CLAIRVOYANCE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RESEARCH
THE CLAIRVOYANT STUDY OF MOTHERHOOD
THE
CLAIRVOYANT STUDY OF FAIRIES, NATURE SPIRITS AND DEVAS
THE student of the history of the nations of the world discovers, in the course of his studies, that the phenomenon of supernormal cognition appears frequently as an accompaniment of the psychological and cultural development of each of the great races which has preceded our own. The peoples of India have produced, throughout the long centuries of their evolution, a large number of illuminated men who have given priceless treasures of philosophy to the world; have handed on to their peoples wisdom and knowledge which they had acquired as a result of the development of their powers of interior cognition. Many names at once leap into the mind in this connection, such as Vyasa, Manu, Shri Shankarâchârya, Tsong Ka-Pa, Agastya, Patanjali, and the great spiritual teachers Gautama Buddha and Shri Krishna.
In Egypt, the science of seership was made a subject of special study; schools and temples were established for the training of neophytes in the development of their inner powers. Great Teachers appeared in answer to the cry of those ancient peoples for knowledge; many of the kings themselves were priests and hierophants in the Mystery Schools, as the training establishments were called. Hermes appeared amongst them as the Light Bringer, the Illuminated One, the Incarnate God of Knowledge and of Truth. From all parts of the the civilized world, men came to study at the feet of the initiated teachers of Egypt. Moses himself drank deeply at the well of their wisdom.
The works of Plato, Plotinus, Iamblicus, Aristotle, Proclus and the great Pythagoras are still monuments of wisdom and knowledge concerning the eternal verities of life. Then came the greatest of teachers and philosophers, who had yet spoken to western ears -Jesus of Nazareth - Who drank deeply of the Wisdom of Egypt and of Greece. The time of His illumination came at the stage in the drama of His life known as the Baptism. He saw with unfailing vision the truths He taught; the inner worlds were open to His extended vision and He taught that of which He knew. His followers -the disciples of the New Testament and the saints of more modern times- have followed in His steps; and although their vision has been less far reaching, less clear than His, they too learned from Him the way of self-illumination. So, down through the ages, there has been an unbroken line of seers who have taught of the things they saw. In modern days, although no mighty and outstanding figure -such as Orpheus, Hermes, Christ or Buddha- has been generally recognized among men, thousands have testified to the possession of a power of vision which transcends the limitations of the physical plane. The volumes of the Society for Psychical Research, both in their London and American branches, are filled with instances of supernormal cognition. If there be any who, in the face of the great mass of historical evidence, ancient and modern, still doubt the existence of that seership of which every man is heir, let him turn to those volumes and read there the carefully collected evidence, the scientifically-tested cases of clairvoyance, psychometry and second sight.
It is of interest to note that a most striking figure has recently appeared upon the stage of human life in the person of the young Hindu teacher and sage, J. Krishnamurti. He claims to speak from personal experience, from interior illumination, of the eternal verities which he travels over the world to expound. Many thousands are following him and see in him a new manifestation of the great Teacher of the world who last visited the world, as Jesus Christ, in Palestine.
I cannot do better than quote here from my book The Science of Seership: "The word 'psychic' is derived from the Greek word 'psyche', which means 'the soul.' Psychic faculties, therefore, are those pertaining to the soul; and 'soul' may be taken, broadly, to mean everything that is not body -the feeling, the thinking, the willing man, as distinct from the acting, or physical man. Since these faculties are the powers and capacities of the soul, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between the subtle and physical bodies, which are instruments, and the soul which uses them.
"Psychic faculties exist in embryo in every man -as also in every animal- and will one day be unfolded into their full and complete utmost importance if the seer is to understand what he sees. For example, clairvoyant vision of form and color, however beautiful and interesting it may be, is useless unless the seer also has the power to interpret his vision and to translate it into terms of physical, waking consciousness. Indeed, the actual seeing of form and color and the hearing of sounds is the least important part of seership. Special powers of comprehension and interpretation are far more valuable, and it must be admitted that the majority of clairvoyants, lacking this faculty, are in no way illumined by the things they see.
"In seeking to understand the rationale of the psychic faculties, we must remember that they are merely extensions of the range of the normal means of cognition. If we place a group of people before a spectrum which is the series of seven bands of color into which white light may be divided by being passed through a prism, an artificial "straight" rainbow, as it were and ask them to mark with a pencil the points where the red and violet rays end, we shall find that the limits of their vision at either end vary considerably. A clairvoyant is one who possesses a considerably wider range of vibratory response than is normal at the present stage of human evolution.
"There are two organs in the brain by means of which this extended vision is made possible. They are the pituitary body and the pineal gland. The latter is considered by medical science to be the atrophied remains of an organ which was active in the very early days of human evolution. That view is accepted by occult science, which adds that both these organs have also a function to fulfill in the future, when they will be employed as means of superphysical cognition, and says that their development may be hastened by the application of special methods. When psychically developed and active they give the power first to respond to additional physical wave lengths, and later, to superphysical vibrations.
"The analogy of wireless may help to a clearer comprehension of the subject, for clairvoyance is simply a question of tuning-in to wave lengths to which the sense organs and brain cannot normally respond. The pituitary body and the pineal gland are essential parts of the receiving mechanism, and they must be "charged" with a special type of energy appropriate to the function which they perform. The seer is able to "tune in" and see and hear on superphysical wave-lengths, and thus to transcend physical limitations."
In addition to the two glands in the physical brain there are special organs in the three vehicles [See "The Etheric Double", "The Astral Body",� "The Mental Body" by A. E. Powell ] of the personality which are essential to the development and use of psychic faculties.
These organs are called force centres or chakrams. For a detailed study of them and the forces by which they are made to function, the reader is referred to the illustrated monograph by C. W. Leadbeater upon the subject. ["The Chakrams," by C. W. Leadbeater. ] Chakram is a Sanscrit word which means a wheel and is applied to the force centres in the human bodies because they have the appearance of spinning vortices.
They are seven in number and are situated as follows:
When studying the diagrams which accompany this chapter it must be clearly understood that they are diagrammatic rather than exact pictorial representations of the superphysical sense organs which they portray.
