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The Writings of Annie Besant

Annie Besant

 (1847 -1933)

 

The Hatha-Yoga and

Raja-Yoga of India

 

From

"The Annals of Psychical Science,"

November, 1906

 

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In the first place, allow me to explain why I have chosen this subject for

discussion: I have lived in India for twelve years; I have made a fairly

thorough study of Indian psychology. I thought it might be useful to speak about those matters of which I have some knowledge, and which are but little studied by the Western world.

 

There exists in India a psychological science, the origin of which dates back

thousands of years. It is known that India possesses a very ancient literature. Now, everywhere in that literature we find traces of psychology and also the exposition of an ancient psychology, in its practical, and not merely in its theoretical aspect.

 

Since this science has been put into practice for so long a period, is it not

reasonable to conclude that there may be in these ideas, these theories, based

on repeated experiments, something which may prove useful to modern psychology?

 

This psychological science of the East is called Yoga, a word signifying to

bind, to unite. When we speak of Yoga, we express the idea of forming a union,

of binding. Of binding what? Consciousness itself, by realizing the union of the

separate consciousnesses of men with the universal consciousness. Yoga includes all the practical methods by which this union may be attained.

 

Yoga is thus a science which may be both studied and practised; it is practised

in order to obtain a complete union between the ordinary individual

consciousness of man and the superconsciousness, by rising from plane to plane, until at last this union is completely attained: then one is said to be free.

In order to understand this science, and also the experiments which I wish to

explain, allow me to give a short account of the fundamental ideas on which

these experiments are based. It is probable that you will not accept these

ideas; but you may, nevertheless, understand them as theories: theory concerning man and, more particularly, theory concerning the consciousness of man.

 

The theory, then, must be considered first of all, in order to be able to explain

the aim; otherwise the experiments of the East will always remain unintelligible

to western minds. If you will accept these theories, for the moment, you will

understand the ensemble of these experiments, and you may perhaps deduce for

yourselves conclusions from them which will afford clues with regard to other

experiments. Herein lies the value, for western minds--so it seems to me--of a

knowledge of this science of the East.

 

The first proposition is, that consciousness is one and universal. Everywhere,

beneath appearances, behind phenomena, a consciousness is revealed; under the

diversity of forms persists the unity of consciousness; a unique energy, a

unique force, is everywhere in the universe.

 

This theory may be regarded as closely related to the western conception of one

single energy of which all the forces are but the manifestations, the example.

But, in India, this energy is always regarded as conscious, that is to say, no

division is made between consciousness, life and energy; these are but three

words denoting the same essence, but which establish also a distinction between

the manifestations of this essence, a distinction which it is useful to remember

when experiments are being made But it must be recognized that this energy is

one, and is conscious; is, in fact, consciousness itself.

 

The second proposition is that this energy, this consciousness--I prefer the

word consciousness--manifests itself in the universe through the different forms

of matter. The manifestations of consciousness depend on those forms by which it is conditioned. The differences which are perceived are simply differences of form and not differences of consciousness. Consciousness is always present, but it cannot express itself in a complete manner in a restricted form.

 

The evolution of forms depends on this manifestation of consciousness; and when we place side by side consciousness and form, energy and matter, it is

consciousness which directs, which is sovereign, which disposes of matter, and

each functioning of consciousness creates a form for its revelation. When I use

the word "creates," I do not mean creation out of nothing; I mean that

consciousness disposes of matter so as to express itself, that all the powers

reside in consciousness, but that in order to reveal, manifest its powers, it is

absolutely necessary to find the vehicle of consciousness, that is to say, to

organize the material by which it can express itself.

 

I may on this point quote a very ancient line of a Upanishad, the Chhandogya:

"The Self, that is to say consciousness, desires to see: the eye appeared; it

desired to hear: the ear made its appearance; it desired to think: intelligence

was there"; that is to say the efforts of consciousness are shown in obedient

matter, directed by that energy which incarnates itself in forms.

 

You will find the same idea in the physical universe, in the transformations of

electricity. You may make different instruments to enable the energy called

electricity to manifest, the energy is ever the same, it is only the

manifestation that varies. According to the instrument you provide, you can

obtain light, sound, heat, chemical dissociations, all these being merely

manifestations of electricity, manifestations which are possible because you

have provided instruments which afford suitable conditions for each kind of

manifestation. But the instrument remains inert without electricity; it

conditions the form, it does not produce the energy.

 

It is the same with consciousness and forms; according to Indian ideas, if you

can fabricate the instrument necessary for the manifestation of an energy, that

energy can show itself, and what is called consciousness in men is only a part

of the universal consciousness which is found everywhere in the universe, and

which is translated into human forms.

 

But they go further: this consciousness is divided into millions of separate

parts called Jivas (souls). I do not much care for this word souls--it is quite

a theological expression; they are fragments of life, germs, grains of life,

sown in matter. The most subtle form of matter is the first veil of the Jiva, an

intelligent, conscious being; this intelligent, conscious being clothes itself

with forms of matter of different degrees of subtlety; these are termed Koshas,

a word signifying sheath (the scabbard of a sword, for example), a covering.

