Adyar Pamphlets

Communication Between Different Worlds

No. 30

Communication Between Different Worlds

by Annie Besant
Published in 1 0 and 1 13 !heosophical Publishin" #ouse$ Adyar$ Chennai %&adras' (ndia !he !heosophist )ffice$ Adyar$ &adras. (ndia
[Page 1] !#*

!heosophical +ociety is differentiated from most of the reli"ious mo,ements of the day by assertin" the continuance in our own time of communication between the different worlds in which humanity is li,in". All reli"ions assert that such communication too- place in the past. they all claim for their /ounders$ and "enerally for their associates and immediate followers$ that such communication was en0oyed$ and enabled them to 1spea- with authority1. some$ as the #ind2 and the 3oman Catholic$ alle"e that in sporadic cases scattered throu"h their respecti,e histories such communication was established$ thou"h rarely$ if e,er$ found today. But the !heosophical +ociety definitely asserts the e4istence of powers which lie latent in all men$ and of the forces in nature that are as yet hidden from [Page 2] common -nowled"e$ and ma-es it one of its ob0ects to study these. +ome of its members ha,e so successfully followed these studies as to e,o-e these powers and control these forces$ usin" methods tau"ht by the &asters of the W(+D)&$ whereby such communication may be normally established and carried on$ without pro,o-in" the difficulties and disad,anta"es embarrassin" the methods -nown as spiritualistic. !he latter remain$ howe,er$ as the only methods within the immediate use of the untrained$ and hence are of the "reatest ,alue in destroyin" the pre0udices of the scientist and the materialist$ and in "i,in" physical and tan"ible proofs$ a,ailable to e,ery one$ of the continuity of consciousness throu"h death. !hey are a si"n of the chan"in" a"e throu"h which the world is passin"$ a herald of the approachin" era in which the barrier of death will be bro-en down$ the in,isible become the ,isible$ and the physical and astral worlds will intermin"le. (n order thorou"hly to understand the sub0ect before us$ it is necessary to "rasp certain fundamental laws of nature. when these are clearly seen$ it is comparati,ely easy to apply them to special cases that may come under our notice. And it must be remembered$ in order that this study may be useful$ that all fear of the unusual must be put aside. the student must reali5e that there are many thin"s around him which he does not see$ and that they become less dan"erous$ thou"h sometimes more alarmin"$ [Page 3] when they pass from in,isibility into ,isibility. (t is the un-nown which may be dan"erous. it is i"norance which is full of fears. !he child unused to stran"ers screams and hides its face in its mother6s dress at the terrifyin" si"ht of a harmless man or woman. accustomed to such meetin"s$ the child has no fear. !he si"ht of a ghost startles on the first occasion. after awhile they are no more alarmin" than the si"ht of a passin" stran"er in the street. )ur i"norance is our real dan"er$ and that can only be "otten rid of by e4perience. A reasonable and thou"htful person$ pure of life and bri"ht of intelli"ence$ may train himself for normal communication with other worlds without any dan"er worthy of consideration$ pro,ided that he is habitually self7controlled$ deliberate and ener"etic. such a one may e,ol,e himself rationally and 8uietly$ and not only con,ince himself of the reality of other worlds$ but may become a source of help and comfort to others lessenin" and e,en remo,in" their fear of death$ and softenin" the an"uish of separation from their belo,ed. +uch a person normally "uards himself in the physical world$ where dan"er is far more potent than in subtler worlds$ because dense physical matter is far more resistant to control by thou"ht than is the subtle matter of hi"her worlds. #uman power of self7defense a"ainst dan"er is smallest in the physical world. in other worlds fear is the worst enemy$ because it paralyses thou"ht and will. ( do not say [Page 4] there are no dan"ers in the subtler worlds. dan"ers there are. but the more we -now the more are we safe$ and there are dan"ers for the i"norant e,erywhere. Pa"e 1

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Communication Between Different Worlds

