Clairvoyance by C.W.

Leadbeater

Clairvoyance
by C.W. Leadbeater

Published in 1899 London: The Theosophical Publishing Society 2 ! Charing Cross! S.W.

Chapter "1" W#$T CL$%&'()$*C+ %S Chapter "2" S%,PL+ CL$%&'()$*C+: -.LL Chapter "/" S%,PL+ CL$%&'()$*C+: P$&T%$L Chapter "0" CL$%&'()$*C+ %* SP$C+: %*T+*T%(*$L Chapter "1" CL$%&'()$*C+ %* SP$C+: S+,%"%*T+*T%(*$L Chapter " " CL$%&'()$*C+ %* SP$C+: .*%*T+*T%(*$L Chapter "2" CL$%&'()$*C+ %* T%,+: T#+ P$ST Chapter "8" CL$%&'()$*C+ %* T%,+: T#+ -.T.&+ Chapter "9" ,+T#(3S (- 3+'+L(P,+*T

Page 1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater Chapter -1WHAT CLAIRVOYANC I!

4Page 15 Clairvoyance 6eans literally nothing 6ore than 7clear seeing7! and it is a 8ord 8hich has been sorely 6isused! and even degraded so 9ar as to be e6ployed to describe the tric:ery o9 a 6ounteban: in a variety sho8. +ven in its 6ore restricted sense it covers a 8ide range o9 pheno6ena! di99ering so greatly in character that it is not easy to give a de9inition o9 the 8ord 8hich shall be at once succinct and accurate. %t has been called 7spiritual vision7! but no rendering could 8ell be 6ore 6isleading than that! 9or in the vast 6a;ority o9 cases there is no 9aculty connected 8ith it 8hich has the slightest clai6 to be honoured by so lo9ty a na6e. -or the purpose o9 this treatise 8e 6ay! perhaps! de9ine it as the po8er to see 8hat is hidden 9ro6 ordinary physical sight. %t 8ill be as 8ell to pre6ise that it is very 9re<uently = though by no 6eans al8ays > acco6panied by 8hat is called clairaudience! or the po8er to hear 8hat 8ould be inaudible to the ordinary physical 4Page 5 ear? and 8e 8ill 9or the nonce ta:e our title as covering this 9aculty also! in order to avoid the clu6siness o9 perpetually using t8o long 8ords 8here one 8ill su99ice. Let 6e 6a:e t8o points clear be9ore % begin. -irst! % a6 not 8riting 9or those 8ho do not believe that there is such a thing as clairvoyance! nor a6 % see:ing to convince those 8ho are in doubt about the 6atter. %n so s6all a 8or: as this % have no space 9or that? such people 6ust study the 6any boo:s containing lists o9 cases! or 6a:e e@peri6ents 9or the6selves along 6es6eric lines. % a6 addressing 6ysel9 to the better"instructed class 8ho :no8 that clairvoyance e@ists! and are su99iciently interested in the sub;ect to be glad o9 in9or6ation as to its 6ethods and possibilities? and % 8ould assure the6 that 8hat % 8rite is the result o9 6uch care9ul study and e@peri6ent! and that though so6e o9 the po8ers 8hich % shall have to describe 6ay see6 ne8 and 8onder9ul to the6! % 6ention no single one o9 8hich % have not 6ysel9 seen e@a6ples. Secondly! though % shall endeavour to avoid technicalities as 9ar as possible! yet as % a6 8riting in the 6ain 9or students o9 Theosophy! % shall 9eel 6ysel9 at liberty so6eti6es to use! 9or brevityAs sa:e and 8ithout detailed e@planation! the ordinary Theosophical ter6s 8ith 8hich % 6ay sa9ely assu6e the6 to be 9a6iliar. Should this docu6ent 9all into the hands o9 any to 8ho6 the occasional use o9 such ter6s constitutes a di99iculty! % can only apologiBe to the6 and re9er the6 9or these preli6inary e@planations to any ele6entary Theosophical 8or:! such as ,rs. CesantAs Ancient Wisdom 4Page 25 or Man and His Bodies. The truth is that the 8hole Theosophical syste6 hangs together so closely! and its various parts are so interdependent! that to give a 9ull e@planation o9 every ter6 used 8ould necessitate an e@haustive treatise on Theosophy as a pre9ace even to this short account o9 clairvoyance. Ce9ore a detailed e@planation o9 clairvoyance can use9ully be atte6pted! ho8ever! it 8ill be necessary 9or us to devote a little ti6e to so6e preli6inary considerations! in order that 8e 6ay have clearly in 6ind a 9e8 broad 9acts as to the di99erent planes on 8hich clairvoyant vision 6ay be e@ercised! and the conditions 8hich renders its e@ercise possible. Page 2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

We are constantly assured in Theosophical literature that all these higher 9aculties are presently to be the heritage o9 6an:ind in general " that the capacity o9 clairvoyance! 9or e@a6ple! lies latent in every one! and those in 8ho6 it already 6ani9ests itsel9 are si6ply in that one particular a little in advance o9 the rest o9 us. *o8 this state6ent is a true one! and yet it see6s <uite vague and unreal to the 6a;ority o9 people! si6ply because they regard such a 9aculty as so6ething absolutely di99erent 9ro6 anything they have yet e@perienced! and 9eel 9airly con9ident that they the6selves! at any rate! are not 8ithin 6easurable distance o9 its develop6ent. %t 6ay help to dispel this sense o9 unreality i9 8e try to understand that clairvoyance! li:e so 6any other things in nature is 6ainly a <uestion o9 vibrations! and is in 9act nothing but an e@tension o9 po8ers 8hich 8e 4Page 85 are all using every day o9 our lives. We are living all the 8hile surrounded by a vast sea o9 6ingled air and ether! the latter interpenetrating the 9or6er! as it does all physical 6atter? and it is chie9ly by 6eans o9 vibrations in that vast sea o9 6atter that i6pressions reach us 9ro6 the outside. This 6uch 8e all :no8! but it 6ay perhaps never have occurred to 6any o9 us that the nu6ber o9 these vibrations to 8hich 8e are capable o9 responding is in reality <uite in9initesi6al. .p a6ong the e@ceedingly rapid vibrations 8hich a99ect the ether there is a certain s6all section " a very s6all section " to 8hich the retina o9 the hu6an eye is capable o9 responding! and these particular vibrations produce in us the sensation 8hich 8e call light. That is to say! 8e are capable o9 seeing only those ob;ects 9ro6 8hich light o9 that particular :ind can either issue or be re9lected. %n e@actly the sa6e 8ay the ty6panu6 o9 the hu6an ear is capable o9 responding to a certain very s6all range o9 co6paratively slo8 vibrations " slo8 enough to a99ect the air 8hich surrounds us? and so the only sounds 8hich 8e can hear are those 6ade by ob;ects 8hich are able to vibrate at so6e rate 8ithin that particular range. %n both cases it is a 6atter per9ectly 8ell :no8n to science that there are large nu6bers o9 vibrations both above and belo8 these t8o sections! and that conse<uently there is 6uch light that 8e cannot see! and there are 6any sounds to 8hich our ears are dea9. %n these case o9 light the action o9 these higher and lo8er 4Page 95 vibrations is easily perceptible in the e99ects produced by the actinic rays at one end o9 the spectru6 and the heat rays at the other. $s a 6atter o9 9act there e@ist vibrations o9 every conceivable degree o9 rapidity! 9illing the 8hole vast space intervening bet8een the slo8 sound 8aves and the s8i9t light 8aves? nor is even that all! 9or there are undoubtedly vibrations slo8er than those o9 sound! and a 8hole in9inity o9 the6 8hich are s8i9ter than those :no8 to us as light. So 8e begin to understand that the vibrations by 8hich 8e see and hear are only li:e t8o tiny groups o9 a 9e8 strings selected 9ro6 an enor6ous harp o9 practically in9inite e@tent! and 8hen 8e thin: ho8 6uch 8e have been able to learn and in9er 9ro6 the use o9 those 6inute 9rag6ents! 8e see vaguely 8hat possibilities 6ight lie be9ore us i9 8e 8ere enabled to utiliBe the vast and 8onder9ul 8hole. $nother 9act 8hich needs to be considered in this connection is that di99erent hu6an beings vary considerably! though 8ithin relatively narro8 li6its! in their capacity o9 response even to the very 9e8 vibrations 8hich are 8ithin reach o9 our physical senses. % a6 not re9erring to the :eenness o9 sight or o9 Page /

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

hearing that enables one 6an to see a 9ainter ob;ect or hear a slighter sound than another? it is not in the least a <uestion o9 strength o9 vision! but o9 e@tent o9 susceptibility. -or e@a6ple! i9 anyone 8ill ta:e a good bisulphide"o9"carbon pris6! and by its 6eans thro8 a clear spectru6 4Page 1D5 on a sheet o9 8hite paper! and then get a nu6ber o9 people to 6ar: upon the paper the e@tre6e li6its o9 the spectru6 as it appears to the6! he is 9airly certain to 9ind that their po8ers o9 vision di99er appreciably. So6e 8ill see the violet e@tending 6uch 9arther than the 6a;ority do? others 8ill perhaps see rather less violet than 6ost! 8hile gaining a corresponding e@tension o9 vision at the red end. So6e 9e8 there 8ill perhaps be 8ho can see 9arther than ordinary at both ends! and these 8ill al6ost certainly be 8hat 8e call sensitive people " susceptible in 9act to a great range o9 vibrations than are 6ost 6en o9 the present day. %n hearing! the sa6e di99erence can be tested by ta:ing so6e sound 8hich is ;ust not too high to be audible " on the very verge o9 audibility as it 8ere " and discovering ho8 6any a6ong a given nu6ber o9 people re able to hear it. The s<uea:s o9 a bat is a 9a6iliar instance o9 such a sound! and e@peri6ent 8ill sho8 that on a su66er evening! 8hen the 8hole air is 9ull o9 the shrill! needle"li:e cries o9 these little ani6als! <uite a large nu6ber o9 6en 8ill be absolutely unconscious o9 the6! and unable to hear anything at all. *o8 these e@a6ples clearly sho8 that there is no hard"and"9ast li6it to 6anAs po8er o9 response to either etheric or aerial vibrations!but that so6e a6ong us already have that po8er to a 8ider e@tent than others? and it 8ill even be 9ound that the sa6e 6anAs capacity varies on di99erent occasions. %t is there9ore not di99icult 9or us to i6agine that it 6ight be possible 9or a 6an to develop this po8er! and thus in ti6e to 4Page 115 learn to see 6uch that is invisible to his 9ello8"6en! and hear 6uch that is inaudible to the6! since 8e :no8 per9ectly 8ell that enor6ous nu6bers o9 these additional vibrations do e@ist! and are si6ply! as it 8ere! a8aiting recognition. The e@peri6ents 8ith the &Entgen rays give us an e@a6ple o9 the startling results 8hich are produced 8hen even a very 9e8 o9 these additional vibrations are brought 8ithin hu6an :en! and the transparency to these rays o9 6any substances hitherto considered opa<ue at once sho8s us one 8ay at least in 8hich 8e 6ay e@plain such ele6entary clairvoyance as is involved in reading a letter inside a closed bo@! or describing those present in an ad;oining apart6ent. To learn to see by 6eans o9 the &Entgen rays in addition to those ordinarily e6ployed 8ould be <uite su99icient to enable anyone to per9or6 a 9eat o9 6agic o9 this order. So 9ar 8e have thought only o9 an e@tension o9 the purely physical senses o9 6an? and 8hen 8e re6e6ber that a 6anAs etheric body is in reality 6erely the 9iner part o9 his physical 9ra6e! and that there9ore all his sense"organs contain a large a6ount o9 etheric 6atter o9 various degrees o9 density! the capacities o9 8hich are still practically latent in 6ost o9 us! 8e shall see that even i9 8e con9ine ourselves to this line o9 develop6ent alone there are enor6ous possibilities o9 all :inds already opening out be9ore us. Cut besides and beyond all this 8e :no8 that 6an possesses an astral and a 6ental body! each o9 8hich can in process o9 ti6e be aroused into activity! and 8ill 4Page 125 respond in turn to the vibrations o9 the Page 0

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

6atter o9 its o8n plane! thus opening up be9ore the +go! as he learns to 9unction through these vehicles! t8o entirely ne8 and 9ar 8ider 8orlds o9 :no8ledge and po8er. *o8 these ne8 8orlds! though they are all around us and 9reely interpenetrate one another! are not to be thought o9 as distinct and entirely unconnected in substance! but rather as 6elting the one into the other! the lo8est astral 9or6ing a direct series 8ith the highest physical! ;ust as the lo8est 6ental in its turn 9or6s a direct series 8ith the highest astral. We are not called upon in thin:ing o9 the6 to i6agine so6e ne8 and strange :ind o9 6atter! but si6ply to thin: o9 the ordinary physical :ind as subdivided so very 6uch 6ore 9inely and vibrating so very 6uch 6ore rapidly as to introduce us to 8hat are practically entirely ne8 conditions and <ualities. %t is not then di99icult 9or us to grasp the possibility o9 a steady and progressive e@tension o9 our senses! so that both by sight and by hearing 8e 6ay be able to appreciate vibrations 9ar higher and 9ar lo8er than those 8hich are ordinarily recogniBed. $ large section o9 these additional vibrations 8ill still belong to the physical plane! and 8ill 6erely enable us to obtain i6pressions 9ro6 the etheric part o9 that plane! 8hich is at present as a closed boo: to us. Such i6pressions 8ill still be received through the retina o9 the eye? o9 course they 8ill a99ect its etheric rather than its solid 6atter! but 8e 6ay nevertheless regard the6 as still appealing only to an organ specialiBed to receive the6! and not to the 8hole sur9ace o9 the etheric body. 4Page 1/5 There are so6e abnor6al cases! ho8ever! in 8hich other parts o9 the etheric body respond to these additional vibrations as readily as! or even 6ore readily than! the eye. Such vagaries are e@plicable in various 8ays! but principally as e99ects o9 so6e partial astral develop6ent! 9or it 8ill be 9ound that the sensitive parts o9 the body al6ost invariably correspond 8ith one or other o9 the chakrams! or centres o9 vitality in the astral body. $nd though! i9 astral consciousness be not yet developed! these centres 6ay not be available on their o8n plane! they are still strong enough to sti6ulate into :eener activity the etheric 6atter 8hich they interpenetrate. When 8e co6e to deal 8ith the astral senses the6selves the 6ethods o9 8or:ing are very di99erent. The astral body has not specialiBed sense"organs " a 9act 8hich perhaps needs so6e e@planation! since 6any students 8ho are trying to co6prehend its physiology see6 to 9ind it di99icult to reconcile 8ith the state6ents that have been 6ade as to the per9ect interpenetration o9 the physical body by astral 6atter! the e@act correspondence bet8een the t8o vehicles and the 9act that every physical ob;ect has necessarily its astral counterpart. *o8 all these state6ents are true! and yet it is <uite possible 9or people 8ho do not nor6ally see astrally to 6isunderstand the6. +very order o9 physical 6atter has its corresponding order o9 astral 6atter in constant association 8ith it " not to be separated 9ro6 it e@cept by a very considerable e@ertion o9 occult 9orce! and 4Page 105 even then only to be held apart 9ro6 it as long as 9orce is being de9initely e@erted to that end. Cut 9or all that the relation o9 the astral particles one to another is 9ar looser than is the case 8ith their physical correspondences. %n a bar o9 iron! 9or e@a6ple! 8e have a 6ass o9 physical 6olecules in the solid condition " that is to say! capable o9 co6paratively little change in their relative positions! though each vibrating 8ith i66ense rapidity in its o8n sphere. The astral counterpart o9 this consists o9 8hat 8e o9ten call solid astral 6atter " that is! 6atter o9 the lo8est and densest sub"plane o9 the astral? but nevertheless its particles are constantly and rapidly changing their relative positions! 6oving a6ong one another as easily as those o9 Page 1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