If the head of a normal man is examined by etheric vision,� Prana, [Prana means vitality. See "The Etheric Double," by A. E. Powell. ] which appears as a golden-yellow stream, is seen to be flowing up the spinal cord into the head, where it spreads out like a golden rain to vitalize the whole of the contents of the skull, the skull itself, the scalp and the hair.
The etheric centres which correspond to the pituitary and pineal glands appear to etheric sight as small flames. A flow of prana passes round these centres and out at the top of the head through an embryonic etheric Brahmarandra chakram. The Ajna chakram, as yet unvivified, is faintly visible as an etheric tube filled with a pith-like etheric matter. Prana flows around and through it and is discharged through the undeveloped chakram.
The same is also true of the throat centre. Before these chakrams can consciously be employed as sense organs, the "serpent fire" or kundalini [See "The Chakrams," by C. W. Leadbeater. ] must be aroused and, by flowing through the proper channels, accompanied by its appropriate "vital airs," ida and pingala, must vivify the whole seven chakrams as it passes from the base of the spine, where it is normally stored, to the top of the head. On reaching the pituitary and pineal centres it polarizes them into positive and negative conditions and vivifies them into a hyper-active state in which they interact so closely that they become one centre which forms the heart or core of the Brahmarandra chakram which is thus evolved as a result.
If the head is examined after kundalini has been aroused, prana is still seen to be flowing as before, but is now accompanied by the fiery power of kundalini. The pituitary and pineal etheric centres are "alight" and a continuous interaction or "sparking" is taking place between them. The main stream of kundalini passes round and through them and out through the now-awakened Brahmarandra chakram or "Thousand-petalled Lotus," as it is called in the East. �The Ajna chakram is now more plainly visible, together with the etheric tube which is used for purposes of magnification and television. Kundalini also plays through the throat and Ajna chakrams and is discharged, together with a quantity of prang, into the air.
Although it is not part of our subject we may perhaps glance with interest at the seven major chakrams as they appear after kundalini has been aroused.
At the base of the spine the Muladhara chakram is seen projecting forwards towards the generative system which it is part of its function to supply with prana. In the heart of this chakram lies the "serpent Fire," kundalini, and there it sleeps throughout the ages until the time is ripe for it to be aroused. As it passes up the spine it vivifies in turn each of the chakrams thereby causing the etheric centres to be opened and channels to be made from the superphysical to the physical worlds, so providing conductors for superphysical vibrations. When it is thus aroused all the psychic powers are fully unfolded and become available for use whilst the man is awake in the physical body.
The danger of arousing kundalini prematurely is made obvious by this diagram, for unless the desire-nature has been purified and refined, and the neophyte has become "passion-proof," the fiery power may act downwards and intensify both the desire nature and the activity of the physical organs through which this nature finds expression.
The solar plexus chakram reaches almost to the periphery of the astral body; it is the receiving station for all subconscious emotional vibrations, which are conveyed by it to the physical nerve ganglion of the same name. Premature arousing of the etheric and astral solar plexus is productive of both physical and emotional disorders. Physically, the digestion is interfered with, and emotionally the sufferer is prone to be unduly affected by the feelings of others, he tends to reproduce them within himself without the power of self-protection, also to suffer from the incursion of astral entities and forces which in their turn produce nightmares, sudden panics, and, amongst other disorders, the disease known as "claustrophobia." [Irrational fear of enclosed places. ] At the present stage of evolution it is this chakram which is the most likely to produce ill-health through distortion of its shape, or interference with its proper function. Students are warned against all systems of psychic development which advise meditation on or in this centre.
Slightly above the solar plexus we see the spleen centre with its opening at the back and slightly to the left side of the body. Before vivification its sole function is the absorption, "digestion," assimilation and distribution of prana. It is the vital receiving and transmitting station of the body. Lowered vitality and nervous debility can frequently be traced to a failure in the functioning of this chakram. After "vivification" it gives the power to travel outside the physical body.
The next above this is the heart chakram which, in the spiritual neophyte, is one of the main channels through which flows the power of the intuitional worlds. This is the Mystic Rose of occult literature, the petals of which open only after the Christ-child has been born in the heart-or only after powers of intuition, compassion and of love have been developed to a certain degree and are finding an expression through physical life. Meditation in this centre is quite safe and is indeed a valuable means of developing and expressing the above qualities.
The throat chakram, when vivified, bestows the faculty of clairaudience; it is in close magnetic relationship with the Muladhara chakram and it is not unusual to find that disturbances of the creative organs and functions produce corresponding disorders of the throat which is the higher creative centre.
In the centre of the head we find that the etheric counterparts of the pituitary and� pineal glands have been combined into one glowing centre. The force of kundalini flows through and round this centre and passes out through the Brahmarandra chakram, which is in the region of the physical anterior fontanelle. Rising from the pituitary body the Ajna chakram can be seen with its opening between and slightly above the eyes. The vivification of the Ajna chakram at the etheric and astral levels, gives the power of clairvoyance. When the Brahmarandra is fully formed, the ego possesses the power to withdraw from and return to the physical body at will, without a break in consciousness occurring.
The man is probably now an initiate of the Great White Brotherhood of Adepts, and rapidly travelling towards adeptship at� which stage he will have become "perfect, as his Father in heaven is perfect." Thus he will have achieved the complete and perfect expression of all the powers and attributes of his divinity on all the planes of nature he has evolved.CLAIRVOYANCE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RESEARCH
I have dealt fully with this subject in my forthcoming work "The Science of Seership" (Rider 8c Co.) and in this booklet have quoted freely from that volume. The interested reader is directed to the larger work for more detailed information upon the various branches of the subject touched upon in this book.The vital forces and the consciousness of minerals and plants may be discovered and studied, so that remedies may be applied which are exactly appropriate to the nature of the disease.
A vast field of useful research is open, therefore, to the clairvoyant student of health and disease. In astronomy, the relation of the planets to each other and to the sun, the play of the electro-magnetic energies between and through them, the relation of the solar system to the universe of which it is a part, the plan by which their ordered development proceeds -all these may be studied by the clairvoyant student of astronomy.
The life side of nature, the hidden energies behind the mineral, the plant, the animal and man, the divine impetus which urges for ward the evolution of the whole may be studied and understood.
The great principles by means of which all will, ultimately, reach that standard of perfection, which the Great Architect and Master Scientist has planned that they should reach, may be studied. The governing laws may be observed and taught to all the intelligent denizens of the world which He has made.