No. 30

!he first fundamental fact is that each indi,idual is a sin"le consciousness$ a unit of consciousness$ and that ,arieties in the form of communication arise from difference of bodies$ not from difference of consciousness. A consciousness may$ of course$ be more or less unfolded$ may ha,e brou"ht into manifestation more or less of his powers. one unit of consciousness may differ widely from another unit. but the same unit$ i.e.$ the same indi,idual$ remains the same in all communications$ howe,er restricted or unrestricted by the particular body$ "ross or fine$ throu"h which the communication is made. (f we compare two units of consciousness$ one ad,anced and one bac-ward$ the difference in e,olution will be mar-ed in each world in which they function. but the manifestation of each will be determined by the material conditions of manifestation$ and these will introduce a ,ariety in the form of communication$ but will not affect the unity of the manifestin" intelli"ence. (t is well also to bear in mind that all consciousness are fra"ments$ parts$ of the one all7per,adin" consciousness$ and hence their characteristics are fundamentally the same$ howe,er differin" in de"ree. all will possess the three essential attributes of Will$ Wisdom and Acti,ity$ thou"h [Page ] Will may only ha,e reached the point of unfoldment at which we call it Desire$ thou"h Wisdom may be seen only in its embryonic form of Co"nition$ and thou"h Acti,ity may be only manifested in the shape of 3estlessness. !here are no essential differences in the units of consciousness tryin" to manifest themsel,es in ,arious worlds. but there are innumerable differences in de"ree$ from the mi"hty and luminous consciousness of the hi"hest seraph to the dim and scarcely e,en "ropin" consciousness in the mineral. !here is but one consciousness in the uni,erse and all so7called separated consciousness are phases thereof. !he second fundamental fact is that these units of consciousness are embodied$ i.e.$ are closely related to portions of matter which they ha,e temporarily appropriated. /or the purposes of our study we need not concern oursel,es with the hi"hest of these appropriations. we may content oursel,es with reco"ni5in" the fact that there are finer "rades of matter than those to which here we confine oursel,es$ and may indicate these by the "eneral term of the spiritual body without further particulari5in" them. !hose who can freely use the spiritual body are certainly not in need of any e4planations such as those "i,en in this article. We are concerned$ then$ only with three well7defined "rades of matter$ those which answer to$ and are the instruments of$ thou"ht$ desire and action 9 mental$ astral and physical. /rom the [Page !] mental matter is or"ani5ed the mental body. from the astral matter the astral body. from the physical matter the physical body$ which is functionally di,isible into its etheric and "ross parts. !hese are the ,ehicles$ the instruments of the unit of consciousness$ his means of affectin"$ and bein" affected by$ the outer worlds in which he li,es. these may be hi"hly or poorly or"ani5ed$ may be composed of fine or coarse materials. such as they are$ they are his only means of contact with the worlds surroundin" him$ and his only means of self7e4pression. !hese three bodies 9 mental$ astral$ and physical 9 are separable from each other$ and under abnormal conditions the two parts of the physical body may to some e4tent be dissociated durin" physical life$ and are completely dissociated at physical death. While a man is awa-e and in his ordinary e,ery7day state of consciousness$ he is usin" these three bodies all the time. when he "oes to sleep he lea,es the physical body$ and uses only two 9 the astral and mental. at death$ the "rosser part of the physical drops away$ the finer part clin"in" to him for a short period :normally;$ and then droppin" away from him as did the "rosser part$ and he uses only the astral and mental bodies in the post-mortem condition for a period ,aryin" in len"th. later$ the astral body also drops away from him$ and he remains clothed in the mental body durin" the lon" mental$ or hea,enly life$ inter,enin" between the intermediate state and rebirth into the physical world. When this [Page !] also drops away from him$ he finds himself on the threshold of reincarnation$ of the buildin" of new bodies for his ne4t period of physical life. !he third fundamental fact is that man is li,in"$ functionin"$ in three worlds durin" the wa-in" periods of Pa"e <

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his life on earth. !hese three worlds are the worlds composed se,erally of physical$ astral and mental matter$ the worlds from which are se,erally drawn the materials for his physical$ astral$ and mental bodies. !hese worlds are not separate from each other$ but interpenetrate and intermin"le$ while remainin" distinct. =ust as "as may pass into water but remains distinct from it$ so does astral matter interpenetrate physical matter while remainin" distinct from it$ and so does mental matter$ bein" still finer$ interpenetrate the astral. Physical ether interpenetrates the "ases$ li8uids and solids of the physical body$ mo,in" throu"h e,ery part of it unhindered. so does superphysical matter interpenetrate physical$ mo,in" unhindered throu"h e,ery part of it by reason of its "reater subtlety. Nature e,erywhere repeats herself$ and we may understand much of the superphysical by studyin" the physical and reasonin" by analo"y. but we must e,er remember that the superphysical is the ori"inal and the physical the copy$ and not vice versa. !he astral world$ while intermin"lin" with the physical$ is not conterminous with it. it forms a sphere round the sphere of the earth$ and a radius of this astral sphere would e4tend from the center of our [Page "] earth to the moon. !he mental$ or hea,enly world$ a"ain$ is a similar concentric sphere$ stretchin" far beyond the limits of the astral$ althou"h interpenetratin" both it and the physical. Accordin" to the de,elopment of the respecti,e bodies will be a man6s consciousness of each world. as a man physically blind cannot see the physical world which stretches around him$ so a man astrally blind cannot see the astral world thou"h it e,er en,irons him. similarly may a man whose astral si"ht is open$ be mentally blind and fail to see the mental world encompassin" him. !he matter in each body must be or"ani5ed in order that consciousness may use it as an instrument of perception. the physically blind$ at the present sta"e of e,olution$ are a small minority. the astrally blind are a hu"e ma0ority. but blindness of or"anisms does not chan"e the worlds in which they li,e 9 e4cept to themsel,es. !hus men are li,in" in three worlds at e,ery moment of their wa-in" consciousness$ thou"h normally conscious only of the densest. in sleep and after death$ they are li,in" in two$ but are normally conscious only of the intermediate world$ and not always of that. at a later period of their postmortem condition they are li,in" in only one$ and conscious but of their immediate surroundin"s in that. As e,olution proceeds$ the astral world will become ,isible to those who occupy the crest of the wa,e of normally ad,ancin" humanity$ and at a far future time$ the mental will also become ,isible$ so that men [Page #] on earth will li,e consciously in the three worlds$ the three bodies ha,in" become or"ani5ed as ,ehicles of consciousness$ a,ailable for ordinary use. !he fourth and$ for our purposes$ the last fundamental fact is that each body is affected by the embodied consciousness and affects it lon" before it is sufficiently or"ani5ed to con,ey to that consciousness definite information as to the world from which its materials were drawn. We may notice this to a ,ery considerable e4tent if we watch the wor-in"s of the wa-in" consciousness in a new infantile body. !he consciousness answers to the discomfort of the body 9 from want of food$ pain$ etc. 9 before it is able to obtain throu"h that body any definite idea as to its surroundin"s or any "rasp of its own relations to them. And the astral and mental bodies answer to chan"es in consciousness by chan"ed ,ibrations for a"es before they hand on to the consciousness definite news of the e,ents that are ta-in" place around them in their respecti,e worlds. #ence communications constantly ta-e place between the worlds in which the man is normally li,in" without the man -nowin" anythin" of their passa"e. he becomes conscious of a thou"ht only when it affects his physical brain$ and -nows nothin" of its ori"in or of the course it has followed ere its arri,al in his physical body. >et us be"in our study of communications between different worlds with the e,ery7day constantly arri,in" communications$ and thus establish [Page 1$] oursel,es thorou"hly on the normal before we en8uire into the abnormal. =ust as the$ to us$ inappreciable inter,al between the touchin" of a hot plate with the tip of a fin"er and the withdrawal of the fin"er is occupied with the passa"e of a wa,e in the sensory ner,es Pa"e 3

