, as premised above, be settled that\nhe sees in the astral light.\n\nHe should know that that astral light exists in all places and\ninterpenetrates everything, and is not simply in the free air alone.\nFurther should he know that to be able to see as he sees in the light\nis not _all_ of the seeing thus. That is, there are many sorts of\nsuch sight, _e.g._, he may see now certain airy shapes and yet not\nsee many others which at the same time are as really present there\nas those he now sees. So it would seem that there are \"layers\" or\ndifferences of states in the astral light. Another way to state it is\nthat elementals are constantly moving in the astral light--that is,\neverywhere. They, so to say, show pictures to him who looks, and the\npictures they show will depend in great part upon the seer's thoughts,\nmotives and development. These differences are very numerous. It\ntherefore follows that in this study _pride_ must be eliminated. That\npride has disappeared from ordinary life does not prove that it has\ndone any more than retreat a little further within. So one must be\ncareful of becoming even inwardly vain of being able to see any such\nthings; for if that happens it will follow that the one limited plane\nin which one may be a seer will be accepted as the whole. That, then,\nwill be falsity. But if recognized as delusive because partial, then\nit remains true--so far as it goes. All true things must be total,\nand all totalities exist at once, each in all, while these partial\nforms exist partially in those that are total. So it follows that only\nthose that are total reveal entire truth, and those that partake of\nlower nature--or are partial--receive but a limited view of truth. The\nelementals are partial forms, while the man's individual soul is total,\nand according to the power and purity of that form which it inhabits\n\"waits upon the Gods.\"\n\nNow our bodies, and all \"false I\" powers up to the individual soul, are\n\"partial forms\" in common with the energic centres in astral light. So\nthat it must follow that no matter how much we and they participate\nin each other the resulting view of the one Truth is partial in its\nnature because the two partial forms mingling together do not produce\ntotality. But it intoxicates. And herein lies the danger of the\nteaching of such men as P. B. Randolph, who advocates participation\nwith these partial beings by means of sensual excesses glorified with a\nname and gilded with the pretence of a high purpose--_viz._, knowledge:\nKNOWLEDGE MUST BE CAREFULLY OBTAINED WITH A PURE MOTIVE.\n\nThis motive is the point for this gentleman to study. He says that he\n\"will know,\" and that he \"desires to escape from present limitations of\nthis personality, which is all loneliness.\"\n\nAs he did go forward on the path of knowledge, he would find that this\nimaginary loneliness of which he speaks is by comparison with the utter\nloneliness of that path, a howling mob, a tramping regiment.\n\nAs he is fighting alone his own fight let him carefully note his\nmotive in seeking to know more, and in seeking to escape from his\npresent \"loneliness.\" Must it not be true that loneliness cannot be\nescaped from by abhorrence of it or even by its acceptance, but by its\nrecognition? What next? Well, this; and perhaps it is too simple. He\nought to assure himself that his motive in knowing and being is that he\nmay help all creatures. I do not say that this is not now his motive,\nbut for fear it should not be I refer to it. For as he appears to be on\nthe borderland of fearful sights and sounds he ought to know the magic\namulet which alone can protect him while he is ignorant. It is that\nboundless charity of love which led Buddha to say: \"Let the sins of\nthis dark age fall on me that the world may be saved,\" and not a desire\nfor escape or for knowledge. It is expressed in the words: \"THE FIRST\nSTEP IN TRUE MAGIC IS DEVOTION TO THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS.\" It was\nexpressed by Krishna when he said: \"Near to Renunciation is salvation\"\n(or the state of a Jivanmukta).\n\nBut he naturally will ask if he should cultivate his powers. Well,\nof course he should at some time or other; but he ought to begin at\nmotives and purification of thought. He may, if he chooses, abandon\nthe ideas of this large-hearted charity and yet make great progress in\n\"powers,\" but surely then death and ashes will be the result. That does\nnot concern me.\n\nWhy did he have a \"horror\" when he merely succeeded in going away from\nhis body; in being for a moment free? That is an important question.\nIts solution may be found in many ways. I will mention one. If the\nplace, or person he wished to go to was one to which he then ought\nnot to have gone--or if his motive in desiring to go there was not\npure--then a horror might result that drove him back. But if even with\na bad motive he had attempted to go to a place where a similar motive\nexisted, then no horror would have come. If he will tell himself, or\nme, just where he was wanting to go, I may say why he had a horror. But\nI do not want to know.\n\nFor it is not necessarily a horror-producing thing to leave the body.\nOnly lately I know of a friend of mine who went out of his body a\ndistance of 10,000 miles and had no horror. In that case he desired to\nsee a friend on a common purpose which had in view the amelioration\nof this dark age; and again, who left his body in the country and saw\nthe surrounding sweeps of wood and vale and had no horror whatever in\neither case.\n\nIf one is sure of motive, and that is pure, then going out of the body\nis not detrimental.\n\nAn illustration will show the dangers. Take the case of one who is able\nto leave the body and who determines to go to one who is sympathetic.\nThe second one, however, is protected by high motive and great purity:\nthe first is mixed in motive in waking life, which, as soon as the\nother disengaged state comes on, changes into a mere curiosity to\nsee the second, and perhaps with more or less sensuality, _e.g._, a\ndesire to see a woman much admired and to pour into her unwilling ear\npretended or real human love. The elementals (and so on) of the second\nprotect that soul and hurl vague horrors at the first who, if he is not\na skilled black magician is:\n\n1. Either merely pushed back into the body: Or\n\n2. Is assailed with fears that prevent him finding his body, and that\nmay be occupied by an elementary, good, bad or indifferent--and his\nfriends may say that he waked up insane!\n\nWell; enough!\n\n\nVI.\n\nThe letters proposed by your friend are a device of the enemy, as you\nmay have supposed, and which you were warned to expect in unexpected\nquarters and ways. Therefore they should not be written. It is the\nsmall rift in the lute that destroys it; in human history small and\nunexpected events alter the destiny of nations.\n\nOn this plane the dark powers rely upon their ability to create a\nmaya. They have seen that you are not to be trapped in the prominent\nlines of work and so try their hands where your currents exist in a\nprominent place but with a very small matter. Let me point out.\n\nIf you issue these letters they would be an endorsement of all that\nyour friend might think to do, and neither you nor Y. are free from\nmistakes yet. They would amount to a declaration, to the perception of\nothers, that you were guiding Y. in everything and were at all times\nconscious of it. Do you or Y. know where this would end? Do you see\nthe possibilities flowing from the acceptance in full of those letters\nby the others? And what would their action be? Are they free from the\ncurse of superstition; are they clear in the co-ordination of psychic\nwith brain thought? No. The result would not only be different from\nwhat you and Y. can see, but worse. Now further.\n\nIt is true--and humanly natural--that the others (like you and _your_\nfriends) indulged in some slight critiques on your friend, but they\nwere small and coupled with sincere and kind thoughts up to their\nlights, no matter how large and bitter all this was made by maya to\nappear. The dark powers seized on them, enlarged them, dressed them\nup, assumed the images of the thinkers, enlivened the thoughts with\nelementals, all with an object, _viz._, to make your friend think it\nall came from the others. Why, if that were so then those others (poor\nweak mortals) are friends. But are they? No. It was wished by the dark\nones to irritate your friend, and you, so as, by the irritation, to\nsplit a breach forever unhealable. In Y.'s very weak state they found\nit easy, and hoped by distance to make you blind.\n\nTell your friend to remember what was long ago said; that the Master\nwould manage results. You must not manage, precipitate, nor force.\nBeware. Let Y. assume that the others do not think harshly nor\ncritically, but put it all against the dark powers, and the results\nwill be managed by Master. As chel\u00e2s and students conceal rather than\ngive out your inner psychic life, for by telling of it your proper\nprogress is hindered. There must be silence in heaven for a time or\nthe dark ones rejoice to so easily get good, malleable images for\nannoying you. It will be tried again either that way or some other. By\ngentleness, detachment, strict attention to duty, and retiring now and\nthen to the quiet place bring up good currents and keep back all evil\nones. Remember it is the little things the work is done through, for they\nare not noticed, while the larger ones draw the eyes and minds of all.\n\nI think of you always as the brave soldier, made not of mud and soft\nthings, but made of long pieces of steel and strips of diamond and\nflashes of long light that has no harshness, and a big, big spring\nall the way through. That is you. And your eyes laugh now and then,\neven if you do have a pain in your head. Inside you are all right, as\nyou know very well, don't you? Then if you are that soldier, it means\nthat he will spring back as soon as the body has had time to get some\nbetter. The body is like the heart; it has to have time to get to some\nother condition. But you will get there. A steady mind and heart stands\nstill and quiet until the muddy stream rolls clear. Now sleep, I say;\nI command you to sleep. I have tried to help you to sleep, and I wish\nyou to sleep, for sleep will do you good as nothing else can. I hope to\nsee you drop all when ---- comes, and go to sleep for awhile, and far\nenough from the row to be quiet. It is sleep your tired nature on the\noutside wants, for sleep knits up the ravelled thread of life and makes\nus young again. You have been so awake, that the power of equilibrium\nbetween life and the body is disturbed and needs a chance. This is\nfact. One can get wrought up, and then Prana is too strong; so little\nchildren sleep much. _Be a child once._\n\nWell, I'm near home, or rather the centre spot, for pilgrims like you\nand I have no real house and don't want it; it's too dull and usual for\nsuch to want a home. And perhaps the little brother is good and well?\nHe shall be ever present, as he always has been, in those little songs\nand tales told to oneself in the dark, and is, too, the lone warrior\nseen on the plain of stupid infantry, and he rides a horse whose blood\nis electricity. Au revoir. Tell ---- I can stand alone; it is the best\nway to stand, and what I always was and shall be. Let the ripples and\nthe foam go on coming and going; the old river and the bed of the river\ndo not move for all that is on the top. Is it not so? Well, good-bye,\nand good luck, and may the devas help you and also karma. Love to all,\nas usual.\n\n  As forevermore,\n\n\nVII.\n\nI was very glad indeed to get your letter, but sorry to read of your\ntroubles. Strangely, too, a similar trouble with a very dear friend of\nmine is now uppermost in my mind, and I would like to crave the favour\nfrom you that you would tell me what kind of place the asylum is you\nspeak of. The only accessible one here is a mere prison, where men do\nnothing, and where I do not think the influence would be other than\ndepressing. Do you think at the one you have in mind a man of active\nmind, who merely wishes to get rid of his present trouble, would be\nable to occupy himself?\n\nI am indeed sorry that you have to tell me such matters, but they\nwill rest in my confidence; and I thank you and ---- for your renewed\ninvitation.\n\nIt is best not to inquire into some of the mysteries of life, but\nsurely a full reliance upon the Spirit within and upon the law that\nthe hands that smite us are our own, will relieve the pressure of\nsome events that seem mysteries. I find the greatest consolation in\nthese reflections, and then I see that each moment is mine, and that\nwhen gone it is passed and merged into the sum of my being: and so I\nmust strive to Be. Thus I may hope to become in time the conscious\npossessor of the whole of Being. So I do not strive after mystery. The\ngreat struggle must be to open up my outer self, that my higher being\nmay shine through, for I know that in my heart the God sits patient,\nand that his pure rays are merely veiled from me by the many strivings\nand illusions that I bring on outwardly. This being so, I can only look\nat the Society and its work (under my lights) as the best available\nchannel for my actions in the effort to help others. Its methods, then,\nas far as I am concerned, will be only mine, and thus I cannot attach\nto it the methods of any other person.\n\n  Believe me sincerely yours.\n\n\nVIII.\n\nAs for me, all that is the matter is my health, not yet full and good.\nIf that were all right, I would have nothing. What do I care for all\nthe row? It will soon be over; some will be dead; the sooner the\nbetter, and then we shall have other fun. I look at it all as so much\nfun and variety, sure; I am not joking. It is variety, and without\nthat what would life be? As all these asses bray we learn new notes of\nthe scale not known before. A heap of letters I got; but I am O.K.,\nfragile, perhaps, but not brittle. I would like to be with you both and\nhave some sweet fun without tears or spite, but we have to be apart,\nto meet now and then. Poor ----! Don't be hard on him. He had to be\nsilent, you know. A small matter, but more important than he knew for\nhim. Let up on him, and don't jeer. He has a hard time enough with\nhimself, to have any added by massage from others.\n\nC----'s illusion to \"suffering\" opens up a vein of thought which I have\nhad. I have examined myself for the \"uses\" of this rumpus, to see if I\nam properly \"suffering.\" Well, I can't find it. Down in the deeps I may\nbe; but I find myself cheerful, happy, and anything but morose or sad.\nErgo: can I be suffering? Do you know? Positively, I do not know. Ought\nI? Am I a wretch because I do not suffer, or because, being in actual\nsuffering, I am insensate and do not perceive it? But, on the other\nhand, I feel no anger and no resentment. Really, it puzzleth me. Many\nnights I do not sleep, and have used the hours (as I now do), when all\nis still, in looking over all, and yet I feel all right--everywhere.\nOf course, I have committed my human faults and sins, but I mean, on\nthe Grand Round-Up, I find nothing to \"suffer me\"; nothing that I shall\nrush out to amend by taking the ridiculous and nasty world to my bosom\nin confidence upon.\n\nAs for myself. Well. What? Nothing. I know not and care not. I am\njoyful and glorious that the work thus goes. My desires are not here,\nand all the racket sounds to me far off, as if miles from my ear. I am\nacting as a pump-engine, and trying to force a lot on. This is not for\nmyself. I must find myself alone, as we all are, and then the Law will\nsay: \"Next!\" But what next I do not care and don't want to know, for\nwhen \"Next\" is said I will see what it is to do. Just now the best and\nbiggest work by us poor children is on this plane with the great aid\nof Master, Whose simple single will keeps the whole organisation, and\nacts as its support and shield. We are not big enough yet to handle the\nAkasa, but we may help Them to, and that is all I want to do. I have\nused the present affairs to be as a lesson to me, for it may be used\nas a test to me as to pride and ambition; and I find that, no matter\nhow I turn it, the same result comes. I am seeking other things while\nworking in this. Try as I may to raise an ambition for power, and to\nraise a desire to change a supposed case (non-existent in fact), I\ncan't do it. So you see, my dear Comrade, I am all right.\n\nThese questions you ask me:\n\nWhen the Self is first seen it is like looking into a glove; and for\nhow many incarnations may it not be so? The material envelope throws up\nbefore the eye of the Soul waving fumes and clouds of illusion.\n\nThe brain is only the focus through which the forces and thoughts are\ncentralised that are continually coming in through the solar plexus of\nthe heart. Many such thoughts, therefore, are lost, just as millions of\nseeds in nature are lost. It behoves to study them and to guard them\nwhen there; but can we call them our own? Or weep over them? Let us\nbe as wide as great Nature concerning them, and let each go on to its\nown place without colouring them with our own colour and acceptance or\nadhesion.\n\nThe spiral movement is the double movement of the astral light, one\nspiral inside the other. The diastole and systole of the heart are\ncaused by that double movement of the Akasa. But do not presumptuously\ngrasp the movement too soon, for often even the heart moving too\nrapidly destroys the life.\n\nThe brutes unconsciously are aware of the general human opposition,\nwhich in each human being they see focalised.\n\nIt is easier to sink back into the Eternal than to dive. The diver\nmust needs have the power to retain breath against the rush caused by\ndiving, while to sink gives time to get and keep the breath.\n\nNothing else greatly new. Am waiting to hear of your completer health.\nSustained on the wave you will come in with the tide in time. Best love\nto ---- and to ---- and to thee. May you all be well sustained. I\nthink I have now given you all there is. Salute most noble, brave, and\ndiamond-hearted! May we meet after the dust settles, and we will meet\nforever in the long, long manvantaras before us all. Peace! Peace! the\npath of peace and not of war: such are the words.\n\n  As forevermore.\n\n\nIX.\n\nI do not know what to write, for I've been so occupied with people.\nI am anxious about my lectures; still unprepared. I cannot naturally\nreply to many of your points, because I have a retiring feeling, and\nso shall not reply. Indeed, I often think how nice it would be not to\nspeak or write. I am no hand at those nice phrases that people like. Of\ncourse, that does not alter my real feelings, but chickens are chickens\nand often think nonsense. I want to forget and forgive all those\nchildren and childish acts. Let us do it, and try as much as possible\nto be real brothers, and thus get nearer the truth. And by work we will\ndefeat the enemy of Master: by still silently working.\n\nI hope still you will emerge sooner or later all the better and the\nstronger. I know you will and I do not see you dead by any means. You\nare less hopeful for yourself than for others. But you have the will\nand the fire to fight on to the last bone and the last moment. I only\nwish I could see you all to hearten you up a little more: that is, to\ntalk with you, for you do not need much of the grit....\n\nI often hear from Him now. That terrible racket cleared me up. He says\nthat much haste must be avoided. And that I must not let the flood\ncarry me off. He asks me to say to you that you have a natural rapidity\nthat must be guided by yourself and the best way is to wait after a\nletter and to sleep on a plan. He also says that ... (I am not aware of\nthis, but He must be right), that you have a subtle desire to be the\nfirst to make or propose a good plan or act. Do not let this carry\nyou off, but be slower as to that. It is good advice, I think, for the\nadditional reason that one can now and then take a plan from the head\nof another.\n\nI see the clans have been gathering. Keep it up and see to it as far as\npossible that partisanship is at a low ebb and that only good, steady\nloyalty and work are the main motive. _And cast no one out of your\nheart._\n\nI must ask for a calmer motion at this time. It is absolutely necessary.\n\nA word of love to ----? I sent it. I sent many. I not only sent it\nvisible but also the other way. What could I say? I do not know. In\nwhat I sent my whole heart was put. Does not ---- forever stand for\nme and with me? How can I use words when the fibres of my heart are\ninvolved? And what good is my philosophy if, when the actual taking of\n---- off seemed so near, I indulged in mere words? I cannot do it. If\nI try, then the words are mere rubbish, lies and unreal, as I am not\nable to do this, no matter how much others can. Our real life is not in\nwords of love or hate or coldness but in the fiery depths of the heart.\nAnd in those depths ---- is and was. Could I say more? No; impossible.\nAnd even that is small and badly said.\n\nIt is true that day by day the effect of my philosophy is more apparent\non me, as yours is and will be on you, and so with us all. I see it\nmyself, let alone all I hear of it from others. What a world and what\na life! Yet we are born alone and must die alone, except that in the\nEternal Space all are one, and the One Reality never dies.\n\nIf ambition creeps up slowly higher and higher it will destroy all\nthings, for the foundations will be weak. In the end, the Master will\nwin, so let us breathe deep and hold fast there, as we are. And let us\nhurry nothing. Eternity is here all the time. I cannot tell you how my\nheart turns to you all. You know this, but a single word will do it.\n_Trust!_ That was what H. P. B. said. Did she not know? Who is greater\nthan our old and valiant \"old Lady\"? Ah, were she here, what a carnage!\nWonder, anyhow, how she, or he, or it, looks at the matter? Smiling, I\nsuppose, at all our struggles.\n\nAgain, in storm and shine, in heat and cold, near or afar, among\nfriends or foes, the same in One Work.\n\n\nX.\n\n  MY DEAR COMPANION (CAMPANERO),\n\nYour long letter and message received. All I can say is that it is\ngigantically splendid, marvelously accurate. And let me then return\nto you this message ... that this must prove to you that you are not\nstanding still.... It's all well enough to be out in the rapids as you\nsay I am, but what of it when I don't hear such a message as yours\nmyself? Thank you. It is a bugle blast from the past. Perhaps in some\nother age I taught you that and now you give it to me again. When I\nsaid in mine that in Kali Yuga more could be done than in any other\nage in the same period, I stated all you say but I didn't know it. Now\nyour clear light falls upon it and I see it well. But fear not. You\ngot so familiar to me that I permitted myself to let out some of the\nthings that I now and then feel. But I swear to you that I do not let\nthem always so rush before me. Truly you have proved that your place is\n\"where the long roll finds you standing.