There are six of these veils, of these vehicles of consciousness, each coarser

than the last. Hence, when consciousness thus veils itself and enters into these

vehicles which it has to govern, organize and render fit for its functioning,

each vehicle of coarser matter detracts from some of its power. In the first and

most subtle matter, it can operate freely; in the coarser matter some of its

powers are lost. Thus consciousness, enveloped in these veils of matter--which

are not yet vehicles for consciousness because they cannot act, which are not

yet organized--loses some of its liberty, of its powers, with each additional

veil with which it surrounds itself.

 

It may be asked, why does consciousness clothe itself with these veils? It is

because on the highest plane consciousness is vague; it cannot very clearly

discern things; it is in the physical body, the vehicle of the coarsest matter,

that consciousness can first fabricate the vehicle, of a kind almost perfect,

for its manifestation on this plane. Evolution proceeds. Consciousness strives

unceasingly to manifest its powers; the Jiva works upon the matter, and the

vehicles become better and better adapted to its desires.

 

The man who wishes to evolve more rapidly than by natural processes, adopts

methods which have been urged for thousands of years, and by which he tries

gradually to withdraw consciousness from the coarser material in order that it

may function freely in a vehicle of finer material; he endeavours to connect

vehicle with vehicle, until he reaches a yet finer vehicle, without ever losing

consciousness. In this way it becomes possible to perceive worlds composed of subtler matter, and to observe them, as we observe here, scientifically and

directly; and afterwards to remember these observations even whilst wearing the

coarsest vehicle, that is to say, the physical body. Such are the ideas of the

:East.

 

When man is awake his powers are at their lowest; when he withdraws from the

physical body in the state of sleep, he begins to act in a world composed of

somewhat subtler matter. But when he begins to function there, he is not really

conscious of himself; his consciousness is like that of an infant who cannot

distinguish between himself and others. But by continuing to function in this

way, by repeated experiments, he can attain to self-consciousness on the second

plane. If the sleep becomes yet more profound, a yet higher consciousness is

revealed, and so on from plane to plane.

 

Let us note, in passing, that if this theory, proved by many experiments, is

true, you have a very lucid interpretation of many of the phenomena of hypnotism and of trance. If it is true that consciousness withdraws from the physical body and functions in a more refined vehicle with enlarged powers, many of these phenomena become intelligible. If, then, you could provisionally accept this theory, it would be possible for you to make some very definite experiments, in order to test the truth of this theory.

 

I come to another point, and here I am much afraid of clashing with some

scientific opinions. It is believed, by those who hold the Indian theory, that

man is not the only conscious being in the universe; they believe that there are

many other beings besides man who are intelligent, and who are manifestations of the universal consciousness, and that these beings exist in all the worlds;

sometimes they resemble man, at other times they do not resemble him. All around us, in space, that is to say in the other worlds which are in relation with the physical world, are multitudes of intelligent conscious beings, who pursue their lives as we pursue ours; the life is independent, the world is independent, but relations may be established between these worlds.

 

You doubtless think that you are being transported to the Middle Ages, but these are the Indian ideas of to-day.

 

It is possible for man when his consciousness begins to function on a

supra-conscious plane, to get into relation with these beings and even sometimes

to make them obedient to his will, because many of these things are inferior to

man. I have thought it necessary to tell you this because I wish to relate to you two or three experiences which, to me, are unintelligible without this explanation.

If you think that this explanation is not valid, find another; for my part I am

incapable of doing so.

 

There are in India two great systems of Yoga: the Hatha-Yoga, that is to say,

union by effort; which begins on the physical plane, and does not lead to great

heights; and the Raja-Yoga, that is to say, the royal union, an entirely mental

system, which does not begin with physical practices, but with mental practices.

These then are the two great systems; the Hatha-Yoga for the body, the Raja-Yoga for the mind, the intelligence.

 

Those who follow Yoga are called Yogis. The Hatha-Yogis have two aims; one is to secure perfect bodily health and a long extension of life on the earth; the

other is to subjugate, for their own advantage, the entities of the other plane,

who are not of a very advanced order. It is usually the Hatha-Yogis who display

phenomena. There is much prejudice in India against other races; they mistrust

Westerns and are often reluctant to show them phenomena. I have been able to see a great deal because I have lived among Indians, as an Indian. Indians are very proud; they cannot bear that their ideas, their religion, or their theories,

should be laughed at.

 

The Hatha-Yogi forces himself to subjugate completely his body and all the

functions of his life. Life is called "Prana," a word usually translated as

breath, but it signifies, rather, the aggregation of all the powers of life

which are found everywhere. The Hatha-Yogi strives to bring under the control of the human will all the vital functions and to render them absolutely subservient

to the will. This is done in two ways; the regulation of the respiration, called

"Pranayama," a word which means much more than control of the breath, and which signifies control of all the powers of life in the body and even outside the

body. The second is "Dharana," the perfect concentration of attention and of

will on a portion of the body. The results obtained by these means are

wonderful. The so-called involuntary muscles can be controlled. You may convince yourself by a small experiment on yourself that this is possible. You can easily learn how to move your ear by exercising those muscles which are rudimentary in man.