a li<uid on the physical plane 6ight do. So that there is no per6anent association bet8een any one physical particle and that a6ount o9 astral 6atter 8hich happens at any given 6o6ent to be acting as its counter part. This is e<ually true 8ith respect to the astral body o9 6an! 8hich 9or our purpose at the 6o6ent 8e 6ay regard as consisting o9 t8o parts " the denser aggregation 8hich occupies the e@act position o9 the physical body! and the cloud o9 rarer astral 6atter 8hich surrounds that aggregation. %n both these parts! and bet8een the6 both! there is going on at every 6o6ent o9 ti6e the rapid inter"circulation o9 the particles 8hich has been described! so that as one 8atches the 6ove6ent o9 the 6olecules in the astral body one is re6inded o9 the appearance o9 those in 9iercely boiling 8ater. 4Page 115 This being so! it 8ill be readily understood that though any given organ o9 the physical body 6ust al8ays have as its counterpart a certain a6ount o9 astral 6atter! it does not retain the sa6e particles 9or 6ore than a 9e8 seconds at a ti6e! and conse<uently there is nothing corresponding to the specialiBation o9 physical nerve"6atter into optic or auditory nerves! and so on. So that though the physical eye or ear has undoubtedly al8ays its counterpart o9 astral 6atter! that particular 9rag6ent o9 astral 6atter is no 6ore = and no less> capable o9 responding to the vibrations 8hich produce astral sight or astral hearing than any other part o9 the vehicle. %t 6ust never be 9orgotten that though 8e constantly have to spea: o9 7astral sight7 or 7astral hearing7 in order to 6a:e ourselves intelligible! all that 8e 6ean by those e@pressions is the 9aculty o9 responding to such vibrations as convey to the 6anAs consciousness! 8hen he is 9unctioning in his astral body! in9or6ation o9 the sa6e character as that conveyed to hi6 by his eyes and ears 8hile he is in the physical body. Cut in the entirely di99erent astral conditions! specialiBed organs are not necessary 9or the attain6ent o9 this result? there is 6atter in every part o9 the astral body 8hich is capable o9 such response!and conse<uently the 6an 9unctioning in that vehicle sees e<ually 8ell ob;ects behind hi6! beneath hi6! above hi6! 8ithout needing to turn his head. There is! ho8ever! another point 8hich it 8ould hardly be 9air to leave entirely out o9 account!and that 4Page 1 5 is the <uestion o9 the chakrams re9erred to above. Theosophical students are 9a6iliar 8ith the idea o9 the e@istence in both the astral and the etheric bodies o9 6an o9 certain centres o9 9orce 8hich have to vivi9ied in turn by the sacred serpent"9ire as the 6an advances in evolution. Though these cannot be described as organs in the ordinary sense o9 the 8ord! since it is not through the6 that the 6an sees and hears! as he does in physical li9e through eyes and ears! yet it is apparently very largely upon their vivi9ication that the po8er o9 e@ercising these astral senses depends each o9 the6 as it is developed giving to the 8hole astral body the po8er o9 response to a ne8 set o9 vibrations. *either have these centres!ho8ever! any per6anent collection o9 astral 6atter connected 8ith the6. They are si6ply vortices in the 6atter o9 the body " vortices through 8hich all these particles pass in turn " points! perhaps! at 8hich the higher 9orce 9ro6 planes above i6pinges upon the astral body. +ven this description gives but a very partial idea o9 their appearance! 9or they are in reality 9our di6ensional vortices! so that the 9orce 8hich co6es through the6 and is the cause o9 their e@istence see6s to 8ell up 9ro6 no8here. Cut at any rate! since all particles in turn pass through each o9 the6! it 8ill be clear that it is thus possible 9or each in turn to evo:e in all the particles o9 the body the po8er o9 receptivity to a certain set o9 vibrations! so that all the astral senses are e<ually active in all parts o9 the body. Page

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

The vision o9 the 6ental plane is again 4Page 125 totally di99erent! 9or in this case 8e can no longer spea: o9 separate senses such as sight and hearing! but rather have to postulate one general sense 8hich responds so 9ully to the vibrations reaching it that! 8hen any ob;ect co6es 8ithin its cognition! it at once co6prehends it 9ully! and as it 8ere sees it! hears it! 9eels it! and :no8s all there is to :no8 about it by the one instantaneous operation. )et even this 8onder9ul 9aculty di99ers in degree only and not in :ind 9ro6 those 8hich are at our co66and at the present ti6e? one the 6ental plane! ;ust as on the physical! i6pressions are still conveyed by 6eans o9 vibrations traveling 9ro6 the ob;ect seen to the seer. (n the buddhic plane 8e 6eet 9or the 9irst ti6e 8ith a <uite ne8 9aculty having nothing in co66on 8ith those o9 8hich 8e have spo:en! 9or there a 6an cogniBes any ob;ect by an entirely di99erent 6ethod! in 8hich e@ternal vibrations play no part. The ob;ect beco6es part o9 hi6sel9! and he studies it 9ro6 the inside instead o9 9ro6 the outside. Cut 8ith this po8er ordinary clairvoyance has nothing to do. The develop6ent! either entire or partial! o9 any one o9 these 9aculties 8ould co6e under our de9inition o9 clairvoyance " the po8er to see 8hat is hidden 9ro6 ordinary physical sight. Cut these 9aculties 6ay be developed in various 8ays! and it 8ill be 8ell to say a 9e8 8ords as to these di99erent lines. We 6ay presu6e that i9 it 8ere possible 9or a 6an to be isolated during his evolution 9ro6 all but the gentlest outside in9luences! and to un9old 9ro6 the beginning 4Page 185 in per9ectly regular and nor6al 9ashion! he 8ould probably develop his senses in regular order also. #e 8ould 9ind his physical senses gradually e@tending their scope until they responded to all the physical vibrations! o9 etheric as 8ell as o9 denser 6atter? then in orderly se<uence 8ould co6e sensibility to the coarser part o9 the astral plane! and presently the 9iner part also 8ould be included! until in due course the 9aculty o9 the 6ental plane da8ned in its turn. %n real li9e! ho8ever! develop6ent so regular as this is hardly ever :no8n! and 6any a 6an has occasional 9lashes o9 astral consciousness 8ithout any a8a:ening o9 etheric vision at all. $nd this irregularity o9 develop6ent is one o9 the principal causes o9 6anAs e@traordinary liability to error in 6atters o9 clairvoyance " a liability 9ro6 8hich there is no escape e@cept by a long course o9 care9ul training under a <uali9ied teacher. Students o9 Theosophical literature are 8ell a8are that there are such teachers to be 9ound " that even in this 6aterialistic nineteenth century the old saying is still true! that 78hen the pupil is ready! the ,aster is ready also7 and that 7in the hall o9 learning! 8hen he is capable o9 entering there! the disciple 8ill al8ays 9ind his ,aster7. They are 8ell a8are also that only under such guidance can a 6an develop his latent po8ers in sa9ety and 8ith certainty! since they :no8 ho8 9atally easy it is 9or the untrained clairvoyant to deceive hi6sel9 as to the 6eaning and value o9 8hat he sees! or even absolutely to distort his vision co6pletely in bringing it do8n into his physical consciousness. 4Page 195 %t does not 9ollo8 that even the pupil 8ho is receiving regular instruction in the use o9 occult po8ers 8ill 9ind the6 un9olding the6selves e@actly in the regular order 8hich 8as suggested above as probably idea. #is previous progress 6ay not have been such as to 6a:e this 9or hi6 the easiest or 6ost desirable road? but at any rate he is in the hands o9 one 8ho is per9ectly co6petent to be his guide in spiritual develop6ent! and he rests in per9ect content6ent that the 8ay along 8hich he is ta:en 8ill be Page 2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

that 8hich is the best 8ay 9or hi6. $nother great advantage 8hich he gains is that 8hatever 9aculties he 6ay ac<uire are de9initely under his co66and and can be used 9ully and constantly 8hen he needs the6 9or his Theosophical 8or:? 8hereas in the case o9 the untrained 6an such po8ers o9ten 6ani9est the6selves only very partially and spas6odically! and appear to co6e and go! as it 8ere! at their o8n s8eet 8ill. %t 6ay reasonably be ob;ected that i9 clairvoyant 9aculty is! as stated! a part o9 the occult develop6ent o9 6an! and so a sign o9 a certain a6ount o9 progress along that line! it see6s strange that it should o9ten be possessed by pri6itive peoples!or by the ignorant and uncultured a6ong our o8n race " persons 8ho are obviously <uite undeveloped! 9ro6 8hatever point o9 vie8 one regards the6. *o doubt this does appear re6ar:able at 9irst sight? but the 9act is that the sensitiveness o9 the savage or o9 the coarse and vulgar +uropean ignora6us is not really at all the sa6e thing as the 4Page 2D5 9aculty o9 his properly trained brother! nor is it arrived at in the sa6e 8ay. $n e@act and detailed e@planation o9 the di99erence 8ould lead us into rather recondite technicalities! but perhaps the general idea o9 the distinction bet8een the t8o 6ay be caught 9ro6 an e@a6ple ta:en 9ro6 the very lo8est plane o9 clairvoyance! in close contact 8ith the denser physical. The etheric double in 6an is in e@ceedingly close relation to his nervous syste6! and any :ind o9 action upon one o9 the6 speedily reacts on the other. *o8 in the sporadic appearance o9 etheric sight in the savage! 8hether o9 Central $9rica or o9 Western +urope! it has been observed that the corresponding nervous disturbance is al6ost entirely in the sy6pathetic syste6! and that the 8hole a99air is practically beyond the 6anAs control " is in 9act a sort o9 6assive sensation vaguely belonging to the 8hole etheric body! rather than an e@act and de9inite sense"perception co66unicated through a specialiBed organ. $s in later races and a6id higher develop6ent the strength o9 the 6an is 6ore and 6ore thro8n into the evolution o9 the 6ental 9aculties! this vague sensitiveness usually disappears? but still later! 8hen the spiritual 6an begins to un9old! he regains his clairvoyant po8er. This ti6e! ho8ever! the 9aculty is a precise and e@act one! under the control o9 the 6anAs 8ill! and e@ercised through a de9inite sense"organ? and it is note8orthy that any nervous action set up in sy6pathy 8ith it is no8 al6ost e@clusively in the cerebro"spinal syste6. 4Page 215 (n this sub;ect ,rs. Cesant 8rites: 7The lo8er 9or6s o9 psychis6 are 6ore 9re<uent in ani6als and in very unintelligent hu6an beings than in 6en and 8o6en in 8ho6 the intellectual po8ers are 8ell developed. They appear to be connected 8ith the sy6pathetic syste6! not 8ith the cerebro"spinal. The large nucleated ganglionic cells in this syste6 contain a very large proportion o9 etheric 6atter! and are hence 6ore easily a99ected by the coarser astral vibrations than are the cells in 8hich the proportion is less. $s the cerebro"spinal syste6 develops! and the brain beco6es 6ore highly evolved! the sy6pathetic syste6 subsides into a subordinate position! and the sensitiveness to psychic vibrations is do6inated by the stronger and 6ore active vibrations o9 the higher nervous syste6. %t is true that at a later stage o9 evolution psychic sensitiveness reappears but it is then developed in connection 8ith the cerebro"spinal centres! and is brought under the control o9 the 8ill. Cut the hysterical and ill"regulated psychis6 o9 8hich 8e see so 6any Page 8

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

la6entable e@a6ples is due to the s6all develop6ent o9 the brain and the do6inance o9 the sy6pathetic syste6.7 (ccasional 9lashes o9 clairvoyance do! ho8ever! so6eti6es co6e to the highly cultured and spiritual" 6inded 6an! even though he 6ay never have heard o9 the possibility o9 training such a 9aculty. %n his case such gli6pses usually signi9y that he is approaching that stage in his evolution 8hen these po8ers 8ill naturally begin to 6ani9est the6selves! and their appearance should serve as an additional sti6ulus to hi6 strive to 6aintain that high standard o9 6oral purity and 6ental balance 8ithout 8hich clairvoyance is a curse and not a blessing to its possessor. Cet8een those 8ho are entirely uni6pressible and those 8ho are in 9ull possession o9 clairvoyant po8er there are 6any inter6ediate stages. (ne to 8hich it 8ill be 8orth 8hile to give a passing glance is the stage in 8hich a 6an! though he has no clairvoyant 9aculty in ordinary li9e! yet e@hibits it 6ore or less 9ully under the in9luence o9 6es6eris6. This is a case in 8hich the psychic nature is already sensitive! but the consciousness is not yet capable o9 9unctioning in it a6idst the 6ani9old distractions o9 physical li9e. %t needs to be set 9ree by the te6porary suspension o9 the outer senses in the 6es6eric trance be9ore it can use the diviner 9aculties 8hich are but ;ust beginning to da8n 8ithin it. Cut o9 course even in the 6es6eric trance there are innu6erable degrees o9 lucidity! 9ro6 the ordinary patient 8ho is blan:ly unintelligent to the 6an 8hose po8er o9 sight is 9ully under the control o9 the operator! and can be directed 8hithersoever he 8ills! or to the 6ore advanced stage in 8hich! 8hen the 4Page 225 consciousness is once set 9ree! it escapes altogether 9ro6 the grasp o9 the 6agnetiBer! and soars into 9ields o9 e@alted vision 8here it is entirely beyond his reach. $nother step along the sa6e path is that upon 8hich such per9ect suppression o9 the physical as that 8hich occurs in the hypnotic trance is not necessary!but the po8er o9 supernor6al sight! though still out o9 reach during 8a:ing li9e! beco6es available 8hen the body is held in the bonds o9 ordinary sleep. $t this stage o9 develop6ent stood 6any o9 the prophets and seers o9 8ho6 8e read! 8ho 8ere 78arned o9 Fod in a drea67! or co66uned 8ith beings 9ar higher than the6selves in the silent 8atches o9 the night. ,ost cultured people o9 the higher races o9 the 8orld have this develop6ent to so6e e@tent: that is to say! the senses o9 their astral bodies are in 9ull 8or:ing order! and per9ectly capable o9 receiving i6pressions 9ro6 ob;ects and entities o9 their o8n plane. Cut to 6a:e that 9act o9 any use to the6 do8n here in the physical body! t8o changes are usually necessary: 9irst! the the +go shall be a8a:ened to the realities o9 the astral plane! and induced to e6erge 9ro6 the chrysalis 9or6ed by his o8n 8a:ing thoughts! and loo: round hi6 to observe and to learn? and secondly! that the consciousness shall be so 9ar retained during the return o9 the +go into his physical body as to enable hi6 to i6press upon his physical brain the recollection o9 8hat he has seen or learnt. %9 the 9irst o9 these changes has ta:en place! the second is o9 little i6portance! since the +go! the true 4Page 2/5 6an! 8ill be able to pro9it by the in9or6ation to be obtained upon that plane! even though he 6ay not have the satis9action o9 bringing through any re6e6brance o9 it into his 8a:ing li9e do8n here. Students o9ten as: ho8 this clairvoyant 9aculty 8ill 9irst be 6ani9ested in the6selves " ho8 they 6ay :no8 8hen they have reached the stage at 8hich its 9irst 9aint 9oreshado8ings are beginning to be visible. Cases di99er so 8idely that it is i6possible to give to this <uestion any ans8er that 8ill be Page 9