\"\n\nNow don't you begin to see more and more things? Don't you feel things\nthat you know without anyone to tell you?\n\nMy friend Urban has shown me a letter from ---- in which the latter,\nfeeling dark in consequence of various causes, sees no light. This is\nmerely the slough of despond, I tell him. We know the light is ahead,\nand the experience of others shows that the darkest hour is just before\nthe dawn. I tell him also that strong souls are thus tried inevitably\nbecause they rush ahead along the road to the light. In the _Finnish\nEpic_ it is said that guarding a certain place are hideous serpents and\nglittering spears. And so it really is.\n\nBut although such is the truth, I have also to tell him that he ought,\nas far as possible, to try to ameliorate the circumstances. I will make\nmy meaning clear. He is living now, as you know, among people of an\nopposite faith. Around them are elementals who would, if they could,\nimplant suspicion and distrust about those whom he reveres, or, if they\nfail there, will try to cause physical ills or aggravate present ones.\nIn his case these have succeeded in part in causing darkness.... Now\n----, while not just in that case, is surrounded, while not strong, by\nthose who inwardly deplore his beliefs ... and hence the elementals\nare there and they quarrel with those of ---- and bring on despair,\nreduce strength, and so on. I tell ---- those circumstances ought to be\nameliorated every now and then: for I know he would at once, if changed\nto a better place, get better. And so I have written to him to make a\nchange as soon as he can.\n\nIt is highly important that no replies should be made to attacks. Get\nthe people to devote themselves to work and to ignoring attacks. The\nopposing forces strain every nerve to irritate some or all of us so\nthat we may reply in irritation and precipitate more follies. Consider\nsolely how to improve old work, get up new work and infuse energy into\nwork. Otherwise the beneficent influences intended for all F.T.S. will\nbe nullified.\n\nCheer up ----, and from your standpoint tell him how to know the\ndistinction between the intellect and spiritual mind. Tell him how to\nfind out his spirit-will and to ignore a little the mental attitude\nhe takes. Do not point to particular instances of his own failure but\ndetail your own inner experience. It will do him good.\n\nUpanishads. \"Subsisting\" here means, not that the self _exists_ by\nreason of food, but that as a manifestation, as one causing the body to\nbe visible and to act, the self subsists in that state by means of the\nfood which is used. It is really a reversed translation, and ought to\nread--as I think--\"The self exists in close proximity to the heart and\ncauses the body to exist by reason of the food which it takes in for\nits subsistence.\" That is, continual reference is had to the doctrine\nthat if the self were not there the body would not exist. Yes: it also\nmeans that the self procures vital airs from the food which the one\nlife causes to be digested. For note that which you know, that did\nwe not take food the material unit of the trinity would die and the\nself be disappointed, and then would get another body to try in again.\nFor is it not permitted to each one to try and set up a habit in that\nmaterial unit whereby we may as incarnated beings know the self? Then\nwhen that is done we do not live as others; but all the same, even\nthen, the self must subsist, so to say, while in manifestation, by\nmeans of food, no matter if that food be of a different character,\ncorresponding to the new state. Even the Devas subsist by food.\nYou know \"they enter into that colour, or sound, or savour, at the\nsacrifice, they rise in that colour, etc., and by it they live.\" Watch\nwords, ---- dear; they are traps. Catch ideas and I will understand you\nby the context that you are not confined to the ordinary meanings.\n\nI am swamped in work, but my courage is up, and I feel the help sent\nfrom the right place.\n\nLet us go on from place to place and from year to year; no matter who\nor what claims us outwardly, we are each the property of the self.\n\n  As forevermore and after.\n\n\nXI.\n\n  To ----.\n\nThere is a sentence in your letter not explained by J. Niemand, which,\nhowever, needs explaining, for it is the outgrowth of an erroneous idea\nin you. You say: \"Can I help these ignorant elementals with mental\ninstruction? I tried it, but not successfully.\"\n\nIn all those cases where it is caused by the elementals you _cannot_.\nElementals are not ignorant. They know just as little and just as\nmuch as you do. Most generally more. Do you not know that they are\nreflectors? They merely mirror to you either your own mind, or that\nmental strata caused by the age, the race, and the nation you may be\nin. Their action is invariably automatic and unconscious. They care not\nfor what is called by you \"mental instruction.\" They hear you not.\n\nDo you know how they hear, or what language they understand? Not human\nspeech; nor ordinary human thought clothed in mental speech. That is a\ndead letter to them altogether.\n\nThey can only be communicated with through correlations of colours and\nsounds. But while you address yourself to them, those thoughts assume\nlife from elementals rushing in and attaching themselves to those\nthoughts.\n\nDo not, then, try to speak to them too much, because did you make\nthem know they might demand of you some boon or privilege, or become\nattached to you, since in order to make them understand they must\n_know_ you, and a photographic plate forgets not.\n\nFear them not, nor recoil in horror nor repulsion. The time of trial\nmust be fulfilled. Job had to wait his period until all his troubles\nand diseases passed away. _Before_ that time he could do naught.\n\nBut we are not to idly sit and repine; we are to bear these trials,\nmeanwhile drawing new and good elementals so as to have--in western\nphrase--a capital on which to draw when the time of trial has fully\npassed away.\n\nOn all other points Niemand has well explained. Read both together.\n\nLastly; know this law, written on the walls of the temple of learning.\n\n\"Having received, freely give; having once devoted your life in\nthought, to the great stream of energy in which elementals and souls\nalike are carried--and which causes the pulse beat of our hearts--you\ncan never claim it back again. Seek, then, that mental devotion which\nstrains to give. For in the law it is written that we must give away\nall or we lose it: as you need mental help, so do others who are\nwandering in darkness seeking for light.\"\n\n\nXII.\n\nTo-day I got your wire, \"---- very low.\" This is a shock to me. I\nhardly believe it is the end at all. I cannot believe it, there is so\nmuch fire there. But I wired you to ask if I was to tell ----. Also\nto read 2nd ch. _Bhag. G\u00eet\u00e2_. That, my dear fellow, solves all these\ntroubles for me though it don't kill out immediate pain. Besides, it is\nKarma just and wise. Defects are in us all, and if this is the taking\noff why it means that a lot of obstructive Karma is thus at once and\nforever worked off, and has left ---- free for greater work in better\nplaces. I would I were there with you. Tell him how much I love him\nand that in this era of Kali Yuga no sincere one, such as he, remains\nlong away from the work there is to do. Words are of no use. I have\nsent thoughts, and those are useful, whether we are in the body or out\nof it. I sent every night lately all the help I could and continued\nthrough the day, not only to ----, but also you. It reached there, I\nknow, but I can't overcome Karma if it is too strong.\n\nTell ---- if it should come to the worst, that no regrets about\nthe work are needed. What has already been accomplished there will\nlast, and seethe and do its work for several years to come. So in\nthat direction there could be nothing to regret. I cannot write ----\ndirectly: but if able to hear this--or maybe when it arrives--then head\nit as if it were to him, and not to you.\n\nSo, dear ----, in the presence of your wire this is all I can write.\nYou know my feelings, and I need not say any more\n\n  As Ever.\n\n\nXIII.\n\nYou did right to send me that letter. Of course, I am sorry to hear\nfrom you in that way, but am glad that you wrote. Let me tell you\nsomething--will you believe it? You are not in nearly such a bad way\nas you think, and your letter, which you sent me unreservedly, shews\nit. Can you not, from the ordinary standpoint of worldly wisdom, see\nit so? For your letter shews this; a mind and lower nature in a whirl,\nnot in the ordinary sense, but as though, figuratively speaking, it\nwere whirling in a narrow circle, seemingly dead, kept alive by its own\nmotion. And above it a human soul, not in any hurry, but waiting for\nits hour to strike. And I tell you that I know it will strike.\n\nIf so far as your personal consciousness goes you have lost all desire\nfor progress, for service, for the inner life--what has that to do\nwith it? Do you not think that others have had to go through with\nall of that and worse; a positive aversion, may be, with everything\nconnected with Theosophy? Do you not know that it takes a nature with\nsome strength in it to sink very low, and that the mere fact of having\nthe power to sink low may mean that the same person in time may rise to\na proportionately greater height? That is not the highest path to go\nbut it is one that many have to tread. The highest is that which goes\nwith little variation, but few are strong enough to keep up the never\nceasing strain. Time alone can give them that strength and many ages of\nservice. But meanwhile there is that other to be travelled. Travel it\nbravely.\n\nYou have got the ----, which of the hells do you think you are in? Try\nto find out and look at the corresponding heaven. It is very near. And\nI do not say this to bolster you up artificially, for that would be of\nno use and would not last, even if I were to succeed in doing it. I\nwrite of facts and I think that somewhere in your nature you are quite\nwell aware that I do so.\n\nNow what is to be done: * * * * In my opinion you should deliberately\ngive yourself a year's trial. Write and tell me at the end of that year\n(and meantime as often as you feel called upon to do so, which will\nnot be very often) how you then feel, and if you do not feel inclined\nto go on and stick to it I will help you all I can. But you must do it\nyourself, in spite of not wanting to do it. You can.\n\nMake up your mind that in some part of your nature somewhere there is\nthat which desires to be of use to the world. Intellectually realise\nthat that world is not too well off and probably wants a helping hand.\nRecognise mentally that you should try to work for it sooner or later.\nAdmit to yourself that another part of your nature--and if possible see\nthat it is the lower part--does not care in the least about the world\nor its future, but that such care and interest should be cultivated.\nThis cultivation will of course take time: all cultivation does. Begin\nby degrees. Assert constantly to yourself that you intend to work and\nthat you will do so. Keep that up all the time. Do not put any time\nlimit to it, but take up the attitude that you are working towards that\nend. Begin by doing ten minutes' work every day of any sort, study,\nor the addressing of envelopes, or anything, so long as it be done\ndeliberately and with that object in view. If a day comes when this is\ntoo irksome, knock it off for that day. Give yourself three or four\ndays' rest and do it deliberately. Then go back to your ten minutes'\nwork. At the end of six or seven weeks you will know what to add to\nthat practice: but go slowly, do nothing in a hurry, be deliberate.\n\nDon't try to feel more friendly to this or that person--more actively\nfriendly I should have said. Such things must spring up of their own\naccord and will do so in time. But do not feel surprised that you\nfeel _all_ compassion die out of you in some ways. That too is an old\nstory. It is all right because it does not last. Do not be too anxious\nto get results from the practice I have outlined above. Do not look\nfor any: you have no concern with them if you do all that as a duty.\nAnd finally, do not forget, my dear fellow, that the dead do come to\nlife and that the coldest thing in the world may be made hot by gentle\nfriction. So I wish you luck, and wish I could do more for you. But I\nwill do what I can.\n\n\nXIV.\n\nNow this is, as I said, an era. I called it that of Western Occultism,\nbut you may give it any name you like. But it is western. The symbol\nis the well-intended American Republic, which was seen by Tom Paine\nbeforehand \"as a new era in the affairs of the world.\" It was meant as\nnear as possible to be a brotherhood of nations, and that is the drift\nof its declaration and constitution. The T.S. is meant to be the same,\nbut has for many years been in a state of friction. It has now, if\npossible, to come out of that. It cannot be a brotherhood unless each,\nor some, of its units becomes a brother in truth. And _brother_ was the\nnoble name given in 1875 to the Masters. Hence you and I and all of us\nmust cultivate that. We must forgive our enemies and those who assail\nus, for only thus can the great brothers properly help by working\nthrough us. There seems to be a good deal to forgive, but it is easily\ndone inasmuch as in fifty years we'll all be gone and forgot.\n\nCut off, then, thoughts about those \"foolish children\" until harmonious\nvibrations ensue to some extent. That absurdity ... let go. I have\ndeliberately refrained from jumping at such a grand chance. So you see\nforgive, forgive and largely forget. Come along, then, and with me get\nup as fast as possible the feeling of brotherhood.\n\nNow then, you want more light, and this is what you must do. You will\nhave to \"give up\" something. To wit: have yourself called half an\nhour earlier than is usual and devote it _before_ breakfast to silent\nmeditation, in which brood upon all great and high ideas. Half an hour!\nSurely that you can spare. And don't eat first. If you can take another\nhalf _before_ you go to bed and without any preliminaries of undressing\nand making things agreeable or more comfortable, meditate again.\nNow don't fail me in this. This is much to give up, but give it up,\nrecollecting that you are not to make all those preparations indulged\nin by people.... \"The best and most important teacher is one's seventh\nprinciple centered in the sixth. The more you divest yourself of the\nillusionary sense of personal isolation, and the more you are devoted\nto the service of others, the more Maya disappears and the nearer you\napproach to Divinity.\" Good-bye, then, and may you find that peace that\ncomes from the self.\n\n\nXV.\n\nIn answer to your questions:\n\n(1) Clothes and astral form.\n\nAnswer.--You are incorrect in assuming that clothes have no astral\nform. Everything in nature has its double on other planes, the facts\nbeing that nothing visible in matter or space could be produced without\nsuch a basis. The clothes are seen as well as the person because they\nexist on the astral plane as well as he. Besides this, the reason why\npeople are seen on the astral plane with clothes of various cut and\ncolour, is because of the thought and desire of the person, which\nclothes him thus. Hence a person may be seen in the astral light\nwearing there a suit of clothes utterly unlike what he has on, because\nhis thought and desire were on another suit, more comfortable, more\nappropriate, or what not.\n\n(2) What can true and earnest Theosophists do against the Black Age or\nKali Yuga?\n\nAnswer.--Nothing _against_ it but a great deal _in_ it; for it is to\nbe remembered that the very fact of its being the iron or foundation\nage gives opportunities obtained in no other. It is only a quarter as\nlong as the longest of the other ages, and it is therefore crammed\nfour times as full of life and activity. Hence the rapidity with which\nall things come to pass in it. A very slight cause produces gigantic\neffects. To aspire ever so little now will bring about greater and more\nlasting effects for good than at any other time. And similarly evil\nintent has greater powers for evil. These great forces are visibly\nincreased at the close of certain cycles in the Kali Yuga. The present\ncycle, which closes Nov. 17th, 1897-Feb. 18th, 1898, is one of the most\nimportant of any that have been. Opportunities for producing permanent\neffects for good in themselves and in the world as a whole, are given\nto Theosophists at the present time, which they may never have again if\nthese are scattered.\n\n\nXVI.\n\nThe Masters have written that we are all bound together in one living\nwhole. Hence the thoughts and acts of one react upon all.\n\nExperience has shewn that it is true, as said by Masters, that any\nsincere member in any town can help the T.S. and benefit his fellow\ntownsmen. It is not high learning that is needed, but solely devotion\nto humanity, faith in Masters, in the Higher Self, a comprehension\nof the fundamental truths of Theosophy and a little, only a little,\nsincere attempt to present those fundamental truths to a people who are\nin desperate need of them. That attempt should be continuous. No vain\nstriving to preach or prove phenomena will be of any value, for, as\nagain Masters have written, one phenomenon demands another and another.\n\nWhat the people want is a practical solution of the troubles besetting\nus, and that solution you have in Theosophy. Will you not try to give\nit to them more and more and save ---- from the slough it is in?\n\nI would distinctly draw your attention to Brother ----. There is not\nthat complete sympathy and toleration between him and you there ought\nto be, and for the sake of the work it should be otherwise. You may say\nthat it is his fault. It is not wholly, for you must also be somewhat\nto blame, if not in this life then from another past one. Can you deny\nthat for a long period he has held up the Branch there? for if he had\nnot it would have died out, even though you also were necessary agents.\n\nHave any of you had unkind or revengeful feelings to him? If so, ought\nyou not to at once drive them out of your hearts. For I swear to you\non my life that if you have been troubled or unfortunate it is by the\nreaction from such or similar thoughts about him or others. Drive them\nall out of your hearts, and present such kindliness and brotherliness\nto him that he shall, by the force of your living kindness, be drawn\ninto full unity and co-operation with you.\n\nDiscussion or proofs to shew that you are all right and he wrong avail\nnothing. We are none of us ever in the right, there is always that in\nus that causes another to offend. The only discussion should be to the\nend that you may find out how to present to the world in your district,\none simple, solid, united front.\n\nAs to the expression \"seeing sounds,\" this you understand, of course,\nso far as the statement goes. It records the fact that at one time\nthe vibrations which cause a sound now were then capable of making a\npicture, and this they do yet on the astral plane.\n\n\nXVII.\n\n  In reply to your question:\n\nNeither the general law nor the Lodge interferes to neutralise the\neffect of strain upon the disciple's physical energies when caused by\nundue exertion or want of regularity, except in certain cases. Hence\nthe Theosophist is bound to see that his arrangement of hours for\nsleep, work and recreation are properly arranged and adjusted, as he\nhas no right to so live as to break himself down, and thus deprive the\ncause he works for of a useful and necessary instrument.\n\nYour friend's energies have been disarranged and somewhat exhausted by\nirregularities as to rest and recreation, since work has been hard and\nrequired rest--whether asleep or awake--has not been had. This causes\nexcitement, which will (or has) react in many different ways in the\nsystem and upon the organs. It causes mental excitement which again\nraises other disturbance. He, like anyone else, should take measures\nso as to insure regularity as to rest, so that what work he does shall\nbe better and the present excitement subside in the system. It is not\nwise to remain up late unless for good purposes, and it is not that to\nmerely remain with others to late hours when nothing good or necessary\ncan be accomplished. Besides other reasons, that is a good one.\n\nExcitement is heat; if heat be applied to heat, more is produced.\nCoolness must be applied so as to create an equilibrium. This applies\nin that case, and the establishment of regularity in the matter of\nrest is the application of coolness. Second, the various exciting and\n\"wrongful\" acts or thoughts of others are heat; coolness is to be\nproduced by discharging the mind of those and ceasing to refer to them\nin words, otherwise the engendered heat will continue. It is needless\nto refer to reasons resting on the points of conduct and example, for\nthose anyone is capable of finding and applying.\n\nAs there is no hurry, it is easy to divest the mind of anxiety and the\nirritation arising from hurry. Again, comparison of one's own work or\nways of doing things better than others is wrong and also productive of\nthe heat above spoken of.\n\n\nXVIII.\n\nYou are right in thinking that the essential principles of Theosophy\nare often stated without the use of that name, for it is the only\nuniversal fundamental system which underlies the religions of every\nage. The New Testament, rightly understood, teaches Theosophy, and\nwe know that both Jesus and St. Paul were initiates. Of course, in\nTheosophy, as in any other Science, one understands more as one reads\nmore, and I recommend you to read and digest such of our books as you\ncan conveniently procure.\n\nNow in respect to the questions you ask, let me say that Theosophy\nrequires no man to abandon a mode of life which is not in itself wrong.\nThe use of meat diet is not a sin; it is not even an offence; it is\na habit which the race has now largely conformed to, and is not a\nquestion of morals or right. At a certain stage of advance as a chela\nor disciple, the use of meat food has to be abandoned because of its\npsychical and physiological effects. But you have not reached that\nstage, nor is it likely that you will for a long time. As the use of\nmeat is not an offence, so neither can be the supply of it to others,\nso that your assisting in killing hogs for market is in no way opposed\nto your duty as a man or as a Theosophist. That being your duty in\npresent circumstances, I should recommend you to perform it without\nhesitation.