The other great kingdoms of nature to which conscious beings belong, now come within the seer's range. The mighty orders of the angelic hosts, our invisible neighbors in the solar system, may be seen, contacted and their co-operation won. They are the great engineers of nature, who manipulate the flowing forces of which all manifested worlds consist. By their office, the relatively blind energies of nature are intelligently directed to the fulfillment of the divine will. From such contact, powerful and wise allies may be gained, both in the laboratory and study, as also in the consulting room, the hospital and operating theatre.
It may perhaps be of interest to touch upon the method of approach to the subject of the life after death, which distinguishes the trained clairvoyant from the spiritualistic medium. As stated in my book, The Science of Seership, the student of occultism approaches the question of life after death in a strictly scientific attitude of mind. He knows that no demonstrable proof of communication between the living and the so-called dead, which will survive scientifically applied tests, can be given. Yet he believes both in the life after death and in the possibility of communication between incarnate and discarnate beings.
His methods of investigation are directly opposed to those of the spiritualist. His knowledge is the result of personal experience, and not second, third, or even fourth-hand, as when a medium, guide and intermediate intelligences are employed for the purposes of investigation. The occult student believes that such methods, even at their very best, cannot possibly produce evidence which will stand the test of scientific enquiry. The sorrowing and forlorn may gain satisfaction, comfort and consolation by these methods, but they are in no way suited to serious investigation.
Before I proceed to outline the alternative methods of occultism, may I devote a little space to my reasons for these somewhat sweeping statements concerning those of spiritualism?
Let us examine the claims of the spiritualist, made in support of his belief in the continuance of life and consciousness after death, and in the possibility of communication between the living and the dead.
He says, at best, that through the guide of a certain medium -a person of the highest morality and of scrupulous honesty, who had never met or heard of him before- he received a communication concerning matters with which only one other person in the world was conversant, and of which the medium could not possibly have been aware. Further, he claims that the other person was deceased and that the guide, speaking through the medium, gave his name or initials, as the real communicator from the unseen. Later, perchance, this individual himself entered the medium, displayed certain peculiar tricks of manner and traits of character which were personal to him, and communicated further material which was known only to the two people concerned �the deceased, and his living friend. He asserts that such demonstrations have been multiplied indefinitely, and, in fact, are the common experience of practically every spiritualist.
Such an event, as the one here described, is undoubtedly startling, calculated to shake the confidence of the most hardened skeptic, and to introduce a predisposition in favor of acceptance into the most unprejudiced mind. Yet, it is the contention of the occultist that it does not contain one shred of evidence upon which an opinion could justly be based.
There are many facts which can be adduced in support of this somewhat drastic statement. Two or three will be sufficient to indicate reasons for the unreliability of spiritualistic methods as a guide to the truth in this matter.
First, a mildly developed clairvoyance or telepathy and a fair gift of mimicry would quite easily enable the medium to elicit the information from the memory of the sitter, and to give a reasonably good imitation of the manner of his friend. Second, assuming that the medium does not possess either of these gifts, it is well within the power of any discarnate entity who may be in the neighborhood or of such a one as may have attached himself to the medium as "guide," to obtain the information and to mimic the deceased through the medium's entranced body. Such a manifestation may satisfy an unscientific observer and even console a sorrowing relative but neither has any proof that the supposed communicator is actually present.
It follows, therefore, that however conclusive such a manifestation may appear to be, it is never reliable, never trustworthy, unless the sitter himself can see the communicator. If he can do this, then all need for an intermediary vanishes, for the communication can be made direct and in full waking consciousness. If, then, the seer's power of vision is of a sufficiently skilled order to prevent his being deceived by a set of circumstances similar to those which I have described -and this is quite possible- then he has obtained for himself proof of the life after death.
This brings me back to the method of the occultist, for whom nothing less than such direct personal proof is conclusive. There is a great gulf fixed between second-hand information and first-hand knowledge. The latter, alone, is capable of withstanding all tests and remaining unshaken.
What then is the method of the occultist? Just as the fact of three-dimensional existence can never be demonstrated to a two-dimensional being, so discarnate life can never be demonstrated to a being in the flesh. If, however, we postulate that the two-dimensional being possesses a three-dimensional extension of himself, of the existence of which he is entirely unaware; that he is really a three-dimensional being, but, at the present stage of his evolution, is only using two-dimensional consciousness, while his three-dimensional power lies dormant or latent; then it will follow that, in his normal state, he cannot possibly comprehend three-dimensional existence; he can only observe its two-dimensional manifestations, and these are so imperfect and partial that no conclusive evidence can possibly arise from a study of them. There will always be the great unknown and unknowable behind, as it were. He may attempt to study this unknown, through the known, may learn much of interest, even of value, but nothing conclusive can ever emerge; the real facts can never enter his two-dimensional mind.
Let us further assume that it is possible for the latent three-dimensional portion of this being to be prematurely awakened; that it may be forced, by the application of known laws, as a horticulturist forces a plant.
The two-dimensional being will then become capable of observing three-dimensional phenomena. Gradually he could perfect his ability to function in the three-dimensional world, and could then meet and study its denizens on equal terms. Under these conditions it becomes possible for him to obtain conclusive knowledge for himself.
Occultism teaches that every man has a vehicle of consciousness and appropriate organs of cognition by means of which he can study the invisible worlds and such intelligences as dwell therein. The only satisfactory and final test of their existence is that applied by the trained occultist. Applying age-long knowledge and experience, he unfolds and learns to use the necessary faculties. He awakens the latent seership, to which every man is heir, and by its means is enabled to explore the regions beyond the portal of death.
This is not the place to attempt a statement of the results of such investigations; but, in conclusion, I may say that the knowledge so gained places death in its rightful place as an incident which marks the translation of human consciousness from one plane of manifestation and growth to another, and which differs from sleep only in that the translation is permanent. During sleep we temporarily enter the after-death world, and there meet our departed friends and relations whenever we choose. At death we join them permanently, until the time comes for us to pass still further onwards to the next stage in the cycle of life and development.
Eventually man withdraws from active manifested existence and passes through a period in which all the experience and faculties, resulting from the cycle which has just closed, are converted into capacity and character. When this process is complete a new cycle opens. Again he descends into manifested worlds and is born of woman, to complete once more a pilgrimage through matter, further developing the faculties he already possesses and at the same time acquiring new powers and new knowledge. Thus is he laying up for himself those "treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt." (St. Matt. 6:20.)