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

universally applicable. So6e people begin by a plunge! as it 8ere! and under so6e unusual sti6ulus beco6e able ;ust 9or once to see so6e striving vision? and very o9ten in such a case! because the e@perience does not repeat itsel9! the seer co6es in ti6e to believe that on that occasion he 6ust have been the victi6 o9 hallucination. (thers begin by beco6ing inter6ittently conscious o9 the brilliant colours and vibrations o9 the hu6an aura? yet others 9ind the6selves 8ith increasing 9re<uency seeing and hearing so6ething to 8hich those around the6 are blind and dea9? others! again! see 9aces! landscapes! or coloured clouds 9loating be9ore their eyes in the dar: be9ore they sin: to rest? 8hile perhaps the co66onest e@perience o9 all is that o9 those 8ho begin to recollect 8ith greater and greater clearness 8hat they have seen and heard on the other planes during sleep. #aving no8 to so6e e@tent cleared our ground! 8e 6ay proceed to consider the various pheno6ena o9 clairvoyance. 4Page 205 They di99er so 8idely both in character and in degree that it is not very easy to decide ho8 they can 6ost satis9actorily be classi9ied. We 6ight! 9or e@a6ple! arrange the6 according to the :ind o9 sight e6ployed " 8hether it 8ere 6ental! astral! or 6erely etheric. We 6ight divine the6 according to the capacity o9 the clairvoyant! ta:ing into consideration 8hether he 8as trained or untrained? 8hether his vision 8as regular and under his co66and! or spas6odic and independent o9 his volition? 8hether he could e@ercise it only 8hen under 6es6eric in9luence! or 8hether that assistance 8as unnecessary 9or hi6? 8hether he 8as able to use his 9aculty 8hen a8a:e in the physical body! or 8hether it 8as available only 8hen he 8as te6porarily a8ay 9ro6 that body in sleep or trance. $ll these distinctions are o9 i6portance! and 8e shall have to ta:e the6 all into consideration as 8e go on! but perhaps on the 8hole the 6ost use9ul classi9ication 8ill be one so6ething on the lines o9 that adopted by ,r.Sinnett in his Rationale o9 ,es6eris6 " a boo:! by the 8ay! 8hich all students o9 clairvoyance ought to read. %n dealing 8ith the pheno6ena! then! 8e 8ill arrange the6 rather according to the capacity o9 the sight e6ployed than to the plane upon 8hich it is e@ercised! so that 8e 6ay group instances o9 clairvoyance under so6e such headings as these: 1" Si6ple clairvoyance " that is to say! a 6ere opening o9 sight! enabling its possessor to see 8hatever astral or etheric entities happen to be present around hi6! but not including the po8er o9 observing either distant 4Page 215 places or scenes belonging to any other ti6e than the present. 2"Clairvoyance in space" the capacity to see scenes or events re6oved 9ro6 the seer in space! and either too 9ar distant 9or ordinary observation or concealed by inter6ediate ob;ects. /" Clairvoyance in ti6e" that is to say! the capacity to see ob;ects or events 8hich are re6oved 9ro6 the seer in ti6e! or! in other 8ords!the po8er o9 loo:ing into the past or the 9uture. 4Page 2 5

Page 1D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -#!I$"L CLAIRVOYANC % &'LL

We have de9ined this as a 6ere opening o9 etheric or astral sight! 8hich enables the possessor to see 8hatever 6ay be present around hi6 on corresponding levels! but is not usually acco6panied by the po8er o9 seeing anything at a great distance or o9 reading either the past or the 9uture. %t is hardly possible altogether to e@clude these latter 9aculties! 9or astral sight necessarily has considerably greater e@tension than physical! and 9rag6entary pictures o9 both past and 9uture are o9ten casually visible even to clairvoyants 8ho do not :no8 ho8 to see: specially 9or the6? but there is nevertheless a very real distinction bet8een such incidental gli6pses and the de9inite po8er o9 pro;ection o9 the sight either in space or ti6e. We 9ind a6ong sensitive people all degrees o9 this :ind o9 clairvoyance! 9ro6 that o9 the 6an 8ho gets a vague i6pression 8hich hardly deserves the na6e o9 sight at all! up to the 9ull possession o9 etheric and astral vision respectively. Perhaps the si6plest 6ethod 8ill be 9or us to begin by describing 8hat 8ould be visible in the case o9 this 9uller develop6ent o9 the 4Page 225 po8er! as the cases o9 its partial possession 8ill then be seen to 9all naturally into their places. Let us ta:e the etheric vision 9irst. This consists si6ply! as has already been said! in susceptibility to a 9ar larger series o9 physical vibrations than ordinary! but nevertheless its possession brings into vie8 a good deal to 8hich the 6a;ority o9 the hu6an race still re6ains blind. Let us consider 8hat changes its ac<uisition produces in the aspect o9 9a6iliar ob;ects! ani6ate and inani6ate! and then see to 8hat entirely ne8 9actors it introduces us. Cut it 6ust be re6e6bered that 8hat % a6 about to describe is the result o9 the 9ull and per9ectly"controlled possession o9 the 9aculty only! and that 6ost o9 the instances 6et 8ith in real li9e 8ill be li:ely to 9all 9ar short o9 it in one direction or another. The 6ost stri:ing change produced in the appearance o9 inani6ate ob;ects by the ac<uisition o9 this 9aculty is that 6ost o9 the6 beco6e al6ost transparent! o8ing to the di99erence in 8avelength o9 so6e o9 the vibrations to 8hich the 6an has no8 beco6e susceptible. #e 9inds hi6sel9 capable o9 per9or6ing 8ith the ut6ost ease the proverbial 9eat o9 7seeing through a bric: 8all!7 9or to his ne8ly"ac<uired vision the bric: 8all see6s to have a consistency no greater than that o9 a light 6ist. #e there9ore sees 8hat is going on in an ad;oining roo6 al6ost as though no intervening 8all e@isted? he can describe 8ith accuracy the contents o9 a loc:ed bo@! or read a sealed letter? 8ith a little practice he can 9ind a given passage in a closed 4Page 285 boo:. This last 9eat! though per9ectly easy to astral vision! presents considerable di99iculty to one using etheric sight! because o9 the 9act that each page has to be loo:ed at through all those 8hich happen to be superi6posed upon it. %t is o9ten as:ed 8hether under these circu6stances a 6an sees al8ays 8ith this abnor6al sight! or only 8hen he 8ishes o do so. The ans8er is that i9 the 9aculty is per9ectly developed it 8ill be entirely under his control! and he can use that or his 6ore ordinary vision at 8ill. #e changes 9ro6 one to the other as readily and naturally as 8e no8 change the 9ocus o9 our eyes 8hen 8e loo: up 9ro6 our boo: to 9ollo8 the 6otions o9 so6e ob;ect a 6ile a8ay. %t is! as it 8ere!a 9ocusing o9 consciousness on the one or the other aspect o9 8hat is seen: and though the 6an 8ould have <uite clearly in his vie8 the aspect upon Page 11

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

8hich his attention 8as 9or the 6o6ent 9i@ed! he 8ould al8ays be vaguely conscious o9 the other aspect too! ;ust as 8hen 8e 9ocus our sight upon any ob;ect held in our hands 8e yet vaguely see the opposite 8all o9 the roo6 as a bac:ground. $nother curious change! 8hich co6es 9ro6 the possession o9 this sight! is that the solid ground upon 8hich the 6an 8al:s beco6es to a certain e@tent transparent to hi6! so that he is able to see do8n into it to a considerable depth! 6uch as 8e can no8 see into 9airly clear 8ater. This enables hi6 to 8atch a creature burro8ing underground! to distinguish a vein o9 coal or o9 6etal i9 not too 9ar belo8 the sur9ace! and so on. 4Page 295 The li6it o9 etheric sight 8hen loo:ing through solid 6atter appears to be analogous to that i6posed upon us 8hen loo:ing through 8ater or 6ist. We cannot see beyond a certain distance! because the 6ediu6 through 8hich 8e are loo:ing is not per9ectly transparent. The appearance o9 ani6ate ob;ects is also considerably altered 9or the 6an 8ho has increased his visual po8ers to this e@tent. The bodies o9 6en and ani6als are 9or hi6 in the 6ain transparent! so that he can 8atch the action o9 the various internal organs! and to so6e e@tent diagnose so6e o9 their diseases. The e@tended sight also enables hi6 to perceive! 6ore or less clearly! various classes o9 creatures! ele6ental and other8ise! 8hose bodies are not capable o9 re9lecting any o9 the rays 8ithin the li6it o9 the spectru6 as ordinarily seen. $6ong the entities so seen 8ill be so6e o9 the lo8er orders o9 nature"spirits " those 8hose bodies are co6posed o9 the denser etheric 6atter. To this class belong nearly all the 9airies! gno6es! and bro8nies! about 8ho6 there are still so 6any stories re6aining a6ong Scotch and %rish 6ountains and in re6ote country places all over the 8orld. The vast :ingdo6 o9 nature"spirits is in the 6ain an astral :ingdo6! but still there is a large section o9 it 8hich appertains to the etheric part o9 the physical plane! and this section! o9 course! is 6uch 6ore li:ely to co6e 8ithin the :en o9 ordinary people than the others. %ndeed! in reading the co66on 9airy stories one 9re<uently co6es across distinct indications that it is 4Page /D5 8ith this class that 8e are dealing. $ny student o9 9airy lore 8ill re6e6ber ho8 o9ten 6ention is 6ade o9 so6e 6ysterious oint6ent or drug! 8hich 8hen applied to a 6anAs eyes enables hi6 to see the 6e6bers o9 the 9airy co66on8ealth 8henever he happens to 6eet the6. The story o9 such an application and its results occurs so constantly and co6es 9ro6 so 6any di99erent parts o9 the 8orld that there 6ust certainly be so6e truth behind it! as there al8ays is behind really universal popular tradition. *o8 no such anointing o9 the eyes alone could by any possibility open a 6anAs astral vision! though certain oint6ent rubbed over the 8hole body 8ill very greatly assist the astral body to leave the physical in 9ull consciousness " a 9act the :no8ledge o9 8hich see6s to have survived even to 6ediaeval ti6es! as 8ill be seen 9ro6 the evidence given at so6e o9 the trials 9or 8itchcra9t. Cut the application to the physical eye 6ight very easily so sti6ulate its sensitiveness as to 6a:e it susceptible to so6e o9 the etheric vibrations. The story 9re<uently goes on to relate ho8 8hen the hu6an being 8ho has used this 6ystical oint6ent Page 12

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

betrays his e@tended vision in so6e 8ay to a 9airy! the latter stri:es or stabs hi6 in the eye! thus depriving hi6 not only o9 the etheric sight! but o9 that o9 the denser physical plane as 8ell. =See The Science of Fairy Tales by +.S.#artlane! in the 7Conte6porary Science7 series " or indeed al6ost any e@tensive collection o9 9airy stories.> %9 the sight ac<uired had been astral! such a proceeding 8ould have been entirely unavailing! 4Page /15 9or no in;ury to the physical apparatus 8ould a99ect an astral 9aculty? but i9 the vision produced by the oint6ent 8ere etheric! the destruction o9 the physical eye 8ould in 6ost cases at once distinguish it! since that is the 6echanis6 by 6eans o9 8hich it 8or:s. $nyone possessing this sight o9 8hich 8e are spea:ing 8ould also be able to perceive the etheric double o9 6an? but since this is so nearly identical in siBe 8ith the physical! it 8ould hardly be li:ely to attract his attention unless it 8ere partially protected in trance or under the in9luence o9 anaesthetics. $9ter death! 8hen it 8ithdra8s entirely 9ro6 the dense body! it 8ould be clearly visible to hi6! and he 8ould 9re<uently see it hovering over ne8ly"6ade graves as he passed through a church yard or ce6etery. %9 he 8ere to attend a spiritualistic sance he 8ould see the etheric 6atter ooBing out 9ro6 the side o9 the 6ediu6! and could observe the various 8ays in 8hich the co66unicating entities 6a:e use o9 it. $nother 9act 8hich could hardly 9ail soon to thrust itsel9 upon his notice 8ould be the e@tension o9 his perception o9 colour. #e 8ould 9ind hi6sel9 able to see several entirely ne8 colours! not in the least rese6bling any o9 those included in the spectru6 as 8e at present :no8 it! and there9ore o9 course <uite indescribable in any ter6s at our co66and. $nd not only 8ould he see ne8 ob;ects that 8ere 8holly o9 these ne8 colours! but he 8ould also discover that 6odi9ications had been introduced into the colour o9 6any ob;ects 8ith 8hich he 8as <uite 9a6iliar! according to 8hether they had 4Page /25 or had not so6e tinge o9 these ne8 hues inter6ingled 8ith the old. So that t8o sur9aces o9 colour 8hich to ordinary eyes appeared to 6atch per9ectly 8ould o9ten present distinctly di99erent shades to his :eener sight. We have no8 touched upon so6e o9 the principal changes 8hich 8ould be introduced into a 6anAs 8orld 8hen he gained etheric sight? and it 6ust al8ays be re6e6bered that in 6ost cases a corresponding change 8ould at the sa6e ti6e be brought about in his other senses also! so that he 8ould be capable o9 hearing! and perhaps even o9 9eeling! 6ore than 6ost o9 those around hi6. *o8 supposing that in addition to this he obtained the sight o9 the astral plane! 8hat 9urther changes 8ould be observableG Well! the changes 8ould be 6any and great? in 9act! a 8hole ne8 8orld 8ould open be9ore his eyes. Let us consider its 8onders brie9ly in the sa6e order as be9ore! and see 9irst 8hat di99erence there 8ould be in the appearance o9 inani6ate ob;ects. (n this point % 6ay begin by <uoting a recent <uaint ans8er given in The 'Hhan . 7There is a distinct di99erence bet8een etheric sight and astral sight! and it is the latter 8hich see6s to correspond to the 9ourth di6ension.. 7The easiest 8ay to understand he di99erence is to ta:e an e@a6ple. %9 you loo:ed at a 6an 8ith both the sights in turn! you 8ould see the buttons at the bac: o9 his coat in both cases? only i9 you used etheric sight you 8ould see the6 through hi6! and 8ould see the shan:"side as nearest to you! but i9 you loo:ed astrally! 4Page //5 you 8ould see it not only li:e that! but ;ust as i9 you 8ere standing behind the 6an as 8ell. Page 1/