\n\nMen and women are complementary in character, and therefore adapted\nto each other. It is natural that each sex should enjoy the company\nof the other, and what is natural cannot be wrong. Moreover, it is\nperfectly proper that when a suitable mate is found a man should marry\nand settle down as a householder, bringing up a family with right views\nand high purposes. He contributes a service to humanity, who puts\nto take his place after his death, children who reproduce his true\nand altruistic life. Consequently, if you find a suitable match and\ndesire matrimony, there can be no possible reason why you should not\ncarry out such a purpose. Like the abstention from meat, celibacy is\nessential to advance after a certain stage, but that stage has not yet\nbeen reached by you, and you cannot, therefore, be subjected to its\nconditions. There can be no one rule laid down for all human beings,\ninasmuch as the temperaments and desires are so different. Each must\nwork out the problem of life in his own way. If your aspirations are so\nset on higher things that you find the lower a hindrance, it is evident\nthat you should not indulge in the latter; but if you are not so\nhindered, then no less a duty is yours. You are right in thinking that\nthe essential to all true progress is a wish to conform utterly to the\nDivine Will, we being certain that we shall be helped in proportion, as\nis our need.\n\n\nXIX.\n\nYes, you are right. I am in danger, but that danger is not on the\noutside, although it is on the outside that attempts are brought\nforward. And in some sense all those with me are in danger too. It is a\ndanger from ---- which ever tries to forestall the steps of those who\ntravel forward. So too, my Dear, you are in the same sort of danger.\nBut while the danger is there, yet there is encouragement in the fact\nitself. For we would not be so placed if we had not been so fortunate\nas to have progressed through work and patience to the point where ----\nsees enough in us to try and stop progress and hinder our work. Hence,\nif they see they cannot stop us, they try all plans to get up strife,\nso as to nullify our work. But we will win, for knowing the danger we\ntake measures against it. I am determined not to fail. Others may; but\n---- and I will not. Let us then await all suffering with confidence\nand hope. The very fact that you suffer so much is objective evidence\nof progress, even though so painful, not only to you but to those who\nlove you. So while I do not say \"suffer on,\" I am comforted by the\nknowledge that it will be for great good in the future. So I am writing\nthis, instead of machining it, in order that you may feel the force of\nmy love and comradeship.\n\nLet us all draw closer together in mind and heart, soul and act,\nand try thus to make that true brotherhood through which alone our\nuniversal and particular progress can come.\n\nTo thee, oh holder of the flame, my love I send. Well, I go again, but\nnever do I forget. My best love and blessing to thee. I cannot speak of\nthese things, but thou knowest.\n\nAnd now, as formerly, and as now, and as forever and forevermore.\n\n\nXX.\n\nDoubts and questions have arisen as to some things since the present\ncloud gathered. Among others it has been said that it were better that\n---- had left the chair: it would be well for him to go, and so on.\nThese views should not be held. If held, they should be dismissed.\nThere are two forces at work in the T.S., as well as in the world and\nin man. These are the good and the bad. We cannot help this: it is\nthe Law. But we have rules, and we have preached of love and truth\nand kindness; and above all, we have spoken of gratitude, not only\nof Masters, but among us. Now this applies to this question of ----.\nAgain, he may be incompetent ... and yet be competent for the little he\nhas to do.... Now let me tell you: the work must not fail because here\nand there personalities fall, and sin, and are unwise. TRUTH remains,\nand IT IS, whoever falls: but the multitude look to the visible leader.\nIf he falls apart like an unjointed puzzle, at once they say, \"there\nis no truth there, nothing which is\": and the work of a century is\nruined and must be rebuilt again from its foundations, and years of\nbackward tendency must come between the wreck of one undertaking and\nthe beginning of another. Let me say one thing I KNOW: only the feeling\nof true brotherhood, of true love towards humanity aroused in the soul\nof someone strong enough to stem this tide, can carry us through.\nFor LOVE and TRUST are the only weapons that can overcome the REAL\nenemies against which the true theosophist must fight. If I, or you,\ngo into this battle from pride, from self-will, from desire to hold\nour position in the face of the world, from anything but the purest\nmotives, we shall fail. Let us search ourselves well and look at it\nas we never looked before: see if there is in us the reality of the\nbrotherhood which we preach and which we are supposed to represent.\n\nLet us remember those famous words: \"Be ye wise as serpents and harmless\nas doves.\" Let us remember the teaching of the Sages that death in the\nperformance of our duty is preferable to the doing by us of the duty of\nanother, however well we may do the latter: the duty of another is full\nof danger. Let us be of and for peace, and not for war alone.\n\n\nXXI.\n\nIt is true ---- suffered through my cold and hard feelings. But it was\nher fault, for I say now as then to ---- that she, absorbed in ----,\nneglected my members, who are my children, and for whom I wanted her\nbest and got her worst. That made me cold, of course, and I had to\nfight it, and didn't care if ---- did not like it: I have no time to\ncare. I am glad she has gone to ----. It is her trial and her chance\nand when she sets back she can see for herself if she is able to\nprevent the \"big head\" from coming on as has happened with others. If\nshe does, then she will have stood the reaction and I have faith she\nwill stand; but still it has to be met. Time comes on sure, and with it\ntrial. H. P. B. was her preparer and comfort, but men are not made into\nsteel by comfort, and note that H. P. B. then died off.\n\nMy trip all over this country shows me that it is of more consequence\nthat I should now work up the U. S., where the Masters first worked in\nthis century. It needs all I can do.... So when I have fulfilled my\nengagement on the English stage I shall skip back here quickly and do\nthis work. The field is even greater than I thought, although I had a\nbig idea of it. From the United States we can affect the world and they\nwill come to us from all places either for solid work or for help in\ntheir need....\n\nWell now, of you: I feel it all. It is up, and down. It is well you\nare courageous, and to endure you are able. Indeed endure is the best\nword, for that is what the oak does when the storms rage, for it is\nbetter to endure when we can do nothing than to faint and fall. The\nfacts are to be faced. I hope they may turn out otherwise, but if not,\nit is Karma. Aside from pain, it is the same as anything else. If it\ncomes, it will not last long. Still, I hope it cometh not. I think much\nof it, but know the bravery of you and the high soul that dwells there.\nAll the time of pain and dogged fighting I know your real self sits up\nabove it all unaffected, and so does mine, and from that let us take\ncomfort. All things in this age move like lightning and so with all\nour Karma, though mine has so often seemed slow, so far as concerns\nme. Well, I cannot go on with this: I feel as you do: I stand by you\nin heart and have often of late sent you messages of hope and power to\nhelp you.\n\nI advised ---- to do her part to lessening the constant bringing\nforward of the name of H. P. B., instead of independent thought on\nTheosophy. We have too much of it and it is no proof of loyalty, and\nit gives rise to much of the foolish talk of our dogmatism. You will\nunderstand, and may be able to influence some to a more moderate though\nfirm attitude that will not lessen their loyalty and devotion. One good\npoint is that the true ch\u00eala does not talk much of his Master and often\ndoes not refer to that Master's existence. It has almost become the\nsame as unnecessarily waving the red flag to a bull. Those of us who\nhave experience do not do it; but the younger ones do. X ---- does it\nhere in his speeches and I am going to speak to him of it. If it be not\navoided the first thing we know there will be a split between the H. P.\nB.'ers and the theosophists _pur sang_, the latter claiming to be the\nreal thing because devoid of any personal element. You and I and ----\ndo not find it necessary all the time to be flinging her (H. P. B.) in\nthe faces of others, and it is well now to take the warning offered\nfrom the outside. Besides, I have had a very strong inside warning on\nit. My best love now that we are near Christmas and New Year, and may\nthere be some sunshine to light the path. I send you my love unsullied\nby a mere gift.\n\nI hope ---- will be firm and proceed as indicated, but she, like us\nall, must meet her own old enemies in herself.\n\nAgain I go, as for evermore.\n\n\nXXII.\n\nGreat excitement last night. It was the regular night of ---- T.S. and\n---- was to speak. We got there at 8:15, and it was full. He began and\nhad just been fifteen minutes when it was discovered that the building\nwas on fire. We stopped and let 1,000 people in the various halls get\nout, then quietly went and none were hurt, only two, ---- and ----,\ngetting a few quarts of water from a burst hose.\n\nIt was a queer exit, for we went downstairs beside the elevator, and\nglass, bricks and water were falling down the light well, while the\nfire on the top stories of it roared and made a fine light, and streams\nof fire ran down the oily elevator pipes on the other side; and firemen\npulled up hose neck or nothing as we got away. It was ----'s own\nmeeting, and it ended in fire! None of the great psychics present had\nhad the remotest premonition, but one invented afterwards an _ex post\nfacto_ sense of terror.\n\nTell ---- the time has passed for him to vacillate; he knows his guru:\nshe was and is H. P. B.; let him reflect ere he does that which, in\nwrecking her life and fame, will wreck his own life by leaving him\nwhere nothing that is true may be seen.... Silence is useful now and\nthen, but silence sometimes is a thing that speaks too loud. I am his\nfriend and will help. No one can hurt him but himself; his work and\nsacrifice were noble and none can point at him.\n\nSee what I said in the opening vol. of _The Path_: that the study of\nwhat is now called \"practical occultism\" was not the object of that\njournal. \"We regard it as incidental to the journey along the path.\nThe traveller, in going from one city to another, has perhaps to cross\nseveral rivers; maybe his conveyance fails him and he is obliged to\nswim, or he must, in order to pass a great mountain, know engineering\nin order to tunnel through it, or is compelled to exercise the art of\nlocating his exact position by observation of the sun: but all that\nis only incidental to his main object of reaching his destination. We\nadmit the existence of hidden, powerful forces in nature, and believe\nthat every day greater progress is made towards an understanding of\nthem. Astral body formation, clairvoyance, looking into the astral\nlight, and controlling elementals is all possible, but not all\nprofitable. The electrical current, which when resisted in the carbon\nproduces intense light, may be brought into existence by any ignoramus\nwho has the key to the engine-room and can turn the crank that starts\nthe dynamo, but is unable to prevent his fellow man or himself from\nbeing instantly killed, should that current accidentally be diverted\nthrough his body. The control of these hidden forces is not easily\nobtained, nor can phenomena be produced without danger, and in our view\nthe attainment of true wisdom is not by means of phenomena, but through\nthe development which begins within. True occultism is clearly set\nforth in the _Bhagavat Gita_ and _Light on the Path_, where sufficient\nstress is laid upon practical occultism, but after all, Krishna says,\nthe kingly science and the kingly mystery is devotion to and study\nof the light which comes from within. The very first step in true\nmysticism and true occultism is to try and apprehend the meaning of\nUniversal Brotherhood, without which the very highest progress in the\npractise of magic turns to ashes in the mouth.\n\n\"We appeal, therefore, to all who wish to raise themselves and their\nfellow creatures--man and beast--out of the thoughtless jog-trot of\nselfish everyday life. It is not thought that Utopia can be established\nin a day: but through the spreading of the idea of Universal\nBrotherhood, the truth in all things may be discovered. What is wanted\nis true knowledge of the spiritual condition of man, his aim and\ndestiny. Such a study leads us to accept the utterance of Prajapati to\nhis sons: 'Be restrained, be liberal, be merciful,' it is the death of\nselfishness.\"\n\nThis is the line for us to take and to persevere in, that all may in\ntime obtain the true light.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE LIGHT OF THE EYE FADETH, THE HEARING LEAVETH THE EAR, BUT THE\n    POWER TO SEE AND TO HEAR NEVER DESERTETH THE IMMORTAL BEING, WHICH\n    LIVETH FOREVER UNTOUCHED AND UNDIMINISHED.--\n\n  _Book of Items._\n\n\n\n\nEXTRACTS\n\n\nXXIII.\n\nON THEOSOPHY AND THE T.S.\n\nAll the work that any of us do anywhere redounds to the interest and\nbenefit of the whole T.S., and for that reason we know that we are\nunited.\n\nThe Self is one and all-powerful, but it must happen to the seeker\nfrom time to time that he or she shall feel the strangeness of new\nconditions; this is not a cause for fear. If the mind is kept intent\non the Self and not diverted from it, and comes to see the Self in all\nthings, no matter what, then fear should pass away in time. I would\ntherefore advise you to study and meditate over the _Bhagavat Gita_,\nwhich is a book that has done me more good than all others in the whole\nrange of books, and is the one that can be studied all the time.\n\nThis will do more good than anything, if the great teachings are\nsilently assimilated and put into action, for it goes to the very root\nof things and gives the true philosophy of life.\n\nIf you try to put into practice what in your inner life you hold to be\nright, you will be more ready to receive helpful thoughts and the inner\nlife will grow more real. I hope with you that your home may become a\nstrong centre of work for Theosophy.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nYou want to know the inner situation of the T.S., well, it is just\nthis: we have all worked along for eighteen years, and the T.S. as a\nbody has its karma as well as each one in it. Those in it who have\nworked hard, of course, have their own karma, and have brought\nthemselves to a point ahead of the T.S. Now, if the branches are\nweak in their knowledge of Theosophy, and in their practise of its\nprecepts and their understanding of the whole thing, the body is in the\nsituation of the child who has been growing too fast for its strength,\nand if that be the case it is bound to have a check. For my part I do\nnot want any great rush, since I too well know how weak even those\nlong in it are. As to individuals, say you, ... and so on. By reason\nof hard and independent work you have got yourselves in the inner\nrealm just where you may soon begin to get the attention of the Black\nMagicians, who then begin to try to knock you out, so beware. Attempts\nwill be silently made to arouse irritation, and to increase it where\nit now exists. So the only thing to do is to live as much as possible\nin the higher nature, and each one to crush out the small and trifling\nebullitions of the lower nature which ordinarily are overlooked, and\nthus strength is gained in the whole nature, and the efforts of the\nenemy made nil. This is of the highest importance, and if not attended\nto it will be sad. This is what I had in view in all the letters I have\nsent to you and others. I hope you will be able to catch hold of men,\nhere and there, who will take the right, true, solid view, and be left\nthus behind you as good men and good agents.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhen I was in ---- I broached to you and others the plan of getting\nTheosophy to the working people. Has anything been done? It must be\nsimply put. It can be understood. It is important. Let us see if this\nthing cannot be done; you all promised to go to work at it. Why not\nturn, like the Bible man, to the byways and hedges from all these\npeople who will not come? Then I feel sure that, if managed right, a\nlot of people who believe in Theosophy but don't want to come out for\nit, would help such a movement, seeing that it would involve talking\nto the poor and giving them sensible stuff. If need be, I'd hold a\nmeeting every night, and not give them abstractions. Add music, if\npossible, etc. Now let me hear your ideas. Time rolls on and many queer\nsocial changes are on the way.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI have your long letter from ---- and you are right as to conduct of\nBranches. No Branch should depend on one person, for, if so, it will\nslump, sure; nor on two or three either. Here they depended on me for\na long time, and my bad health in voice for a year was a good thing as\nit made the others come forward. ---- is right enough in his way, but\ncertainly he ought to be fitting himself for something in addition to\nspeaking, as the T.S. has to have a head as well as a tongue; and if a\nman knows he is bad at business, he should mortify himself by making\nhimself learn it, and thus get good discipline. We sadly need at all\nplaces some true enthusiasts. But all that will come in time. The main\nthing is for the members to study and know Theosophy, for if they do\nnot know it how can they give any of it to others? Of course, at all\ntimes most of the work falls upon the few, as is always the case, but\neffort should be made, as you say, to bring out other material.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n... I am abundantly sure that you are quite correct in saying that it\nis the Branches which work that flourish, and that those addicted to\n\"Parlour Talks\" soon squabble and dwindle. You have gone right to the\nroot of the matter. So, also, I agree with you, heart and soul, in\nwhat you say as to the policy of a timid holding and setting forth of\nTheosophy. Nothing can be gained by such a policy, and all experience\npoints to energy and decision as essential to any real advance.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nYou are, I think, quite right to attempt to get all members to work\nfor their individual advance, by working for their Branches. By\ndoing things in this way, they provide an additional safeguard for\nthemselves, while forming a centre from which Theosophical thought can\nradiate out to help and encourage others who are only beginning their\nupward way.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI find that you state my view exactly. That view is that the A B C of\nTheosophy should be taught all the time, and this not only for the\nsake of outsiders, but also for the sake of the members who are, I\nvery well know, not so far along as to need the elaborate work all the\ntime. And it is just because the members are not well grounded that\nthey are not able themselves to get in more inquirers. Just as you say,\nif the simple truths practically applied as found in Theosophy are\npresented, you will catch at last some of the best people, real workers\nand valuable members. And Theosophy can best be presented in a simple\nform by one who has mastered the elements as well as \"the nature of\nthe Absolute.\" It is just this floating in the clouds which sometimes\nprevents a Branch from getting on. And I fully agree, also, that if\nthe policy I have referred to should result temporarily in throwing\noff some few persons it would be a benefit, for you would find others\ncoming to take their places. And I can agree with you, furthermore, out\nof actual experience.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nYou by no means need to apologise for asking my attention to the matter\nof your joining the Theosophical Society. It is my great desire and\nprivilege to give to all sincere enquirers whatever information I may\npossess, and certainly there can be no greater pleasure than to further\nthe internal progress of any real student and aspirant. I think you\nquite right in wishing to identify yourself with the Theosophical\nSociety, not only because that is the natural and obvious step for\nanyone sincerely interested; but also because each additional member\nwith right spirit strengthens the body for its career and work.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn taking advantage of an opportunity to introduce Theosophy into the\nsecular press you are doing exactly the work which is so invaluable to\nthe Society, and which I so constantly urge upon our members. It is\nin this way that so very many persons are reached who would otherwise\nbe quite inaccessible, and the amount of good which seed thus sown\ncan accomplish is beyond our comprehension. You have my very hearty\napproval of and encouragement in your work and I am very sure that that\nwork will not be without fruit.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNEW YORK, _October 11th, 1892_.--This is the era of _Western\nOccultism_. We are now to stand shoulder to shoulder in the U.S. to\npresent it and enlarge it in view of coming cussedness, attacks which\nwill be in the line of trying to impose solely Eastern disciples on us.\nThe Masters are not Eastern or Western, but universal.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI shall be glad to give you any information possible respecting\nTheosophy and the Theosophical Society, but I think you err in\nsupposing that the purpose of either is to encourage the study of\nwhat is known as the Occult Arts. Knowledge concerning, and control\nof, the finer forces of nature are not things which should be sought\nafter at our elementary stage of progress, nor would such attainment\nbe appropriate, even if possible, to anyone who had not thoroughly\nmastered the principles of Theosophy itself.\n\nMere desire for powers is a form of selfishness, and receives no\nencouragement from our Teachers. Mme. Blavatsky stated this matter\nvery clearly indeed in an article published in _Lucifer_, entitled\n\"Occultism _versus_ the Occult Arts.\" When persons without a large\npreliminary training in the real Wisdom-Religion seek knowledge on\nthe Occult plane they are very apt, from inexperience and inadequate\nculture, to drift into black magic. I have no power to put you into\ncommunication with any adept to guide you in a course of Occult study,\nnor would it be of service to you if the thing was possible. The\nTheosophical Society was not established for any such purpose, nor\ncould anyone receive instructions from an adept until he was ripe for\nit. In other words, he must undergo a long preliminary training in\nknowledge, self-control, and the subjugation of the lower nature before\nhe would be in any way fit for instruction on the higher planes. What I\nrecommend you to do is to study the elementary principles of Theosophy\nand gain some idea of your own nature as a human being and as an\nindividual, but drop entirely all ambition for knowledge or power which\nwould be inappropriate to your present stage, and to correct your whole\nconception of Theosophy and Occultism.