< Error of the Theosophists (continued from page 11-227) >
depraved spirits who die out after a while but things; they can hardly be called beings more sinned against than sinning, but are mostly very depraved. In the spirit world there are spheres where these are specially educated. We have nothing to do with them in our art, unless it is to teach them.
“Elemental” spirits are not creatures evolved in earth, air, fire or water. There are no doubt spirits who prefer to dwell in one of the said elements, but they are human. The method ordinarily resorted to for entering into communication with Elementals by offering them some favorite food, shows that they are simply not very advanced human spirits. In Paracelsus, as in all other Kabbalists, the letter is for the uninitiated, the spirit for the initiated. The mediaeval adepts were, by the age, they lived in, compelled to hide their knowledge from the church. They used therefore a veiled language, and physical symbols stood for purely spiritual things. (The author of Isis seems to have overlooked this.) Unless one has the clue to that language, reading their works is to the mind confusing. The world of the adept is not the ephemeral outer world, but the eternal world of Thought, the Soul.
We come now to the figment “Akaz” which is merely the “astral light” of Eliphas Levi under a new name. “The stars rule the fool, but the wise man rules the stars” is an occult saying, which means that as soon as a man begins to think, act, and live rightly, he arrives at and becomes united with that absolute wisdom which is above fate and destiny. In this wise man rules the sideral influence, which formerly ruled him, and instead of having his fate made for him, he makes his own fate. The external sideral or astral influence cannot be manipulated and is not to be directed or subjugated by man’s will. When man becomes One with the Thought which rules the Universe he understands the laws of existence and not only intuitively but under divine guidance avoids those forces which the supreme Thought has providentially arranged as reactions to the evils created by man. Taking erroneously some esoteric sentences from Paracelsus in their literal wording, the late Abbe Alphonse Louis Constant (Eliphas Levi), or the man who wrote his books on Magic, invented out of the sideral influence of Paracelsus an objective astral light, and theorised thereon that the great work of adeptship is to subjugate and direct this force. Combine therewith a practice of bullying the elementals in all the four kingdoms, and you are, according to Eliphas Levi, an accomplished master-magician.
If the Theosophists study the elementals, they study only undeveloped human spirits. Their Theosophy is then Diabolosophy; instead of a wisdom of God they get but the sophistics of His Satanic Majesty.
In the Occult World it is said that Koot Hoomi states in a fine verbose declamation: “The Adept utilises and manipulates materials which nature has in store around him, and a material which throughout eternities has passed through all the forms. He has but to choose the one he wants, and recall it into objective existence” Can a man then create inorganic substances from Akaz? The adept, on the other hand, does not create anything from an outer world storehouse, but becoming One with “Thought the Creator” he creates all things out of himself. “Thou hast created Thyself and all things with Thee” is an oft repeated formula in the litanies of the ancient Egyptian Adepts. The chief thing is to become one with the Creator. It is all internal power and not external material. A symphony played on a musical instrument is not taken by the composer from an outer-world storehouse of symphonies. Thought has composed it, and so it is with feats in adeptship. The creations of the adept are psychological and not material. He cannot go beyond his magnetic radius except in the absolute state, then his power is illimitable, but is also only purely spiritual.
When Koot Hoomi is alleged to say repeatedly: “The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers,” he ventilates this idea purely to bring recruits to the Theosophical Society, for its members consider themselves to be the only enquirers, and each member believes he will be “the efflorescence.” Adepts existed before enquirers. Man originally was on the soul plane, and fell therefrom.
Often am I demanded whether I know a special process whereby to acquire magic power, where to my reply ever is “beyond the Christ-life there is nothing; no shorter way exists than the straight line.” Whoever attempts to arrive at Divine power by diabolic means labours in a most deplorable delusion. Anaesthetics and drugs should never be experimented with. Also with the practice of organic mesmerism must be united great care not to abuse the power, combined with an uncompromisingly pure life.
The errors I have set forth appear in the text books of the Theosophists. If I have said hard things of the Theosophical Society, I mean the Society exclusive of the Western members, who I believe are all intelligent and amiable individuals, as such I esteem them, but not as Theosophists.