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

7(r i9 you 8ere loo:ing etherically at a 8ooden cube 8ith 8riting on all its sides! it 8ould be as though the cube 8ere glass! so that you could see through it! and you 8ould see the 8riting on the opposite side all bac:8ards! 8hile that on the right and le9t sides 8ould not be clear to you at all unless you 6oved! because you see it edge8ise. Cut i9 you loo:ed at it astrally you 8ould see all the sides at once! and all the right 8ay up! as though the 8hole cube had been 9lattened out be9ore you! and you 8ould see every particle o9 the inside as 8ell " not through the others! but all all 9lattened out. )ou 8ould be loo:ing at it 9ro6 another direction! at right angles to all the directions that 8e :no8. 7%9 you loo: at the bac: o9 a 8atch etherically you see all the 8heels through it! and the 9ace through them! but bac:8ards? i9 you loo: at it astrally! you see the 9ace right 8ay up and all the 8heels lying separately! but nothing on the top o9 anything else.7 #ere 8e have at once the :eynote! the principal 9actor o9 the change? the 6an is loo:ing at everything 9ro6 an absolutely ne8 point o9 vie8! entirely outside o9 anything that he has ever i6agined be9ore. #e has no longer the slightest di99iculty in reading any page in a closed boo:! because he is not no8 loo:ing at it through all the other pages be9ore it or behind it! but is loo:ing straight do8n upon it as though it 8ere the only page to be seen. The depth at 8hich a vein o9 4Page /05 6etal or o9 coal 6ay lie is no longer a barrier to his sight o9 it! because he is not no8 loo:ing through the intervening depth o9 earth at all. The thic:ness o9 a 8all! or the nu6ber o9 8alls intervening bet8een the observer and the ob;ect! 8ould 6a:e a great deal o9 di99erence to the clearness o9 the etheric sight? they 8ould 6a:e no di99erence 8hatever to the astral sight! because on the astral plane they 8ould not intervene bet8een the observer and the ob;ect. (9 course that sounds parado@ical and i6possible! and it is <uite ine@plicable to a 6ind not specially trained to grasp the idea? yet it is none the less absolutely true. This carries us straight into the 6iddle o9 the 6uch"ve@ed <uestion o9 the 9ourth di6ension " a <uestion o9 the deepest interest! though one that 8e cannot pretend to discuss in the space at our disposal. Those 8ho 8ish to study it as it deserves are reco66ended to begin 8ith ,r.C.#.#intonAs Scientific Romances or 3r.$.T.Scho9ieldAs Another World! and then 9ollo8 on 8ith the 9or6er authorAs larger 8or:! A New ra of Thought! ,r. #inton not only clai6s to be able hi6sel9 to grasp 6entally so6e o9 the si6pler 9ourth di6ensional 9igures! but also states that anyone 8ho 8ill ta:e the trouble to 9ollo8 out his directions 6ay 8ith perseverance ac<uire that 6ental grasp li:e8ise. % a6 not certain that the po8er to do this is 8ithin the reach o9 everyone! as he thin:s! 9or it appears to 6e to re<uire considerable 6athe6atical ability? but % can at any rate bear 8itness that he tesseract or 9ourth"di6ensional cube 8hich he describes is a 4Page /15 reality! 9or it is <uite a 9a6iliar 9igure upon the astral plane. ( #e has no8 per9ected a ne8 6ethod o9 representing the several di6ensions by colours instead o9 by arbitrary 8ritten sy6bols. #e states that his 8ill very 6uch si6pli9y the study! as the reader 8ill be able to distinguish instantly by sight any part or 9eature o9 the tesseract. $ 9ull description o9 this ne8 6ethod! 8ith plates! is said to be ready 9or the press! and is e@pected to appear 8ithin a year! so that intending students o9 this 9ascinating sub;ect 6ight do 8ell to a8ait its publication) % :no8 that ,ada6e Clavats:y! in alluding to the theory o9 the 9ourth di6ension! has e@pressed an opinion that it is only a clu6sy 8ay o9 stating the idea o9 the entire per6eability o9 6atter! and that ,r. W.T.Stead has 9ollo8ed along the sa6e lines! presenting the conception to his readers under the na6e o9 throughth. Care9ul! o9t"repeated and detailed investigation does! ho8ever! see6 to sho8 <uite Page 10

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

conclusively that this e@planation does not cover all the 9acts. %t is a per9ect description o9 etheric vision! but the 9urther and <uite di99erent idea o9 the 9ourth di6ension as e@pounded by ,r.#inton is the only one 8hich gives any :ind o9 e@planation do8n here o9 the constantly"observed 9acts o9 astral vision. % 8ould there9ore venture de9erentially to suggest that! 8hen ,ada6e Clavats:y 8rote as she did! she had in 6ind etheric vision and not astral! and that the e@tre6e applicability o9 the phrase to this other and higher 9aculty! o9 8hich she 8as not at the 6o6ent thin:ing! did not occur to her. The possession o9 this e@traordinary and scarcely e@pressible po8er! then! 6ust al8ays be borne in 6ind through all that 9ollo8s. %t lays every point in the interior o9 every solid body absolutely open to the gaBe o9 the seer! ;ust as every point in the interior o9 a circle lies open to the gaBe o9 a 6an loo:ing do8n upon it. Cut even this is by no 6eans all that it gives to its possessor. #e see not only the inside as 8ell as the outside o9 every ob;ect! but also its astral counterpart. 4Page / 5 +very ato6 and 6olecule o9 physical 6atter has its corresponding astral ato6s and 6olecules! and the 6ass 8hich is built up out o9 these is clearly visible to our clairvoyant. .sually the astral part o9 any ob;ect pro;ects so6e8hat beyond the physical part o9 it! and thus 6etals! stones and other things are seen surrounded by an astral aura. %t 8ill be seen at once that even in the study o9 inorganic 6atter a 6an gains i66ensely by the ac<uisition o9 this vision. *ot only does he see the astral part o9 the ob;ect at 8hich he loo:s! 8hich be9ore 8as 8holly hidden 9ro6 hi6? not only does he see 6uch 6ore o9 its physical constitution than he did be9ore! but even 8hat 8as visible to hi6 be9ore is no8 seen 6uch 6ore clearly and truly. $ 6o6entAs consideration 8ill sho8 that his ne8 vision appro@i6ates 6uch 6ore closely to true perception than does physical sight. -or e@a6ple! i9 he loo:s astrally at a glass cube! its sides 8ill all appear e<ual! as 8e :no8 they really are! 8hereas on the physical plane he sees the 9urther side in perspective " that is! it appears s6aller than the nearer side! 8hich is! o9 course! a 6ere illusion due to his physical li6itations. When 8e co6e to consider the additional 9acilities 8hich it o99ers in the observation o9 ani6ate ob;ects 8e see still 6ore clearly the advantages o9 the astral vision. %t e@hibits to the clairvoyant the aura o9 plants and ani6als! and thus in the case o9 the latter their desires and e6otions! and 8hatever thoughts they 6ay have! are all plainly sho8n be9ore his eyes. 4Page /25 Cut it is in dealing 8ith hu6an beings that he 8ill 6ost appreciate the value o9 this 9aculty! 9or he 8ill o9ten be able to help the6 9ar 6ore e99ectually 8hen he guides hi6sel9 by the in9or6ation 8hich it gives hi6. #e 8ill be able to see the aura as 9ar up as the astral body! and though that leaves all the higher part o9 a 6an still hidden 9ro6 his gaBe! he 8ill nevertheless 9ind it possible by care9ul observation to learn a good deal about the higher part 9or6 8hat is 8ithin his reach. #is capacity o9 e@a6ining the etheric double 8ill give hi6 considerable advantage in locating and classi9ying any de9ects or diseases o9 the nervous syste6! 8hile 9ro6 the appearance o9 the astral body he 8ill be at once a8are o9 all the e6otions! passions! desires and tendencies o9 the 6an be9ore hi6! and even o9 very 6any o9 his thoughts also. $s he loo:s at a person he 8ill see hi6 surrounded by the lu6inous 6ists o9 the astral aura! 9lashing 8ith Page 11

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

all sorts o9 brilliant colours! and constantly changing in hue and brilliancy 8ith every variation o9 the personAs thoughts and 9eelings. #e 8ill see this aura 9looded 8ith the beauti9ul rose"colour o9 pure a99ection! the rich blue o9 devotional 9eeling! the hard! dull bro8n o9 sel9ishness! the deep scarlet o9 angers! the horrible lurid red o9 sensuality! the livid grey o9 9ear! the blac: clouds o9 hatred and 6alice! or any o9 the other hundred9old indications so easily to be read in it by a practiced eye? and thus it 8ill be i6possible 9or any persons to conceal 9ro6 hi6 the real state o9 their 9eelings on any sub;ect. 4Page /85 These varied indications o9 the aura are o9 the6selves a study o9 very deep interest! but % have no space to deal 8ith the6 in detail here. $ 6uch 9uller account o9 the6! together 8ith a nu6ber o9 coloured illustrations! 8ill be 9ound in 6y pa6phlet on 7The Aura7 and the larger 8or: on the sub;ect "Man# $isi%le and &n'isi%le". *ot only does the astral aura sho8 hi6 the te6porary result o9 the e6otion passing through it at the 6o6ent! but it also gives hi6! by the arrange6ent and proportion o9 its colours 8hen in a condition o9 co6parative rest! a clue to the general disposition and character o9 its o8ner. -or the astral body is the e@pression o9 as 6uch o9 the 6an as can be 6ani9ested on that plane! so that 9ro6 8hat is seen in it 6uch 6ore 8hich belongs to higher planes 6ay be in9erred 8ith considerable certainty. %n this ;udg6ent o9 character our clairvoyant 8ill be 6uch helped by so 6uch o9 the personAs thought as e@presses itsel9 on the astral plane! and conse<uently co6es 8ithin his purvie8. The true ho6e o9 thought is on the devachanic 46ental5 plane! and all thought 9irst 6ani9ests itsel9 there as a vibration o9 the 6ind"body. Cut i9 it be in any 8ay a sel9ish thought! or i9 it be connected in any 8ay 8ith an e6otion or a desire! it i66ediately descends into the astral plane! and ta:es to itsel9 a visible 9or6 o9 astral 6atter. %n the case o9 the 6a;ority o9 6en al6ost all thought 8ould 9all under one or other o9 these heads! so that practically the 8hole o9 their personality 8ould li:e clearly be9ore 9riendAs astral vision! since their astral bodies 4Page /95 and the thought"9or6s constantly radiating 9ro6 the6 8ould be to hi6 as an open boo: in 8hich their characteristics 8ere 8rit so largely that he 8ho ran 6ight read. $nyone 8ishing to gain so6e idea as to how the thought"9or6s present the6selves to clairvoyant vision 6ay satis9y the6selves to so6e e@tent by e@a6ining the illustrations acco6panying ,rs. CesantAs valuable article on 7Thought -or6s7 in Luci9er o9 Septe6ber 189 . We have seen so6ething o9 the alteration in the appearance o9 both ani6ate and inani6ate ob;ects 8hen vie8ed by one possessed o9 9ull clairvoyant sight as 9ar as the astral plane is concerned? let us no8 consider 8hat entirely ne8 ob;ects he 8ill see. #e 8ill be conscious o9 a 9ar greater 9ulness in nature in 6any directions! but chie9ly his attention 8ill be attracted by the living deniBens o9 this ne8 8orld. *o detailed account o9 the6 can be atte6pted 8ithin the space at our disposal? 9or that the reader is re9erred to *o.1 4The $stral Plane5 o9 the Theosophical ,anuals. #ere 8e can do no 6ore than barely enu6erate a 9e8 classes only o9 the vast hosts o9 astral inhabitants. #e 8ill be i6pressed by the protean 9or6s o9 the ceaseless tide o9 ele6ental essence! ever s8irling around hi6! 6enacing o9ten! yet al8ays retiring be9ore a deter6ined e99ort o9 the 8ill? he 8ill 6arvel at the enor6ous ar6y o9 entities te6porarily called out o9 this ocean into separate e@istence by the Page 1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