In the end all lessons are learned, all powers unfolded, and all knowledge gained. Here the outgoing ceases, for there is no longer need for experience in the flesh. New fields of evolution open up before the perfected man; higher peaks are then to be climbed, wider powers to be attained. For these no earthly form is needed, for "him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out."��� (Rev. 3:12.)
Such, briefly stated, is the field open to each and all who will take the necessary trouble to train and perfect themselves in the development of their interior powers. One day, all men will possess them; all life will be lived according to the dictates of the higher knowledge which they will place within the hand of man-then, the interior and essential unity of all life, will be observed facts-first-hand knowledge to all men. Faith will then be founded upon first-hand experience and be no longer blind; the facts of religion will become recognized as fundamental realities of life. Then, and then alone, will mankind enter the Golden Age, which has been promised him by those seers of the past and present whose prophetic vision revealed the coming of the millennium to man.
Where
is the Land of Luthany,
Where is the tract of Elenore?
I am bound therefor.
"Pierce
thy heart to find the key;
With thee take
Only what none else would keep;
Learn to dream when thou dost wake,
Learn to wake when thou dost sleep;
Learn' to water joy with tears,
Learn from fears to vanquish fears,
To hope, for thou dar'st not despair,
Exult, for that thou dar'st not grieve;
Plough thou the rock until it bear;
Know, for thou else couldst not believe
Lose, that the lost thou may'st receive;
Die, for none other way canst live.
When
earth and heaven lay down their veil,
And that apocalypse turns thee pale;
When thy seeing blindeth thee
To what thy fellow-mortals see;
Their living, death; their light, most lightless;
Search no more -
Pass the gates of Luthany, tread the region Elenore."
Where
is the land of Luthahy,
And where the region Elenore?
I do faint therefor.
XXII
"When
to the new eyes of thee
All things by immortal power, Near or far,
Hiddenly
To each other linked are,
That thou canst not stir a flower
Without troubling of a star;
When thy song is shield and mirror
To the fair snake-curled Pain,
Where thou dar'st affront her terror
That on her thou may'st attain
Persean conquest; seek no more,
O seek no more!
Pass the gates of Luthany, tread the region Elenore."
Francis Thompson.
THE CLAIRVOYANT STUDY OF MOTHERHOOD
IN ORDER that the ideas which I am about to put forward may be more easily understood, I propose to present a brief statement of their place in the fundamental philosophy upon which they are based. The purpose of human existence in the flesh -according to this philosophy- is that of growth. As a result of repeated incarnations in human form, the immortal Spirit, which is Man, eventually attains to a standard of perfection which has been set for him by that Major Intelligence of which he is at once a projection and a part.
Each incarnation in the flesh is in reality a fifth part or stage of a cycle of existence. This cycle opens at the time when the immortal Spirit, which is man clothed in that undying principle which the Greeks called the Shining Augoeides, under the impulse of the divine will, feels a thirst for wider powers of self-expression and an urge to enter new fields of evolution. Under that impulse, he projects a portion of himself, downward. As I shall seek to explain later, assisted by certain intelligent agents of the Logos he builds for himself vehicles of expression in the worlds of thought, of feeling and of physical matter. When the process of building is sufficiently advanced, he is born as a helpless infant and enters upon the physical stage of the life cycle. After that stage is completed, the process of descent is reversed. The physical body is cast off, its material disintegrates, and the man then finds himself functioning in his emotional body; that vehicle, in its turn, wears out and is laid aside, leaving the man with no vehicle of consciousness lower than the mental level. Likewise the mental body eventually disintegrates, and that portion of himself which was put forth at the beginning of the life cycle is then withdrawn, bearing with it in terms of memory and capacity the products of all the experiences through which the man has passed.
Then follows a gestatory period, during which all experiences are translated into faculty, into powers and gifts, and are added to those which have already been developed in previous life cycles. When that stage is over the thirst for new experience is felt once more, and the process is repeated over and over again until the time when every possible power has been unfolded, every human lesson learned. All necessity for birth has then been transcended and a new phase of unfoldment begins: man enters the superhuman fields of evolution, continuing there his long pilgrimage back to That from which he came.
Such is the story of the prodigal son, who is man: such is the philosophic basis for the ideas which I am about to expound. They are not put forward in the least as dogmatic assertions, but rather as suggestions to provoke thought and to provide a possible explanation of many things which are difficult of comprehension without them. They represent the age-old teachings of the Ancient Wisdom tested and examined by the occult researches of an unbroken succession of investigators into nature's hidden mysteries.
The faculty used in such researches is that known in modern days� -as clairvoyance. By "clairvoyance," I do not in the least wish to imply conditions of mediumship, trance or any of the supposed phenomena surrounding the spiritualistic concept of psychic powers. I refer to the positively controlled seership which is latent in every man, and is awakened in the few. This power is capable of being developed into that sixth-or even seventh-sense which, one day, all humanity will possess and which, by the application of certain principles, can be aroused in advance of the time of its normal evolution. (I have written of this subject in The Science of Seership and must refer the interested student to that book for further elucidation of this engrossing subject.)
Clairvoyant research-applied to the processes of birth and death-discloses the fact that amid the myriad of atoms of which the three mortal bodies of man are composed, there is one in each of them which does not share in the general dissipation of material which occurs at death. It is an essential part of the mechanism of incarnation and plays a most important part in the life cycle referred to above. These three permanent atoms -the physical, emotional and mental- are attached to the ego or spiritual man by a thread of light, and they become the store-house of all the experiences through which the man passes in each of his three vehicles. All these experiences are indelibly implanted upon these atoms in terms of power of vibratory response. Nothing that happens to the man is ever lost, but is permanently imprinted upon the atoms of which his bodies are composed.
We may picture, then, the opening of the life cycle-at which point the ego is making ready to plunge, once more, down into the material worlds, in search of knowledge and of power. Hanging below him on a glowing golden thread are his three permanent atoms, each quiescent during the gestatory period, but now answering to the thrill of his life, as he turns his attention outwards to the lower worlds.