 

The same can be done with all the muscles of the body. It is possible to

entirely stop the heart from beating. The movements first become slower; then

the heart ceases to beat and life is as if suspended; the man becomes

unconscious on this plane; then little by little, movement is restored until the

heart beats regularly. In the same way, the lungs are controlled, always by

keeping the attention absolutely fixed on the part that is to be subjugated to

the will. One part of the body after another is thus dealt with. These practices

last for years.

 

The Yogi wishes to obtain perfect health; he desires that all the interior of

the body should be absolutely clean. The Yogis make a habit of bathing the

interior of their bodies as they do the exterior. They do it sometimes by

swallowing through the mouth quantities of water, but they frequently do it also

by reversing the peristaltic action of the intestines; they take in water by the

lower orifice and eject it by the mouth. I have seen a man who could do that for

two or three minutes; he placed himself in water and, after a few moments of

these reversed peristaltic movements, he ejected from his mouth what seemed like a fountain of water as long as it was desired that he should do so. This

experiment is not beautiful, but it is interesting because it shows the power of

the human will when directed upon a portion of the body. It is not then

surprising that experiments can be carried out with the human body which seem

even less credible.

 

The result of all these practices is a marvellous state of health, a bodily

strength that nothing can break. I have been told--I cannot guarantee this, I am

not personally acquainted with an example--that they can sometimes prolong life

for a century and a half. Those who have told me this are persons in whom I have the greatest confidence, but, I repeat, I can put forth no proof on this point; what I have observed is the perfect health of these Yogis.

 

They attain to complete suppression of the feeling of physical pain. It is thus

that a man, whose skin is apparently quite sensitive, can lie on a bed of iron

points, and yet appear to feel very comfortable; he feels no pain whatever.

Similarly, what would ordinarily be regarded as dreadful suffering is not even

felt. A man may have an arm atrophied by holding it raised for years. Imagine

the firmness of a will that can do such things. You can understand that with

such a will a man can do what he likes with his body.

 

These life forces in the body which are half conscious, or what you call the

Unconscious, do not constitute an elevated order of consciousness; but they can respond to a higher consciousness, and, in making this response, permit it to control the whole machinery of the body.

 

This power over the body of suppressing the sensation of pain is found sometimes among those who have not practised the Hatha-Yoga. One of my friends, of the warrior class, is very fond of tiger hunting; he is in the habit of going alone into the forest to hunt for tigers; it is in this way that the warrior class hunt tigers. They do not employ elephants or anything that can protect them in their attack; they go on foot and quite alone.

 

One day, however, my friend went tiger hunting with some Englishmen, mounted on their elephants, as is their wont. At the moment when the tiger attacked the

elephant, one of the huntsmen lost his presence of mind, his gun went off and

the ball lodged in the leg of my friend, who fell. When the surgeon arrived he

insisted on putting him under chloroform to extract the ball. My friend refused,

and said: "I have never lost consciousness and I do not wish to begin now.

Besides, I shall not feel any pain, you may use your knife." The surgeon

demurred, saying: "But if you were to make an involuntary movement it might be

very dangerous." My friend replied: "I will not move; if I make a single

movement I authorise you to use chloroform." The operation was performed; my friend was entirely conscious; he did not make a single movement. What to

another would have been horrible torture, was nothing to him.

 

Afterwards I questioned him on the subject; I thought at first that it was pride

of caste that had prevented his showing the lest sense of pain. He said to me;

"I assure you that I did not feel the least pain. I fixed my consciousness in my

head; it was not in my leg; I felt nothing." He was not a Yogi; but he had this

power of concentrating his mentality, which is sometimes found among educated Indians. A hereditary physique is transmitted from generation to generation among those who practice Yoga.

 

The other Hatha-Yoga which aims at subjugating the beings of another place,

begins always by painful experiments--the tapas--such as the one I have just

mentioned, namely, holding the arm raised until it becomes absolutely atrophied.

They say that it is possible to develop the powers of the consciousness of a

plane superior to the physical plane by these extreme austerities (and they do

it), and that they can use these powers of the consciousness of the astral

plane--that is what they call it--to make use of the inferior entities on that

plane. They can thus obtain apports of objects without contact; they can seek

what they will, within limits which I will presently indicate; they can do

extraordinary things, which here we should call jugglery, but which are done

without apparatus, by will power alone, by the aid, as they say, of these

elementals. Ten years ago, I saw one of these Yogis who wished to display some of his powers. He was nearly naked, a consideration of importance when it is a question of the apports of objects. He had no sleeves in which he could conceal things. He wore only a little piece of cloth round his loins; his legs and the upper part of his body--from his waist upwards--were absolutely naked.

 

He began by one of those feats that can be done here with apparatus, whereas he had only a small table which we ourselves had supplied and a small box with two drawers in it which he allowed us to examine as long and as much as we wished; he had, in addition, an ordinary bottle containing an absolutely clear liquid, like water, but which seemed to me not to be pure water, at least I think not, although I am not sure. We were all seated quite near him; we could touch the table and assure ourselves that it was not a platform which could conceal

trickery.

 

He first said that he wished to show us some apports of objects, and that he had

elementals under his domination. For a moment, he carefully regarded each of

those present. He looked at me fixedly and said: "You must not interrupt me, nor offer any opposition during my operation." I promised, I assured him that I

would remain quite passive. I must tell you that I practised Yoga myself before

going to India; I think this man was aware of it and clearly perceived that I

could oppose his amusements.