\n\n\nXXIV.\n\nON MASTERS.\n\nI think the way for all western theosophists is through H. P. B. I\nmean that as she is the T.S. incarnate, its mother and guardian, its\ncreator, the Karmic laws would naturally provide that all who drew this\nlife through her belonged to her, and if they denied her, they need not\nhope to reach ...: for how can they deny her who gave this doctrine\nto the western world? They share her Karma to little purpose, if they\nthink they can get round this identification and benefit, and ... want\nno better proof that a man does not comprehend their philosophy. This\nwould, of course, bar him from ... by natural laws (of growth). I do\nnot mean that in the ordinary business sense she must forward their\napplications or their merits; I mean that they who do not understand\nthe basic mutual relation, who under value _her_ gift and _her_\ncreation, have not imbibed the teaching and cannot assimilate its\nbenefits.\n\nShe must be understood as being what she is to the T.S., or Karma (the\nlaw of compensation, or of cause and effect) is not understood, or the\nfirst laws of occultism. People ought to _think_ of this: we are too\nmuch given to supposing that events are chances, or have no connection\nwith ourselves: each event is an effect of the Law.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhat should be done is to realise that \"the Master-Soul is one\" with\nall that that implies; to know the meaning of the old teaching,\n\"Thou art That.\" When this is done we may with impunity identify our\nconsciousness with that of anything in nature; not before. But to do\nthis is a lifetime's work, and beforehand we have to exhaust all Karma,\nwhich means duty; we must live for others and then we will find out all\nwe _should_ know, not what we would _like_ to know.\n\nDevotion and aspiration will, and do, help to bring about a proper\nattitude of mind, and to raise the student to a higher plane, and\nalso they secure for the student help which is unseen by him, for\ndevotion and aspiration put the student into a condition in which aid\ncan be given to him, though he may, as yet, be unconscious of it. But\nconscious communication with one's Master can only be accomplished\nafter _long_ training and study. What a student has to do, and is able\nto do, is to fit himself to receive this training.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe recognition from a Guru will come when you are ready, and my advice\nto you is that, if possible, you put away from yourself the desire for\nsuch recognition; for such desire will hinder you. If you will read\nthe _Bhagavat G\u00eet\u00e2_, especially chapters ii. and iii., I think you\nwill find much to help you. There it says: \"Let, then, the motive for\naction be in the action itself, not in the event. Do not be incited\nto actions by the hope of their reward ... perform thy duty ... and\nlaying aside all desire for any benefit to thyself from action, make\nthe event equal to thee, whether it be success or failure.\" It is but\nnatural that a student should hope for recognition from a Master, but\nthis desire is to be put aside, and that work is to be done which lies\nbefore each. At the same time each one knows that the effect follows\nthe cause, hence whatever our due, we shall receive it at the right\ntime.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nEvery Ch\u00eala (and we are all that once we determine to be) has these\nsame difficulties. Patience and fortitude! For an easy birth is not\nalways a good one. The kingdom of heaven is only taken by violence,\nand not by weakness of attack. Your constant aspiration persevered in\nsecret has led you to that point where just these troubles come to all.\nConsole yourself with the thought that others have been in the same\nplace and have lived through it by patience and fortitude.... Fix your\nthoughts again on Those Elder Brothers, work for Them, serve Them, and\nThey will help through the right appropriate means and no other. To\nmeditate on the Higher Self is difficult. Seek then, the bridge, the\nMasters. \"Seek the truth by strong search,\" by doing service, and by\nenquiry, and Those who know the Truth will teach it. Give up doubt, and\narise in your place with patience and fortitude. Let the warrior fight,\nthe gentle yet fierce Krishna, who, when he finds thee as his disciple\nand his friend, will tell thee the truth and lighten up the darkness\nwith the lamp of spiritual knowledge.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAttacks cannot hurt, they must needs come, but all we have to do is to\nkeep right on, working steadily, and Masters will see after the rest.\nFor, that which is done in Their name will come right; and this whole\nthing has arisen because I have chosen to proclaim my personal belief\nin the existence of these beings of grandeur. So, let us shake again\nwith the confidence born from the knowledge of the wisdom of the Unseen\nLeaders, and we go forth separately once more, again to the work, if\neven not to meet until another incarnation is ours. But meeting then,\nwe shall be all the stronger for having kept faith now.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI am glad that you have such a faith in the Great Workers who are\nbehind us. They _are_ behind us, to my personal knowledge, and not\nbehind me only, but behind all sincere workers. I know that their\ndesire is that each should listen to the voice of his inner self and\nnot depend too much on outside people, whether they be Masters, Eastern\ndisciples or what not. By a dependence of that kind you become at last\nthoroughly independent, and then the unseen helpers are able to help\nall the more.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe are all human and thus weak and sinful. In that respect in which\nwe are better than others, they are better than we are in some other\nway. We would be self-righteous to judge others by our own standard....\nAre we so wise as never to act foolishly? Not at all.... Indeed I have\ncome to the conclusion that in this nineteenth century a pledge is no\ngood, because everyone reserves to himself the right to break it if he\nfinds after a while that it is galling, or that it puts him in some\ninconsistent attitude with something he may have said or done at some\nother time.... In ----'s case, ... everyone should never think but the\nvery best, no matter what the evidences are. Why, if the Masters were\nto judge us exactly as They must know we are, then good-bye at once.\nWe would all be sent packing. But Masters deal kindly with us in the\nface of greater knowledge of our thoughts and evil thoughts from which\nnone are yet exempt. This is my view, and you will please me much if\nyou will be able to turn into the same, and to spread it among those\non the inside who have it not. It is easy to do well by those we like,\nit is our duty to make ourselves do and think well by those we do not\nlike. Masters say we think in grooves, and but few have the courage to\nfill those up and go on other lines. Let us who are willing to make the\nattempt try to fill up these grooves, and make new and better ones.\n\n... Keep up your courage, faith and charity. _Those who can to\nany extent assimilate the Master, to that extent they are the\nrepresentatives of the Master, and have the help of the Lodge in its\nwork...._ Bear up, firm heart, be strong, be bold and kind, and spread\nyour strength and boldness.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nH. P. B. then said that it is by falling and by failing that we learn,\nand we cannot hope at once to be great and wise and wholly strong.\nShe and the Masters behind expected this from all of us; she and They\nnever desired any of us to work blindly, but only desired that we work\nunitedly.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nH. P. B. wrote me in 1890: \"Be more charitable for others than for\nyourself, and more severe on yourself than on others.\" This is good\nadvice. A strain always weakens the fibres and produces friction. I\nhope all misunderstandings will fly away.\n\n\nXXV.\n\nON OCCULT PHILOSOPHY.\n\nBegin by trying to conquer the habit, almost universal, of pushing\nyourself forward. This arises from personality. Do not monopolise the\nconversation. Keep in the background. If someone begins to tell you\nabout himself and his doings, do not take first chance to tell him\nabout yourself, but listen to him and talk solely to bring him out.\nAnd when he has finished suppress in yourself the desire to tell about\nyourself, your opinions and experiences. Do not ask a question unless\nyou intend to listen to the answer and inquire into its value. Try\nto recollect that you are a very small affair in the world, and that\nthe people around do not value you at all and grieve not when you are\nabsent. Your only true greatness lies in your inner true self and it is\nnot desirous of obtaining the applause of others. If you will follow\nthese directions for one week you will find they will take considerable\neffort, and you will begin to discover a part of the meaning of the\nsaying, \"Man, know thyself.\"\n\nIt is not necessary to be conscious of the progress one has made.\nNor is the date in any sense an extinguisher, as some have styled\nit. In these days we are too prone to wish to know everything all at\nonce, especially in relation to ourselves. It may be desirable and\nencouraging to be thus conscious, but it is not necessary. We make a\ngood deal of progress in our inner, hidden life of which we are not at\nall conscious. We do not know of it until some later life. So in this\ncase many may be quite beyond the obstacles and not be conscious of\nit. It is best to go on with duty, and to refrain from this trying to\ntake stock and measuring of progress. All of our progress is in the\ninner nature, and not in the physical where lives the brain, and from\nwhich the present question comes. The apparent physical progress is\nevanescent. It is ended when the body dies, at which time, if the inner\nman has not been allowed to guide us, the natural record against us\nwill be a cipher, or \"failure.\" Now, as the great Adepts live in the\nplane of our inner nature, it must follow that they might be actively\nhelping every one of us after the date referred to, and we, as physical\nbrain men, not be conscious of it on this plane.\n\n... I strongly advise you to give up all yoga practices, which in\nalmost all cases have disastrous results unless guided by a competent\nteacher. The concussions and explosions in your head are evidences that\nyou are in no fit condition to try yoga practices, for they result\nfrom lesions of the brain, _i.e._, from the bursting of the very\nminute brain cells. I am glad you have written to me upon this matter,\nthat I may have an opportunity of warning you. Also I advise you to\ndiscontinue concentration on the vital centres, which again may prove\ndangerous unless under the guidance of a teacher. You have learnt, to a\ncertain degree, the power of concentration, and the greatest help will\nnow come to you from concentration upon the Higher Self, and aspiration\ntoward the Higher Self. Also if you will take some subject or sentence\nfrom the _Bhagavat G\u00eet\u00e2_, and concentrate your mind upon that and\nmeditate upon it, you will find much good result from it, and there is\nno danger in such concentration.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs to the question about the disintegration of the astral body and\nthe length of time beforehand when it could be seen. My answer was\nnot meant to be definite as to years, except that I gave a period\nof two years as a long one before the death of the physical body.\nThere are cases--perhaps rare--in which five years before the death\nof the physical, a clairvoyant has seen the disintegration of the\nastral beginning. The idea intended to be conveyed is, that regardless\nof periods of time, if the man is going to die naturally (and that\nincludes by disease), the corruption, disintegrating or breaking up of\nthe astral body may be perceived by those who can see that way. Hence\nthe question of years is not involved. Violent deaths are not included\nin this, because the astral in such cases does not disintegrate\nbeforehand. And the way of seeing such a death in advance is by another\nmethod altogether. Death from old age--which is the natural close of a\ncycle--is included in the answer as to death by disease, which might be\ncalled the disease of inability to fight off the ordinary breaking up\nof the cohesive forces.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nYou cannot develop the third eye. It is too difficult, and until you\nhave cleared up a good deal more on philosophy it would be useless, and\na useless sacrifice is a crime of folly. But here is advice given by\nmany Adepts: every day and as often as you can, and on going to sleep\nand as you wake, think, think, think, on the truth that you are not\nbody, brain, or astral man, but that you are THAT, and \"THAT\" is the\nSupreme Soul. For by this practice you will gradually kill the false\nnotion which lurks inside that the false is the true, and the true is\nthe false. By persistence in this, by submitting your daily thoughts\neach night to the judgment of your Higher Self, you will at last gain\nlight.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNow as to _The Voice of the Silence_ and the cycles of woe (undergone\nby the Arhan who remains to help mankind) it is easy to understand. You\nmust always remember when reading such things, that terms must be used\nthat the reader will understand. Hence speaking thus, it must be said\nthat there are such cycles of woe--from our standpoint--just as the\nfact that I have no amusements but nothing but work in the T.S. seems\na great penance to those who like their pleasures. I, on the contrary,\ntake pleasure and peace in the \"self-denial\" as they call it. Therefore\nit must follow that he who enters the secret Path finds his peace and\npleasure in endless work for ages for Humanity. But, of course, with\nhis added sight and knowledge, he must always be seeing the miseries\nof men self-inflicted. The mistake you make is to give the person thus\n\"sacrificed\" the same small qualities and longings as we now have,\nwhereas the wider sweep and power of soul make what we call sacrifice\nand woe seem something different. Is not this clear, then? If it were\nstated otherwise than as the _Voice_ has it, you would find many making\nthe vow and then breaking it; but he who makes the vow with the full\nidea of its misery will keep it.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n... If we can all accumulate a fund of good for all the others we will\nthus dissipate many clouds. The follies and the so-called sins of\npeople are really things that are sure to come to nothing if we treat\nthem right. We must not be so prone as the people of the day are, of\nwhom we are some, to criticise others and forget the beam in our own\neye. The _Bhagavad G\u00eet\u00e2_ and Jesus are right in that they both shew\nus how to do our own duty and not go into that of others. Every time\nwe think that someone else has done wrong we should ask ourselves two\nquestions:\n\n(1) Am I the judge in this matter who is entitled to try this person?\n\n(2) Am I any better in my way, do I or do I not offend in some other\nway just as much as they do in this?\n\nThis will settle the matter I think. And in ... there ought to be no\njudgments and no criticism. If some offend then let us ask what is\nto be done, but only when the offence is against the whole. When an\noffence is against _us_, then let it go. This is thought by some to be\n\"goody-goody,\" but I tell you the heart, the soul, and the bowels of\ncompassion are of more consequence than intellectuality. The latter\nwill take us all sure to hell if we let it govern only. Be sure of this\nand try as much as you can to spread the true spirit in all directions,\nor else not only will there be individual failure, but also the circle\nH. P. B. made as a nucleus for possible growth will die, rot, fail, and\ncome to nothing.\n\nIt is not possible to evade the law of evolution, but that law need\nnot always be carried out in _one_ way. If the same result is produced\nit is enough. Hence in any one hour or minute the being attaining\nadeptship could pass through countless experiences _in effect_. But,\nas a fact, no one becomes an adept until he has in some previous time\ngone through the exact steps needed. If you and I, for instance, miss\nadeptship in this _Manvantara_, we will emerge again to take up the\nwork at a corresponding point in the much higher development of the\nnext, although then we may seem low down in the scale, viewing us from\nthe standard then to prevail.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe law is this. No man can rush on and fail to escape the counter\ncurrent, and in proportion as he rushes so will be the force of the\ncurrent. All members who work hard come at last to the notice of the\nLodge, and the moment they do so, the Black Lodge also takes notice,\nand hence questions arise, and we are tried in subtle ways that surpass\nsight, but are strong for the undoing of him who is not prepared by\nright thought and sacrifice to the higher nature for the fight. I tell\nyou this. It may sound mysterious, but it is the truth, and at this\ntime we are all bound to feel the forces at work, for as we grow, so\nthe other side gets ready to oppose.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n... Be sure that you understand me right about the Black side. I\nmean this: that when men work along a good while, and really raise\nthemselves up by that, they get the attention of the Black if they are\nof sufficient importance for it. I have their attention, and it makes\na trouble now and then. What we all want to have, then, is the best\narmour for such a fight, and that is patience. Patience is a great\nthing, and will work in more ways than one, not only in personal life,\nbut in wider concerns.\n\nThe difficulty of remembering the things you read, and the like, may\nbe due to one or many causes. First, it indicates the need of mental\ndiscipline in the way of compelling yourself to serious reading and\nthinking, even though for a short time each day. If persisted in,\nthis will gradually change the mental action, just as one can alter\nthe taste for different sorts of food taken into the body. Again, if\nyou have been dealing in what is known as Mind Cure or Metaphysical\nHealing, you should avoid it, because it will increase the difficulty\nyou mention. It is different from good, ordinary, mental discipline.\nAnd also if you have been in any way following Spiritualism or\nindulging in psychic thoughts or visions or experiences, these would be\na cause for the trouble, and should be abandoned.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThere is no need for you to be a despairer. Reflect on that old verse,\n\"What room is there for sorrow and what room for doubt in him who knows\nthat the Self is one, and that all things are the Self, only differing\nin degree.\" This is a free rendering but is what it means. Now, it is\ntrue that a man cannot force himself at once into a new will and into\na new belief but by thinking much on the same thing--such as this--he\nsoon gets a new will and a new belief, and from it will come strength\nand also light. Try this plan. It is purely occult, simple, and\npowerful. I hope all will be well, and that as we are shaken up from\ntime to time we shall grow strong.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n----'s article strove to show that H. P. B. did not teach the doctrine\nof reincarnation in '77 as she did later, which is quite true so far as\nthe public was then concerned, but she did to me and others teach it\nthen as now, and further it seems clear what she meant, to wit, that\nthere is no reincarnation for the astral monad, which is the astral\nman; and it being a theosophical doctrine that the astral man does not\nreincarnate save in exceptional cases, she taught then the same thing\nas she did later. Personally H. P. B. told me many times of the real\ndoctrine of reincarnation, enforced by the case of the death of my own\nchild, so I know what she thought and believed.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI am not able to give you the definition which you ask for, as it seems\nto me spirit cannot be defined except in this way, that the whole\nuniverse is made of spirit and matter, both constituting together the\nAbsolute. What is not in matter is spirit, and what is not in spirit\nis matter; but there is no particle of matter without spirit, and no\nparticle of spirit without matter. If this attempted definition is\ncorrect, you will see that it is impossible to define the things of the\nspirit, and that has always been said by the great teachers of the past.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhat a petty lot of matter we spend time on, when so much is\ntransitory. After a hundred years what will be the use of all this?\nBetter that a hundred years hence a principle of freedom and an impulse\nof work should have been established. The small errors of a life are\nnothing, but the general sum of thought is much.... I care everything\nfor the unsectarianism that H. P. B. died to start, and now threatened\nin its own house. Is it not true that Masters have forbidden Their\nchel\u00e2s to tell under what orders they act for fear of the black shadow\nthat follows innovations? Yes....\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAm very sorry to hear that your health is not good. In reply to your\nquestion: A sound body is not expected, because our race is unsound\neverywhere. It is Karma. Of course a correct mental and moral position\nwill at last bring a sound body, but the process may, and often does,\ninvolve sickness. Hence sickness may be a blessing on two planes: (1)\nthe mental and moral by opening the nature, and (2) on the physical as\nbeing the discharge into this plane of an inner sickness of the inner\nbeing.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe question of sex is not the most difficult. The personal one is\nstill harder. I mean the purely personal, that relating to \"me.\" The\nsexual relates really only to a low plane gratification. If Nature can\nbeat you there, then she need not try the other, and _vice versa_; if\nshe fails on the personal she may attempt the other, but then with\nsmall chance of success.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe all differ and must agree to disagree, for it is only by balancing\ncontrary things that equilibrium (harmony) is obtained. Harmony does\nnot come through likeness. If people will only let each other alone and\ngo about their own business quietly all will be well.... It is one's\nduty to try and find one's own duty and not to get into the duty of\nanother. And in this it is of the highest importance that we should\ndetach our _minds_ (as well as our tongues) from the duties and acts of\nothers whenever those are outside of our own. If you can find this fine\nline of action and inaction you will have made great progress.