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from the periphery to the brain and the passa"e of a return wa,e from the brain throu"h the motor ner,es to the periphery$ so is there the passa"e of a ,ibratory wa,e from the physical matter to the astral and from the astral to the mental$ and a correspondin" chan"e in consciousness. it is the consciousness which feels the pain of the burnin"$ and memori5es the fact for future "uidance. the communication has run inwards from the physical body throu"h the astral to the mental$ a communication from world to world. +imilarly is the chan"e in consciousness$ the will to mo,e the fin"er from the hot substance$ the cause of a ,ibration in the matter of the mental body$ and this causes a ,ibration in the astral body$ and this in turn in the physical brain 9 a communication from world to world. (n all processes of thin-in"$ there is a series of chan"es of consciousness in the mental world$ these are answered by a correspondin" series of ,ibrations in the mental body. these cause a series of correspondin" ,ibratory chan"es in the astral body$ stren"thened by the consciousness 9 the same consciousness$ remember$ in all the bodies 9 and these set up similar ,ibratory chan"es in the etheric part of the physical. these etheric ,ibrations [Page 11] are lar"ely electrical in character$ and affect the cells of the dense physical brain$ settin" up ,ibratory chan"es therein. here you ha,e the normal communication between the worlds$ "oin" on repeatedly$ continually$ ,aried by the re,erse process$ where the initiati,e is from outside. somethin" occurs in the outer world which starts such a series of chan"es$ one of the senses recei,es a stimulus and a ner,ous wa,e is set up. it passes from the dense to etheric matter$ or be"ins in the etheric$ is answered by a chan"e of consciousness$ runs up throu"h astral to mental$ intensifyin" the chan"e$ and the consciousness recei,es and re"isters the communication. (t is not waste of time to place clearly before our minds that communications are constantly runnin" up and down the ladder of our bodies$ each body a step in the ladder$ and each step in a different world. !he maintenance of our mental balance and of our powers of reasonin" and of 0ud"ment in the face of the abnormal is rendered ,ery much more easy when we understand that the abnormal is only an e4tension of the normal. (f a person feels that he is facin" somethin" stran"e and un-nown$ somethin" that he is inclined to re"ard as supernatural$ he loses too often both 0ud"ment and reasonin" faculty. but if he understands that the phenomenon before him is only a subtler repetition of a familiar happenin"$ he is then able to obser,e accurately and to reason sensibly and acutely. As &. =ourdain was astonished [Page 12] to find that in his ordinary con,ersations he was tal-in" prose$ so may the student be astonished to find that he is continually communicatin" from world to world. ?our consciousness may turn its attention outwards in any world in which it possesses a body to ser,e as window. you may loo- out throu"h your physical$ astral or mental window$ but life is always the same you that loo-s out$ that recei,es impressions. >et us consider the ne4t class of communications. A person becomes conscious of a thou"ht$ or rather an impression$ arisin" in his wa-in" consciousness$ rather ,a"uely and somewhat indeterminate$ which he cannot relate to anythin" in his physical surroundin"s$ and which does not seem to be ori"inated in his own consciousness. (t seems to him to come from outside$ but it lac-s the sharpness of definition to which he is accustomed in the presence of real ob0ects. +uch impressions as premonitions$ warnin"s of dan"er$ apparently causeless depression or elation$ feelin"s as to the mental$ moral or physical condition of friends$ as to illness$ death$ misfortune$ "ood fortune$ etc.$ intimations which do not come with the clearness of the spo-en word or written messa"e$ but none the less cause a chan"e in consciousness 9 what are these @ !hey are due to impacts made upon the astral body in the astral world$ impacts which set up ,ibrations in its matter and thus "i,e rise to chan"es of consciousness. !he absence of precision of definition is [Page 13] due to the lac- of or"ani5ation of the astral body$ and its conse8uent incapacity to recei,e clear impressions. !he physical body has been in process of or"ani5ation for millions of years$ and can recei,e sharply defined series of ,ibrations$ and the consciousness throu"h this immense period Pa"e A

