< A Philosophy of Materialisation (continued from page 11-348) >
afforded by an extended special instrument. By this I mean to imply that the manufacture and temporary maintenance of the instrument of externalization or of the materialised figure or other pseudo-material product, does not rob the living organism of all the energy involved, inasmuch as the powers which enter into the formation of such, are borrowed from the body to be afterwards restored, of course after the payment of the necessary forfeit, should lower forms of energy have been worked up into higher, at any stage of the process.
Anything that I have here said is not to be taken as implying a belief on my part, that the practice of mediumship is beneficial or healthful, if it can be avoided. I know to the contrary, having had occasion to advise mediums professionally when suffering from exhaustion, consequent upon injudicious exercise of their vocation. The condition of exhaustion in such cases, is strictly analogous to that resulting from excessive lactation, or loss of blood, and can be counteracted by the same remedies, vis. removal of predisposing influence and exciting cause with tonics, rest, good food and, if required, wine.
We began by introducing the idea of a completed cycle. At the end of the operation the medium may be said to have returned to the same or nearly the same conditions of vitality, mental activity and power of muscular motion as at the beginning, and such being the case he is regarded as the same individual, even though his body, as an instrument or engine, may have undergone changes relating to the novel exhibitions of power. We will regard him or it, I don’t care which, as having gone through a cycle of operations, and from this point of view, one of immense importance in modern science, we can, with some hope of obtaining a reasonable answer, ask ourselves the question.—What is the total Work that has been done, and what is the meaning of the various manifestations which have left no permanent record of their reality?
Theosophy
To the Editor.—Sir,—Some weeks ago “J. K.” had a series of articles in the Medium, on what he was pleased to call “The Adeptship of Jesus Christ.”
The initiated could see by these papers, that “J. K.” had studied Cabala, but that this instead of making him a quiet humble man, what true Cabala when truly digested must do, had on the contrary gone the wrong way, and turned the head of “J. K.” upside down.
To those who truly know the nature of the divine Word, and of Christ who was that Word incarnate, “J. K.” and his intolerable conceits were so monstrous in their eyes, as to render all reply a mere waste of labour.
In last week’s Medium, however, “J. K.” seems to have gone quite mad, and he now salutes his readers and critics, as “The Devil and his adherents.”
I think, Sir, that as Editor, you should not insert such rubbish, but as you have done so, although under protest, I will now merely give a very brief reply.
“J. K.” has an intolerant belief that all doctors are rogues, and all their drugs poison, and to be consistent he utters the following absurdity: “even Jesus could not cure those injured by drugs!” Has he forgotten the case of the woman who had “spent all her substance on doctors (and had no doubt taken bad medicine) and was no better but worse," and who yet got instantly better on touching the hem of the Lord’s mantle?
He pretends to be an Occultist, and yet through prejudice, forgets that in the Occult, Matter, including poisons, are at the command of Spirit—to be or not to be.
Again he says, “Jesus lost first his power, and then his life because he ate meat.”
The present writer is almost a Vegetarian himself, but alas, when Vegetarianism becomes an intolerant superstition! Or if the Lord could not at will convert not only flesh but stones into his own divine bread.
It now seems that “J. K.” is driven mad because thoughtful Spiritualists and Theosophists take little notice of him, and now he would rather stand on his head in the public streets, than remain unnoticed.
He reminds us of the mountebanks of public fairs, who dress in red, blacken their faces, and with heavy boots dance convulsively on sounding boards, and we realise the Scottish ditty—
“Some say the devil’s dead |
To be short, the substance of “J. K’s.” enunciations are—
That Christ was a “Red Adept;” |
To which one can only reply in the words of the ancient poet—
“Little Jack Horner sat in a corner Your Obedient Servant, |
Editor's notes
- ↑ Theosophy by unknown author, Medium and Daybreak, v. 12, No. 607, November 18, 1881, p. 726
Sources
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Medium and Daybreak, v. 12, No. 607, November 18, 1881, p. 726