 

He asked three or four of us to entrust him with our watches, and he wrapped

them in a handkerchief which we lent him. Then he said to us: "I am going to

give this parcel to one of you, that you may take it and throw it into the

well." This well was in a little courtyard about fifty yards off. One of our

party, a gentleman, took the parcel and went towards the well, when another

stopped him, saying: "Perhaps we are the victims of some trickery; let me assure

myself that the watches are really in the parcel." The man who said this was a

European and thought that this was simply a juggler's trick; he supposed that

the Yogi had kept the watches. I do not know where he could have hid them since he was naked. The Yogi got very angry, and said: "Throw the parcel down on the table then." (This anger shows that these men are by no means saints.) One of us opened the parcel; the watches were there. He wrapped them up again, and said: "Give them to Mrs. Besant, who will herself throw them into the well." I took the parcel in my hand, and I went and threw it into the well.

 

The Yogi was standing by the table. He raised his arms in the air, his hands

were empty. He pronounced some words: the watches were in his hands.

Explain that as you like; I confine myself to stating the fact. The man said it

was his elemental who had fetched the watches out of the well. Perhaps you think these things are quite impossible; they will seem to you incredible if you have not been present at spiritistic seances where just the same kind of things are

done, where objects are brought as apports without contact. The handkerchief

which was wrapped round the watches was quite wet.

 

The man next suggested cutting off the head of a bird, assuring us that it would

not hurt it. I did not wish to witness such a painful experiment. I only wished

to see what could be seen without horror. He assured us that he could perform

this experiment; but I think that this must be produced by collective

hallucination, whilst I do not think that in the experiment with the watches

there was any hallucination. And assuredly, there was no hallucination in the

following experiment: -

"Ask me," he said, "to bring something to you; my elemental will bring it in a

box." Someone enquired if he could cause objects to be brought from a distant

country. "I can if they are in India," he replied, "but it is not possible if

the sea must be crossed." Here, therefore, was a limit to his powers. Someone

then said to him: "At a distance of a hundred miles from here there is a town

where a kind of sweet is made that is found nowhere else in India. Will you

bring us some of these sweets?" The man stood in the midst of our circle in full

light, it was morning. He opened the box and began emptying it with both hands;

he threw some sweets on the table and soon made a pile of them much higher than the box. He said that it was his elemental who had brought them. They were

really the sweets asked for; we distributed them among the neighbouring

children, who ate them with much pleasure.

 

These are but a few of those experiments which are very difficult for Western

minds to comprehend, but very easy for an Indian to explain by his theory of

consciousness and of the elemental. You might try to make these experiments;

perhaps you may succeed, perhaps you may not succeed.

 

I have been told of an experiment which I have not seen; it is very well known,

it is that of the basket and the little child; perhaps I should say that I have

seen it once, but I am convinced that it was jugglery and not the effect of

Hatha-Yoga. One of my friends, an officer in the English army, told me that he

had seen this experiment performed in the courtyard of his own house. He stood

on one side of the basket and a brother officer stood on the other; they saw the

child who was put into the basket; they themselves tied it with cords; they did

not move away from the basket, and they did not lose sight of it for a single

moment. The man was in front of the basket; he began singing in a low voice a

strange refrain, which lasted for ten minutes. After that he proceeded in the

usual way. (That is to say, he pierced the basket repeatedly, in every

direction, with a sword.) When that was over, and after a great quantity of

blood had been seen issuing from the basket, the child appeared amidst the crowd of onlookers safe and sound.

 

I can only explain that as a collective hallucination. There are things which

can be achieved by those who have a more extended knowledge of nature; but on the physical plane, to stick a sword into the body of a child, to shed its blood abundantly and to cause the child afterwards to reappear is impossible, it is contrary to known physical laws. It was his strange chant that induced the

collective hallucination. They have very strange chants which produce marvellous effects on the brain; it is thus that they hypnotise a crowd, which sees only what the hypnotiser wills shall be seen.

 

This experiment, therefore, is not interesting to me; it is fairly easy; it

consists in the knowledge of a succession of sounds that hypnotise. This is the

secret which is generally in the possession of some family, and is transmitted

from generation to generation. Moreover, each family can perform only one kind

of experiment, one sort of hallucination.

 

These Yogis can put themselves into auto-hypnotic trances with great facility;

but these trances, when they come out of them, do not seem to leave them with

any fresh knowledge; the trance is therefore absolutely useless. I have seen a

Yogi who was always in a state of absolute unconsciousness on the physical

plane; his disciples took care of him, and fed him; he was like an idiot and had

nothing to teach.

 

These men have developed the power of hypnotising themselves; but they have not developed the capacity of possessing consciousness on a superior plane which can be transmitted to the brain.

 

The Yogis can predict the exact hour of their death, that is to say they can

choose this hour. I know one who said: "I will die to-day at five o'clock." His

disciples were with him, and at five o'clock exactly he died They are able to

quit their bodies either in a trance, from which they can return, or in death,

from which they do not return. They generally die in this way, choosing the

exact hour at which they wish to quit their bodies.