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of time has been learnin" to relate impacts to ob0ects$ to analy5e and co7ordinate impressions made on its body$ and thus to understand their meanin". *4perience has e,ol,ed it into an admirable ,ehicle and instrument of consciousness. But the astral body is in ,ery different case. (n e,ery fairly ci,ili5ed and educated person it is partially or"ani5ed$ sufficiently or"ani5ed to recei,e and reproduce se8uences of ,ibrations thrown upon it from the astral plane$ but its special sense7or"ans 9 the whirlin" wheels$ or cha-rams 9 are not as yet "enerally e,ol,ed in such persons$ and hence sharply defined impressions cannot be recei,ed. With closed eyes you can distin"uish between the li"ht and the dar-. if when the sun was shinin" on your eyelids$ a hand were interposed and threw a shade o,er them$ you would be conscious of the difference$ but you would not discern the hand. or if shadows were thrown on a sheet$ your open eyes would see the shadow7dance$ but it would only imperfectly con,ey a story which you could easily "ather from a drama acted by persons ,isible to si"ht. so is it with the astral body of the a,era"e educated man. (f at some distance from you an e,ent ta-es [Page 14] place of "reat interest to yourself$ brin"in" to you 0oy or "rief$ or if some persons thin- stron"ly of you$ the ,ibrations thereby set up in astral matter will be propa"ated throu"h space$ li-e a &arconi messa"e$ and will impin"e on your astral body$ settin" up similar ,ibrations therein. But unless the astral sense7or"ans are de,eloped$ a sharply defined picture cannot be produced$ and hence only a ,a"ue impression will be made on the consciousness. !he astral body and the astral sense7or"ans differ as do the physical body and the physical sense7or"ans$ althou"h much more substitution is possible in the one than in the other. !he astral bodies of the educated are fairly well de,eloped in form and "eneral constitution$ but are poorly or"ani5ed as re"ards the sense7or"ans. !here are$ howe,er$ in the astral body ,ery well de,eloped centers connected with the physical or"ans of the senses 9 a center connected with the eye$ one with the ear$ and so on. !hese are sometimes stimulated into action by ,iolent ,ibrations in the astral body$ and then we ha,e the phenomenon of second si"ht$ the ,ision of phantoms$ wraiths$ phantasms of li,in" or dead persons. (t is also possible to stimulate the physical senses$ but in a rather unhealthy way$ by stimulatin" these centers throu"h their appropriate physical or"ans$ as by crystal7"a5in"$ the use of ma"ic mirrors$ and other similar means. (n this way an e4tension of si"ht on the physical plane may be "ained$ or e,en of ,ision in the lower re"ions of the astral [Page 1 ] world. But this is not a "ainin" of astral senses$ but an unhealthy stimulation of physical senses$ causin" an abnormal increase of sensiti,eness in the astral centers to which they are attached. (t is the law of nature that de,elopment comes from abo,e$ and the forces of e,olution wor- from abo,e and or"ani5e that which is below. >ife or"ani5es matter$ matter does not produce life. !he consciousness wor-in" in the astral world or"ani5es the physical sense7or"ans. the consciousness wor-in" in the mental world or"ani5es the astral sense7or"ans$ and so on. !here is a continual wor-in" of consciousness for the impro,ement and the refinin" of its lower ,ehicles. As your e,olution proceeds from the sta"e it has now reached with the most thou"htful and cultured persons$ it is possible to 8uic-en the unfoldin" of the astral senses by strenuous and clear thin-in" and by purity of desire and action. as these become acti,e the communications recei,ed throu"h the astral body will become clear and definite$ li-e those recei,ed throu"h the physical body. !hese are blurred now because the instrument is imperfect. As the consciousness unfolds on plane after plane$ in world after world$ and or"ani5es its ,ehicles in the world below that on which its own center is established$ the lower bodies for all practical purposes unite into one body. if a person ha,e the center of consciousness established on the mental plane$ the astral and physical bodies function as a sin"le body$ and he [Page 1%] li,es consciously in two worlds. (n the hi"h consciousness of !hose whom we call &asters all the worlds are to !hem as one world in which !heir wa-in" consciousness is e,er functionin"$ and !hey focus !heir attention at any point without lea,in" the Pa"e B