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nDo not stop to consider your progress at all, because that is the way\nto stop it; but take your mind off the question of your progress and do\nthe best you can. I hope you will be able to acquire in no long time\nthat frame of mind which you so much desire. I think you will acquire\nthat if you will take your mind off yourself as much as possible, and\nthrow it into something for someone else, which would, in course of\ntime, destroy the self impression.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI regret exceedingly all your troubles and difficulties. They are all,\nit goes without saying, matters of Karma, and must right themselves\nin process of time. Meantime, your work and duty lie in continuing\npatient and persevering throughout. The troubles of your friends and\nrelatives are not your Karma, though intimately associated with it by\nreason of the very friendship and relation. In the lives of all who\naspire to higher things there is a more or less rapid precipitation\nof old Karma, and it is this which is affecting you. It will go off\nshortly, and you will have gained greatly in having gotten rid of a\ntroublesome piece of business.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs it will take many a life for one to overcome the personal nature,\nthere is no good in imagining what things and thoughts would then\nbe like. It is certain that, in that long journey, the whole nature\nchanging, it is adjusted to all conditions. Many of those matters which\nwe call the woes of others are really nothing at all, and only \"skin\ndeep\"; the real woe of the race is not that.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBy setting apart a _particular_ time for meditation a habit is formed,\nand as the time comes round the mind will, after a while, become\ntrained, so that meditation at the particular time will become natural.\nHence, as far as possible, it will be well for you to keep to the same\nhour.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nYou ask if I was at ---- where you saw me. Let me tell you something\nin confidence. I am around at all places, but, of course, most at such\nas where you ... and others like that are, but it is not necessary for\nme to remember it at all, as it is done without that since this brain\nhas enough to do here. To remember I should have to retire and devote\nmyself to that, and it would make things no better.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nA college course is not necessary for occultism. One of the best\noccultists I know was never in college. But if a man adds good learning\nto intuition and high aspiration he is naturally better off than\nanother. I am constantly in the habit of consulting the dictionary\nand of thinking out the meanings and the correlations of words. Do the\nsame. It is good.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe old mission of the Rosicrucians, though dead on the outside, is not\ndead, for the Masters were in that as They are in this, and it may be\npossible to usher in a new era of western occultism devoid of folly. We\nshould all be ready for that if it be possible.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn regard to the pictures which you see, observe them with\nindifference, relying always on the Higher Self, and looking to it for\nknowledge and light, pictures or no pictures.\n\n\nXXVI.\n\nON WORK.\n\nYes, that business is already a \"back number,\" stale and unprofitable.\nI have found that work tells. While others fume and fret and sleep, and\nnow and then start up to criticise, if you go right on and work, and\nlet time, the great devourer, do the other work, you will see that in\na little while that others will wake up once more to find themselves\n\"left,\" as they say in the land of slang. Do, then, that way. Your own\nduty is hard enough to find out, and by attending to that you gain,\nno matter how small the duty may be. The duty of another is full of\ndanger. May you have the light to see and to do! Tell ---- to work to\nthe end to make himself an instrument for good work. Times change, men\ngo here and there, and places need to be filled by those who can do the\nbest sort of work and who are full of the fire of devotion and who have\nthe right basis and a sure and solid one for themselves. My love to all.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI am very sorry that so many efforts on your part to influence the\npublic press have been unsuccessful, but I feel sure that you will\nultimately be successful. I am inclined to think that you will almost\ncertainly find that articles written by Theosophists on the spot will\nobtain more ready admission than if you send them articles which have\nalready been printed.\n\nThey have a more local colouring, and therefore a greater local\ninterest.... I feel sure that by persistent and steady work, such\nas you are doing, you will win your way, and that even the most\nconservative papers will find it to their interest to insert articles.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBoth ---- and ---- are two weak, half-corroded spots. It is due to\n(_a_) gossip about others, including me and others in the three lands;\n(_b_) to the personal element; (_c_) most of all to the absence of real\nfaith in the Masters, for wherever that is not strong the work goes\ndown; (_d_) to a sort of fear of public opinion; (_e_) to incomplete\ngrasp of the elementary truths; and so on.\n\nStick to it that the way is to do all you can and let the results go.\nYou have nothing to do with results; the other side will look out\nfor that. This is really the culmination of the work of ages, and it\nwould be a poor thing, indeed, if the Lodge had to depend alone on our\npuny efforts. Hence, go on and keep the spirit that you have only to\nproceed, and leave the rest to time and the Lodge. If all the other\nmembers had the same idea, it would be better for the old T.S. But let\nus hope on, for we have some any way, and that is more than none.\n\nYou are right, too, about _The Secret Doctrine_, it is a mine, and is\nthe magazine for the warrior Theosophists, which is the description of\nyou and me and some others.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nLet us all be as silent as we may be, and work, work; for as the enemy\nrages, they waste time, while work shines forth after all is over, and\nwe will see that as they fought we were building. Let that be our\nwatchword.... I hope no weak souls will be shaken off their base. If\nthey get on their _own_ base they will not be shaken off.\n\n\nXXVII.\n\nON WISDOM IN ACTION.\n\nThis is the right conclusion, to let all talk and other people's\nconcerns slip by and not meddle. No one should be taking information to\nanother, for it fans a flame, and now we have to ignore everything and\njust work on, be good and kind and, like St. Paul's charity, overlook\nall things. Retire into your own silence and let all others be in the\nhands of Karma, as we all are. \"Karma takes care of its own.\" It is\nbetter to have no side, for it is all for the Master and He will look\nout for all if each does just right, even if, to their view, another\nseems not to do so. By our not looking at their errors too closely the\nMaster will be able to clear it all off and make it work well. The plan\nof quiet passive resistance, or rather, laying under the wind, is good\nand ought to work in all attacks. Retreat within your own heart and\nthere keep firmly still. Resist without resisting. It is possible and\nshould be attained. Once more, _au revoir_ only, no matter what may\nhappen, even irresistible Death itself. Earthquakes here yesterday:\nthese signify some souls of use have come into the world somewhere;\nbut where?\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWell, now, just at this minute I do not know exactly what to say. Why\nnot take up an easy and fluidic position in the matter? An occultist\nis never fixed to any particular mortal plan. Wait. All things come to\nhim who waits in the right way. Make yourself in every way as good an\ninstrument for any sort of work as you can. Every little thing I ever\nlearned I have now found out to be of use to me in this work of ours.\nEase of manner and of speech are of the best to have. Ease of mind\nand confidence are better than all in this work of dealing with other\nmen--that is, with the human heart. The more wise one is the better\nhe can help his fellows, and the more cosmopolitan he is the better,\ntoo.... When the hour strikes it will then find you ready; no man knows\nwhen the hour will strike. But he has to be ready. You see Jesus was\nin fact an occultist, and in the parable of the foolish virgins gave a\nreal occult ordinance. It is a good one to follow. Nothing is gained,\nbut a good deal is lost by impatience--not only strength, but also\nsight and intuition. So decide nothing hastily. Wait; make no set plan.\nWait for the hour to make the decision, for if you decide in advance\nof the time you tend to raise a confusion. So have courage, patience,\nhope, faith, and cheerfulness.\n\nThe very first step towards being positive and self-centered is in the\ncheerful performance of duty. Try to take pleasure in doing what is\nyour duty, and especially in the _little_ duties of life. When doing\nany duty put your whole heart into it. There is much in this life that\nis bright if we would open our eyes to it. If we recognize this then we\ncan bear the troubles that come to us calmly and patiently, for we know\nthat they will pass away.\n\n... You can solidify your character by attending to small things. By\nattacking small faults, and on every small occasion, one by one. This\nwill arouse the inner attitude of attention and caution. The small\nfaults and small occasions being conquered, the character grows strong.\nFeelings and desires are not wholly of the body. If the _mind_ is\ndeliberately taken off such subjects and placed on other and better\nones, then the whole body will follow the mind and grow tractable. This\nstruggle must be kept up, and after awhile it will be easier. Old age\nonly makes this difference--the machine of body is less strong; for in\nold age the thoughts are the same if we let them grow without pruning.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThere is never any need to worry. The good law looks out for all\nthings, and all we have to do is our duty as it comes along from day\nto day. Nothing is gained by worrying about matters and about the way\npeople do not respond. In the first place you do not alter people,\nand in the second, by being anxious as to things, you put an occult\nobstacle in the way of what you want done. It is better to acquire a\nlot of what is called carelessness by the world, but is in reality a\ncalm reliance on the law, and a doing of one's own duty, satisfied\nthat the results must be right, no matter what they may be. Think that\nover, and try to make it a part of your inner mind that it is no use to\nworry; that things will be all right, no matter what comes, and that\nyou are resolved to do what you see before you, and trust to Karma for\nall the rest.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI am sorry to hear that you are passing through what you mention. Yet\nyou knew it would have to come, and one learns, and the purpose of life\nis to learn. It is all made up of learning. So though it is hard it is\nwell to accept it as you say.\n\nDo you know what it is to resist without resistance?\n\nThat means, among other things, that too great an expenditure of\nstrength, of \"fortitude,\" is not wise. If one fights one is drawn into\nthe swirl of events and thoughts instead of leaning back on the great\nocean of the Self which is never moved. Now you see that, so lean\nback and look on at the ebb and flow of life that washes to our feet\nand away again many things that are not easy to lose or pleasant to\nwelcome. Yet they all belong to Life, to the Self. The wise man has no\npersonal possessions.\n\nAnyway you are right that struggling is wrong. Do it quietly, that is\nthe way the Masters do it. The reaction the other way is just as you\nsay, but the Master has so much wisdom He is seldom if ever, the prey\nof reactions. That is why He goes slowly. But it is sure.... I know how\nthe cloud comes and goes. That is all right; just wait, as the song\nsays, till they roll by.\n\nArouse, arouse in you the meaning of \"Thou art That.\" Thou art the\nSelf. This is the thing to think of in meditation, and if you believe\nit then tell others the same. You have read it before, but now try\nto realise it more and more each day and you will have the light you\nwant.... If you will look for wisdom you will get it sure, and that is\nall you want or need. Am glad all looks well. It would always look well\nif each and all minded their own things and kept the mind free from all\nelse.\n\nPatience is really the best and most important thing, for it includes\nmany. You cannot have it if you are not calm and ready for the\nemergency, and as calmness is the one thing necessary for the spirit to\nbe heard, it is evident how important patience is. It also prevents one\nfrom precipitating a thing, for by precipitation we may smash a good\negg or a good plan, and throw the Karma, for the time, off and prevent\ncertain good effects flowing. So, keep right on and try for patience in\nall the very smallest things of life every day, and you will find it\ngrowing very soon, and with it will come greater strength and influence\non and for others, as well as greater and clearer help from the inner\nside of things.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nFor the love of heaven do not take any tales or informations from any\nperson to any other. The man who brought news to the king was sometimes\nkilled. The surest way to make trouble out of nothing is to tell about\nit from one to another. Construe the words of the _G\u00eet\u00e2_ about one's\nown duty to mean that you have nothing to do in the smallest particular\nwith other people's fancies, tales, facts, or other matters, as you\nwill have enough to do to look out for your own duty.... Too much,\ntoo much, trying to force harmony. Harmony comes from a balancing of\ndiversities, and discord from any effort to make harmony by force....\nIn all such things I never meddle, but say to myself it is none of my\naffair at all, and wait till it _comes to me_--and thank God if it\nnever arrives! And that is a good rule for you.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThink of these points:\n\n(_a_) Criticism should be abandoned. It is no good. Co-operation is\nbetter than criticism. The duty of another is dangerous for one whose\nduty it is not. The insidious coming of unbrotherly criticism should be\nwarned against, prevented, stopped. By example you can do much, as also\nby word in due season.\n\n(_b_) Calmness is now a thing to be had, to be preserved. No irritation\nshould be let dwell inside. It is a deadly foe. Sit on all the small\noccasions that evoke it and the greater ones will never arise to\ntrouble you.\n\n(_c_) Solidarity.\n\n(_d_) Acceptation of others.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt is not wise to be always analysing our faults and failures; to\nregret is waste of energy: if we endeavour to use all our energy in the\nservice of the Cause, we shall find ourselves rising above our faults\nand failures, and though these must perhaps occur, they will lose their\npower to drag us down. Of course we do have to face our faults and\nfight them, but our strength for such a struggle will increase with\nour devotion and unselfishness. This does not mean that vigilance over\none's thoughts and acts is ever to be relaxed.\n\nIf you will rely upon the truth that your inner self is a part of the\ngreat Spirit, you will be able to conquer these things that annoy, and\nif you will add to that a proper care of your bodily health, you will\nget strength in every department. Do not look at things as failures,\nbut regard every apparent failure after real effort as a success, for\nthe real test is in the effort and motive, and not in the result. If\nyou will think over this idea on the lines of _The Bhagavat G\u00eet\u00e2_ you\nwill gain strength from it.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs before so now I will do all I can for you, which is not much, as\neach must do for himself. Just stay loyal and true, and look for the\nindications of your own duty from day to day, not meddling with others,\nand you will find the road easier. It is better to die in one's own\nduty than to do that of another, no matter how well you do it. Look for\npeace that comes from a realisation of the true unity of all and the\nlittleness of oneself. Give up in mind and heart all to the Self and\nyou will find peace.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe deadening dullness you speak of is one of the trials of the age,\nbut we have some good and earnest people, and they may act as the\nrighteous men in the cities of old, for our ideas are more mighty\nthan all the materialism of the age, which is sure to die out and be\nreplaced by the truth. You will have to take care that the spirit of\nthe time, and the wickedness and apathy of the people, do not engender\nin you a bitter spirit. This is always to be found in the beginning,\nbut now, being forewarned, you are forearmed.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nDo not allow bitterness to come up; keep off all personalities all\nthe time; let the fight be for a cause and not against anyone. Let no\nstones be thrown. Be charitable. Do not let people be asked to step\nout, no matter what they do; when they want to go they may go, but\ndon't have threats nor discipline, it does no good but a lot of harm.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSay, look here, never growl at anything you have to do. If you have\nto go, just take it as a good thing you have to do, and then it will\nredound to the good of them and yourself, but if it is a constant cross\nthen it does no good and you get nothing. Apply your theories thus....\nIt is a contest of smiles if we really know our business.... Never be\nafraid, never be sorry, and cut all doubts with the sword of knowledge.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nI think that you will be helped if you will try to aid some poor,\ndistressed person by merely talking and expressing your sympathy if\nyou are not able to help in money, though the very fact of giving five\ncents to someone who needs it is an act which, if done in the right\nspirit, that of true brotherliness, will help the one who gives. I\nsuggest this because you will, by doing so, set up fresh bonds of\nsympathy between you and others, and by trying to alleviate the sorrows\nor sufferings of others, you will find strength come to you when you\nmost need it.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nLet them croak, and if we keep silent it will have no effect and as\nthere has been trouble enough it is better not to make it any worse by\nreferring to it. The only strength it has is when we take notice. It is\nbetter policy for all of us who are in earnest and united to keep still\nin any matter that has any personal bearing.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Silentio_, my dear, is almost as good as patience. He laughs best who\ndoes it last, and time is a devil for grinding things.... Use the time\nin getting calmness and solid strength, for a deep river is not so\nbecause it has a deep bed, but because it has _volume_.\n\nRely within yourself on your Higher Self always, and that gives\nstrength, as the Self uses whom it will. Persevere, and little by\nlittle _new ideals_ and thought-forms will drive out of you the old\nones. This is the eternal process.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTroubles are ahead, of course, but I rather think that the old\nwar-horse of the past will not be easily frightened or prevented from\nthe road. Do your best to make and keep good thought and feeling of\nsolidarity.... Our old lion of the Punjab is not so far off, but all\nthe same is not in the place some think, or in the condition either.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe way gets clearer as we go on, but as we get clearer we get less\nanxious as to the way ahead.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThere is service objective and its counterpart within, which being\nstronger will at last manifest without.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nDo not judge in anger, for though the anger passes the judgment remains.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe promises I made to myself are just as binding as any others.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBe true lovers, but of God, and not of each other. Love each the other\nin that to one another ye mirror God, for that God is in you each.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe all are; I too. We never _were_ anything, but only continually are.\nWhat we are now determines what we will be.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn order to off-set the terribly cold effect of perceiving the\nlittleness of human affairs, one must inculcate in oneself a great\ncompassion which will include oneself also. If this is not done,\ncontempt comes on, and the result is dry, cold, hard, repellent and\nobstructive to all good work.\n\nI know that his absence is a loss to you, but I think if you will\nregard all things and events as being in the Self and It in them,\nmaking yourself a part of the whole, you will see there is no real\ncause for sorrow or fear. Try to realise this and thus go in confidence\nand even joy.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThere are valleys in which the greatest shadows are due to old lives in\nother bodies, and yet the intensity of universal love and of aspiration\nwill dissipate those in an instant of time.\n\n\n\n\nAN OCCULT NOVEL\n\n\nA tireless worker, Mr. Judge, was always proposing new modes of\nactivity. One never knew what fresh idea would not emanate from his\nindefatigable mind. One idea with which he occupied some of his lighter\nmoments, was that of an occult novel. It was his idea that a friend\nof his should write this, from incidents and material to be furnished\nby himself, and to this idea he adhered, even having the title\ncopyrighted, with the name of his author, despite the laughing protests\nof this friend, to whose outcries and statements that she never could,\nand never should, write a novel, Mr. Judge would smilingly reply: \"Oh,\nyes! You will do it when the time comes.\" From time to time he sent to\nthis friend suggestions, incidents and other material for this novel,\nthe same being on odds and ends of paper, often rough wrapping paper,\nand being jotted down under a lamp-post at night while he waited for\nhis tram, or in court while he waited for the case in which he was\nengaged to come up. On these scraps are also marginal notes, as he\naccepted or rejected the ideas of his own prolific mind. These notes\nare given here as such. It has been suggested that the recipient of\nthese materials should still write the novel as proposed, but setting\naside the fact that she could not be sure of properly rendering the\nreal ideas of Mr. Judge, it is also thought that readers will much\nprefer to have the notes precisely as Mr. Judge set them down.