thoughts and 8ishes o9 6an! 8hether good or evil. #e 8ill 8atch the 6ani9old tribes o9 the nature"spirits at their 8or: or at their 4Page 0D5 play? he 8ill so6eti6es be able to study 8ith ever"increasing delight the 6agni9icent evolution o9 so6e o9 the lo8er orders o9 the glorious :ingdo6 o9 the 3evas! 8hich corresponds appro@i6ately to the angelic host o9 Christian ter6inology. Cut perhaps o9 even :eener interests to hi6 than any o9 these 8ill be the hu6an deniBens o9 the astral 8orld! and he 8ill 9ind the6 divisible into t8o great classes " those 8ho6 8e call the living! and those others! 6ost o9 the6 in9initely 6ore alive! 8ho6 8e so 9oolishly 6isna6e the dead. $6ong the 9or6er he 8ill 9ind here and there one 8ide a8a:e and 9ully conscious! perhaps sent to bring hi6 so6e 6essage! or e@a6ining hi6 :eenly to see 8hat progress he is 6a:ing? 8hile the 6a;ority o9 his neighbours! 8hen a8ay 9ro6 their physical bodies during sleep! 8ill dri9t idly by! so 8rapped up in their o8n cogitations as to be practically unconscious o9 8hat is going on around the6. $6ong the great host o9 the recently dead he 8ill 9ind all degrees o9 consciousness and intelligence! and all shades o9 character " 9or death! 8hich see6s to our li6ited vision so absolute a change! in reality alters nothing o9 the 6an hi6sel9. (n the day a9ter his death he is precisely the sa6e 6an as he 8as the day be9ore it! 8ith the sa6e disposition! the sa6e <ualities! the sa6e virtues and vices! save only that he has cast aside his physical body? but the loss o9 that no 6ore 6a:es hi6 in any 8ay a di99erent 6an than 8ould the re6oval o9 an overcoat. So a6ong the dead our student 8ill 9ind 6en intelligent and stupid! :ind"hearted and 6orose! 4Page 015 serious and 9rivolous! spiritually"6inded and sensually"6inded! ;ust as a6ong the living. Since he can not only see the dead! but spea: 8ith the6! he can o9ten be o9 very great use to the6! and give the6 in9or6ation and guidance 8hich is o9 the ut6ost value to the6. ,any o9 the6 are in a condition o9 great surprise and perple@ity! and so6eti6es even o9 acute distress! because they the 9acts o9 the ne@t 8orld so unli:e the childish legends 8hich are all that popular religion in the West has to o99er 8ith re9erence to this transcendently i6portant sub;ect? and there9ore a 6an 8ho understands this ne8 8orld and can e@plain 6atters is distinctly a 9riend in need. %n 6any other 8ays a 6an 8ho 9ully possesses this 9aculty 6ay be o9 use to the living as 8ell as to the dead? but this side o9 the sub;ect % have already 8ritten in 6y little boo: on &n'isi%le Hel(ers. %n addition to astral entities he 8ill see astral corpses " shades and shells in all stages o9 decay? but these need only be ;ust 6entioned here! as the reader desiring a 9urther account o9 the6 8ill 9ind it in our third =3eath " and $9terG> and 9i9th =The $stral Plane> 6anuals. $nother 8onder9ul result 8hich the 9ull en;oy6ent o9 astral clairvoyance brings to a 6an is that he has no longer any brea: in consciousness. When he lies do8n at night he leaves his physical body to the rest 8hich it re<uires! 8hile he goes about his business in the 9ar 6ore co69ortable astral vehicle. %n the 6orning he returns to and re"enters his physical body! but 8ithout any loss o9 consciousness or 6e6ory bet8een the t8o states! and thus he is able to live! as it 8ere! a double 4Page 025 li9e 8hich yet is one! and to be use9ully e6ployed during the 8hole o9 it! instead o9 losing one"third o9 his e@istence in blan: unconsciousness. $nother strange po8er o9 8hich he 6ay 9ind hi6sel9 in possession =though its 9ull control belongs rather Page 12

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

to the still higher devachanic 46ental5 9aculty> is that o9 6agni9ying at 8ill the 6inutest physical or astral particle to any desired siBe! as though by a 6icroscope " though no 6icroscope ever 6ade or ever li:ely to be 6ade possesses even a thousandth part o9 this psychic 6agni9ying po8er. Cy its 6eans the hypothetical 6olecule and ato6 postulated by science beco6es visible and living realities to the occult student! and on this closer e@a6ination he 9inds the6 to be 6uch 6ore co6ple@ in their structure than the scienti9ic 6an has yet realiBed the6 to be. %t also enables hi6 to 9ollo8 8ith the closest attention and the 6ost lively interest all :inds o9 electrical! 6agnetic! and other etheric action? and 8hen so6e o9 the specialists in these branches o9 science are able to develop the po8er to see those things 8hereo9 they 8rite so 9acilely! so6e very 8onder9ul and beauti9ul revelations 6ay be e@pected. This is one o9 the siddhis or po8ers described in (riental boo:s as accruing to the 6an 8ho devotes hi6sel9 to spiritual develop6ent! though the na6e under 8hich it is there 6entioned 6ight not be i66ediately recogniBable. %t is re9erred to as 7the po8er o9 6a:ing onesel9 large or s6all at 8ill7! and the reason o9 a description 8hich appears so oddly to reverse the 9act is that in reality the 6ethod by 8hich this 9eat is 4Page 0/5 per9or6ed is precisely that indicate in these ancient boo:s. %t is by the use o9 te6porary visual 6achinery o9 inconceivable 6inuteness that the 8orld o9 the in9initely little is so clearly seen? and in the sa6e 8ay =or rather in the opposite 8ay> it is by te6porarily enor6ously increasing the siBe o9 the 6achinery used that it beco6es possible to increase the breadth o9 oneAs vie8 " in the physical sense as 8ell as! let us hope! in the 6oral " 9ar beyond anything that science has ever drea6t o9 as possible 9or 6an. So that the alteration in siBe is really in the vehicle o9 the studentAs consciousness! and not in anything outside o9 hi6sel9? and the old (riental boo: has! a9ter all! put the case 6ore accurately than 8e. Psycho6etry and second"sight in e)celsis 8ould also be a6ong the 9aculties 8hich our 9riend 8ould 9ind at his co66and? but those 8ill be 6ore 9itly dealt 8ith under a later heading! since in al6ost all their 6ani9estations they involve clairvoyance either in space or in ti6e. % have no8 indicated! though only in the roughest outlines! 8hat a trained student! possessed o9 9ull astral vision! 8ould see in the i66ensely 8ider 8orld to 8hich that vision introduced hi6? but % have said nothing o9 the stupendous change in his 6ental attitude 8hich co6es 9ro6 the e@periential certainty as to the e@istence o9 the soul! its survival a9ter death! the action o9 the la8 o9 :ar6a! and other points o9 e<ually para6ount i6portance. The di99erence bet8een even the pro9oundest intellectual conviction and the precise :no8ledge gained by direct personal e@perience 6ust be 9elt in order to be appreciated. 4Page 005

Page 18

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -*!I$"L CLAIRVOYANC % "ARTIAL

The e@periences o9 the untrained clairvoyant " and be it re6e6bered that that class includes all +uropean clairvoyants e@cept a very 9e8 " 8ill! ho8ever! usually 9all very 9ar short o9 8hat % have atte6pted to indicate? they 8ill 9all short in 6any di99erent 8ays " in degree! in variety! or in per6anence! and above all in precision. So6eti6es! 9or e@a6ple! a 6anAs clairvoyance 8ill be per6anent! but very partial! e@tending only perhaps to one or t8o classes o9 the pheno6ena observable? he 8ill 9ind hi6sel9 endo8ed 8ith so6e isolated 9rag6ent o9 higher vision! 8ithout apparently possessing other po8ers o9 sight 8hich ought nor6ally to acco6pany that 9rag6ent! or even to precede it. -or e@a6ple! one o9 6y dearest 9riends has all his li9e had the po8er to see the ato6ic ether and ato6ic astral 6atter! and to recogniBe their structure! ali:e in dar:ness or in light! as interpenetrating everything else? yet he has only rarely seen entities 8hose bodies are co6posed o9 the 6uch 6ore obvious lo8er ethers or denser astral 6atter! and at any rate is certainly not per6anently able to see the6. #e si6ply 9inds hi6sel9 in possession o9 this special 9aculty! 8ithout any apparent reason to account 9or it! or any 4Page 015 recogniBable relation to anything else? and beyond proving to hi6 the e@istence o9 these ato6ic planes and de6onstrating their arrange6ent! it is di99icult to see o9 8hat particular use it is to hi6 at present. Still! there the thing is! and it is an earnest o9 greater things to co6e " o9 9urther po8ers still a8aiting develop6ent. There are 6any si6ilar cases " si6ilar! % 6ean! not in the possession o9 that particular 9or6 o9 sight =8hich is uni<ue in 6y e@perience>! but in sho8ing the develop6ent o9 so6e one s6all part o9 the 9ull and clear vision o9 the astral and etheric planes. %n nine cases out o9 ten! ho8ever! such partial clairvoyance 8ill at the sa6e ti6e lac: precision also " that it is to say!there 8ill be a good deal o9 vague i6pression and in9erence about it! instead o9 the clear"cut de9inition and certainty o9 the trained 6an. +@a6ples o9 this type are constantly to be 9ound! especially a6ong those 8ho advertise the6selves as 7test and business clairvoyance7. Then! again! there are those 8ho are only te6porarily clairvoyant under certain special conditions. $6ong these there are various subdivisions! so6e being able to reproduce the state o9 clairvoyance at 8ill by again setting up the sa6e conditions! 8hile 8ith others it co6es sporadically! 8ithout any observable re9erence to their surroundings and 8ith yet others the po8ers sho8s itsel9 only once or t8ice in the 8hole course o9 their lives. To the 9irst o9 these subdivisions belong those 8ho are clairvoyant only 8hen in the 6es6eric trance " 8ho 8hen not so entranced are incapable o9 seeing or 4Page 0 5 hearing anything abnor6al. These 6ay so6eti6es reach great heights o9 :no8ledge and be e@ceedingly precise in their indications! but 8hen that is so they are usually undergoing a course o9 regular training! though 9or so6e reason unable as yet to set the6selves 9ree 9ro6 the leaden 8eight o9 earthly lie 8ithout assistance. %n the sa6e class 8e 6ay put those " chie9ly (rientals " 8ho gain so6e te6porary sight only under the Page 19

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

in9luence o9 certain drugs! or by 6eans o9 the per9or6ance o9 certain cere6onies. The cere6onialist so6eti6es hypnotiBes hi6sel9 by his repetitions! and in that condition beco6es to so6e e@tent clairvoyant? 6ore o9ten he si6ply reduces hi6sel9 to a passive condition in 8hich so6e other entity can obsess hi6 and spea: through hi6. So6eti6es! again! his cere6onies are not intended to a99ect hi6sel9 at all! but to invo:e so6e astral entity 8ho 8ill give hi6 the re<uired in9or6ation? but o9 course that is a case o9 6agic! and not o9 clairvoyance. Coth the drugs and the cere6onies are 6ethods e6phatically to be avoided by any one 8ho 8ishes to approach clairvoyance 9ro6 the higher side! and use it 9or his o8n progress and 9or the helping o9 others. The Central $9rican 6edicine"6an or 8itch doctor and so6e o9 the Tartar Sha6ans are good e@a6ples o9 the type. Those to 8ho6 a certain a6ount o9 clairvoyant po8er has co6e occasionally only! and 8ithout any re9erence to their o8n 8ish! have o9ten been hysterical or highly nervous persons! 8ith 8ho6 the 9aculty 8as to a large 4Page 025 e@tent one o9 the sy6pto6s o9 a disease. %ts appearance sho8ed that the physical vehicle 8as 8ea:ened to such a degree that it no longer presented any obstacle in the 8ay o9 a certain 6odicu6 o9 etheric or astral vision. $n e@tre6e e@a6ple o9 this class is the 6an 8ho drin:s hi6sel9 into deliriu6 tre6ens! and in the condition o9 absolute physical ruin and i6pure psychic e@citation brought about by the ravages o9 that 9ell disease! is able to see 9or the ti6e so6e o9 the loathso6e ele6ental and other entities 8hich he has dra8n round hi6sel9 by his long course o9 degraded and bestial indulgence. There are! ho8ever! others cases 8here the po8er o9 sight has appeared and disappeared 8ithout apparent re9erence to the state o9 the physical health? but it see6s probable that even in those! i9 they could have been observed closely enough! so6e alteration in the condition o9 the etheric double 8ould have been noticed. Those 8ho have only one instance o9 clairvoyance to report in the 8hole o9 heir lives are a di99icult band to classi9y at all e@haustively! because o9 the great variety o9 the contributory circu6stances. There are 6any a6ong the6 to 8ho6 the e@perience has co6e at so6e supre6e 6o6ent o9 their lives! 8hen it is co6prehensible that there 6ight have been a te6porary e@altation o9 9aculty 8hich 8ould be su99icient to account 9or it. %n the case o9 another subdivision o9 the6 the solitary case has been the seeing o9 an apparition 6ost co66only o9 so6e 9riend or relative at the point o9 death. T8o possibilities are then o99ered 9or our choice! and in each o9 the6 the strong 8ish o9 the dying 6an is the 4Page 085 i6pelling 9orce. That 9orce 6ay have enabled hi6 to 6aterialiBe hi6sel9 9or a 6o6ent! in 8hich case o9 course no clairvoyance 8as needed? or 6ore probably it 6ay have acted 6es6erically upon the percipient! and 6o6entarily dulled his physical and sti6ulated his higher sensitiveness. %n either case the vision is the product o9 the e6ergency and is not repeated si6ply because the necessary conditions are not repeated. There re6ains! ho8ever! an irresolvable residuu6 o9 cases in 8hich a solitary instance occurs o9 the e@ercise o9 undoubted clairvoyance! 8hile yet the occasion see6s to us 8holly trivial and uni6portant. $bout these 8e can only 9ra6e hypotheses? the governing conditions are evidently not on the physical plane! and a separate investigation o9 each case 8ould be necessary be9ore 8e could spea: 8ith any certainty as to its causes. %n so6e such it has appeared that an astral entity 8as endeavouring to 6a:e so6e co66unication! and 8as able to i6press only so6e uni6portant detail on its sub;ect " the use9ul or signi9icant part o9 8hat it had to say 9ailing to get through into the sub;ectAs consciousness.