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physical body. !he worlds on which attention is not fi4ed are out of focus but are not in,isible. When we are usin" physical si"ht only$ thin"s we are loo-in" at are clear and distinct. the surroundin" thin"s are ,isible but not clearly defined. +o if a man be li,in" in two worlds$ physical and astral thin"s intermin"le in his normal field of ,ision$ but if he loo-s at the physical the astral is out of focus$ if he loo-s at the astral the physical is out of focus. But a communication from any world can reach a &aster$ and by focusin" his attention on it #e sees the world from which it comes$ and can$ if #e so will$ answer it by sendin" the reply throu"h the appropriate body. All #is bodies function as one body for #is consciousness$ but each is there$ a perfect instrument for action in any world. We$ who ha,e not reached that hi"h perfection$ may ha,e to mo,e from world to world$ or lea,e one body to function in another. or$ if we ha,e passed that elementary sta"e of the hi"her e,olution$ we may ha,e partly unified our lower bodies$ and may be able to function on some planes as the &aster does on all those which are manifested. !hen$ by payin" attention to any messa"e$ we can -now from what world it comes. it is all a 8uestion of the de,elopment of our [Page 1!] bodies$ the one consciousness recei,in" impressions from any world in which it is usin" a well7or"ani5ed body. !he whole 8uestion$ therefore$ is one of e,olution 9 the unfoldin" of consciousness$ the or"ani5ation of bodies. But there are many forms of communication that do not depend wholly on oursel,es$ forms used by other persons who desire to communicate with us$ and which demand no "rowth on our own part$ communications which present themsel,es to our normal consciousness in the physical body$ and are surrounded with more or less of difficulty and dan"er because of the lettin" loose of forces$ not usually employed on the physical plane$ by the person ma-in" the communication. (t is to these that we will ne4t turn$ remar-in" only that it is our own want of de,elopment that ma-es necessary the employment of these means$ that forces more hi"hly e,ol,ed Bein"s to come down to our le,el because we are not able to rise to !heirs. (t may be ta-en for "ranted as a "eneral rule that no Bein" who is functionin" on hi"her planes will "o to a "reat e4penditure of ener"y to manifest #imself physically at a point far remo,ed from that at which #is physical body is li,in"$ if #e can do the wor- #e needs to accomplish without such manifestation. #e will always use the smallest amount of power necessary to achie,e the aim #e sets before #imself. #e will ta-e the easiest way$ employ the easiest method. if the person with whom [Page 1"] #e wishes to communicate has so or"ani5ed his hi"her bodies as to be able to recei,e communications on the subtler planes$ then most certainly #e will not "o to the e4penditure of ener"y necessary for appearance on the physical. +till it is sometimes necessary$ and in olden times it was usual$ for a &aster to teach on the physical plane when #is physical body was far away from the place at which the teachin" was to be "i,en. (n such case the 8uestion arose$ and arisesC 1What is the best method of communication @1 !he Ancients answered this 8uestion in a simple and definite way. !hey said$ and truly said$ that the best method of communication was to use a pure$ carefully trained and carefully "uarded body$ hi"hly or"ani5ed as to the ner,ous system$ from which the le"itimate owner could easily step out$ or be sent out$ lea,in" this body an empty tabernacle into which the !eacher 7 whose own physical body was far away 9 could step$ and use it as #is own. +uch a body is li-e a well7made "arment out of which the owner can slip$ lea,in" it to be put on and worn by another. (f a body is to be thus used$ it is necessary that it should be "uarded with scrupulous care. the surroundin"s should be beautiful and peaceful. no rou"h or 0arrin" ,ibrations should be allowed to ruffle the atmosphere. coarse and impure persons should not be allowed to approach it. its diet should be non7stimulatin"$ nutriti,e and free from all [Page 1#] products of ferment and decay. careful physical culture should preser,e it in health. (n the ancient Pa"e D

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!emples$ ruled by those who were themsel,es (nitiates of the lower or hi"her &ysteries$ such bodies were to be found 9 those of the Eestal Eir"ins$ or +ybils. !hese Eir"ins were ori"inally youn" "irls brou"ht up with e4treme care within the !emple precincts$ and allowed to come into touch only with those who were pure and noble$ and such a Eir"in would be chosen as the means of communication. +eated on a stool or chair isolated from the earth6s ma"netism$ the "irl would lea,e her body 9 if trained to do so at will 9 or she would be thrown into a trance. then a &aster$ or a hi"h (nitiate$ would ta-e possession of the body$ and throu"h it teach the disciples "athered for instruction. !hat was the fa,ourite way of teachin" amon" the Ancients$ and it was a "ood way$ for it caused little disturbance of normal$ physical forces. it merely afforded to a hi"her Bein" a ,ehicle which #e could use$ while the Eestal was no more disturbed than by an ordinary "oin" to sleep. !his was the way in which Pytha"oras was wont to "i,e instruction to #is disciples in more li,es than one. (n modern days such an or"anism is spo-en of as that of a medium$ and the lac- of -nowled"e has brou"ht about a de"radation of the office. a person who is born a sensiti,e is tau"ht to be passi,e$ allows himself to be thrown into a trance and his body to [Page 2$] be ta-en possession of$ without -nowled"e of the entity who is "oin" to use it$ without discrimination or power of self7defense. +uch persons usually pollute their bodies with flesh and alcohol$ meet all people indiscriminately$ allow anyone to sit with them$ li,e amid sordid surroundin"s. !he results are naturally tri,ial or repulsi,e. /or this one cannot blame the mediums. it is i"norance which leads to such conditions. (f &r. +tead be able to carry out the plan that he and his astral7world friend &iss Ames 9 =ulia 9 ha,e formed$ he will raise the medium to a far hi"her position$ will "uard sensiti,es from e,il surroundin"s$ and will fence his sFance7room a"ainst undesirable intruders belon"in" both to the physical and astral worlds. Julia's Bureau is the first attempt in modern days to open systematic and carefully "uarded channels of communication between the li,in" and super7 li,in" alon" this particular line. nor are the absent li,in" e4cluded from usin" it$ if they are able to "o thither in their astral bodies. (n our own days$ #. P. Bla,ats-y was lar"ely used by her &aster and other !eachers as such a means of communication. +he was a most e4traordinary and rare compound. #er body and ner,ous system were of the most sensiti,e type. she was born a medium$ and was surrounded durin" her childhood and youth by a wealth of mediumistic phenomena. But she had also an intelli"ence of e4traordinary [Page 21] ,i,idness and a will of steel. 3arely indeed is such a combination found$ but it was ideal for an occultist. in fact$ a &aster said that no such body had been a,ailable for two hundred years. #er character was positi,e and imperious$ and her occult trainin" made e,en stron"er her already stron" will. !hrou"hout her life as one of the /ounders of the !heosophical +ociety$ she was constantly steppin" out of the physical body$ in order to place it at the ser,ice of her own &aster or at that of one of the !eachers$ the face and ,oice sometimes so much chan"in" as to bewilder unaccustomed spectators. Colonel )lcott has told us in his Old Diary Leaves that most of his own occult instruction reached him in this ancient way. she would step out of her body$ a &aster would step in$ and throu"h her lips would teach the ea"er$ de,oted disciple. )f all ways of communicatin"$ as ( said abo,e$ this is the best$ because it causes least disturbance. but there are few people who are fit to ser,e as such a channel. Not understandin" the conditions necessary to ma-e the body fit for the use of a Bein" on the le,el of a &aster$ people do not train and -eep their bodies sufficiently well to be used in this way$ and for the most part what is done now7a7days alon" these lines is not of the nature of possession but rather of inspiration$ when the mind is raised abo,e its normal le,el by contact with the mind of the &aster$ and some of #is thou"ht flows throu"h it.[Page 22] !he ,ery opposite of this means of communication$ as dan"erous as the other is safe$ is where a Pa"e G