 

The other method, the Raja-Yoga, is quite different. There are in Yoga eight

successive degrees: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranavama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi; in Hatha-Yoga one begins with the third degree, that is to say with Asana, the posture. The posture in which the body is held is of great

importance in relation to the vital currents. Some of these postures are very

difficult, some are quite easy. The Hatha-Yogi assumes very difficult and

painful postures. The Raja-Yogi does not as a rule assume difficult postures for

the body, but chooses, rather, the easy ones. Patanjali says:*1 "An easy and

pleasant posture."

 

In the Raja-Yoga one begins by the first two degrees, that is to say, by the

moral; purification is needful. This is not necessary for the Hatha-Yoga. The

first step, Yama, is negative purification: that is, complete abstinence from

all that is evil; not a single creature must be injured, a man must live in

perfect charity towards all. The second step is Niyama, that is, positive

purification: the practice of the virtues helpful to humanity Without this there

is no Raja-Yoga; these two rungs of the ladder are absolutely necessary. Then a

bodily posture must be chosen (Asana) which can be maintained for a long time

without fatigue; it is only necessary to keep the back, the throat and the head

in a straight line, that is to say, that the vertebrate column should be quite

straight in order that the currents may pass without obstacle. The head must not

be turned to the right or to the left; to keep the body quite straight is the

only position necessary for the Raja-Yoga.

 

After this comes Pranayama, that is to say, the control of the powers of life in

the body. Then the Pratyahara, in which the mind is not concentrated upon one

part of the body; but all the mental faculties are gathered together. They are

diverted from external objects in order to observe nothing of the environment in

which one is placed. All the avenues of sense are closed. At first they are

usually closed in a physical manner; there is a way of placing the fingers so as

to close at one and the same time the nostrils, the eyes and the ears. But when

concentration has been developed, it is no longer necessary to employ these

means; the senses cease to function. This is attained simply by mental effort, a

method the very opposite of that employed in hypnotism, where the senses are

fortified by turning a mirror, for example. This is called the collection of

forces, turning the mentality within; there is then perfect concentration

(Dharana), not upon one part of the body, but upon an idea; there is a mental

image, an image which one must strive to make very clear, very precise.

These are the inferior degrees: their object is to liberate consciousness from

the body. When the senses no longer function, when the exterior environment has disappeared, when one has become insensible to external contact, consciousness begins to function in a more subtle vehicle belonging to the Beyond; it truly functions; this is what is called in the West the supraliminal or

supra-consciousness. The superior consciousness must work in the world beyond and make observations; this is termed Dhyana, meditation.

 

If a yet higher plane is reached, one which is called Samadhi (a

supra-consciousness which is conscious of itself) it is possible on returning

then to the body to use the physical brain to remember the observations which

have been made on other planes.

 

Such is the conception of the Raja-Yoga, a development more and more intense of the mental powers, complete insensibility to the senses, but perfect interior

consciousness.

 

In this condition the Yogi can vacate his body consciously without losing

consciousness, and having left his body can perceive it distinctly lying there

as an exterior object beside him. Then the conscious being, who is thus able to

regard his body like a cast-off garment, can rise from one sphere to another,

make his observations, fix them on the memory, and impress them on the brain, so that they will persist when he returns to the body.

 

The proof that the body has been really vacated is that knowledge may thus be

acquired which is not possessed on the physical plane; and different persons may compare their experiences. Their observations will not be entirely identical,

because the play of personality always enters as a factor into the experience,

but it is possible to make observations of so precise a kind, that it may easily

be perceived that the slight variations in detail are due to differences in the

observers, and not to differences in the objects observed.

 

If you interrogate a dozen persons who have passed at the same hour down the

same street, they will tell you very different things; because as the mentality

of each person differs, their observations are different. Nevertheless, by their

several accounts, even though different, you will have no difficulty in

recognising the street of which they speak.

 

Thus many persons have been able to observe the same objects in another world

and to register their observations when they have returned to the physical body.

 

If this is possible, it explains many phenomena noted in psychical research. We

can understand why consciousness in a state of trance is something much keener, and has a much more extended knowledge than in the waking state. If, however, we can have this personal experience of the supra-consciousness, and return to the physical body, we possess satisfying proof and invincible certitude of the persistence of consciousness apart from the physical body.

 

May I suggest that modern psychologists should make very careful study of the

class of experiences called religious;*2 the religious consciousness of monks

and nuns and saints is still consciousness. It may be said that it is a deformed

consciousness; but sometimes a deformed consciousness exhibits facts of great

value.

 

In India they tell us that the brain is destroyed if it is not trained in a certain way before it is allowed to receive the impressions of the supra-consciousness. The brain, indeed, cannot bear, without risk, these intense, rapid vibrations of the supra-consciousness; and, before trying these experiments, it is necessary to exercise the brain by thinking the highest and sublimest thoughts. If by intense emotion a man throws himself into the other world, when he returns to his body, hysteria is sure to follow those vibrations; the brain cannot endure these vibrations without preparation, but they can be endured by means of Yoga practices. It has often been stated that those who have given themselves up to these experiments in monasteries or elsewhere, have suffered from lack of sleep or from nervous troubles suggestive of hysteria.

 

That is quite true and I do not wish to deny it; but I say that this is not

inevitable. If we proceed step by step, if a strong will creates a suitable

condition of the nervous system, the brain may become keener, and at the same

time remain absolutely healthy; then you have the Yogi instead of the hysteric.