Under that impulse each becomes a magnet, and draws towards itself material appropriate to the type of vibrations which it is emitting. By this means, as the months of prenatal life are passing, an agglomeration of matter is gathered around the three permanent atoms and is gradually organized into a vehicle of consciousness -one in each of the three lower worlds. This attraction of material appears to be governed by electromagnetic laws, and the result of it is that each vehicle is built of matter which is exactly appropriate to the development and needs of the man himself. It follows, therefore, that injustice is impossible, and the bodies with which we are equipped represent absolute justice for each one of us.
This process, however, is not entirely automatic; for clairvoyant observation reveals the presence of intelligent beings who are guarding and guiding the growing vehicles.
It is necessary, at this point, to explain, briefly, the nature of such intelligences and their place in nature.
One of the most striking results which follow the awakening of the clairvoyant faculty, is the discovery of the fact that the human race is not the only order of intelligences using this planet and solar system as an evolutionary field. In addition to the growing mineral, vegetable, animal and human consciousness, there exist many other orders of beings evolving side by side with the known occupants of our planet and mingling, in varying degree, with them. One such race is that called -in the East- by the name of Devas, which means Shining Ones -so called because the bodies of its members are built of material which is self-luminous. These "Shining Ones" are the angels of the Christian Scriptures, and they constitute a parallel stream of evolution, existing side by side with the stream to which we belong, and though normally invisible, very closely associated with ourselves.
I have not time to dwell long on this subject, but would refer those interested to my books: The Brotherhood of Angels and of Men and The Angelic Hosts. For our present purpose it is sufficient to say that the body used by both the human and the angelic races is apparently taken from the same model; for angels appear with human forms, human faces; their expression differs from our own, however, in that their countenances are stamped with a superhuman beauty and "other-worldliness."
To return to our subject, members of this race were found to be assisting in the processes of human birth. As a rule, it would appear that at least three members of the angelic hierarchy are present from the time of the opening of the life cycle. One of these operates from the higher mental level and is in possession of full knowledge concerning the karmic situation of the ego about to incarnate; he co-operates with his subordinates at the lower mental and emotional levels, and passes on to them sufficient knowledge of the particular aspect and measure of karma which is to be worked out in the forthcoming incarnation.
An understanding of their work will, perhaps, best be grasped from a brief account of the activities of the deva working at the emotional level. The function of this being is to supervise the construction of the astral, etheric and physical bodies. In the pursuance of his tasks he continually endeavors to produce the best possible result which the karma of the individual will permit. For the most part, he achieves this by enclosing the growing forms within his own aura, allowing his own potent and vivid life-force to play upon, purify and vitalize them: by this means, also, he insulates both mother and child -particularly the latter- from the effects of external adverse circumstances, maternal shocks, emotional disturbances and inharmonious psychic environment. He remains in this close contact up to the very moment of delivery, watching the increase in the size and development of the bodies, taking advantage of every favorable circumstance and serving as a channel for the force of his hierarchy to the embryo. In addition, he pays the greatest attention to the process of linking the consciousness of the ego with that of his vehicles. The extremely fine adjustment that is necessary for the perfect working of the superphysical and physical mechanism of consciousness is brought about by his agency.
No great effort of imagination is needed to realize how strenuous and important the work of this deva must so often be in the crowded areas of great cities where, frequently, both parents are addicted to vices. The child itself is unwanted and the psychic environment is coarse and vicious in the extreme. The wonder is that under such conditions the miracle of birth can possibly occur; yet such is the adaptability of nature and the work of the angels that splendid bodies continue to be born in spite of these conditions.
The etheric and physical bodies are built by a dual process: this is partly automatic and partly the product of the semi-intelligent activity of a number of subordinate workers called nature-spirits. These tiny beings, who stand on the lower rungs of the angelic� adder of evolution, fulfill the office of builder in our worlds of form as constructed by them. The methods by which they work are so interesting that it is worth while describing them in some detail.
At the formation of the zygote or first cell, from which the foetus develops, and the attachment of the permanent atom, a distinctive vibration is emitted from that composite body. This vibration belongs to the order of sound; though not physically audible it is occultly discernible, and is seen to produce the following effects
1. The insulation of the sphere of influence within which the building operations are to occur.
2. The magnetization or specialization of all material within that sphere.
3. The production of an etheric form which is the mould into which the new body is to be built.
4. The calling of appropriate nature-spirit builders (i. e., those on that particular wave-length).
These builders, called by the fundamental note of their own nature, enter the insulated sphere; they find within it an atmosphere peculiarly suited to them, in which they can conveniently work, and material which has been magnetized to the same wave-length as themselves -as a result of the original emitted vibrations. They then work like a hive of bees: they absorb this material, assimilate it and implant upon it still more definitely their own specific vibration, and then deposit it in and around the growing form.� The position which this material assumes is governed by the lines of force which represent, etherically, the shape and structure of the body-to-be. Free matter is also being attracted into position by similar laws. As the different types of tissue are to be constructed such as bone, nerve, brain, muscle, etc., further modification of the original vibration is emitted and governs both the choice of material and its arrangement in the body.
The foundation on which the body is built, as also the planet and solar system, is not a foundation of solid matter, but of flowing electro-magnetic energies. Just as man reaches the standard of perfection set for him by association with and mastery of matter, so the angelic hosts reach their goal by association with and manipulation of these flowing energies and forces of the solar system. In the process which I have just previously described, we see them at work. When the eighth month is reached, a change begins to occur in the appearance of the emotion-deva ; gradually the semblance of a bright blue cloak is to be seen covering his head and shoulders as he assumes more and more the likeness of the Madonna. The astral, etheric and physical bodies are held by him within a tender and reverent embrace: the blue mantle rests upon the mother, and to those who can see, a vision of wondrous beauty is revealed as this change becomes more and more marked.
I use the masculine for convenience only; the deva is a-sexual.
Investigation shows that this remarkable phenomenon is the result of the work of the feminine aspect of the Deity, of Whom all women are representatives and in Whose service every mother officiates. This aspect of the Logos has been represented on our planet by a succession of great Beings, known to the ancients under various names -such as Isis, Ishtar, Venus and, in our own times, the Virgin Mother of our Lord.