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materiali5ation of a physical body is brou"ht about. )ur &asters ha,e used also this method$ and in the early days of the !heosophical +ociety it was not infre8uently employed. !he &aster comes in #is mHyH,I r2pH 9 phantasmal body 9 and densifies it on the spot where #e chooses to appear by drawin" out of the atmosphere$ or out of the body of some one present$ the particles which$ built into the subtle body$ ma-e it ,isible and sometimes tan"ible. Colonel )lcott saw his &aster first in this way in New ?or-. so also ( saw #im for the first time in /ontainebleau in 1JJ . (n this way se,eral of the &asters and of !heir initiated disciples ha,e appeared to members of the !heosophical +ociety. &r. >eadbeater$ Damodar$ Pandit Bha,ani +han-ar$ &r. +ubbiah Chetty$ are some of the ,arious witnesses of such appearances at Adyar and elsewhere. !he 8uestion will naturally be as-edC Why should so impressi,e and satisfactory a means of communication be dan"erous @ Because of the uni,ersality of the well7-nown law that 1action and re7 action are e8ual and opposite.1 Whene,er the forces of the hi"her planes are caused to affect the lower directly$ there is a re7action e8ual to the action caused$ and the direct action down here of a Brother of the White >od"e is followed by a similar direct action here of a Brother of the Dar- >od"e. )ne of the &asters in an [Page 23] early letter e4plained this dan"erous re7action from the phenomena wor-ed by #. P. Bla,ats-y$ and the destructi,e results on those around her$ and many of us ha,e seen plenty of confirmation of the law. Where,er these manifestations of force occur there is storm and trouble$ and those who seem$ at the moment$ to be most hi"hly fa,oured are those on whom falls the wei"ht of the ine,itable recoil. !hey suffer physically or mentally$ there is loss of e8uilibrium or ner,ous disturbance. !he ner,ous strain to which #. P. Bla,ats-y was sub0ected by the wealth of phenomena produced by her bro-e down her physical health and a"ed her before her time. And it is noteworthy that because of the strain in,ol,ed by this play of forces in the life of discipleship$ physical health has e,er been in the *ast a condition of discipleship. Bio"raphies of seers$ of saints$ are full of e,idence of the wor-in" of this law$ and without definite trainin" no physical body can stand the strain of psychic e4periences. +o constantly ha,e hysteria and seership been found to"ether that some re"ard all e4hibitions of seership as resultin" from disturbance of mental e8uilibrium$ and it is true in ,ery many cases that psychic sensiti,eness and o,erstrained ner,es "o to"ether. &a"netic$ electrical and other forms of etheric ,ibrations are set up on the physical plane with the e4hibition of the subtler forces$ and unless people within their reach -now how to protect [Page 24] themsel,es they pay for their presence in disordered ner,es and strained brains. Another means of communication is the sendin" of a messa"e by the &aster throu"h a disciple. +uch a messa"e would often be "i,en by the disciple in his &aster6s form. /or astral and mental bodies follow the thou"ht of their wearers$ and if the disciple bearin" the messa"e is thin-in" intently on his &aster$ his body mi"ht assume #is appearance and the sender of the messa"e would appear as its deli,erer. !he mental or astral body assumin" that form$ the denser material built into it would also follow it$ and thus an appearance of the &aster mi"ht ta-e place althou"h #e #imself was not present. +imilarly$ a"ain$ a thou"ht7form of the &aster mi"ht brin" the communication$ and that happens more fre8uently than the actual comin" of the &aster to any particular place. (t has been obser,ed$ 8uite apart from any 8uestion of a &aster$ that one person will see the form of another where only a thou"ht7form had been sent$ and no ,isit had been paid in the astral body. A person whose mind has been fairly well7 trained may send such a thou"ht7form$ and it will assume the form of the sender. ( ha,e myself ,ery often been told that ( had appeared in particular places and had done certain actions$ and those who had seen Pa"e J