\n\nThe printed title-page runs as follows:\n\n       IN A BORROWED BODY.\n     _The Journey of a Soul._\n               BY\n  J. CAMPBELL VER-PLANCK, F.T.S.\n              1891.\n\nThe name is filled in in the writing of Mr. Judge, and there is this\nmarginal note. \"Copyright gone to Washngn.\"\n\n(All \"Notes\" are to be understood as being marginal ones made by Mr.\nJudge unless otherwise stated.)\n\n\nMEMO. ABOUT _Borrowed Body_.\n\nThe point on which it should all turn is not so much reincarnation as\nthe use of a borrowed body, which is a different kind of reincarnation\nfrom that of Arnold's _Phra the Ph\u0153nician_.\n\nThis will also give chance to show the other two sorts of\nreincarnation, _e.g._:--\n\n(_a_) Ordinary reincarnation in which there is no memory of the old\npersonality, as the astral body is new; and:\n\n(_b_) Exception as to astral body; but similarity of conception to that\nof ordinary cases, where the child retains the old astral body and\nhence memory of old personality and acquaintance with old knowledge and\ndexterity.\n\n\nA CHAPTER.\n\n_The Assembling of the Skandhas._\n\nOn the death of body the Kama principle collects the Skandhas in space,\nor at the rebirth of the Ego the Skandhas rush together and assemble\nabout it to go with it in the new life.\n\n\nANOTHER.\n\n_The Unveiling of the Sun._\n\nThere is the real and unreal sun. The real one is hidden by a golden\nvase, and the devotee prays:\n\n\"Unveil, O Pushan, the true Sun's face,\" etc. A voice (or other) says\n\"thou art that vase\" and then he knows that he alone hides the true Sun\nfrom himself.\n\nPushan is the guide and watches on the path to the Sun.\n\nThe eulogy of the Sun and the Soul are enshrined in a golden rose or\nlotus in the heart which is impregnable.\n\nThe theme of the book is not always teacher and pupil.\n\nHe first strives for some lives ordinarily and then in one he grows old\nand wise, and sitting before a temple one day in Madura he dies slowly,\nand like a dissolving view he sees the adepts round him aiding him;\nalso a small child which seems to be himself, and then thick darkness.\nHe is born then in the usual way.\n\nTwice this is repeated, each time going through the womb but with the\nsame astral body.\n\nThen he lives the third life to forty-nine, and comes again to die and\nwith same aid he selects a foreign child who is dying.\n\nChild dying. Skandhas collecting, child's Ego going--left, spark of\nlife low: relatives about bed.\n\nHe enters by the way the mind went out and revivifies the body.\nRecovery, youth, etc., etc.\n\nThis is his borrowed body.\n\n\nMEMO. NO. 2\n\n_A couple of Incidents for the Book._\n\nA round tower used by the fire worshippers in Ireland and other isles\nin early ages. A temple is attached to it; quaint structure--one priest\nand one neophyte.\n\nPeople below the tower coming into the temple grounds as the religion\nis in its decadence.\n\nOn the top of the tower is the neophyte, who in the face of the\nprevailing scepticism clings to the dead faith and to the great priest.\nHis duty is to keep a fire on the tower burning with aromatic woods.\nHe leans over the fire; it burns badly; the wood seems green; he blows\nit up; it burns slightly; he hears the voices of the disputers and\nsellers below; goes to the tower and gazes over while the fire goes\nslowly out. He is a young man of singular expression, not beautiful\nbut powerful face; intense eyes, long dark hair, and far gazing eyes\nof a greyish colour unusual for such hair. Skin clear with a shifting\nlight flowing from it. Sensitive face; blushes easily but now and then\nstern. As he still gazes the fire goes out. Just then a tall old man\ncomes up the stairs and stands upon the tower top at opposite side,\nlooking at the fire and then at the young man and withdraws not his\ngaze for an instant. It is a sternly powerful drawing look. He is very\ntall, dark brown eyes, grey hair, long beard. The young man feels his\nlook and turns about and sees the fire out completely, while its last\nsmall cloud of smoke is floating off beyond the tower. They look at\neach other. In the young man's face you see the desperate first impulse\nto excuse, and then the sudden thought that excuses are useless because\nchildish, for he knew his duty--to keep the small spiral of smoke ever\nconnecting heaven with earth, in the hope, however vain, that thus the\nold age might be charmed to return. The old man raises his hand, points\naway from the tower and says \"go.\" Young man descends.\n\n_II. A battle._--In the hottest a young soldier armed to the teeth,\nfighting as if it made no matter whether he win or lose, die or live.\nStrange weapons, sounds and clouds.\n\nWounded, blood flowing. It is the young man of the tower. He sinks\ndown taken prisoner. In a cell condemned, for they fear his spiritual\npower. Conflict between the last remnant of the old religion and the\nnew, selfish faith.\n\nTaken to his execution. Two executioners. They bind him standing and\nstand behind and at side; each holds a long straight weapon with a\ncurved blunt blade, curved to (fit?) about the neck. They stand at\nopposite sides, place those curved blunt blades holding his neck like\ntwo crooks. They pull--a sickening sound: his head violently pulled out\nclose to the shoulder leaves a jagged edge. The body sways and falls.\nIt was the way they made such a violent exit for a noble soul as they\nthought would keep it bound in the astral earth sphere for ages.\n\nIII. That young man again. He approaches an old man (of the tower).\nYoung one holds parchments and flowers in his hand, points to\nparchments and asks explanation. Old one says, \"Not now; when I come\nagain I will tell you.\"\n\n_Note._--Keep this, Julius.\n\n  W. Q. J.\n  Z. L. Z.\n\nThe next batch of notes is headed by the single word: \"_Book_.\" Then\nfollow four lines of shorthand. After these the words:\n\n\"Incidents showing by picture his life in other ages; the towers; the\nbattle; the death; the search for knowledge and the sentiment expressed\nin the flowers.\"\n\nEusebio Rodigues de Undiano was a notary in Spain who found among\nthe effects of his father many old parchments written in a language\nwhich was unknown to him. He discovered it was Arabic, and in order to\ndecipher them learned that tongue. They contained the story.\n\n_Note._--No initiates; Lytton only.\n\nEusebio de Undiano is only one of the old comrades reborn in Spain who\nsearches like Nicodemus for the light.\n\n_Note._--Yes.\n\nEusebio de Undiano finds in his father's parchments confirmation of\nwhat the possession of the body has often told him.\n\n_Note._--Yes.\n\nThis person in the body never gave his name to anyone and has no name.\n\nAn autobiographical story? No? _Yes!_ Related by one who was struck;\nby an admirer who suspected something? No; because that is hearsay\nevidence; the proof is incomplete, whereas he relating it himself is\neither true, or a mere insane fancy. It is better to be insane than be\nanother's tool.\n\nStick to the tower and the head-chopping business. Let him be that\nyoung man and after the head loss he wanders in Kama Loca and there he\nsees the old man who was killed on the tower soon after the fire went\nout. The old man tells him that he will tell all when they return to\nearth.\n\nHe wanders about the tower vicinity seeking a birth, until one day he\nsees vague shapes suddenly appearing and disappearing. They are not\ndressed like his countrymen down below on the earth. This goes on. They\nseem friendly and familiar, the one requesting him to go with them,\nhe refuses. They are more powerful than he is yet they do not compel\nhim but show him their power. One day one was talking to him; he again\nrefuses unless something might show him that he ought to go. Just then\nhe hears a bell sound, such as he never heard before. It vibrates\nthrough him and seems to open up vistas of a strange past and in a\nmoment he consents to go.\n\nThey reach Southern India and there he sees the old man of the tower,\nwhom he addresses, and again asks the burning question about the\nparchment. The old man says again the same as before and adds that he\nhad better come again into the world in that place.\n\nThe darkness and silence. The clear, hot day. The absence of rain.\nAfter listening to the old man he consents inwardly to assume life\nthere and soon a heavy storm arises, the rain beats, he feels himself\ncarried to the earth and in deep darkness. A resounding noise about\nhim. It is the noise of the growing plants. This is a rice field with\nsome sesamum in it. The moisture descends and causes the expanding;\nsees around, all is motion and life. Inclosed in the sphere of some\nrice, he bemoans his fate. He is born in a Brahmin's house.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Note._--Shall the question of reincarnation through cloud and rain and\nseed and thus from the seed of the man, be gone into?\n\nHe is the young man. He knows much. He dies at nineteen. Strange forms\naround his bed who hold him. They carry him back to the land of the\ntowers. He recognizes it again and sees that ages have passed since\nthe fire went out, and in the air he perceives strange shapes and sees\nincessantly a hand as of Fate, pointing to that Island. The towers are\ngone, the temples and the monuments. All is altered. They take him to\na populous city and as he approaches he sees over one house a great\ncommotion in the air. Shapes moving. Bright flashes, and puffs as of\nsmoke. They enter the room, and on the bed is the form of a young boy\ngiven up to die, with relatives weeping. His guides ask him if he will\nborrow that body about to be deserted and use it for the good of their\nLodge. He consents. They warn him of the risks and dangers.\n\nThe boy's breathing ceases and his eyes close, and a bright flash is\nseen to go off from it (the body). He sees the blood slowing down. THEY\npush him, and he feels dark again. Boy revives. Physician takes hope.\n\"Yes; he will recover, with care.\" He recovers easily. Change in his\ncharacter. Feels strange in his surroundings, etc.\n\nThe place in India where he went after death which was again sudden\n(how?). A large white building. Gleaming marble. Steps. Pillars. A hole\nthat has yellowish glow that looks like water. Instruction as to the\nwork to be done, and the journey to the land of the tower, in search\nof a body to borrow. As to bodies being deserted by the tenant that\nmight live if well understood and well connected with a new soul. The\ndifference between such a birth and an ordinary birth where the soul\nreally owns the body, and between those bodies of insane people which\nare not deserted, but where the owner really lives outside. Bodies of\ninsane are not used because the machine itself is out of order, and\nwould be useless to the soul of a sane person.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Note._--Julius; keep these. I will send them now and then. But before\nyou go away, return to me so I can keep the run of it. May change the\nscheme. The motive is in the title I gave you.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Note._--No one who has not consciously lived the double life of a man\nwho is in the use and possession of a body not his own can know the\nagony that so often falls to one in such a case. I am not the original\nowner of this body that I now use. It was made for another, and for\nsome little time used by him, but in the storm of sickness he left it\nhere to be buried, and it would have been laid away in the earth if\nI had not taken it up, vivified its failing energies and carried it\nthrough some years of trial by sickness and accident. But the first\nowner had not been in it long enough to sow any troublesome seeds\nof disease; he left a heritage of good family blood and wonderful\nendurance. That he should have left this form so well adapted for\nliving, at least seems inconceivable, unless it was that he could not\nuse it, sick or well, for any of his own purposes. At any rate it is\nmine now, but while at first I thought it quite an acquisition there\nare often times when I wish I had not thus taken another man's frame,\nbut had come into life in the ordinary way.\n\n\nA COUPLE OF INCIDENTS FOR THE BOOK.\n\nIncident of the letter and picture.\n\nThere was a very curious old man (sufficient description to add).\n\nSent a small cardboard in which was a picture, a head, and over it\nappeared to be placed a thin sheet of paper, gummed over the sides\nto the back. He asked if I could tell him anything of the picture\nwhich was visible through the thin paper. Having great curiosity, I\nlifted up the thin paper, and at once there seemed to be printed off\nfrom its underside a red circle surrounding the head on the board. In\none instance this circle turned black and so did the entire inside\nspace including the head which was then obliterated. In the other the\nred circle seemed to get on fire inward, and then the whole included\nportion burned up. On examining the thin paper on underside there were\ntraces of a circle, as if with paste.\n\nHe laughed and said that curiosity was not always rewarded.\n\nTook it to several chemists in Paris, who said that they knew of no\nsubstance that would do this. The old chemist in Ireland said a very\ndestructive thing called Flourine might be liberated thus and do it,\nbut that it was only a thing with chemists and analysts.\n\n(_Note by the compiler._--In his travels Mr. Judge met many strange\npeople and saw some extraordinary sights. Now and again he would tell\none of these to be included in the novel, but just in this unfinished\nand vague way. When asked to tell more, he would smile and shake his\nhead, saying: \"No, No; little brothers must finish it.\")\n\n_Another Incident._\n\nThe temple on the site of the present city of Conjeveram was about to\nbe consecrated and the regular priests were all ready for the ceremony.\nMinor ceremonies had taken place at the laying of the cornerstone,\nbut this was to exceed that occasion in importance. A large body of\nworshippers were gathered not for the gratification of curiosity, but\nin order to receive the spiritual benefits of the occasion and they\nfilled the edifice so that I could not get inside. I was thus compelled\nto stand just at the edge of the door, and that was, as I afterwards\nfound out, the best place I could have selected if I had known in\nadvance what was to take place. A few days before a large number of\nwandering ascetics had arrived and camped on a spot near the temple,\nbut no one thought much of it because used to seeing such people.\nThere was nothing unnatural about these men, and all that could be\nsaid was that a sort of mysterious air hung about them, and one or two\nchildren declared that on one evening none of the visitors could be\nfound at their camp nor any evidence that men had been there, but they\nwere not believed, because the ascetics were there as usual the next\nmorning. Two old men in the city said that the visitors were Devas in\ntheir \"illusionary form,\" but there was too much excitement about the\ndedication to allow of much thought on the subject. The event, however,\nproved the old men right.\n\nAt the moment when the people in the temple were expecting the priests\nto arrive, the entire body of ascetics appeared at the door with\na wonderful looking sage-like man at their head, and they entered\nthe edifice in the usual formal way of the priests and the latter\non arriving made no disturbance, but took what places they could,\nsimply saying: \"they are the Devas.\" The strangers went on with the\nceremonies, and all the while a light filled the building and music\nfrom the air floated over the awestruck worshippers.\n\nWhen the time came for them to go they all followed the leader in\nsilence to the door. I could see inside, and as I was at the door\ncould also see outside. All the ascetics came to the entrance but not\none was seen to go beyond it, and none were ever perceived by any man\nin the city again. They melted away at the threshold. It was their\nlast appearance, for the shadow of the dark age was upon the people,\npreventing such sights for the future. The occurrence was the topic of\nconversation for years, and it was all recorded in the archives of the\ncity.\n\n\nIN A BORROWED BODY.\n\nI MUST tell you first what happened to me in this present life since it\nis in this one that I am relating to you about many other lives of mine.\n\nI was a simple student of our high Philosophy for many lives on earth\nin various countries, and then at last developed in myself a desire for\naction. So I died once more as so often before and was again reborn in\nthe family of a Rajah, and in time came to sit on his throne after his\ndeath.\n\nTwo years after that sad event one day an old wandering Brahmin came to\nme and asked if I was ready to follow my vows of long lives before, and\ngo to do some work for my old master in a foreign land. Thinking this\nmeant a journey only I said I was.\n\n\"Yes,\" said he, \"but it is not only a journey. It will cause you to be\nhere and there all days and years. To-day here, to-night there.\"\n\n\"Well,\" I replied, \"I will do even that, for my vows had no conditions\nand master orders.\"\n\nI knew of the order, for the old Brahmin gave me the sign marked on my\nforehead. He had taken my hand, and covering it with his waist-cloth,\ntraced the sign in my palm under the cloth so that it stood out in\nlines of light before my eyes.\n\nHe went away with no other word, as you know they so often do, leaving\nme in my palace. I fell asleep in the heat, with only faithful Gopal\nbeside me. I dreamed and thought I was at the bedside of a mere child,\na boy, in a foreign land unfamiliar to me only that the people looked\nlike what I knew of the Europeans. The boy was lying as if dying, and\nrelatives were all about the bed.\n\nA strange and irresistible feeling drew me nearer to the child, and for\na moment I felt in this dream as if I were about to lose consciousness.\nWith a start I awoke in my own palace--on the mat where I had fallen\nasleep, with no one but Gopal near and no noise but the howling of\njackals near the edge of the compound.\n\n\"Gopal,\" I said, \"how long have I slept?'\n\n\"Five hours, master, since an Old Brahmin went away, and the night is\nnearly gone, master.\"\n\nI was about to ask him something else when again sleepiness fell upon\nmy senses, and once more I dreamed of the small dying foreign child.\n\nThe scene had changed a little, other people had come in, there was\na doctor there, and the boy looked to me, dreaming so vividly, as if\ndead. The people were weeping, and his mother knelt by the bedside. The\ndoctor laid his head on the child's breast a moment. As for myself I\nwas drawn again nearer to the body and thought surely the people were\nstrange not to notice me at all. They acted as if no stranger were\nthere, and I looked at my clothes and saw they were eastern and bizarre\nto them. A magnetic line seemed to pull me to the form of the child.\n\nAnd now beside me I saw the old Brahmin standing. He smiled.\n\n\"This is the child,\" he said, \"and here must you fulfil a part of your\nvows. Quick now! There is no time to lose, the child is almost dead.\nThese people think him already a corpse. You see the doctor has told\nthem the fatal words, 'he is dead!'\"\n\nYes, they were weeping. But the old Brahmin put his hands on my head,\nand submitting to his touch, I felt myself in my dream falling asleep.\nA dream in a dream. But I woke in my dream, but not on my mat with\nGopal near me. I was that boy I thought. I looked out through his eyes,\nand near me I heard, as if his soul had slipped off to the ether with a\nsigh of relief. The doctor turned once more and I opened my eyes--his\neyes--on him.\n\nThe physician started and turned pale. To another I heard him whisper\n\"automatic nerve action.\" He drew near, and the intelligence in that\neye startled him to paleness. He did not see the old Brahmin making\npasses over this body I was in and from which I felt great waves of\nheat and life rolling over me--or the boy.\n\nAnd yet this all now seemed real as if my identity was merged in the boy.\n\nI was that boy and still confused, vague dreams seemed to flit through\nmy brain of some other plane where I thought I was again, and had a\nfaithful servant named Gopal; but that must be dream, this the reality.\nFor did I not see my mother and father, the old doctor and the nurse so\nlong in our house with the children. Yes; of course this is the reality.\n\nAnd then I feebly smiled, whereon the doctor said:\n\n\"Most marvellous. He has revived. He may live.\"\n\nHe was feeling the slow moving pulse and noting that breathing began\nand that vitality seemed once more to return to the child, but he did\nnot see the old Brahmin in his illusionary body sending air currents of\nlife over the body of this boy, who dreamed he had been a Rajah with a\nfaithful servant named Gopal. Then in the dream sleep seemed to fall\nupon me. A sensation of falling; falling came to my brain, and with a\nstart I awoke in my palace on my own mat. Turning to see if my servant\nwas there I saw him standing as if full of sorrow or fear for me.\n\n\"Gopal, how long have I slept again?\"\n\n\"It is just morning, master, and I feared you had gone to Yam\u00e2's\ndominions and left your own Gopal behind.\"\n\nNo, I was not sleeping. This was reality, these my own dominions. So\nthis day passed as all days had except that the dream of the small boy\nin a foreign land came to my mind all day until the night when I felt\nmore drowsy than usual. Once more I slept and dreamed.\n\nThe same place and the same house, only now it was morning there. What\na strange dream I thought I had had; as the doctor came in with my\nmother and bent over me, I heard him say softly:\n\n\"Yes, he will recover. The night sleep has done good. Take him, when he\ncan go, to the country, where he may see and walk on the grass.\"\n\nAs he spoke behind him I saw the form of a foreign looking man with a\nturban on. He looked like the pictures of Brahmins I saw in the books\nbefore I fell sick. Then I grew very vague and told my mother: \"I had\nhad two dreams for two nights, the same in each. I dreamed I was a king\nand had one faithful servant for whom I was sorry as I liked him very\nmuch, and it was only a dream, and both were gone.\"\n\nMy mother soothed me, and said: \"Yes, yes, my dear.\"\n\nAnd so that day went as days go with sick boys, and early in the\nevening I fell fast asleep as a boy in a foreign land, in my dream,\nbut did no more dream of being a king, and as before I seemed to fall\nuntil I woke again on my mat in my own palace with Gopal sitting near.\nBefore I could rise the old Brahmin, who had gone away, came in and I\nsent Gopal off.\n\n\"Rama,\" said he, \"as boy you will not dream of being Rajah but now\nyou must know that every night as sleeping king you are waking boy in\nforeign land. Do well your duty and fail not. It will be some years,\nbut Time's never-stopping car rolls on. Remember my words,\" and then he\npassed through the open door.