In conclusion: I have sketched a theory which you can study; you can make

experiments in order to discover whether this theory does, or does not, explain

the problems that modern psychology cannot solve. The latter collects numbers of facts, but it cannot always explain them. It appeals to the Unconsciousness: but there is not only one Unconsciousness: there is the unconsciousness which is derived from the past, that is, the sub-consciousness; the Hatha-Yogi makes

this, too become conscious and governs all the movements of the body. Then there is the supra-consciousness, which is the Consciousness of the future, for which the physical body is not yet sufficiently evolved. Therefore experiments with this supra-consciousness present many dangers. It will however be the normal consciousness of the future. Human evolution is not finished; man is still very imperfect; it is possible to put pressure on the body, to make it work in such a way as to hasten the normal advances of evolution. If this is done with

precaution, with knowledge, with the help of those who know the way, it is

possible to walk along this path without danger, without injuring the body,

without becoming a hysteric, without nervous degeneration, and it is just this

idea that I have desired to lay before you in this paper.

 

 

Annie Besant

History of the Theosophical Society

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Theosophy

The New Rock ‘n Roll

 

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The Key to Theosophy

 

 

 

 

 

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky 1831 – 1891

The Founder of Modern Theosophy

 

Index of Articles by

By

H P Blavatsky

 

 

 

Elementals

 

 

A Land of Mystery

 

 

A Case Of Obsession

 

 

Devachan

 

 

Reincarnation

 

 

The Mind in Nature

 

 

Elementaries

 

 

Fakirs and Tables

 

 

Is the Desire to Live Selfish?

 

 

A Paradoxical World

 

 

An Astral Prophet

 

 

Ancient Magic in Modern Science

 

 

Roots of Ritualism in

Church and Masonry

 

 

A Year of Theosophy

 

 

Can The Mahatmas

Be Selfish?

 

 

Chelas and Lay Chelas

 

 

Nightmare Tales

 

 

“My Books”

 

 

Dialogue On The Mysteries

Of The After Life

 

 

Do The Rishis Exist?

 

 

"Esoteric Buddhism"

And The

"Secret Doctrine"

 

 

Have Animals Souls

 

 

The Kabalah and the Kabalists

 

 

Babel Of Modern Thought

 

 

Thoughts on the Elementals

 

 

Karmic Visions

 

 

What Is Truth?

 

 

Civilization,

The Death of Art and Beauty

 

 

Gems from the East

A Birthday Book of Axions and

Precepts Compiled by H P Blavatsky

 

 

Obras Por H P Blavatsky

En Espanol

 

 

¿Es la Teosofía una Religión?

 

 

La Clave de la Teosofía

 

 

Articles about the Life of H P Blavatsky

 

 

Biography of H P Blavatsky

 

 

H P Blavatsky

the Light-Bringer

by

Geoffrey A Barborka

The Blavatsky Lecture of 1970

 

 

The Life of H P Blavatsky

Edited by A P Sinnett

 

 

 

 

 

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Worldwide Directory of Theosophical Links

 

International Directory of 

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Key Concepts of Theosophy

 

 

 

 

1) Infinitude

 

Nature is infinite in space and time -- boundless and eternal, unfathomable and ineffable. The all-pervading essence of infinite nature can be called space, consciousness, life, substance, force, energy, divinity -- all of which are fundamentally one.

 

 

2) The finite and the infinite

 

Nature is a unity in diversity, one in essence, manifold in form. The infinite whole is composed of an infinite number of finite wholes -- the relatively stable and autonomous things (natural systems or artefacts) that we observe around us. Every natural system is not only a conscious, living, substantial entity, but is consciousness-life-substance, of a particular range of density and form. Infinite nature is an abstraction, not an entity; it therefore does not act or change and has no attributes. The finite, concrete systems of which it is composed, on the other hand, move and change, act and interact, and possess attributes. They are composite, inhomogeneous, and ultimately transient.

 

 

3) Vibration/worlds within worlds

 

The one essence manifests not only in infinitely varied forms, and on infinitely varied scales, but also in infinitely varying degrees of spirituality and substantiality, comprising an infinite spectrum of vibration or density. There is therefore an endless series of interpenetrating, interacting worlds within worlds, systems within systems.

 

The energy-substances of higher planes or subplanes (a plane being a particular range of vibration) are relatively more homogeneous and less differentiated than those of lower planes or subplanes.

 

 

4) Space and time

 

Just as boundless space is comprised of endless finite units of space, so eternal duration is comprised of endless finite units of time. Space is the infinite totality of worlds within worlds, but appears predominantly empty because only a tiny fraction of the energy-substances composing it are perceptible and tangible to an entity at any particular moment. Time is a concept we use to quantify the rate at which events occur; it is a function of

change and motion, and presupposes a succession of cause and effect. Every entity is extended in space and changes 'in time'.

 

 

5) Causation/karma

 

All change (of position, substance, or form) is the result of causes; there is no such thing as absolute chance. Nothing can happen for no reason at all for nothing exists in isolation; everything is part of an intricate web of causal interconnections and interactions. The keynote of nature is harmony: every action is automatically followed by an equal and opposite reaction, which sooner or later rebounds upon the originator of the initial act. Thus, all our thoughts and deeds will eventually bring us 'fortune' or 'misfortune' according to the degree to which they were harmonious or disharmonious. In the long term, perfect justice prevails in nature.