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the phantasm were not easily to be con,inced that ( had not paid them any ,isit but had only thou"ht of them. (f the percipient had been trained [Page 2 ] to close obser,ation$ he would ha,e been able to distin"uish between a thou"ht7form and a person$ but in the absence of such trainin" a person may say 8uite honestlyC I saw my friend$ when he had only seen his friend6s thou"ht7form. &oreo,er$ it is possible for a person to pro0ect a thou"ht7form and then to percei,e it as an e4ternal ob0ect. A &aster mi"ht send a thou"ht to a student$ and thus brin" about a chan"e of consciousness in that student on the hi"her le,els of the mental plane. !hat chan"e of consciousness caused by the &aster will brin" about correspondin" ,ibrations in the student6s causal body$ and these will be reproduced in the normal way in the mental and astral bodies and thus carried to the etheric. a person most readily affected throu"h the auditory ner,es mi"ht under such circumstances hear the &aster6s ,oice$ and hear it either inside or outside his brain. one most readily affected throu"h the optic ner,es mi"ht e8ually see the &aster6s form. each mi"ht belie,e that he had heard or seen the &aster #imself$ when he had unconsciously manufactured in his etheric brain the ,oice or the form. (n such cases the communication would be a real one$ but the shape it would ta-e on the physical plane would be illusory. (t is stated in the Acts of the Apostles that when the #oly +pirit came down upon the twel,e$ e,ery one in the assembled crowd heard them spea- in his own ton"ue. !o the person who does not understand [Page 2%] matters such as those with which this article deals$ the story seems incredible. ?et it is not so. /or the thou"ht of the Apostles caused in each hearer a mental chan"e$ reproducin" itself in the mind of each. that chan"e became each man6s thou"ht$ and reached each man6s brain in the ordinary way. there it clothed itself in words$ the words into which each man was accustomed daily unconsciously to translate his own thou"hts. !he man thou"ht that he heard the Apostles spea-in" words in his own lan"ua"e$ whereas they spo-e in thou"hts and he translated them into his own ton"ue. +imilarly$ if a wor-er on the astral plane finds that he cannot communicate with some one whom he desires to help throu"h the medium of a common lan"ua"e$ he will 9 if he ha,e learned to use his mental body 9 transmit the thou"ht to the mind of his companion$ lea,in" him to translate the mental ima"e into his own lan"ua"e. #e does the translation$ but he will consider that his friend has spo-en to him$ whereas he has only recei,ed from him a mental impression which he has himself translated after his accustomed fashion. !hat wonted interaction of mind and brain$ the normal translation of mental ima"e into words$ is used by those wor-in" on hi"her planes as offerin" a con,enient means of communication$ with those on lower planes$ who use a lan"ua"e un-nown to themsel,es. !hus an eastern &aster$ not -nowin" *n"lish$ will 1 spea- in *n"lish 1 to a western pupil. #e may e,en write [Page 2!] it by ta-in" from the pupil6s brain the words #e needs. !here is one other possibility that should not be omittedC the personification of a Brother of the >i"ht by a Brother of the +hadow or of a disciple of the one by a disciple of the other. (t may happen that for the decei,in" of a person possessin" wide influence$ and the conse8uent harm that may be wrou"ht by such a one when decei,ed$ a Brother of the +hadow may personate a White Brother$ and "i,e a mischie,ous order or direction. (n such a case e,erythin" depends at first on the intuition of the one whom it is sou"ht to mislead$ and then the matter passes on to the intuition and 0ud"ment of others. +hould such a possibility be before the +ociety$ each member must form his own opinion on the ,eracity and reliability of the communication$ after considerin" all the circumstances of the case$ the -nowled"e and the character of the supposed ,ictim$ the bearin" of the communication on the welfare of the +ociety$ and all collateral happenin"s. +ometimes the 8uestion can be finally decided only after the e4piry of a considerable period of time. thus in the case of the =ud"e secession$ time has spo-en by the Pa"e