Page 2D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

%n the investigation o9 the pheno6ena o9 clairvoyance all these varied types and 6any others 8ill be encountered! and a certain nu6ber o9 cases o9 6ere hallucination 8ill be al6ost sure to appear also! and 8ill have to be care9ully 8eeded out 9ro6 the list o9 e@a6ples. The student o9 such a sub;ect needs an ine@haustible 9und o9 patience and steady perseverance! but i9 he goes on long enough he 8ill begin di6ly to discern order behind the chaos! and 8ill gradually get so6e idea o9 the 4Page 095 great la8s under 8hich the 8hole evolution is 8or:ing. %t 8ill help hi6 greatly in his e99orts i9 he 8ill adopt the order 8hich 8e have ;ust 9ollo8ed " that is! i9 he 8ill 9irst ta:e the trouble to 9a6iliariBe hi6sel9 as thoroughly as 6ay be 8ith the actual 9acts concerning the planes 8ith 8hich ordinary clairvoyance deals. %9 he 8ill learn 8hat there really is to be seen 8ith astral and etheric sight! and 8hat their respective li6itations are! he 8ill then have! as it 8ere! a standard by 8hich to 6easure the cases 8hich he observes. Since all instances o9 partial sight 6ust o9 necessity 9it into so6e niche in this 8hole! i9 he has the outline o9 the entire sche6e in his head he 8ill 9ind it co6paratively easy 8ith a little practice to classi9y the instances 8ith 8hich he is called upon to deal. We have said nothing as yet as to the still 6ore 8onder9ul possibilities o9 clairvoyance upon the 6ental plane! nor indeed is it necessary that 6uch should be said! as it is e@ceedingly i6probable that the investigator 8ill ever 6eet 8ith any e@a6ples o9 it e@cept a6ong pupils properly trained on so6e o9 the very highest schools o9 (ccultis6. -or the6 it opens up yet another ne8 8orld! vaster 9ar than all those beneath it" a 8orld in 8hich all that 8e can i6agine o9 ut6ost glory and splendour is the co66onplace o9 e@istence. So6e account o9 its 6arvelous 9aculty! its ine99able bliss! its 6agni9icent opportunities 9or learning and 9or 8or:! is given in the si@th 4The 3evachanic Plane5 o9 our Theosophical 6anuals! and to that the student 6ay be re9erred. 4Page 1D5 $ll that it has to give " all o9 it at least that he can assi6ilate " is 8ithin the reach o9 the trained pupil! but 9or the untrained clairvoyant to touch it is hardly 6ore than a bare possibility. %t has been done in 6es6eric trance! but the occurrence is o9 e@ceeding rarity! 9or it needs al6ost superhu6an <uali9ications in the 8ay o9 lo9ty spiritual aspiration and absolute purity o9 thought and intention upon the part both o9 the sub;ect and the operator. To a type o9 clairvoyance such as this! and still 6ore 9ully to that 8hich belongs to the plane ne@t above it! the na6e o9 spiritual sight 6ay reasonably be applied? and since the celestial 8orld to 8hich it opens our eyes lies all round us here and no8! it is 9it that our passing re9erence to it should be 6ade under the heading o9 si6ple clairvoyance! thought it 6ay be necessary to allude to it again 8hen dealing 8ith clairvoyance in space! to 8hich 8e 8ill no8 pass on. 4Page 115

Page 21

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -+CLAIRVOYANC IN !"AC % INT NTIONAL

We have de9ined this as the capacity to see events or scenes re6oved 9ro6 the seer in space and too 9ar distant 9or ordinary observation. The instances o9 this are so nu6erous and so various that 8e shall 9ind it desirable to atte6pt a so6e8hat 6ore detailed classi9ication o9 the6. %t does not 6uch 6atter 8hat particular arrange6ent 8e adopt! so long as it is co6prehensive enough to include all our cases? perhaps a convenient one 8ill be to group the6 under the broad divisions o9 intentional and unintentional clairvoyance in space! 8ith an inter6ediate class that 6ight be described as se6i"intentional " a curious title! but % 8ill e@plain it later. $s be9ore! % 8ill begin by stating 8hat is possible along this line 9or the 9ully"trained seer! and endeavouring to e@plain ho8 his 9aculty 8or:s and under 8hat li6itations it acts. $9ter that 8e shall 9ind ourselves in a better position to try to understand the 6ani9old e@a6ples o9 partial and untrained sight. Let us then in the 9irst place discuss intentional clairvoyance. %t 8ill be obvious 9ro6 8hat has previously been 4Page 115 said as to the po8er o9 astral vision that any one possessing it in its 9ulness 8ill be able to see by its 6eans practically anything in this 8orld that he 8ishes to see. The 6ost secret places are open to his gaBe! and intervening obstacles have no e@istence 9or hi6! because o9 the change in his point o9 vie8? so that i9 8e grant hi6 the po8er o9 6oving about in the astral body he can 8ithout di99iculty go any8here and see anything 8ithin the li6its o9 the planet. %ndeed this is to a large e@tent possible to hi6 even 8ithout the necessity o9 6oving the astral body at all! as 8e shall presently see. Let us consider a little 6ore closely the 6ethods by 8hich this super"physical sight 6ay be used to observe events ta:ing place at a distance. When! 9or e@a6ple! a 6an here in +ngland sees in 6inutest detail so6ething 8hich is happening at the sa6e 6o6ent in %ndia or $6erica! ho8 is it doneG $ very ingenious hypothesis has been o99ered to account 9or the pheno6enon. %t has been suggested that every ob;ect is perpetually thro8ing o99 radiations in all directions! si6ilar in so6e respects to! though in9initely 9iner than! rays o9 light! and that clairvoyance is nothing but the po8er to see by 6eans o9 these 9iner radiations. 3istance 8ould in that case no bar to the sight! all intervening ob;ects 8ould be penetrable by these rays! and they 8ould be able to cross one another to in9inity in all directions 8ithout entangle6ent! precisely as the vibrations o9 ordinary light do. *o8 though this is not e@actly the 8ay in 8hich 4Page 1/5 clairvoyance 8or:s! the theory is nevertheless <uite true in 6ost o9 its pre6ises. +very ob;ect undoubtedly is thro8ing o99 radiations in all directions! and it is precisely in this 8ay! though on a higher plane! that the H:Hshic records see6 to be 9or6ed. (9 the6 it 8ill be necessary to say so6ething under our ne@t heading! so 8e 8ill do no 6ore than 6ention the6 9or the 6o6ent. The pheno6ena o9 psycho6etry are also dependent upon these radiations! as 8ill presently be e@plained.

Page 22

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

There are ho8ever! certain practical di99iculties in the 8ay o9 using these etheric vibrations =9or that is! o9 course! 8hat they are> as the 6ediu6 by 6eans o9 8hich one 6ay see anything ta:ing place at a distance. %ntervening ob;ects are not entirely transparent! and as the actors in the scene 8hich the e@peri6enter tried to observe 8ould probably be at least e<ually transparent! it is obvious that serious con9usion 8ould be <uite li:ely to result. The additional di6ension 8hich 8ould co6e into play i9 astral radiations 8ere sensed instead o9 etheric 8ould obviate so6e o9 the di99iculties! but 8ould on the the other hand introduce so6e 9resh co6plications o9 its o8n? so that 9or practical purposes! in endeavouring to understand clairvoyance! 8e 6ay dis6iss this hypothesis o9 radiations 9ro6 our 6inds! and turn to the 6ethods o9 seeing at a distance 8hich are actually at the disposal o9 the student. %t 8ill be 9ound that there are 9ive! 9our o9 the6 being really varieties o9 clairvoyance! 8hile the 9i9th does not properly co6e under that head 4Page 105 at all! but belongs to the do6ain o9 6agic. Let us ta:e this last one 9irst! and get it out o9 our 8ay. 1" By the assistance of a nature*s(irit! This 6ethod does not necessarily involve the possession o9 any psychic 9aculty at all on the part o9 the e@peri6enter? he need only :no8 ho8 to induce so6e deniBen o9 the astral 8orld to underta:e the investigation 9or hi6. This 6ay be done either by invocation or by evocation: that is to say! the operator 6ay either persuade his astral coad;utor by prayers and o99erings to give hi6 the help he desires! or he 6ay co6pel his aid by the deter6ined e@ercise o9 a highly"developed 8ill. This 6ethod has been largely practiced in the +ast =8here the entity e6ployed is usually a nature"spirit> and in old $tlantis! 8here 7the lords o9 the dar: 9ace7 used a highly"specialiBed and peculiarly veno6ous variety o9 arti9icial ele6ental 9or this purpose. %n9or6ation is so6eti6es obtained in the sa6e sort o9 8ay at the spiritualistic sance o9 6odern days! but in that case the 6essenger e6ployed is 6ore li:ely to be a recently"deceased hu6an being 9unctioning 6ore or less 9reely on the astral plane" though even here also it is so6eti6es an obliging nature"spirit! 8ho is a6using hi6sel9 by posing as so6ebodyAs departed relative. %n any case! as % have said! this 6ethod is not clairvoyant at all! but 6agical? and it is 6entioned here only in order that the reader 6ay not beco6e con9used in the endeavour to classi9y cases o9 its use under so6e o9 the 9ollo8ing headings. 2" By means of an astral current. This is a phrase 4Page 115 9re<uently and rather loosely e6ployed in so6e o9 our Theosophical literature to cover a considerable variety o9 pheno6ena! and a6ong others that 8hich % 8ish to e@plain. What is really done by the student 8ho adopts this 6ethod is not so 6uch the setting in 6otion o9 a current in astral 6atter as the erection o9 a :ind o9 te6porary telephone through it. %t is i6possible here to give an e@haustive dis<uisition on astral physics! even had % the re<uisite :no8ledge to 8rite it? all % need say is that it is possible to 6a:e in astral 6atter a de9inite connecting"line that shall act as a telegraph"8ire to convey vibrations by 6eans o9 8hich all that is going on at the other end o9 it 6ay be seen. Such a line is established! be it understood! not by a direct pro;ection through space o9 astral 6atter! but by such action upon a line =or rather 6any lines> o9 particles o9 that 6atter as 8ill render the6 capable o9 9or6ing a conductor 9or vibrations o9 the character re<uired.

Page 2/

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

This preli6inary action can be set up in t8o 8ays " either by the trans6ission o9 energy 9ro6 particle to particle until the line is 9or6ed! or by the use o9 a 9orce 9ro6 a higher plane 8hich is capable o9 acting upon the 8hole line si6ultaneously. (9 course this latter 6ethod i6plies 9ar greater develop6ent! since it involves the :no8ledge o9 =and the po8er to use> 9orces o9 a considerably higher level? so that the 6an 8ho could 6a:e his line in this 8ay 8ould not! 9or his o8n use! need a line at all! since he could see 9ar 6ore easily and co6pletely by 6eans o9 an altogether higher 9aculty. 4Page 1 5 +ven the si6pler and purely astral operation is a di99icult one to describe! though <uite an easy one to per9or6. %t 6ay be said to parta:e so6e8hat o9 the nature o9 the 6agnetiBation o9 a bar o9 steel? 9or it consists in 8hat 8e 6ight call the polariBation! by an e99ort o9 the hu6an 8ill! o9 a nu6ber o9 parallel lines o9 astral ato6s reaching 9ro6 the operator to the scene 8hich he 8ishes to observe. $ll the ato6s thus a99ected are held 9or the ti6e 8ith their a@es rigidly parallel to one another! so that they 9or6 a :ind o9 te6porary tube along 8hich the clairvoyant 6ay loo:. This 6ethod has the disadvantage that the telegraph line is liable to disarrange6ent or even destruction by any su99iciently strong astral current 8hich happens to cross its path? but i9 the original e99ort o9 8ill 8ere 9airly de9inite! this 8ould be a contingency o9 only in9re<uent occurrence. The vie8 o9 a distant scene obtained by 6eans o9 this 7astral current7 is in 6any 8ays not unli:e that seen through a telescope. #u6an 9igures usually appear very s6all! li:e those on a distance stage! but in spite o9 their di6inutive siBe they are as clear as though they 8ere close by. So6eti6es it is possible by this 6eans to hear 8hat is said as 8ell as to see 8hat is done? but as in the 6a;ority o9 cases this does not happen! 8e 6ust consider it rather as the 6ani9estation o9 an additional po8er than as a necessary corollary o9 the 9aculty o9 sight. %t 8ill be observed that in this case the seer does not usually leave his physical body at all? there is no sort 4Page 125 o9 pro;ection o9 his astral vehicle or o9 any part o9 hi6sel9 to8ards that at 8hich he is loo:ing! but he si6ply 6anu9actures 9or hi6sel9 a te6porary astral telescope. Conse<uently he has! to a certain e@tent! the use o9 his physical po8ers even 8hile he is e@a6ining the distant scene? 9or e@a6ple! his voice 8ould usually still be under his control! so that he could describe 8hat he sa8 even 8hile he 8as in the act o9 6a:ing his observations. The consciousness o9 the 6an is! in 9act! distinctly still at this end o9 the line. This 9act! ho8ever! has its li6itations as 8ell as its advantages! and these again largely rese6ble the li6itations o9 the 6an using a telescope on the physical plane. The e@peri6enter! 9or e@a6ple! has no po8er to shi9t this point o9 vie8? his telescope! so to spea:! has a particular 9ield o9 vie8 8hich cannot be enlarged or altered? he is loo:ing at his scene 9ro6 a certain direction! and he cannot suddenly turn it all round and see ho8 it loo:s 9ro6 the other side. %9 he has su99icient psychic energy to spare! he 6ay drop altogether the telescope that he is using and 6anu9acture an entirely ne8 one 9or hi6sel9 8hich 8ill approach his ob;ective so6e8hat di99erently? but this is not a course at all li:ely to be adopted in practice. Cut! it 6ay be said! the 6ere 9act that he is using astral sight ought to enable hi6 to see it 9ro6 all sides at once. So it 8ould i9 he 8ere using that sight in the nor6al 8ay upon an ob;ect 8hich 8as 9airly near hi6 " 8ithin his astral reach! as it 8ere? but at a distance o9 hundreds or thousands o9 6iles the case is very di99erent. 4Page 185 $stral sight gives us the advantage o9 an additional di6ension!but there is still such a thing as position in that di6ension! and it is naturally a potent 9actor in li6iting the use o9 the Page 20

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

po8ers o9 its plane. (ur ordinary three"di6ensional sight enables us to see at once every point o9 the interior o9 a t8o"di6ensional 9igure! such as a s<uare! but in order to do that the s<uare 6ust be 8ithin a reasonable distance 9ro6 our eyes? the 6ere additional di6ension 8ill avail a 6an in London but little in his endeavour to e@a6ine a s<uare in Calcutta. $stral sight! 8hen it is cra6ped by being directed along 8hat is practically a tube! is li6ited very 6uch as physical sight 8ould be under si6ilar circu6stances? though i9 possessed in per9ection it 8ill still continue to sho8! even at that distance! the auras! and there9ore all the e6otions and 6ost o9 the thoughts o9 the people under observation. There are 6any people 9or 8ho6 this type o9 clairvoyance is very 6uch 9acilitated i9 they have at hand so6e physical ob;ect 8hich can be used as a starting"point 9or their astral tube " a convenient 9ocus 9or their 8ill"po8er. $ ball o9 crystal is the co66onest and 6ost e99ectual o9 such 9oci! since it has the additional advantage o9 possessing 8ithin itsel9 <ualities 8hich sti6ulate psychic 9aculty? but other ob;ects are also e6ployed! to 8hich 8e shall 9ind it necessary to re9er 6ore particularly 8hen 8e co6e to consider se6i"intentional clairvoyance. %n connection 8ith this astral"current 9or6 o9 clairvoyance! as 8ith others! 8e 9ind that there are so6e 4Page 195 psychics 8ho are unable to use it e@cept 8hen under the in9luence o9 6es6eris6. The peculiarity in this case is that a6ong such psychics there are t8o varieties " one in 8hich by being thus set 9ree the 6an is enabled to 6a:e a telescope 9or hi6sel9! and another in 8hich the 6agnetiBer hi6sel9 6a:es the telescope and the sub;ect is si6ply enabled to see through it. %n this latter case obviously the sub;ect has not enough 8ill to 9or6 a tube 9or hi6sel9! and the operator! though possessed o9 the necessary 8ill"po8er! is not clairvoyant! or he could see through his o8n tube 8ithout needing help. (ccasionally! though rarely! the tube 8hich is 9or6ed possesses another o9 the attributes o9 a telescope " that o9 6agni9ying the ob;ects at 8hich it is directed until they see6 o9 li9e"siBe. (9 course the ob;ects 6ust al8ays be 6agni9ied to so6e e@tent! or they 8ould be absolutely invisible! but usually the e@tent is deter6ined by the siBe o9 the astral tube and the 8hole thing is si6ply a tiny 6oving picture. %n the 9e8 cases 8here the 9igures are seen as a li9e"siBe by this 6ethod! it is probable that an altogether ne8 po8er is beginning to da8n? but 8hen this happens! care9ul observation is needed in order to distinguish the6 9ro6 e@a6ples o9 our ne@t class. /" By the (ro+ection of a thought*form! The ability to use this 6ethod o9 clairvoyance i6plies a develop6ent so6e8hat 6ore advanced than the last! since it necessitates a certain a6ount o9 control upon the 6ental plane. $ll students o9 Theosophy are a8are that 4Page D5 thought ta:es 9or6! at any rate upon its o8n plane! and in the vast 6a;ority o9 cases upon the astral plane also? but it 6ay not be <uite so generally :no8n that i9 a 6an thin:s strongly o9 hi6sel9 as present at any given place! the 9or6 assu6ed by that particular thought 8ill be a li:eness o9 the thin:er hi6sel9! 8hich 8ill appear at the place in <uestion. +ssentially this 9or6 6ust be co6posed o9 the 6atter o9 the 6ental plane! but in very 6any cases it 8ould dra8 round itsel9 6atter o9 the astral plane also! and so 8ould approach 6uch nearer to visibility. There are! in 9act! 6any instances in 8hich it has been seen by the person thought o9 " 6ost probably by Page 21