 

 

6) Analogy

 

Because nature is fundamentally one, and the same basic habits and structural, geometric, and evolutionary principles apply throughout, there are correspondences between microcosm and macrocosm. The principle of analogy -- as above, so below -- is a vital tool in our efforts to understand reality.

 

 

7) Relativity

 

All finite systems and their attributes are relative. For any entity, energy-substances vibrating within the same range of frequencies as its outer body are 'physical' matter, and finer grades of substance are what we call energy, force, thought, desire, mind, spirit, consciousness, but these are just as material to entities on the corresponding planes as our physical world is to us. Distance and time units are also relative: an atom is a solar system on its own scale, reembodying perhaps millions of times in what for us is one second, and our whole galaxy may be a molecule in some supercosmic entity, for which a million of our years is just a second. The range of scale is infinite: matter-consciousness is both infinitely divisible and infinitely aggregative.

 

 

8) Hierarchy

 

All natural systems consist of smaller systems and form part of larger systems. Hierarchies extend both 'horizontally' (on the same plane) and 'vertically' or inwardly (to higher and lower planes). On the horizontal level, subatomic particles form atoms, which combine into molecules, which arrange themselves into cells, which form tissues and organs, which form part of organisms, which form part of ecosystems, which form part of planets, solar systems, galaxies, etc. The constitution of worlds and of the organisms that inhabit them form 'vertical' hierarchies, and can be divided into several interpenetrating layers or elements, from physical-astral to psychomental to spiritual-divine, each of which can be further divided.

 

The human constitution can be divided up in several different ways: e.g. into a trinity of body, soul, and spirit; or into 7 'principles' -- a lower quaternary consisting of physical body, astral model-body, life-energy, and lower thoughts and desires, and an upper triad consisting of higher mind (reincarnating ego), spiritual intuition, and inner god. A planet or star can be regarded as a 'chain' of 12 globes, existing on 7 planes, each globe comprising several subplanes.

 

The highest part of every multilevelled organism or hierarchy is its spiritual summit or 'absolute', meaning a collective entity or 'deity' which is relatively perfected in relation to the hierarchy in question. But the most 'spiritual' pole of one hierarchy is the most 'material' pole of the next, superior hierarchy, just as the lowest pole of one hierarchy is the highest pole of the one below.

 

 

9) From within outwards

 

Each level of a hierarchical system exercises a formative and organizing influence on the lower levels (through the patterns and prototypes stored up from past cycles of activity), while the lower levels in turn react upon the higher. A system is therefore formed and organized mainly from within outwards, from the inner levels of its constitution, which are relatively more enduring and developed than the outer levels. This inner guidance is sometimes active and selfconscious, as in our acts of free will (constrained, however, by karmic tendencies from the past), and sometimes it is automatic and passive, giving rise to our own automatic bodily functions and habitual and instinctual behavior, and to the orderly, lawlike operations of nature in general. The 'laws' of nature are therefore the habits of the various grades of conscious entities that compose reality, ranging from higher intelligences  (collectively forming the universal mind) to elemental nature-forces.

 

 

10) Consciousness and its vehicles

 

The core of every entity -- whether atom, human, planet, or star -- is a monad, a unit of consciousness-life-substance, which acts through a series of more material vehicles or bodies. The monad or self in which the consciousness of a particular organism is focused is animated by higher monads and expresses itself through a series of lesser monads, each of which is the nucleus of one of the lower vehicles of the entity in question. The following monads can be distinguished: the divine or galactic monad, the spiritual or solar monad, the higher human or planetary-chain monad, the lower human or globe monad, and the animal, vital-astral, and physical monads. At our present stage of evolution, we are essentially the lower human monad, and our task is to raise our consciousness from the animal-human to the spiritual-human level of it.

 

 

11) Evolutionary unfoldment

 

Evolution means the unfolding, the bringing into active manifestation, of latent powers and faculties 'involved' in a previous cycle of evolution. It is the building of ever fitter vehicles for the expression of the mental and spiritual powers of the monad. The more sophisticated the lower vehicles of an entity, the greater their ability to express the powers locked up in the higher levels of its constitution. Thus all things are alive and conscious, but the degree of manifest life and consciousness is extremely varied.

 

Evolution results from the interplay of inner impulses and environmental stimuli. Ever building on and modifying the patterns of the past, nature is infinitely creative.

 

 

12) Cyclic evolution/re-embodiment

 

Cyclic evolution is a fundamental habit of nature. A period of evolutionary activity is followed by a period of rest. All natural systems evolve through re-embodiment. Entities are born from a seed or nucleus remaining from the previous evolutionary cycle of the monad, develop to maturity, grow old, and pass away, only to re-embody in a new form after a period of rest. Each new embodiment is the product of past karma and present choices.

 

 

13) Birth and Death

 

Nothing comes from nothing: matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but only transformed. Everything evolves from preexisting material. The growth of the body of an organism is initiated on inner planes, and involves the transformation of higher energy-substances into lower, more material ones, together with the attraction of matter from the environment.