Understanding of the work of this aspect of the Deity may be helped, perhaps, by consideration of one mode of its action on our planet. It would appear that there is a department in the great Hierarchy of Perfected Beings -Who guide and guard the evolution of life and form upon earth and are known as the Great White Brotherhood- which is concerned with the feminine aspect of existence, and particularly with maternity. At the head of that department is a great Being known as the World Mother, who is assisted in Her work by countless hosts of angelic beings. These serve as Her representatives at every human birth and, ultimately, by a process which is somewhat difficult of comprehension She, Herself, is manifested in every chamber of birth. Just as Our Lord is said to be present on a thousand altars at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and yet to be one and indivisible, so is the World Mother present at every birth and yet remains Her own most glorious and wondrous Self. She broods over the women of the race, guarding, guiding and inspiring them; sharing their sufferings and their joys. She stands beside every human mother, enduring with her the pangs of birth, helping in the great expansion of consciousness which comes to every woman at this time, and turning every chamber of birth into a sanctuary in the Temple of Motherhood.
We are told that on these occasions she is seeking to awaken mankind to a higher conception of womanhood, marriage and parenthood. She is calling for those who will serve Her in bringing about reforms in these departments of human life, which are so necessary for the well-being and future development of the race.
A vast field of research is awaiting the investigators of the future. The help which is now given by the angels to man is at present received all unconsciously by him; the presence of our Blessed Lady by the mother's side, though sometimes revealed and realized, is, for the most part, unknown. The time approaches, however, when the scales will fall from the eyes of men and they will see: seeing, they will learn to co-operate, to work consciously and intelligently with the great forces and beings with whom they are so intimately associated in the working out of their own destiny and in the fulfillment of the divine plan.
That day is drawing near, and the veil which hides these inner worlds
from our eyes is already growing thinner. A wonderful opportunity
is now being offered to us all to enter these worlds; so that we may
be armed with the wider knowledge which we shall gain from them and
thus render ourselves more useful in the service of our fellow men.
IT MAY be asked whether my lecture is designed for children or for adults, for the title certainly suggests that the subject matter will be more suitable for the former.� In spite of that fact, however, I propose to put before you, in all seriousness, an account of the denizens of fairyland which will very closely resemble the narration of an explorer concerning the inhabitants of a newly-discovered land.
You may ask, on hearing this, whether I seriously believe that there is a basis of fact behind the folk lore of all nations of the world concerning the existence of invisible intelligences associated with nature. My reply is most definitely in the affirmative; and I might well base it upon the fact of the persistence and universality of these legends and myths of all peoples of the earth, both ancient and modern, saying that wherever there is a persistent legend there is always a basis of truth, and arguing that legends, myths and folk lore form the most reliable history, when once the key to their interpretation has been discovered and applied.
Or I might draw attention to the fact that large numbers of people have had first-hand experience of these invisible intelligences of various orders and degrees, their evidence forming a great body of individual testimony. I do not, however, base my answer upon these alone, but upon actual explorations of fairyland which I myself have attempted.
By what method may such explorations be made, and how may we test the truth or otherwise of the testimony to which I have just referred? Only by scientific methods of investigation, and until we have, each one of us, fitted ourselves for, and carried out, such investigations, we surely had best withhold our opinion upon the subject, and silence well becomes us.
Let us consider first how we may investigate the kingdom of faerie, study the little folks of nature, enter their world and discover their appearance, habits and methods of evolution. Why are they normally invisible? Modern science immediately provides us with two possible answers to that question; one, "Because their vibratory rate may differ so largely from our own that we are unable to contact them"; two, "Because they may be occupying another dimension of space; they may be living in a fourth, fifth, sixth or even seventh dimension."
With regard to the first of these answers, we know that there are many rates of vibration beyond the range of our normal physical senses, and we are witnessing the gradual extension of that range by means of scientific instruments. The invisible X-rays, N-rays, ultra-violet, infra-red and cosmic rays have all been detected by means of mechanical detectors, though, as yet, there have been no instruments devised which have picked up the fairy wave-length.
How, then, can we become conscious of the invisible fairy rays? Though, eventually, science may succeed in developing machines of such delicacy and refinement as to enable the operator to contact worlds and intelligences at present invisible to us, it is more reasonable, and more immediately practical, to assume that man possesses within himself the means of cognition necessary to the attainment of that result.
Man himself is far from being fully developed. We have no reason for concluding that the present five senses mark the limit of his development of means of cognition; there may be a sixth, seventh and still higher senses latent within man, waiting to be developed.
Even now, we all differ in our power of response to various rates of vibration. Many men can hear sounds which are pitched too high to be audible to others with less sensitive ears. If we place a number of people before the band of the spectrum, and ask them to mark the point at which their vision of the band ceases, we shall find that some see much further than others, both at the ultra-violet and infra-red ends.
This variation seems to suggest the possibility of extension still further beyond the normal. In fact, the name of clairvoyance has been given to all such extension into the realm of super-normal cognition.
I am aware that it is not easy for the practical, and still less so for the scientific mind to acknowledge the findings of clairvoyants as worthy of recognition. The subject is, unfortunately, surrounded by an atmosphere which is repellant to the scientific mind. But I would draw attention to the fact that there is a type of clairvoyance which does not demand darkness, sitting in circles, mediumship or trance for its manifestation; that man does possess a faculty which, if developed and used, is of the utmost value in scientific investigation. It is with this faculty-and this faculty alone-that reliable research into the invisible worlds can be made.
To the second answer, concerning the dimensions of space and the statement that there exist an infinite number of dimensions, it may well be objected that there is no evidence for more than three; and that while accepting the mathematical theory, we are, by no means, obliged to admit as fact that which cannot be tested by means of our normal senses. In reply to this quite legitimate objection, one might say that we do, in fact, accept a great many theoretical statements of scientists which cannot be tested by the senses as actual facts. Examples of this are the existence of such everyday conceptions as that of the atom, the electron and the vitamin.�No one has ever seen these bodies, and there are, at present, no instruments delicate enough to photograph or magnify them sufficiently to render them visible. Yet we accept the statements of science that the apparently solid objects, with which we are surrounded, are not solid at all; that they consist of a countless number of ultramicroscopic bodies called atoms, and, despite their apparent solidity and density, no two of their constituent atoms are actually touching; each, in fact, is vibrating in its own magnetic field.