\n\nSo I knew those dreams about a sick foreign boy were not mere dreams\nbut that they were recollections, and I condemned each night to animate\nthat small child just risen from the grave, as his relations thought,\nbut I knew that his mind for many years would not know itself, but\nwould ever feel strange in its surroundings, for, indeed, that boy\nwould be myself inside and him without, his friends not seeing that he\nhad fled away and another taken his place. Each night I, as sleeping\nRajah who had listened to the words of sages, would be an ignorant\nforeign boy, until through lapse of years and effort unremittingly\ncontinued I learned how to live two lives at once. Yet horrible at\nfirst seemed the thought that although my life in that foreign land as\na growing youth would be undisturbed by vague dreams of independent\npower as Rajah, I would always, when I woke on my mat, have a clear\nremembrance of what at first seemed only dreams of being a king, with\nvivid knowledge that while my faithful servant watched my sleeping form\nI would be masquerading in a borrowed body, unruly as the wind. Thus as\na boy I might be happy, but as a king miserable maybe. And then after I\nshould become accustomed to this double life, perhaps my foreign mind\nand habits would so dominate the body of the boy that existence there\nwould grow full of pain from the struggle with an environment wholly at\nwar with the thinker within.\n\nBut a vow once made is to be fulfilled, and Father Time eats up all\nthings and ever the centuries.\n\n\n\n\nWILLIAM QUAN JUDGE\n\n\nWilliam Quan Judge, son of Alice Mary Quan and Frederick H. Judge,\nwas born at Dublin, Ireland, on April 13th, 1851. His mother died in\nearly life at the birth of her seventh child. The lad was brought up\nin Dublin until his thirteenth year, when the father removed to the\nUnited States with his motherless children, taking passage on the\nInman Liner, \"City of Limerick,\" which arrived in New York harbour\non July 14th, 1864. Of the years of his childhood there is little to\nbe said, though we hear of a memorable illness of his seventh year;\nan illness supposed to be mortal. The physician declared the small\nsufferer to be dying, then dead; but in the outburst of grief which\nfollowed the announcement, it was discovered that the child had\nrevived, and that all was well with him. During convalescence the\nboy shewed aptitudes and knowledge never before displayed, exciting\nwonderment and questioning among his elders as to when and how he had\nlearned all these new things. He seemed the same, and yet not the\nsame; had to be studied anew by his family, and while no one knew that\nhe had ever learned to read, from his recovery in his eighth year we\nfind him devouring the contents of all the books he could obtain,\nrelating to Mesmerism, Phrenology, Character-Reading, Religion, Magic,\nRosicrucianism, and deeply absorbed in the Book of Revelation, trying\nto discover its real meaning. The elder Judge, with his children, lived\nfor a brief period at the old Merchants' Hotel, in Cortland Street,\nNew York: then in Tenth Street, and afterward settled in Brooklyn.\nWilliam began work in New York as a clerk, afterwards entering the\nLaw Office of George P. Andrews, who afterwards became Judge of the\nSupreme Court of New York. There the lad studied law, living with his\nfather, who died soon after. On coming of age, William Q. Judge was\nnaturalised a citizen of the United States, in April, 1872. In May\nof that year he was admitted to the Bar of New York. His conspicuous\ntraits as a lawyer, in the practice of Commercial Law, which became his\nspecialty, were his thoroughness, his inflexible persistence, and his\nindustry, which won the respect of employers and clients alike. As was\nsaid of him, then and later: \"Judge would walk over hot ploughshares\nfrom here to India to do his duty.\" In 1874 he married Ella M. Smith,\nof Brooklyn, by whom he had one child, a daughter, whose death in early\nchildhood was long a source of deep, though quiet, sorrow to both.\nMr. Judge in especial was a great lover of children, and had the gift\nof attracting them around him, whether in public--as on the steamer\ndeck--or in private, and this without any apparent notice or effort on\nhis part. Wherever he went, one would see the children begin to sidle\nup to him, soon absorbed in the new friend.\n\nLiving in Brooklyn until 1893, Mr. and Mrs. Judge then removed to New\nYork in order to be nearer to the Theosophical Headquarters, Mr. Judge\nat that date, and for the first time, giving up his arduous labours at\nthe law, in order to devote himself wholly to Theosophical work.\n\nSoon after his marriage Mr. Judge heard of Madame Blavatsky in this\nwise. He came across a book which greatly interested him. This was\n_People from the Other World_, by H. S. Olcott. Mr. Judge wrote to\nColonel Olcott, asking for the address of a good medium, for at this\ntime the tide of occult inquiry and speculation had just set in,\nand the experiences of numbers of people, including those of Madame\nBlavatsky, at the \"Eddy Homestead,\" were the talk of all the world.\nMr. Judge was invited to call upon H. P. B. while no medium was\nforthcoming, and thus the conjunction was formed, in this incarnation,\nwhich H. P. B. later on declared to have existed \"for \u00e6ons past.\"\nHenceforward, Mr. Judge spent much of his time with H. P. B. at Irving\nPlace, New York: he was one of a number of people present at her rooms\none evening when she turned to him, saying: \"Ask Col. Olcott to form\na Society.\" This was done at once. Mr. Judge was called to the Chair,\nnominating Col. Olcott as permanent Chairman, and was himself nominated\nas Secretary. This was the beginning of the Theosophical Society, on\nthe date of 7th September, 1875.\n\nWhen Madame Blavatsky went to India, Mr. Judge was left to carry on\nthe T.S. in New York as best he could; a difficult task indeed when\nshe who was then the one great exponent had left the field, and the\ncuriosity and interest excited by her original and striking mission\nhad died down. The T.S. was henceforth to subsist on its philosophical\nbasis, and this, after long years of toil and unyielding persistence,\nwas the point attained by Mr. Judge. From his twenty-third year until\nhis death, his best efforts and all the fiery energies of his undaunted\nsoul were given to this Work. We have a word picture of him, opening\nmeetings, reading a chapter of the _Bhagavat G\u00eet\u00e2_, entering the\nMinutes, and carrying on all the details of the same, as if he were not\nthe only person present; and this he did time after time, determined\nto have a Society. Little by little he gathered about him a number of\nearnest seekers, some of whom still work in the New York and other\nBranches, and through his unremitting labour he built up the T.S. in\nAmerica, aiding the Movement as well in all parts of the world, and\nwinning from The Master the name of \"Resuscitator of Theosophy in\nAmerica.\" His motto in those days was, \"Promulgation, not Speculation.\"\n\"Theosophy,\" said he, \"is a cry of the Soul.\"\n\nThe Work went slowly at first, and the eager disciple passed through\neven more than the usual suffering, sense of loneliness and desolation,\nas we see H. P. B. pointing out in regard to him that \"he of all\nchelas, suffers most, and asks, or even expects, the least.\" But the\nshadow lifted, and in 1888 we find H. P. B. writing of him as being\nthen \"a chela of thirteen years' standing,\" with \"trust reposed in\nhim\"; and as \"the chief and sole Agent of The Dzyan in America.\" (This\nis the Thibetan name of what we call The Lodge.)\n\nMr. Judge also went to South America, where he saw many strange things,\nand contracted Chagres fever, that terrible scourge whose effects dog\nthe victim through a lifetime. To India as well, where he was for some\ntime with H. P. B. Later on he was with her in France and in England,\nalways intent on the Work of the T.S. He lectured in both countries;\ninstituted _The Path_ magazine, meeting all its deficits and carrying\non its various activities, as well as those of the T.S. He wrote\nincessantly; opened the doors of the Press at length to a serious\nconsideration of Theosophy; he lectured all over the States and did\nthe work of several men. His health was frail; a day free from pain\nwas a very rare thing with him. He had his sorrows too, of which the\ndeath of his only child was the deepest. But the cheerfulness of his\naspect, his undaunted energy, never failed him, and he was the cause\nof activity among all his fellow members. To those who would ask his\nadvice in the crises which were wont to shake the tree of the T.S. he\nwould make answer: \"Work! Work! Work for Theosophy!\" And when at last\nthe Great Betrayal came to him, and some of those whom he had lifted\nand served and taught _how_ to work, strove to cast him down and out of\nthe Society, in their ignorance of their own limitations, he kept the\ndue silence of the Initiate; he bowed his defenceless head to The Will\nand The Law, and passing with sweet and serene heart through the waters\nof bitterness, consoled by the respect and trust of the Community in\nwhich his life had been spent, and by the thousands of students who\nknew and loved him: he exhorted all to forgiveness and renewed effort:\nhe reminded us that there were many committed by the unbrotherliness of\nhis opponents who would in time come themselves to see and comprehend\nthe wrong done to the Work by action taken which they did not at the\ntime understand in all its bearings; he begged us to be ready to meet\nthat day and to take the extended hands which would then be held out to\nus by those who ignorantly shared the wrong done to him, and through\nhim, to us all. In this trust he passed behind the veil. On the 21st of\nMarch, 1896, he encountered \"Eloquent, Just and Mighty Death.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSo much for the open and material facts of his life. There is much more\nthat must be left unsaid. His claim upon us was that of The Work. The\nWork was his Ideal. He valued men and women only by their theosophical\nWork, and the right spirit in which that Work was done. He held Right\nThought to be of the best Work. He worked with anyone who was willing\nto do Work in the real sense, careless whether such were personal\nfriends, strangers, or active or secret foes. Many a time he was known\nto be energetically working with those who were attacking him, or\nplanning attack in supposed concealment, and his smile, as this was\ncommented upon, was a thing to be always remembered; that whimsical and\nquaint smile, followed by some Irish drollery. But in order to leave\nbehind us some adequate idea of the broadness and the catholicity of\nhis nature, it seems best to append to this brief and unworthy sketch,\nsome few of the thoughts of his life-long friends, nearly all published\nsoon after he had left us.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOn page 75 of the first volume of _Letters_ is a letter from an Adept,\nfrom which a certain portion (\"private instruction\") is omitted. That\nomitted portion runs as follows:\n\n    \"_Is the choice made? Then Y. will do well to see W. Q. J. and to\n    acquaint him with this letter. For the first year or two no better\n    guide can be had._ For when the 'PRESENCE' _is upon him, he knows\n    well that which others only suspect and 'divine.' ... is useful to\n    'Path,' but greater services may be rendered to him, who, of all\n    ch\u00ealas, suffers most and demands, or even expects the least._\"\n\n(If this extract be fitted into the original letter its immense\nimportance in respect to Mr. Judge may be realised by the intuitive\nstudent.)\n\n\"In answer to your letter I can only say as follows: If W. Q. Judge,\nthe man who has done most for Theosophy in America, who has worked most\nunselfishly in your country, and has ever done the biddings of Master,\nthe best he knew how, is left alone in ... and if the ... Society in\ngeneral and its Esotericists especially leave him alone, without their\nunanimous _moral support_, which is much more than their money--then I\nsay--let them go! They are no theosophists;--and if such a thing should\nhappen, and Judge be left to fight his battles alone, then shall I\nbid all of them an eternal good-bye. I swear on MASTER'S holy name to\nshake off the dust of my feet from everyone of them.... I am unable to\nrealise that at the hour of trouble and supreme fight ... any _true_\ntheosophist should hesitate for one moment to back W. Q. J. _publicly_\nand lodge in his or her protest. Let them read Master's letter in the\npreliminary----. All that which I said about W. Q. J. was from HIS\nwords in HIS letter to me.... Do with this letter what you like. Show\nit to anyone you please as my firm determination....\"--H. P. B.\n\n\"It is necessary that just those souls in whom we have felt most of\nreality should disappear from us into the darkness, in order that we\nmay learn that not seeing, but inwardly touching, is the true proof\nthat our friend is there; in order that we may learn that the vanishing\nand dissipation of the outward, visible part, is no impairing or\ndetriment to the real part, which is invisible. This knowledge, and the\nrealising of it in our wills, are gained with the utmost difficulty,\nat a cost not less than the loss of the best of our friends; yet if\nthe cost be great, the gain is great and beyond estimating, for it is\nnothing less than a first victory over the whole universe, wherein\nwe come to know that there is that in us which can face and conquer\nand outlast anything in the universe, and come forth radiant and\ntriumphant from the contest. Yet neither the universe nor death are\nreal antagonists, for they are but only Life everywhere, and we are\nLife.\"--C. J.\n\n\"He was never narrow, never selfish, never conceited. He would drop\nhis own plan in a moment if a better were suggested, and was delighted\nif someone would carry on the work he had devised, and immediately\ninaugurate other lines of work. To get on with the work and forward\nthe movement seemed to be his only aim in life.... For myself, knowing\nMr. Judge as I did, and associating with him day after day, at home,\nin the rush of work, in long days of travel over desert wastes or over\nthe trackless ocean, having travelled with him a distance equal to\ntwice around the globe, ... there is not the slightest doubt of his\nconnection with and service of the Great Lodge. He did the Master's\nwork to the best of his ability, and thus carried out the injunction of\nH. P. B. to \"keep the link unbroken.\"--J. D. BUCK.\n\n\"There is not one act in the life of William Q. Judge that has come\nunder my observation, that savours of selfishness or of a desire to\nfurther any personal end.... Perhaps I am not qualified to pass on the\nmerits as an occultist, of the man whose memory I hold in such grateful\nesteem; but I can, at least, speak of what passed before my eyes in the\nordinary affairs of life, and in these affairs I have invariably found\nhim to be the soul of unselfishness, honour, generosity, and all the\nother virtues that men hold so dear in other men.\"--E. B. PAGE.\n\n\"In the summer of 1894 we were privileged to have him stay at our\nhouse for several weeks, and since then he spent at least one evening\na week with us until his illness forced him to leave New York.... Day\nafter day he would come back from the office utterly exhausted in\nmind and body, and night after night he would lie awake fighting the\narrows of suspicion and doubt that would come at him from all over the\nworld. He said they were like shafts of fire piercing him, and in the\nmorning he would come down stairs wan and pale and unrested, and one\nstep nearer the limit of his strength, but still with the same gentle\nand forgiving spirit.... Perhaps the most striking evidence of his\ngreatness was the wisdom with which he treated different people, and\nthe infinite knowledge of character shown by him in his guidance of his\npupils. I do not believe he was the same to any two people.... His most\nlovable trait was his exquisite sympathy and gentleness. It has been\nsaid of him that no one ever touched a sore spot with such infinite\ntenderness, and I know many that would rather have been scolded and\ncorrected by Mr. Judge than praised by anyone else. It was the good\nfortune of a few of us to know something of the real Ego who used\nthe body known as Wm. Q. Judge. He once spent some hours describing\nto my wife and me the experience the Ego had in assuming control of\nthe instrument it was to use for so many years. The process was not a\nquick nor an easy one and indeed was never absolutely perfected, for\nto Mr. Judge's dying day, the physical tendencies and heredity of the\nbody he used would crop up and interfere with the full expression of\nthe inner man's thoughts and feelings. An occasional abruptness and\ncoldness of manner was attributable to this lack of co-ordination. Of\ncourse Mr. Judge was perfectly aware of this and it would trouble him\nfor fear his real friends would be deceived as to his real feeling. He\nwas always in absolute control of his thoughts and actions, but his\nbody would sometimes slightly modify their expression.... Mr. Judge\ntold me in December, 1894, that the Judge body was due by its Karma to\ndie the next year and that it would have to be tided over this period\nby extraordinary means. He then expected this process to be entirely\nsuccessful, and that he would be able to use that body for many years,\nbut he did not count upon the assaults from without, and the strain and\nexhaustion.... This, and the body's heredity, proved too much for even\nhis will and power. Two months before his death he knew he was to die,\nbut even then the indomitable will was hard to conquer and the poor\nexhausted, pain-racked body was dragged through a miserable two months\nin one final and supreme effort to stay with his friends. And when he\ndid decide to go, those who loved him most were the most willing for\nthe parting. I thank the Gods that I was privileged to know him. It was\na benediction to call him friend.\"--G. HIJO.\n\n\"To a greater extent than I have ever realised I know he entered into\nmy life and I am equally sure into the lives of thousands, and this\nfact I see we are to acknowledge as time passes more and more.... He\nswore no one to allegiance, he asked for no one's love or loyalty; but\nhis disciples came to him of their own free will and accord, and then\nhe never deserted them, but gave more freely than they asked and often\nin greater measure than they could or would use. He was always a little\nahead of the occasion, and so was truly a leader.\"--E. B. RAMBO.\n\n\"Judge was the best and truest friend a man ever had. H. P. B. told\nme I should find this to be so, and so it was of him whom she, too,\ntrusted and loved as she did no other. And as I think of what those\nmissed who persecuted him, of the loss in their lives, of the great\njewel so near to them which they passed by, I turn sick with a sense\nof their loss: the immense mystery that Life is, presses home to me.\nIn him his foes lost their truest friend out of this life of ours in\nthe body, and though it was their limitations which hid him from them,\nas our limitations do hide from us so much Spiritual Good, yet we must\nremember, too, that these limitations have afforded to us and to the\nworld this wonderful example of unselfishness and forgiveness. Judge\nmade the life portrayed by Jesus realisable to me.\"--A. KEIGHTLEY.\n\n\"William Q. Judge was the nearest approach to my ideal of a MAN that\nI have known. He was what I want to be. H. P. B. was something more\nthan human: She was a cosmic power. W. Q. J. was splendidly human:\nand he manifested in a way delightfully refreshing and all his own\nthat most rare of human characteristics--genuineness. His influence is\ncontinuingly present and powerful, an influence tending steadily, as\never, in one direction--work for the Masters' Cause.\"--THOS. GREEN.\n\n\"His last message to us was this 'There should be calmness. Hold fast.\nGo slow.' And if you take down those words and remember them, you\nwill find that they contain an epitome of his whole life struggle. He\nbelieved in Theosophy and lived it. He believed because he knew that\nthe great Self of which he so often spoke was the eternal Self, was\nhimself. Therefore he was always calm. He held fast with unwavering\ntenacity to his purpose and to his ideal. He went slow, and never\nallowed himself to act hastily. He made time his own, and he was\njustice itself on that account. And he had the power to act with the\nrapidity of lightning when the time for action came. We can now afford\nto console ourselves because of the life he lived, and should also\nremember that this man, William Quan Judge, had more devoted friends,\nI believe, than any other living man; more friends who would literally\nhave died for him at a moment's notice; would have gone to any part of\nthe world on the strength of a hint from him. And never once did he use\nthat power and influence for his own personal ends;--never once did he\nuse that power, great as it was, not only in America, but in Europe,\nAustralasia and elsewhere as well, for anything but the good of the\nTheosophical movement.\n\n\"Poor Judge. It was not the charges that stung him, they were too\nuntrue to hurt. It was the fact that those who had once most loudly\nproclaimed themselves his debtors and his friends were among the\nfirst to turn against him. He had the heart of a little child and\nhis tenderness was only equalled by his strength.... He never cared\nwhat people thought of him or his work so long as they would work for\nbrotherhood.... His wife has said that she never knew him to tell a\nlie, and those most closely connected with him theosophically agree\nthat he was the most truthful man they ever knew.\"--E. T. H.\n\n\"I knew him with some degree of intimacy for the past eight years,\nmeeting him often and under varied conditions, and never for one moment\ndid he fail to command my respect and affection, and that I should have\nhad the privilege of his acquaintance I hold a debt to Karma. A good\nhomely face and unpretentious manner, a loving disposition, full of\nkindliness and honest friendship, went with such strong common sense\nand knowledge of affairs that his coming was always a pleasure and his\nstay a delight. The children hung about him fondly as he would sit\nafter dinner and draw them pictures.\"--A. H. SPENCER.\n\n\"His life was an example of the possibility of presenting new ideas\nwith emphasis, persistence and effect, without becoming eccentric or\none-sided, without losing touch with our fellows, in short, without\nbecoming a 'crank.'... The quality of 'common sense' was Mr. Judge's.\nThose who have heard him speak, know the singular directness with which\nhis mind went to the marrow of a subject, the unaffected selflessness\nthat radiated from the man. The quality of 'common sense' was Mr.\nJudge's pre-eminent characteristic.\"--WILLIAM MAIN.