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

6eans o9 the unconscious 6es6eric in9luence e6anating 9ro6 the original thin:er. *one o9 the consciousness o9 the thin:er 8ould! ho8ever! be included 8ithin this thought"9or6. When once sent out 9ro6 hi6! it 8ould nor6ally be a <uite separate entity " not indeed absolutely unconnected 8ith its 6a:er! but practically so as 9ar as the possibility o9 receiving any i6pression through it is concerned. This third type o9 clairvoyance consists! then! in the po8er to retain so 6uch connection 8ith and so 6uch hold over a ne8ly"erected thought"9or6 as 8ill render it possible to receive i6pressions by 6eans o9 it. Such i6pressions as 8ere 6ade upon the 9or6 8ould in this case be trans6itted to the thin:er " not along an astral telegraph line! as be9ore! but by sy6pathetic vibration. %n a per9ect case o9 this :ind o9 clairvoyance it is al6ost as though the seer pro;ected a part o9 his consciousness 4Page 15 into the thought"9or6! and used it as a :ind o9 outpost! 9ro6 8hich observation 8as possible. #e sees al6ost as 8ell as he 8ould i9 he hi6sel9 stood in the place o9 his thought"9or6. The 9igures at 8hich he is loo:ing 8ill appear to hi6 as o9 li9e"siBe and close at hand! instead o9 tiny and at a distance! as in the previous case? and he 8ill 9ind it possible to shi9t his point o9 vie8 i9 he 8ishes to do so. Clairaudience is perhaps less 9re<uently associated 8ith this type o9 clairvoyance than 8ith the last! but its place is to so6e e@tent ta:en by a :ind o9 6ental perception o9 the thoughts and intentions o9 those 8ho are seen. Since the 6anAs consciousness is still in the physical body! he 8ill be able =even 8hile e@ercising the 9aculty> to hear and to spea:! in so 9ar as he can do this 8ithout any distraction o9 his attention. The 6o6ent that the intentness o9 his thought 9ails the 8hole vision is gone! and he 8ill have to construct a 9resh thought"9or6 be9ore he can resu6e it. %nstances in 8hich this :ind o9 sight is possessed 8ith any degree o9 per9ection by untrained people are naturally rarer than in the case o9 the previous type! because o9 the capacity 9or 6ental control re<uired! and the generally 9iner nature o9 the 9orces e6ployed. 0" By tra'eling in the astral %ody! We enter here upon an entirely ne8 variety o9 clairvoyance! in 8hich the consciousness o9 the seer no longer re6ains in or closely connected 8ith his physical body! but is de9initely trans9erred to the scene 8hich he is e@a6ining. 4Page 25 Though it has no doubt greater dangers 9or the untrained seer than either o9 the 6ethods previously described! it is yet <uite the 6ost satis9actory 9or6 o9 clairvoyance open to hi6! 9or the i66ensely superior variety 8hich 8e shall consider under our 9i9th head is not available e@cept 9or specially trained students. %n this case the 6anAs body is either asleep or in trance! and its organs are conse<uently not available 9or use 8hich the vision is going on! so that all description o9 8hat is seen! and all <uestioning as to 9urther particulars! 6ust be postponed until the 8anderer returns to this plane. (n the other hand the sight is 6uch 9uller and 6ore per9ect? the 6an hears as 8ell as sees everything 8hich passes be9ore hi6! and can 6ove about 9reely at 8ill 8ithin the very 8ide li6its o9 the astral plane. #e can see and study at leisure all the other inhabitants o9 that plane! so that the great 8orld o9 the nature"spirits =o9 8hich the traditional 9airy"land is but a very s6all part> lies open be9ore hi6! and even that o9 so6e o9 the lo8er devas. #e has also the i66ense advantage o9 being able to ta:e part! as it 8ere! in the scenes 8hich co6e Page 2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

be9ore his eyes " o9 conversing at 8ill 8ith these various astral entities 9ro6 8ho6 so 6uch in9or6ation that is curious and interesting 6ay be obtained. %9 in addition he can learn ho8 to 6aterialiBe hi6sel9 =a 6atter o9 no great di99iculty 9or hi6 8hen once the :nac: is ac<uired>! he 8ill be able to ta:e part in physical events or conversations at a distance! and to sho8 hi6sel9 to an absent 9riend at 8ill. 4Page /5 $gain! he has the additional po8er o9 being able to hunt about 9or 8hat he 8ants. Cy 6eans o9 the varieties o9 clairvoyance previously described! 9or all practical purposes he could 9ind a person or a place only 8hen he 8as already ac<uainted 8ith it! or 8hen he 8as put en ra((ort 8ith it by touching so6ething physically connected 8ith it! as in psycho6etry. %t is true that by the third 6ethod a certain a6ount o9 6otion is possible! but the process is a tedious one e@cept 9or <uite short distances. Cy the use o9 the astral body! ho8ever! a 6an can 6ove about <uite 9reely and rapidly in any direction! and can =9or e@a6ple> 9ind 8ithout di99iculty any place pointed out upon a 6ap! 8ithout either any previous :no8ledge o9 the spot or any ob;ect to establish a connection 8ith it. #e can also readily rise high into the air so as to gain a birdAs"eye vie8 o9 the country 8hich he is e@a6ining! so as to observe its e@tent! the contour o9 its coastline! or its general character. %ndeed! in every 8ay his po8er and 9reedo6 are 9ar greater 8hen he uses this 6ethod than they have been in any o9 the previous cases. $ good e@a6ple o9 the 9ull possession o9 this po8er is given! on the authority o9 the Fer6an 8riter Iung Stilling! by ,rs. cro8 in The Night Side of Nature =page 122>. The story is related o9 a seer 8ho is stated to have resided in the neighbourhood o9 Philadelphia! in $6erica. #is habits 8ere retired! and he spo:e little? he 8as grave! benevolent and pious! and nothing 8as :no8n against his character! e@cept that he had 4Page 05 the reputation o9 possessing so6e secrets that 8ere considered not altogether la89ul. ,any e@traordinary stories 8ere told o9 hi6! and a6ongst the rest the 9ollo8ing: 7The 8i9e o9 a ship captain =8hose husband 8as on a voyage to +urope and $9rica! and 9ro6 8ho6 she had been long 8ithout tidings>! being over8hel6ed 8ith an@iety 9or his sa9ety! 8as induced to address hersel9 to this person. #aving listened to her story he begged her to e@cuse hi6 9or a 8hile! 8hen he 8ould bring her the intelligence she re<uired. #e then passed into an inner roo6 and she sat hersel9 do8n to 8ait? but his absence continuing longer than she e@pected! she beca6e i6patient! thin:ing he had 9orgotten her! and so9tly approaching the door she peeped through so6e aperture! and to her surprise beheld hi6 lying on a so9a as 6otionless as i9 he 8ere dead. She o9 course did not thin: it advisable to disturb hi6! but 8aited his return! 8hen he told her that her husband had not been able to 8rite to her 9or such and such reasons! but that he 8as then in a co99eehouse in London and 8ould very shortly be ho6e again. 7$ccordingly he arrived! and as the lady learnt 9ro6 hi6 that the causes o9 his unusual silence had been precisely those alleged by the 6an! she 9elt e@tre6ely desirous o9 ascertaining the truth o9 the rest o9 the in9or6ation. %n this she 8as grati9ied! 9or he no sooner set his eyes on the 6agician than he said that he had seen hi6 be9ore on a certain day in a co99eehouse in London! and that he told hi6 that his 8i9e 8as 4Page 15 e@tre6ely uneasy about hi6! and that he! the captain! had thereon 6entioned ho8 he had been prevented 9ro6 8riting! adding that he 8as on the eve o9 e6bar:ing 9or $6erica. #e had then lost sight o9 the stranger a6ongst the throng! and :ne8 nothing 6ore about hi6.7 Page 22

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

We have o9 course no 6eans no8 o9 :no8ing 8hat evidence Iung Stilling had o9 the truth o9 this story! though he declares hi6sel9 to have been <uite satis9ied 8ith the authority on 8hich he relates it? but so 6any si6ilar things have happened that there is no reason to doubt its accuracy. The seer! ho8ever! 6ust either have developed his 9aculty 9or hi6sel9 or learnt it in so6e school other than that 9ro6 8hich 6ost o9 our Theosophical in9or6ation is derived? 9or in our case there is a 8ell"understood regulation e@pressly 9orbidding the pupils to give any 6ani9estation o9 such po8er 8hich can be de9initely proved at both ends in that 8ay! and so constitute 8hat is called a 7pheno6enon7. That this regulation is e6phatically a 8ise one is proved to all 8ho :no8 anything o9 the history o9 our Society by the disastrous results 8hich 9ollo8ed 9ro6 a very slight te6porary rela@ation o9 it. % 8ill have given so6e <uite 6odern cases al6ost e@actly parallel to the above in 6y little boo: on &n'isi%le Hel(ers. $n instance o9 a lady 8ell":no8n to 6ysel9! 8ho 9re<uently thus appears to 9riends at a distance! is given by ,r.Stead in Real ,host Stories =page 22>? and ,r. $ndre8 Lang gives! in his -reams and ,hosts =page 89> ! an account o9 ho8 ,r.Cleave! then at Ports6outh! appeared! intentionally on t8o occasions to a young lady 4Page 5 in London! and alar6ed her considerably. There is any a6ount o9 evidence to be had on the sub;ect by any one 8ho cares to study it seriously. This paying o9 intentional astral visits see6s very o9ten to beco6e possible 8hen the principles are loosened at the approach o9 death 9or people 8ho 8ere unable to per9or6 such a 9eat at any other ti6e. There are even 6ore e@a6ples o9 this class than o9 the other? % epito6iBe a good one given by ,r. $ndre8 Lang on page 1DD o9 the boo: last cited " one o9 8hich he hi6sel9 says! 7*ot 6any stories have such good evidence in their 9avour7. 7,ary! the 8i9e o9 Iohn Fo99e o9 &ochester! being a99licted 8ith a long illness! re6oved to her 9atherAs house at West ,alling! about nine 6iles 9ro6 her o8n. 7The day be9ore her death she gre8 very i6patiently desirous to see her t8o children! 8ho she had le9t at ho6e to the care o9 a nurse. She 8as too ill to be 6oved! and bet8een one and t8o oAcloc: in the 6orning she 9ell into a trance. (ne 8ido8 Turner! 8ho 8atched 8ith her that night! says that her eyes 8ere open and 9i@ed! and her ;a8 9allen. ,rs.Turner put her hand upon her 6outh! but could perceive no breath. She thought her to be in a 9it! and doubted 8hether she 8ere dead or alive. 7The ne@t 6orning the dying 8o6an told her 6other that she had been at ho6e 8ith her children!saying! 7% 8as 8ith the6 last night 8hen % 8as asleep.7 7The nurse at &ochester! 8ido8 $le@ander by na6e! 4Page 25 a99ir6s that a little be9ore t8o oAcloc: that 6orning she sa8 the li:eness o9 the said ,ary Fo99e co6e out o9 the ne@t cha6ber =8here the elder child lay in a bed by itsel9>! the door being le9t open! and stood by her bedside 9or about a <uarter o9 an hour? the younger child 8as there lying by her. #er eyes 6oved and her 6outh 8ent! but she said nothing. The nurse! 6oreover! says that she 8as per9ectly a8a:e? it 8as then daylight! being one o9 the longest days in the year. She sat up in bed and loo:ed stead9astly on the apparition. %n that ti6e she heard the bridge cloc: stri:e t8o! and a 8hile a9ter said: 7%n the na6e o9 the -ather! Son and #oly Fhost! 8hat art thouG7 Thereupon the apparition re6oved and 8ent a8ay? she slipped on her clothes and 9ollo8ed! but 8hat beca6e onAt she cannot tell.7