 

When an organism has exhausted the store of vital energy with which it is born, the coordinating force of the indwelling monad is withdrawn, and the organism 'dies', i.e. falls apart as a unit, and its constituent components go their separate ways. The lower vehicles decompose on their respective subplanes, while, in the case of humans, the reincarnating ego enters a dreamlike state of rest and assimilates the experiences of the previous incarnation. When the time comes for the next embodiment, the reincarnating ego clothes itself in many of the same atoms of different grades that it had used previously, bearing the appropriate karmic impress. The same basic processes of birth, death, and rebirth apply to all entities, from atoms to humans to stars.

 

 

14) Evolution and involution of worlds

 

Worlds or spheres, such as planets and stars, are composed of, and provide the field for the evolution of, 10 kingdoms -- 3 elemental kingdoms, mineral, plant, animal, and human kingdoms, and 3 spiritual kingdoms. The impulse for a new manifestation of a world issues from its spiritual summit or hierarch, from which emanate a series of steadily denser globes or planes; the One expands into the many. During the first half of the evolutionary cycle (the arc of descent) the energy-substances of each plane materialize or condense, while during the second half (the arc of ascent) the trend is towards dematerialization or etherealization, as globes and entities are reabsorbed into the spiritual hierarch for a period of nirvanic rest. The descending arc is characterized by the evolution of matter and involution of spirit, while the ascending arc is characterized by the evolution of spirit and involution of matter.

 

 

15) Evolution of the monad

 

In each grand cycle of evolution, comprising many planetary embodiments, a monad begins as an unselfconsciousness god-spark, embodies in every kingdom of nature for the purpose of gaining experience and unfolding its inherent faculties, and ends the cycle as a self conscious god. Elementals ('baby monads') have no free choice, but automatically act in harmony with one another and the rest of nature. In each successive kingdom differentiation and individuality increase, and reach their peak in the human kingdom with the attainment of selfconsciousness and a large measure of free will.

 

In the human kingdom in particular, self-directed evolution comes into its own. There is no superior power granting privileges or handing out favours; we evolve according to our karmic merits and demerits. As we progress through the spiritual kingdoms we become increasingly at one again with nature, and willingly 'sacrifice' our circumscribed selfconscious freedoms (especially the freedom to 'do our own thing') in order to work in peace and harmony with the greater whole of which we form an integral part. The highest gods of one hierarchy or world-system begin as elementals in the next. The matter of any plane is composed of aggregated, crystallized monads in their nirvanic sleep, and the spiritual and divine entities embodied as planets and stars are the electrons and atomic nuclei -- the material building blocks -- of worlds on even larger scales. Evolution is without beginning and without end, an endless adventure through the fields of infinitude, in which there are always new worlds of experience in which to become selfconscious masters of life.

 

 

16) Universal brotherhood

 

There is no absolute separateness in nature. All things are made of the same essence, have the same spiritual-divine potential, and are interlinked by magnetic ties of sympathy. It is impossible to realize our full potential, unless we recognize the spiritual unity of all living beings and make universal brotherhood the keynote of our lives.

 

 

 

 

Wales Theosophy Links Summary

 

All Wales Guide to Theosophy

 

Instant Guide to Theosophy

 

Theosophy Wales Hornet

 

Theosophy Wales Now

 

Cardiff Theosophical Archive

 

Elementary Theosophy

 

Basic Theosophy

 

Theosophy in Cardiff

 

Theosophy in Wales

 

Hey Look! Theosophy in Cardiff

 

Streetwise Theosophy

 

Grand Tour

 

Theosophy Aardvark

 

Theosophy Starts Here

 

theosophycardiff.org

 

 

 

 

Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales

Theosophy House

206 Newport Road

Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24 – 1DL

theosophycardiff@uwclub.net

 

_________________

 

Wales Picture Gallery

 

 

Beaumaris Castle

 

 

Cardiff Castle

 

 

Conwy Castle

 

 

Flint Castle

 

 

Flint Castle North East Tower

 

 

 

Grosmont Castle

 

 

 

Beaumaris Castle

 

 

 

Llantilio Castle

 

 

 

Montgomery Castle

 

 

 

Rhuddlan Castle

 

 

 

Skenfrith Castle

 

 

 

Anglesey Abbey

 

 

 

Bangor Town Clock

 

 

 

Colwyn Bay Centre

 

 

 

The Great Orme

 

 

 

Llandudno Promenade

 

 

 

Great Orme Tramway

 

 

 

Caervarvon Castle

 

 

 

New Radnor

 

 

 

Blaenavon High Street

 

 

 

Blaenavon Ironworks

 

 

 

 

Llandrindod Wells

 

 

 

Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales

Theosophy House

206 Newport Road

Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24 – 1DL

theosophycardiff@uwclub.net

 

 

 

 

Carmarthen

 

 

 

Presteign Railway

 

 

 

Caerwent Roman Ruins

 

 

 

Colwyn Bay Postcard

 

 

 

Ferndale in the Rhondda Valley

 

 

 

Denbigh

 

 

 

National Museum of Wales

 

 

 

Nefyn

 

 

 

Penisarwaen

 

 

 

Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales

Theosophy House

206 Newport Road

Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24 – 1DL

theosophycardiff@uwclub.net