\n\n\"For to the mystical element in the personality of Mr. Judge was united\nthe shrewdness of the practised lawyer, the organising faculty of a\ngreat leader, and that admirable common sense, which is so uncommon\na thing with enthusiasts.... In his teaching was embodied most\nemphatically that received by the prophet Ezekiel when the Voice said\nto him: 'Stand upon thy feet and I will speak to thee.' He was the\nbest of friends, for he held you firmly, yet apart. He realised the\nbeautiful description Emerson gives of the ideal friend, in whom meet\nthe two most essential elements of friendship, tenderness and truth.\n'I am arrived at last,' says Emerson, 'in the presence of a man so\nreal and equal ... that I may deal with him with the simplicity and\nwholeness with which one chemical atom meets another.... To a great\nheart he will still be a stranger in a thousand particulars, that he\nmay come near in the holiest ground.' And upon that 'holiest ground' of\ndevotion to the highest aim, of desire alone for the welfare of others,\nthe Chief was always to be approached. And blended with the undaunted\ncourage, the keen insight, the swift judgment, the endless patience,\nthat made his personality so powerful, were the warm affections, the\nready wit, the almost boyish gaiety that made it so lovable.... One\nof the Chief's last messages to us said: 'They must aim to develop\nthemselves in daily life in small duties.'... There was a beautiful\nstory of Rhoecus, who could not recognise in the bee that buzzed about\nhis head the messenger of the Dryad, and so lost her love.\"\n\n  KATHERINE HILLARD.\n\n\"If my memory serves me rightly, we met first upon an occasion when H.\nP. Blavatsky was induced to try, in the presence of some reporters,\nif she could open up communication with the diaphanous remainder of\na night watchman who had been drowned in an East River dock. Olcott\nwas present, in command, prominent and authoritative, and Judge, in\nattendance, reserved and quiet. The spook was shy and the reporters\nsarcastic. The only one apparently annoyed by their humour was the\nColonel. Mr. Judge's placidity and good nature commended him to the\nliking of the reporters, and made a particularly favourable impression\nupon me, which was deepened by the experiences of an acquaintance that\ncontinued while he lived. In all that time, though I have seen him\nupon a good many occasions when he would have had excellent excuse for\nwrath, his demeanour was uniformly the same--kindly, considerate and\nself-restrained, not merely in such measure of self-control as might\nbe expected of a gentleman, but as if inspired by much higher regards\nthan mere respect for the convenances of good society. He always seemed\nto look for mitigating circumstances in even the pure cussedness of\nothers, seeking to credit them with, at least, honesty of purpose and\ngood intentions, however treacherous and malicious their acts toward\nhim might have been. He did not appear willing to believe that people\ndid evil through preference for it, but only because they were ignorant\nof the good, and its superior advantages; consequently he was very\ntolerant.\"--J. H. CONNELLY.\n\n\"What he was to one of his pupils, I believe he was to all, ... so wide\nreaching was his sympathy, so deep his understanding of each heart; ...\nand I but voice the feeling of hundreds all over the world when I say\nthat we mourn the tenderest of friends, the wisest of counsellors, the\nbravest and noblest of leaders. What a man was this, to have been such,\nto people of so widely varying nationalities, opinions and beliefs\n... to have drawn them all to him by the power of his love, ... and\nin so doing, to have brought them closer to each other. There was no\ndifficulty he would not take infinite pains to unravel, no sore spot in\nthe heart he did not sense and strive to heal.\"--G. L. G.\n\nIn truth, we might pile up these evidences from the hearts of those\nwho knew him best and longest, and who were well fitted to judge of\nthe solidity and the truth of any character. But of this there is no\nneed. It is for those to say who were influenced by their bugbear of\n\"authority\" whether they have not exchanged the substance for the\nshadow; have not retained the dogmatism and lost the free and noble\nspirit which W. Q. Judge ever exercised, and which he strove to retain\nin the T.S. Summing up his life, one must still say what was written\nsoon after his departure: \"In thinking of this helper and teacher of\nours, I find myself thinking almost wholly of the future. He was\none who never looked back; he looked forward always.... We think of\nhim not as of a man departed from our midst, but as a soul set free\nto work its mighty mission, rejoicing in that freedom, resplendent\nin compassion and power. His was a nature that knew no trammels, but\nacknowledged the divine laws in all things. He was, as he himself said,\n'rich in hope.'... That future as he saw and sees it is majestic in\nits harmonious proportions. It presaged the liberation of the race.\nIt struck the shackles from the self-imprisoned and bade the souls of\nmen be free. It evokes now, to-day, the powers of the inner man....\nDeath, the magician, opened a door to show us these things. If we are\nfaithful, that door shall never close. If we are faithful; only that\nproviso. Close up the ranks, and let Fidelity be the agent of heavenly\npowers. To see America, the cradle of the new race, fit herself to help\nand uplift that race and to prepare here a haven and a home for Egos\nyet to appear ... for this he worked; for this will work those who came\nafter him. And he works with them.\"\n\n  JULIA W. L. KEIGHTLEY.\n\n    \"A STRONG LIGHT SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS; THOUGH REACHING FAR AND\n    MAKING CLEAR THE NIGHT, WILL ATTRACT THE THINGS THAT DWELL IN\n    DARKNESS. A PURE SOUL BROUGHT TO THE NOTICE OF MEN WILL ILLUMINE\n    THE HEARTS OF THOUSANDS; BUT WILL ALSO CALL FORTH FROM THE CORNERS\n    OF THE EARTH THE HOSTILITY OF THOSE WHO LOVE EVIL.\" (_Book of\n    Items._)\n\n\n\n\nThe United Lodge of Theosophists\n\n\nDECLARATION\n\nThe policy of this Lodge is independent devotion to the cause\nof Theosophy, without professing attachment to any Theosophical\norganization. It is loyal to the great Founders of the Theosophical\nMovement, but does not concern itself with dissensions or differences\nof individual opinion.\n\nThe work it has on hand and the end it keeps in view are too absorbing\nand too lofty to leave it the time or inclination to take part in side\nissues. That work and that end is the dissemination of the Fundamental\nPrinciples of the philosophy of Theosophy, and the exemplification in\npractice of those principles, through a truer realization of the SELF;\na profounder conviction of Universal Brotherhood.\n\nIt holds that the unassailable _Basis for Union_ among Theosophists,\nwherever and however situated, is \"_similarity of aim, purpose and\nteaching_,\" and therefore has neither Constitution, By-laws nor\nOfficers, the sole bond between its Associates being that _basis_. And\nit aims to disseminate this idea among Theosophists in the furtherance\nof Unity.\n\nIt regards as Theosophists all who are engaged in the true service\nof Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, condition or\norganization, and\n\nIt welcomes to its association all those who are in accord with its\ndeclared purposes and who desire to fit themselves, by study and\notherwise, to be the better able to help and teach others.\n\n\"_The true Theosophist belongs to no cult or sect, yet belongs to each\nand all._\"\n\n    Being in sympathy with the purposes of this Lodge, as set forth in\n    its \"Declaration,\" I hereby record my desire to be enrolled as an\n    Associate; it being understood that such association calls for no\n    obligation on my part other than that which I, myself, determine.\n\nThe foregoing is the Form signed by Associates of the United Lodge of\nTheosophists.\n\nInquiries are Invited from all persons to whom this Movement may\nappeal. Cards for signature will be sent upon request, and every\npossible assistance furnished Associates in their studies and In\nefforts to form local Lodges. There are no dues of any kind, and no\nformalities to be complied with.\n\n  _Correspondence should be addressed to_\n  General Registrar, United Lodge of Theosophists\n  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA\n  504 Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth Street\n\n\n    \"_To Spread Broadcast the Teachings of Theosophy, as Recorded in\n    the Writings of H. P. Blavatsky and Wm. Q. Judge._\"\n\nTHEOSOPHY\n\n    _A Magazine Devoted to the Theosophical Movement, the Brotherhood\n    of Humanity, the Study of Occult Science and Philosophy, and Aryan\n    Literature._\n\n    THEOSOPHY is a Monthly Magazine devoted to the promulgation of\n    Theosophy as it was given by those who brought it. Established in\n    1912 by the United Lodge of Theosophists, the magazine is now in\n    the front rank of Theosophical publications and its circulation\n    extends to every civilized country. The first eight volumes of\n    the magazine contain reprints of the numerous original articles\n    written by H. P. Blavatsky and William Q. Judge in explanation,\n    exemplification and application of the philosophy recorded in their\n    published books. These precious articles, replete with Occult\n    instruction, were first published in _The Theosophist_, _Lucifer_,\n    and _The Path_, now for many years out of print, so that their\n    surpassing value was lost and inaccessible to Students of the\n    present generation. THEOSOPHY has made them once more available.\n    In addition to these reprints the magazine contains many original\n    articles written by Robert Crosbie and other devoted Pupils and\n    Students of the Messengers of the Theosophical Movement of the\n    nineteenth century. Not the least of the contents of the magazine\n    are the Studies of the Teachings, the historical articles relating\n    to the Theosophical Movement, the Parent Theosophical Society, and\n    the many allied and related organizations and societies of the\n    present day. The entire contents of the magazine are universal\n    in scope and application, unbiased in treatment, and free from\n    sectarian or partisan influence. In order to preserve at all times\n    the impersonality of its tone, and that readers may form their\n    judgment from the inherent value perceived in the articles and not\n    from the names signed to them, the Editors and Contributors remain\n    anonymous, no living person's name being mentioned in connection\n    with the authorship of any article published.\n\n    Back Volumes and Back Numbers can be supplied at $5.00 per Volume\n    and 50 cents per Number.\n\n    Subscriptions can begin with any desired Number of the current\n    Volume. Subscription price, $2.00 per annum; single copies 25 cents\n    each.\n\n    _Address all communications and remittances to_\n\n  METROPOLITAN      THEOSOPHY      LOS ANGELES,\n  BUILDING                         CALIFORNIA\n\n\nStudents interested in obtaining a clear and correct understanding of\nthe actual Teachings of THEOSOPHY, as recorded in the writings of the\nMessengers of the Theosophical Movement of the nineteenth century or in\nwritings recommended by Them, should have the following books:\n\n  KEY TO THEOSOPHY, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY,                          $2.50\n      An Exposition in the form of question and answer. The\n      best Manual for daily study and reference. A _verbatim_\n      reprint  of the Original Edition. Large type, durably and\n      artistically bound in Buckram.\n\n  THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY, _By_ WILLIAM Q. JUDGE, $1.25\n      A succinct presentation of the philosophy free from\n      technical expressions; a perfect condensation of the\n      Secret Doctrines of Man and Nature. Cloth.\n\n  THE OCCULT WORLD ESOTERIC BUDDHISM _By_ A. P. SINNETT, _Each_    $2.00\n      The two earliest popular presentations of Theosophical\n      Teachings, containing extracts from Letters written by\n      the _Mahatma_ K. H. From the Plates of the Original\n      American Editions. Cloth.\n\n  ISIS UNVEILED, Two Volumes, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY,               $10.00\n      Volume I, Science; Volume II. Theology. A reprint of the\n      Original Edition of 1877. This, the first great work of\n      H. P. B., contains a vast wealth of information and\n      instruction not to be had elsewhere. Cloth.\n\n  THE SECRET DOCTRINE, Two Volumes, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY,         $15.00\n      Volume I, Cosmogenesis; Volume II, Anthropogenesis. The\n      Original Edition, published in 1888, is now out of\n      print. This Edition, published in London, contains some\n      unwarrantable changes, but is in the main accurate and\n      is the only one available. Written \"_for the instruction\n      of students of Occultism_,\" it is _sui generis_ and\n      absolutely invaluable to the true student of the\n      mysteries of Life and Being. Cloth.\n\n  ABRIDGMENT OF THE SECRET DOCTRINE, _By_ KATHERINE HILLARD,       $3.00\n      A very good condensation of the major teachings of\n      Madame Blavatsky's \"Secret Doctrine\" in the language of\n      the Author. Cloth.\n\n  THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY, _By_ H. P. BLAVATSKY,                     $5.00\n      A reprint of the Original Edition, containing an\n      exhaustive and scholarly treatment of the Sanskrit\n      and other technical terms employed in Theosophical\n      literature. Cloth.\n\n\nThose who find the Teachings of Theosophy to be comprehensive,\nself-explanatory, and a complete solution of all the problems of Life\nfrom a philosophical, logical and scientific standpoint, and who\nmay desire to follow the Path shown in order to realize in and for\nthemselves the noble Ideal of Brotherhood exemplified by the MASTERS OF\nWISDOM, are urged to read, ponder and assimilate to the utmost extent\npossible to them, the following Treatises on the _Heart Doctrine_:\n\n  THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE. Chosen Fragments from The\n      Book of the Golden Precepts. Translated and\n      annotated by H. P. Blavatsky.\n\n                                                         Leather,  $1.50\n                                                           Cloth,   1.25\n\n  THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, The Book of Devotion. Containing\n      the Dialogue between _Krishna_, the Supreme\n      Master of Devotion, and _Arjuna_, his Disciple.\n      Rendered into exquisite parallel terms  in the\n      English tongue by William Q. Judge.\n\n                                                         Leather,   1.50\n                                                           Cloth,   1.25\n\n  NOTES ON THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. Commentaries\n      of the greatest service to sincere students\n      of to-day. The first Seven Chapters by\n      W. Q. Judge; the remainder by his friend and\n      colleague Robert Crosbie.\n\n                                                         Leather,   1.50\n\n  YOGA APHORISMS OF PATAJALI. The _Thought_ of this\n      Ancient Master, whose Aphorisms have been the\n      guide of Disciples in the East for untold\n      thousands of years. Done into English terms\n      with Notes, by William Q. Judge.\n\n                                                         Leather,   1.50\n                                                           Cloth,   1.25\n\n  LIGHT ON THE PATH. A treatise for the personal use\n      of those who are ignorant of the Eastern Wisdom,\n      and who desire to enter within its influence. An\n      exact reprint of the Original Edition of 1885,\n      together with the Comments originally published\n      in _Lucifer_. Written down by M. C.\n\n                                                         Leather,   1.50\n                                                           Cloth,   1.25\n\n  LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME. Actual Letters,\n      by  William Q. Judge, embodying Lessons\n      and  Guidance of direct personal value to\n      every  Student and  Disciple.\n\n                                                 Volume I, Cloth,   1.00\n                                                 Volume II, Cloth,  1.00\n\n      The Two Volumes bound in One,                        Cloth,   1.50\n\n  THE VOICE of the SILENCE, THE BHAGAVAD-GITA,\n      And PATAJALI'S YOGA APHORISMS, Bound in\n      One  Volume.\n\n                                                         Leather,   3.00\n\n\nParents and others interested in the Spiritual and Moral welfare of\nChildren and averse to the sectarian dogmas and false ideas prevalent\nunder the name of religious teachings, have long felt the necessity\nfor literature which should impart true fundamental conceptions of\nNature, of Life and of Duty to the growing generation. As a portion\nof its Fraternal activities the United Lodge of Theosophists has\nlong maintained a _Children's School of Theosophy_. To this School\ncome children of all ages, Theosophists and Non-Theosophists as to\nParentage. There are taught the primary truths common to all religions\nand philosophies, dealing with Birth, Life, Death, Law, Action and\nDuty. The Eternal Verities thus inculcated make for clean, sturdy,\nwholesome physical, mental, as well as moral and spiritual happiness\nand well-being. The experience thus gained in actual practice has been\nembodied in two books, wherein the lessons and instructions found\nhelpful and formative to the highest character are plainly and clearly\noutlined, with all necessary suggestions and directions to enable\nParents, Teachers and others to fit themselves to be the better able to\nhelp and guide the plastic minds of the Children to true perceptions of\nLife and Action.\n\n  BECAUSE--FOR THE CHILDREN WHO ASK WHY. Interesting,\n      comprehensible and assimilable, in clear and\n      reverent fashion this Book presents to Children\n      the answers to those questions of Self that\n      Parents  find it most difficult to meet, and\n      affords a common basis of understanding to\n      Parent and Child.\n\n                                                           Cloth,  $1.25\n\n  THE ETERNAL VERITIES. A Series of Lessons in basic\n      truths and ideas, with complete chart and\n      programme so that its full value may be availed\n      of in the instruction of Children of all ages,\n      whether in the School or the Home. Original\n      Songs, Chants, Music, Allegories and Tales of\n      Symbolism, in a manner not only to interest but\n      to carry the Lessons into the Hearts and Minds\n      of the Learners.\n\n                                                           Cloth,  $1.50\n\nIn order, further, to afford the maximum possible assistance to Parents\nand others interested in the proper education of Children, The United\nLodge of Theosophists maintains a Bureau of Correspondence to which\nparticular problems connected with the bringing-up of Children may be\naddressed. Replies to enquiries are in all cases by Women Associates\nof the Lodge who are themselves Mothers and Teachers and gladly give\ntheir time and experience to benefit their perplexed Sisters. There are\nno fees or charges of any description in connection with this labor\nof love, and all Mothers and Teachers are invited to benefit by it.\nAddress,\n\n  CHILDREN'S SCHOOL OF THEOSOPHY\n  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA\n  504 Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth Street\n\n\nNo more important work exists for the Theosophical Student than to be\nin a position to direct inquirers to channels where they may inform\nthemselves of the leading Principles of the teachings of THEOSOPHY in\ntheir philosophical, ethical and scientific bearings. The following are\nrecommended for their exact accuracy, their simplicity and clarity in\nthe presentation of the Wisdom-Religion.\n\n  ECHOES FROM THE ORIENT, _By_ WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. A Series\n      of Chapters written in the most admirable style,\n      giving an outline of Theosophy and the Theosophical\n      Movement, and treating of the great Subject of\n      Masters, Karma, Reincarnation and Evolution.\n\n                                                           Cloth,  $0.60\n                                                           Paper,    .35\n\n  CONVERSATIONS ON THEOSOPHY. A Pamphlet\n      giving the fundamental teachings of the Secret\n      Doctrine. From the writings of H. P. Blavatsky\n      and William Q. Judge.\n\n      Paper, envelope size,                                          .10\n\n      In quantities for propaganda purposes, 50 copies\n      for                                                           2.50\n\n  KARMA AND REINCARNATION. A large and attractively\n      bound pamphlet, envelope size, containing the\n      famous _Aphorisms on Karma_, and a notably\n      clear and comprehensive treatment of the\n      subjects of Karma and Reincarnation.                           .15\n\n      In quantities for propaganda purposes, 50 copies\n      for                                                           4.00\n\n  CULTURE OF CONCENTRATION, And OF OCCULT POWERS. Two\n      related Essays by William Q. Judge on subjects\n      of supreme importance.                                         .10\n\n  EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER THAT HAS\n      HELPED ME. Being a statement of the _Gospel of\n      Hope and Responsibility_. This Letter has brought\n      consolation and the comfort of understanding to\n      many regarding the Great Mystery.                              .10\n\n  THOUGHTS FOR THINKERS. A Pamphlet designed for the\n      \"man in the street,\" who is often an open-minded\n      practical philosopher and thinker of the first\n      rank. These THOUGHTS are undogmatic,\n      non-argumentative and very suggestive.                         .10\n\nThe foregoing and other Books advertised in the preceding pages may all\nbe obtained on order through your local Bookseller, or orders may be\nsent direct to the undersigned.\n\nInquiries are invited regarding any Theosophical Books and Publications\nnot specifically mentioned herein. Correspondence and questions are\nalso invited on Theosophical problems and subjects from all interested.\n\n  _Address all orders and inquiries and make all remittances\n  payable to_\n\n  UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS\n  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA\n  504 Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth Street\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\n  This is a \"2-volume-in-1\" ebook. Each volume has been paginated\n  separately.\n\n  Footnotes have been placed at end of their respective chapter.\n\n  Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been repaired.\n\n  Pg. 76: Removed extraneous word \"relates\" from \"The sexual relates\n  relates really only....\"","title":"Letters That Have Helped Me","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":67856}