In the circumstances, we shall do no violence to our reason if we admit the possibility of the existence of higher dimensions of space than those with which we are normally familiar. The answer of the mathematician, concerning the existence of a higher dimension, may best be understood by the non-mathematical mind if we consider, for a moment, the limitations of a two-dimensional being when endeavoring to understand three-dimensional phenomena. Living on a surface, having length and breadth but no thickness, he can only contact such portions of objects as pass through his flat plane of existence. A pencil, for example, passed vertically through that plane, would be visible to him as a flat disc, for he would see only that part of it which was on his plane and would know nothing of its existence above and below.
Mathematically, there are an infinite number of dimensions, and it is not impossible that the evolution of man will be found to consist of the gradual increase in the number of dimensions in which he is able to function.
If we postulate that man himself is far more than the physical body, which we know, and that he has extensions into an infinite number of dimensions, then we can see that it would be possible for him gradually to develop the power to manifest in an increasing number of dimensions of space. At this point, the two answers would seem to meet; and we have a definition of supernormal cognition which is that it enables its observer to see and hear upon wave lengths beyond the normal rate, and to function in dimensions of space in which man is not yet accustomed to live.
The information which I am about to put before you, concerning fairies, nature-spirits and angels, has been gained by attempts to employ that supernormal cognition for purposes of research.
What does the explorer find when he steps out of the third dimension into the fourth? What does the receiving set within his brain convey to him when he tunes in to the wave lengths of fairyland?
An important fact which he immediately discovers in his first attempt to cross the frontier is that there is no necessity for any motion through space or for travel to far-distant lands for the purposes of his exploration. Fairyland is here-in our gardens, fields, woodlands and landscapes. The change which is needed is not of place, not of geographical area, but of consciousness. He withdraws his attention from the physical worlds and directs it towards the superphysical.
Most probably the first phenomenon which will become apparent to him is that the numbers of the inhabitants of fairyland are infinitely greater than those of our own physical earth. The air is seen to be filled with countless millions of beauteous beings of varying stature, power and intelligence. The earth, now transparent to the explorer's gaze, is a densely populated world. Lake, pool, river, stream, ocean and cloud have their appropriate inhabitants; while a slight change in the focus of consciousness shows that all about him is a sensation of the presence of fire, of the roaring of flames and the near approach of the spirits of the fire. Let us with the mind of the explorer examine these four great races of superphysical beings in some detail. Each race is at once seen to consist of a graded order of intelligences, with very lowly-evolved creatures at the level of the infusoria, insect, bird, at one end of the scale of their existence, and the most glorious and splendid spiritual intelligences, far outshining man in power, and knowledge, at the other.
Playing on the earth round his feet, passing in and out of the tree trunks, roots and branches, will be seen tribes of little men, known in folk lore as brownies, kobolds, elves and pixies, closely resembling the traditional figures which those names denote. An air of business surrounds the brownie men. For the most part, their work is an imitation of the activities of such primitive men as they have been able to contact and observe. They dig and delve and frequently carry in their belts tiny tools such as shovels, picks, axes and pincers which they materialize by thought-power, and which last as long as their attention is focused upon them. Their intelligence is just about at the level of the chicken; they are actuated by a group consciousness and communicate in gruff tones, somewhat resembling the language of the country in which they live and practically impossible to translate. The real communication, as with all their brethren of fairyland, is by a system of thought-transference.
Deep down in the depths of the earth, huge etheric earth creatures are to be found. These differ, in a striking way, from all their brethren, in that they are not beautiful according to human standards. The gnome is the most unattractive of all the nature-spirits; his body appears to be made of some dark brown spongy substance, resembling peat; his limbs are loose and disproportionately long; his feet end in a point and his arms have the appearance of a closed fist. He is thin, his face is cadaverous, his eyes are deep sunk and slanting and upon his face is a weird and somewhat learing grin. He is generally unclothed and may be seen in open moorland, mountainsides and sometimes on newly-ploughed fields, floating or drifting with loosely-hanging limbs, just above the surface of the ground. He varies in height, from six to eight inches up to twelve or fifteen feet according to his evolutionary standing. There would seem to be a principle that the stature of the nature spirit increases in proportion to his evolutionary progress, the most highly evolved angels being of colossal stature. A height of thirty feet is not uncommon in the higher ranks of the angelic hosts.
If we follow the race of the spirits of the earth until we reach those standing on the higher rungs of their ladder of life, we observe the angels of woods, fields, mounds, hills, mountains and mountain-ranges and of vast landscapes. These have grown out of the relative uncouthness of the nature-spirit of earth and in their angelhood or individualized state are beautiful in the extreme; they ensoul the district which they have adopted or of which they have been put in charge, and they labor to quicken the evolution of the form and the unfolding of the consciousness of all things within the area of their influence.
The greatest of these Great Ones is that mysterious and inscrutable Being who is known as the Spirit of the Earth, who is said to ensoul the whole planet with His life and to be responsible to the Solar Logos for certain aspects of the evolution of the planet.
All the physical planets of a solar system are said similarly to be ensouled, while there is also one mighty Being Who is in charge of all the physical globes of a solar system and whose Subordinates are the Spirits of the Planets and Their lesser Brethren. This Hierarchy reaches right up to the Spirit of the Sun itself-a mighty Being of inconceivable splendor and power.
Of the element of earth it is said that it provides the quality of stability to the solar system; it is the mighty fulcrum by means of which the solar forces, sent forth outwards in their vitalizing and quickening mission throughout the whole wide confines of the universe, obtain the resistance and the leverage essential to the fulfillment of their tasks. All these varied phenomena the explorer may examine at his leisure and, as will be seen, vast fields of research lie open for his investigation.
While the spirits of earth are definitely masculine in their character, although a-sexual, the spirits of the water present for the most part a definitely feminine appearance. If the explorer wanders beside the flowing river or gazes at the waterfall with opened eyes, he will see most beautifully modelled roseate female human forms reveling in the vital forces of the cataract, hanging poised in the spray, rejoicing in the bright sunlight and ever and anon plunging downwards into the pool below. The water spirits are of many degrees, from the tiny nymphs, undines and nereids of the lesser pools and streams, up to the stately water queens of the larger rivers, who may be seen, madonna-like, serene and lovely, floating over the green meadowland or hovering high in the air above a river's source.