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continuance and "rowth of the ori"inal +ociety$ its output of literature$ its increasin" ,itality and power$ compared with the brea-in" up of the secession into ,arious smaller bodies$ the decrease in adherents$ the paucity of literature$ the small influence [Page 2"] on the public. !ime pro,es all thin"s$ and its ,erdict is without appeal. +o will it be with the contro,ersy aroused by the Adyar manifestations. (n patience possess ye your souls$ and after usin" your best 0ud"ment await that ,erdict. !he fire of time pro,es all thin"s. it burns up dross and lea,es the "old purified and resplendent. !he >ord of the Burnin"7Kround throws all thin"s earthly into #is fires. let us await the results without fear$ willin" that our dross shall be consumed and hopin" that some pure "old may$ in the end$ remain. (t will be e,ident to those who consider these ,arious means of communication that it is well7ni"h impossible for persons at a distance from the place where a communication had been made to decide on the form it may ha,e ta-en$ unless they ha,e at their command occult methods of in,esti"ation. !he nature of the manifestations which too- place at Adyar in the winter of 1 0D71 0G could not be decided by the ordinary member of the +ociety$ un,ersed in occult phenomena. #e was forced either to rely on the "ood faith and accuracy of those present durin" their occurrence or able to study them occultly$ or to suspend his 0ud"ment. !he data were insufficient for an independent decision in the matter. And such is the case with re"ard to most of the phenomena which ha,e occurred in the history of the +ociety. Lnless we can accept the "ood faith and the competence of the witnesses$ or ha,e the power to in,esti"ate the [Page 2#] past for oursel,es$ we must perforce suspend our 0ud"ment. (rrational credulity and irrational incredulity are both si"ns of an unbalanced mind$ and$ where e,idence sufficient to satisfy us is lac-in"$ our ri"ht course is to abstain ali-e from affirmation and denial. (t is clear that in such matters each must decide for himself$ and that none has the ri"ht to dictate how any other member shall thin-. A person who has definite -nowled"e may affirm that such and such a thin" happened$ but he cannot claim authority to impose his -nowled"e on others as sufficient proof of the happenin"$ nor should he blame them if they deny his competence as a witness. !he entire freedom of each member to e4ercise his own reason on these matters is necessary to the security and pro"ress of the +ociety. !he paucity of communications permitted to be made public durin" many years was a proof of the want of balance$ 0ud"ment$ common7sense and calmness in the "eneral +ociety. People had come to re"ard communications from the &asters with doubt$ suspicion and fear$ and conse8uently$ as they caused much turmoil$ they were withheld$ sa,e when absolutely necessary. (n the earlier days they were common because the fact of the open door was ,ery "enerally reco"ni5ed. Now they are rare$ because of the turmoil they cause. But if we belie,ed what theoretically most of us accept$ that we are li,in" in three worlds all the time and are related to those [Page 3$] worlds by the inclusion of their matter in our body$ we should re"ard it as natural$ not unnatural$ that we should recei,e by way of our appropriated matter impacts from each of the three worlds. )n our recepti,eness$ not on these outer worlds$ depends our -nowled"e of them and our communication with them. (t is all7important for the pro"ress of the +ociety that$ howe,er true the fact of communication between these worlds$ neither the fact itself$ nor any particular instance of it$ should be imposed upon the members of the +ociety by authority$ either open or tacit. *ach member must be left free to accept or re0ect on his own responsibility that which is affirmed by any other. (f$ in the e4ercise of this discretion$ a member re0ects what is true$ that is his own loss$ and it is far better that he should lose than that the +ociety should be depri,ed of the liberty which -eeps open the path of pro"ress. (f a ma0ority of the +ociety re0ected a true and important communication$ a communication from a &aster$ then the +ociety would perish as an or"ani5ation$ and the minority would be left to carry on the wor-. !hat was the peril in Pa"e 10

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which the !heosophical +ociety stood after the manifestations at Adyar$ and the e4pression to Colonel )lcott of the &aster6s wish as to the nomination of his successor. But the "reat ma0ority of the +ociety obeyed the &aster6s wish$ and the dan"er was a,erted. +uch a peril mi"ht a"ain confront us$ but we must not buy security from it by restrictin" the freedom of [Page 31] members to thin- for themsel,es. *,ery member must be left free to belie,e or not to belie,e. None has the ri"ht to sayC 1( belie,e it$ therefore you must accept it1. None has the ri"ht to sayC 1( do not belie,e it$ therefore you must re0ect it1. !here is no coercion in sayin"C 1( -now this to be trueM any more than there is coercion in sayin"C 1 ( -now that puttin" those substances to"ether will form an e4plosi,e compound1. if anyone chooses to put them to"ether then he will find out by his own e4perience that such a compound is formed. As a &aster once said when #e was accused of utterin" a threat because #e stated what would follow a certain line of actionC 1 A warnin" is not a threat.1 *lder students may see a dan"er that youn"er students do not see$ and they are sometimes bound to put their -nowled"e at the ser,ice of the youn"er. but the youn"er must be left free to accept or to re0ect the warnin"$ and in the latter case to buy their own e4perience at the cost of sufferin" that would ha,e been a,oided by utili5in" the e4perience of their elders. Pro"ress is made alon" both lines and is$ for the most part$ "ained by a blendin" of the two methods. !he laws of nature do not chan"e because we are i"norant of them$ and if we ma-e a mista-e$ howe,er conscientiously$ we shall suffer as we stri-e a"ainst the law. !he conscientious decision will impro,e our character$ and our -nowled"e will be increased by our e4perience. !hose who ha,e already "ained that -nowled"e may [Page 32] ri"htly offer it to their fellows thou"h they may not impose it on them$ otherwise would they lay themsel,es open to the reproachC 1 ?ou -new we were i"norantly runnin" into dan"er. why did you not warn us @ 1 !he !heosophical +ociety$ as the nucleus of the Comin" 3ace$ must encoura"e ,ariety of opinion within its borders$ in order that it may "ather up within itself all seeds of truth$ e,en thou"h they be enclosed within hus-s of error. !he hus- will drop away and the seed will remain and "row. !he +ociety will ne,er be destroyed by ,arieties of thou"ht$ if only we practice perfect tolerance$ and put no barrier in the way of freedom of e4pression. But do not let us encoura"e ne"ations while discoura"in" affirmations$ lest we should "row towards the dar-ness rather than towards the li"ht. While we "uard liberty of thou"ht and e4pression and encoura"e the fullest discussion of differences$ let us not for"et courtesy and "entleness$ lest difference of thou"ht should "lide into ,ituperation of those who thin- differently from oursel,es. Personal attac- and imputation of e,il moti,es are the weapons of attac- used by the uncultured and the ,ul"ar$ and should find no place in !heosophical discussion. >o,e is as ,ital as -nowled"e for the "rowth of the future$ and the -nowled"e which is without lo,e is useless to the &aster7Builders of the Comin" 3ace.

Pa"e 11