The nature-spirits of the sea differ some what from their fresh-water sisters, they are more active, more vital and less definitely feminine in appearance and character. On the whole, they are somewhat less easy to contact and communicate with. Far out at sea huge etheric monsters are to be seen, and, on rare occasions, glimpses may be had of the old sea gods riding on their strange shell-like chariots, and closely resembling the classical figures of Neptune and his court.
The large rivers, such as the Thames, the Severn and the great continental rivers, also have their gods, who may be seen rising and descending above and below the surface of their river homes.
The clouds, too, are peopled by a race closely resembling the water queens and the undines, though partaking also sometimes of the appearance of the spirits of the air.
Water is said to be the great conducting element of Nature, the conveying medium on every plane for certain aspects of the energy of the Solar Logos.
Let the explorer in thought leap outwards from the clouds, high into the air, and he will instantly find himself surrounded by countless hosts of sylphs or spirits of air. Marvellously dynamic creatures these, charged to the full with the vitality of their elements. They may be seen flying, floating, shooting, diving, combining in large companies to perform the aerial gambols in which they engage as they swiftly sweep down "the long savannahs of the blue," as Francis Thompson so beautifully called the aerial fields of space.
These, too, are of many ranks, and if he descends once more to earth and enters some fair garden full of flowers, he will find that every plant has its fairy attendant -the fairy of the fairy tale- the winged maiden, the lovely fairy queen.
If he watches, he will see the fairy hover near her charge and ever and anon descend into the very heart of the plant or clump of flowers, lose her fairy shape and become spread out as it were, as an essence pervading every cell of stem, leaf, tendril and of flower. In this state she is pouring her own life forces into those of the flower, quickening its growth beautifying and, in some measure, guiding its form and giving an added thrill of conscious existence to the life force which is evolving within. As thus she labors, she herself evolves, and gradually is liberated from her joyful service to the flowers and shares the freedom of the upper air with her elder brethren, the sylphs.
A curious phenomenon is presented here, in that her appearance is distinctly female, but when angelhood is entered, the masculine tends to predominate.
In the higher ranks of the spirits of the air we find the mighty aerial lords, the gods of power, the angels of sound, the gandharvase of the Hindu. These mighty ones are the external embodiment of the power of the word of God. In their world all life is expressed in terms of sound; every being, every form, has its appropriate sound; every idea, every thought, gives forth its song. This world may be thought of as the kingdom of music, a universe of harmony, the veritable apotheosis of the power of sound.
Vast throngs of these glorious beings inhabit that wondrous world, singing, playing and chanting throughout eternity. Vast oratories, glorious symphonies, ever praising, worshipping and adoring the Creator of Whose outflowing life and beauty They are the conscious embodiments. Echoes of the music of that world of sound find their way down to the dull ears of man, and at times favored human beings become the direct and inspired channels of the music of the Lords of Sound.
By their music, the angels of sound manipulate, and direct and control the mighty forces of the creative Word, ever shaping the forms of the solar system nearer and nearer to the archetype in the Creator's mind; ever attuning His many worlds nearer and nearer to the perfect sound -the note which He sings eternally, and which eventually must be echoed from all the forms which He has made. He works by the law of resonance, governs by the rule of rhythm, creates and unfolds by the power of sound. The aerial lords, with their subordinates, are His intelligent lieutenants in this aspect of His vast activities.
From the aerial heights, let the explorer descend deep into the centre of the earth, where he will find raging a mighty fire, a portion of the primal flame which forms the planet's solar heart. Amid the flames, vast fire spirits work -for this is the laboratory of the planet, and here labors the chemist and the physicist aspect of God. Here dwells and works unceasingly the power of the Holy Ghost.
Every fire on earth is a reflection of the solar fire which burns within the centre of the planet, and is but a manifestation of the fire aspect of the solar system life.
Fire spirits exist in many grades, from the salamander of the fire on the hearth, through the larger fire spirits of the great conflagrations, the burning prairies and forest lands and up to the mighty fiery sun itself where dwell the solar fire lords. Between the lowest and the highest, countless millions of fire spirits stand, ever laboring in the service of fire. The function of their element is to regenerate, transform and renew, ever to produce change; to resist and destroy stagnation and to ensure a steady and continuous growth.
Such, briefly, are four of the great races of the denizens of fairyland whom the explorer will meet. Variations in type and appearance occur in different parts of the world. Each country and even departments in a country has its typical nature-spirit and angelic life.
Outside these four races, many other orders may be found. In the Bible we are taught of the nine orders of angels, and even these do not include them all -for they are as numerous as the sands of the seashore.
At various epochs in the history of human life, the veil which hides them from our sight grows thin and angels walk with men. There have been periods in each of the great civilizations of the past when communication and co-operation between angels and men have been employed for the fulfilment of the divine plan and for the perfecting of the civilization concerned.
Many seers and mystics believe that we are once more approaching such an epoch; that even now the angels are standing on the threshold of human life, waiting to enter in. Their beauty, their power, their splendor and their knowledge are at the disposal of those who will prepare themselves to work with them. There is no field of humanitarian endeavor in which their co-operation may not usefully be attained. The healers of men, the medical scientist, the priest, the physician and the nurse, may learn to invoke their fiery and vital energy for the healing of the sick; may call upon the great race of healing angels, under the Archangel Raphael, who is their head, to descend into the sickrooms, nursing homes, hospitals and asylums of men and to flood the sufferers with their vital energy and fill them with their healing power and love.
The horticulturist and agriculturist may gain the aid of the nature-spirit and angel builders of form upon our planet, and by conscious co-operation, evolve new examples of floral beauty, may develop cereals, vegetables and fruits more nutritious and life-giving, by the angels' aid.
The
climate of the globe may be forecast and, in a measure, controlled
by the aid of the elementals of air.
The angels of motherhood, childbirth and infancy already help in every
chamber of birth. If human hearts were open to their gentle presence
and human minds would learn to listen consciously to their guidance
and advice, the pain with which mankind is born might be banished
and motherhood become a time of joy undimmed by pain.
And so through all the fields of human life, our angel brethren will
help us if we will. Co-operation between angels and men will be one
of the keynotes of the new race. The technique of that co-operation
is not difficult to acquire. A world of wonder, joy and beauty lies
open to him who cares to enter it through the gateway of combined
service in the fulfilment of the divine plan. Such, in part, is the
vision which the explorer into fairyland will bring back with him
on his return to the haunts of men.
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