Page 28

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

The nurse apparently 8as 6ore 9rightened by its appearance than its presence! 9or a9ter this she 8as a9raid to stay in the house! and so spent the rest o9 the ti6e until si@ oAcloc: in 8al:ing up and do8n outside. When the neighbours 8ere a8a:e she told her tale to the6! and they o9 course said she had drea6t it all? she naturally enough 8ar6ly repudiated that idea! but could obtain no credence until the ne8s o9 the other side o9 the story arrived 9ro6 West ,alling!8hen people had to ad6it that there 6ight have been so6ething in it. $ note8orthy circu6stance in this story is that the 6other 9ound it necessary to pass 9ro6 ordinary sleep into the pro9ounder trance condition be9ore she could consciously visit her children? it can! ho8ever! be paralleled 4Page 85 here and there a6ong the large nu6ber o9 si6ilar accounts 8hich 6ay be 9ound in the literature o9 the sub;ect. T8o other stories o9 precisely the sa6e type " in 8hich a dying 6other! earnestly desiring to see her children! 9alls into a deep sleep! visits the6 and returns to say that she has done so " are given by 3r. -.F.Lee. %n one o9 the6 the 6other! 8hen dying in +gypt! appears to her children at Tor<uay! and is clearly seen in broad daylight by all 9ive o9 the children and also by the nurse"6aid. =,lim(ses of the Su(ernatural! 'ol. %%! page 0>. %n the other a Jua:er lady dying at Coc:er6outh is clearly seen and recogniBed in daylight by her three children at Settle! the re6ainder o9 the story being practically identical 8ith the one given above. =,lim(ses in the Twilight! page 90> . Though these cases appear to be less 8idely :no8n than that o9 ,ary Fo99e! the evidence o9 their authenticity see6s to be <uite as good! as 8ill be seen by the attestations obtained by the reverend author o9 the 8or:s 9ro6 8hich they are <uoted. The 6an 8ho 9ully possesses this 9ourth type o clairvoyance has 6any and great advantages at his disposal! even in addition to those already 6entioned. *ot only can he visit 8ithout trouble or e@pense all the beauti9ul and 9a6ous places o9 the earth! but i9 he happens to be a scholar! thin: 8hat it 6ust 6ean to hi6 that he has access to all the libraries o9 the 8orldK What 6ust it be 9or the scienti9ically"6inded 6an to see ta:ing place be9ore his eyes so 6any o9 the processes o9 the secret 4Page 95 che6istry o9 nature! or 9or the philosopher to have revealed to hi6 so 6uch 6ore than ever be9ore o9 the 8or:ing o9 the great 6ysteries o9 li9e and deathG To hi6 those 8ho are gone 9ro6 this plane are dead no longer! but living and 8ithin reach 9or a long ti6e to co6e? 9or hi6 6any o9 the conceptions o9 religion are no longer 6atters o9 9aith! but o9 :no8ledge. $bove all! he can ;oin the ar6y o9 invisible helpers!and really be o9 use on a large scale. .ndoubtedly clairvoyance! even 8hen con9ined to the astral plane! is a great boon to the student. Certainly it has its dangers also! especially 9or the untrained? danger 9ro6 evil entities o9 various :inds! 8hich 6ay terri9y or in;ure those 8ho allo8 the6selves to lose the courage to 9ace the6 boldly? danger o9 deception o9 all sorts! o9 6isconceiving and 6isinterpreting 8hat is seen? greatest o9 all the danger o9 beco6ing conceited about the thing and o9 thin:ing it i6possible to 6a:e a 6ista:e. Cut a little co66onsense and a little e@perience should easily guard a 6an against these. 1" By tra'eling in the M.y.'ic*ru(a /the mental %ody0! This is si6ply a higher and! as it 8ere! glori9ied 9or6 o9 the last type. The vehicle e6ployed is no longer the astral body! but a substitute 6anu9actured 9or the occasion 9ro6 the substance o9 the seerAs 6ind"body " a vehicle! there9ore! belonging to the 6ental plane! and having 8ithin it all the potentialities o9 the 8onder9ul 4devachanic5 sense o9 that plane! so transcendent in its action yet so i6possible to describe. $ 6an 9unctioning in this leaves his astral body Page 29

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

behind hi6 along 8ith the physical! and i9 he 8ishes to sho8 4Page 2D5 hi6sel9 upon the astral plane 9or any reason! he does not send 9or his o8n astral vehicle! but ;ust by a single action o9 his 8ill 6aterialiBes one 9or his te6porary need. (Such an astral 6aterialiBation is so6eti6es called the 6ayavi rupa! and to 9or6 it 9or the 9irst ti6e usually needs the assistance o9 a <uali9ied ,aster) The enor6ous advantages given by the possession o9 this po8er are the capacity o9 entering upon all the glory and the beauty o9 the higher land o9 bliss! and the possession! even 8hen 8or:ing on the astral plane! o9 the 9ar 6ore co6prehensive 4devachanic5 6ental sense 8hich opens up to the student such 6arvelous vistas o9 :no8ledge! and practically renders error all but i6possible. This higher 9light! ho8ever! is possible 9or the trained 6an only! since to 9or6 this ,HyHvi"rLpa 9or the 9irst ti6e! needs the assistance o9 a <uali9ied 6aster. Ce9ore leaving the sub;ect o9 9ull and intentional clairvoyance! it 6ay be 8ell to devote a 9e8 8ords to ans8ering one or t8o <uestions as to its li6itations! 8hich constantly occur to students. %s it possible! 8e are o9ten as:ed! 9or the seer to 9ind any person 8ith 8ho6 he 8ishes to co66unicate! any8here in the 8orld! 8hether he be living or deadG To this the reply 6ust be a conditional a99ir6ative. )es! it is possible to 9ind any person i9 the e@peri6enter can! in so6e 8ay or other! put hi6sel9 en ra((ort 8ith that person. %t 8ould be hopeless to plunge vaguely into space to 9ind a total stranger a6ong all the 6illions around us 8ithout any :ind o9 clue? but! on the other hand! a very slight clue 8ould usually be su99icient. %9 the clairvoyant :no8s anything o9 the 6an 8ho6 he see:s! he 8ill have no di99iculty in 9inding hi6! 9or 4Page 215 every 6an has 8hat 6ay be called a :ind o9 6usical chord o9 his o8n " a chord 8hich is the e@pression o9 hi6 as a 8hole! produced perhaps by a sort o9 average o9 the rates o9 vibration o9 all his di99erent vehicles on their respective planes. %9 the operator :no8s ho8 to discern that chord and to stri:e it! it 8ill by sy6pathetic vibration attract the attention o9 the 6an instantly 8herever he 6ay be! and 8ill evo:e an i66ediate response 9ro6 hi6. Whether the 6an 8ere living or recently dead 8ould 6a:e no di99erence at all! and clairvoyance o9 the 9i9th class could at once 9ind hi6 even a6ong the countless 6illions in the heaven"8orld! though in that case the 6an hi6sel9 8ould be unconscious that he 8as under observation. *aturally a seer 8hose consciousness did not range higher than the astral plane " 8ho e6ployed there9ore one o9 the earlier 6ethods o9 seeing " 8ould not be able to 9ind a person upon the 4devachanic5 6ental plane at all? yet even he 8ould at least be able to tell that the 6an sought 9or was upon that plane! 9ro6 the 6ere 9act that the stri:ing o9 the chord as 9ar up as the astral level produced no response. %9 the 6an sought be a stranger to the see:er! the latter 8ill need so6ething connected 8ith hi6 to act as a clue " a photograph! a letter 8ritten by hi6! an article 8hich has belonged to hi6! and is i6pregnated 8ith his personal 6agnetis6? any o9 these 8ould do in the hands o9 a practiced seer. $gain % say! it 6ust not there9ore be supposed that pupils 8ho have been taught ho8 to use this art are at 4Page 225 liberty to set up a :ind o9 intelligence o99ice through 8hich co66unication can be had 8ith Page /D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

6issing or dead relatives. $ 6essage given 9ro6 this side to such an one 6ight or 6ight not be handed on! according to circu6stances! but even i9 it 8ere! no reply 6ight be brought! lest the transaction should parta:e o9 the nature o9 a pheno6enon " so6ething 8hich could be proved on the physical plane to have been an act o9 6agic. $nother <uestion o9ten raised is as to 8hether!in the action o9 psychic vision! there is any li6itation as to distance. The reply 8ould see6 to be that there should be no li6it but that o9 the respective planes. %t 6ust be re6e6bered that the astral and 4devachanic5 6ental planes o9 our earth are as de9initely its o8n as its at6osphere! though they e@tend considerably 9urther 9ro6 it even in our three"di6ensional space than does the physical air. Conse<uently the passage to! or the detailed sight o9! other planets 8ould not be possible 9or any syste6 o9 clairvoyance connected 8ith these planes. %t is <uite possible and easy 9or the 6an 8ho can raise his consciousness to the buddhic plane to pass to any other globe belonging to our chain o9 8orlds! but that is outside our present sub;ect. Still a good deal o9 additional in9or6ation about other planets can be obtained by the use o9 such clairvoyant 9aculties as 8e have been describing. %t is possible to 6a:e sight enor6ously clearer by passing outside o9 the constant disturbances o9 the earthAs at6osphere! and it is also not di99icult to learn ho8 to put on an e@ceedingly high 6agni9ying po8er! so that 4Page 2/5 even by ordinary clairvoyance a good deal o9 very interesting astrono6ical :no8ledge 6ay be gained. Cut as 9ar as this earth and its i66ediate surroundings are concerned! there is practically no li6itation. 4Page 205

Page /1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -,CLAIRVOYANC IN !"AC % ! $I-INT NTIONAL

.nder this rather curious title % a6 grouping together the cases o9 all those people 8ho de9initely set the6selves to see so6ething! but have no idea 8hat the so6ething 8ill be! and no control over the sight a9ter the visions have begun " psychic ,ica8bers! 8ho put the6selves into a receptive condition! and then si6ply 8ait 9or so6ething to turn up. ,any trance"6ediu6s 8ould co6e under this heading? they either in so6e 8ay hypnotiBe the6selves or are hypnotiBed by so6e 7spirit"guide7! and then they describe the scenes or persons that happen to 9loat be9ore their vision. So6eti6es ho8ever! 8hen in this condition they see 8hat is ta:ing place at a distance! and so they co6e to have a place a6ong our 7clairvoyants in space7. Cut the largest and 6ost 8idely"spread band o9 these se6i"intentional clairvoyants are the various :inds o9 crystal"gaBers " those 8ho! as ,r. $ndre8 Lang puts it! 7stare into a crystal ball! a cup! a 6irror! a bob o9 in: =+gypt and %ndia>! a drop o9 blood =a6ong that ,aories o9 *e8 Mealand>! a bo8l o9 8ater =&ed %ndian>! a pond =&o6an and $9rican>! 8ater in a 4Page 215 glass bo8l =in -eB>! or al6ost any polished sur9ace7. =-reams and ,hosts! page 12> T8o pages later ,r.Lang gives us a very good e@a6ple o9 the :ind o9 vision 6ost 9re<uently seen in this 8ay. 7% had given a glass ball!7 he says! 7to a young lady! ,iss Caillie! 8ho had scarcely any success 8ith it. She lent it to ,iss Leslie! 8ho sa8 a large s<uare! old"9ashioned red so9a covered 8ith 6uslin! 8hich she 9ound in the ne@t country"house she visited. ,iss CaillieAs brother! a young athlete! laughed at these e@peri6ents! too: the ball into the study! and ca6e bac: loo:ing Agey gashA. #e ad6itted that he had seen a vision " so6ebody he :ne8 under a la6p. #e 8ould discover during the 8ee: 8hether he sa8 right or not. This 8as at 1./D on a Sunday a9ternoon. 7(n Tuesday! ,r. Caillie 8as at a dance in a to8n so6e 9orty 6iles 9ro6 his ho6e! and 6et a ,iss Preston. A(n SundayA! he said! Aabout hal9"past 9ive you 8ere sitting under a standard la6p in a dress % never sa8 you 8ear! a blue blouse 8ith lace over the shoulders! pouring out tea 9or a 6an in blue serge! 8hose bac: 8as to8ards 6e! so that % only sa8 the tip o9 his 6oustache.A 7AWhy! the blinds 6ust have been up!A said ,iss Preston. 7A% 8as at 3ulby!A said ,r. Caillie! and he undeniably 8as.7 This is <uite a typical case o9 crystal"gaBing " the picture correct in every detail! you see! and yet absolutely uni6portant and bearing no apparent signi9ication 4Page 2 5 o9 any sort to either party! e@cept that it served to prove to ,r. Caillie that there 8as so6ething in crystal"gaBing. Perhaps 6ore 9re<uently the visions tend to be o9 a ro6antic character " 6en in 9oreign dress! or beauti9ul though generally un:no8n landscapes.

Page /2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

*o8 8hat is the rationale o9 this :ind o9 clairvoyanceG $s % have indicated above! it belongs usually to the 7astral current7 type! and the crystal or other ob;ect si6ply acts as a 9ocus 9or the 8illpo8er o9 the seer! and a convenient starting"point 9or his astral tube. There are so6e 8ho can in9luence 8hat they 8ill see by their 8ill! that is to say they have the po8er o9 pointing their telescope as they 8ish? but the great 6a;ority ;ust 9or6 a 9ortuitous tube and see 8hatever happens to present itsel9 at the end o9 it. So6eti6es it 6ay be scene co6paratively near at hand! as in the case ;ust <uoted? at other ti6es it 8ill be a 9ar"a8ay (riental landscape? at others yet it 6ay be a re9lection o9 so6e 9rag6ent o9 an H:Hshic record! and then the picture 8ill contain 9igures in so6e anti<ue dress! and the pheno6enon belongs to our third large division o9 7clairvoyance in ti6e7. %t is said that visions o9 the 9uture are so6eti6es seen in crystals also " a 9urther develop6ent to 8hich 8e 6ust re9er later. % have seen a clairvoyant use instead o9 the ordinary shining sur9ace a deal blac: one! produced by a hand9ul o9 po8dered charcoal in a saucer. %ndeed it does not see6 to 6atter 6uch 8hat is used as a 9ocus! e@cept that pure crystal has an undoubted advantage over 4Page 225 other substances in that its peculiar arrange6ent o9 ele6ental essence renders it specially sti6ulating to the psychic 9aculties. %t see6s probable! ho8ever! that in cases 8here a tiny brilliant ob;ect is e6ployed " such as a point o9 light! or the drop o9 blood used by the ,aories" the instance is in reality 6erely one o9 sel9"hypnotiBation. $6ong non"+uropean nations the e@peri6ent is very 9re<uently preceded or acco6panied by 6agical cere6onies and invocations so that it is <uite li:ely that such sight as is gained 6ay so6eti6es be really that o9 so6e 9oreign entity! and so the pheno6enon 6ay in 9act be 6erely a case o9 te6porary possession! and not o9 clairvoyance at all. 4Page 285

Page //

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R --CLAIRVOYANC IN !"AC % 'NINT NTIONAL

.nder this heading 8e 6ay group together all those cases in 8hich visions o9 so6e event 8hich is ta:ing place at a distance are seen <uite une@pectedly and 8ithout any :ind o9 preparation. There are people 8ho are sub;ect to such visions! 8hile there are 6any others to 8ho6 such a thing 8ill happen only once in a li9e"ti6e. The visions are o9 all :inds and o9 all degrees o9 co6pleteness! and apparently 6ay be produced by various causes. So6eti6es the reason o9 the vision is obvious! and the sub;ect"6atter o9 the gravest i6portance? at other ti6es no reason at all is discoverable! and the events sho8n see6 o9 the 6ost trivial nature. So6eti6es these gli6pses o9 the superphysical 9aculty co6e as 8a:ing visions! and so6eti6es they 6ani9est during sleep as vivid or o9t"repeated drea6s. %n this latter case the sight e6ployed is perhaps usually o9 :ind assigned to our 9ourth subdivision o9 clairvoyance in space! 9or the sleeping 6an o9ten travels in his astral body to so6e spot 8ith 8hich his a99ections or interests are closely connected! and si6ply 8atches 8hat ta:es place there? in the 9or6er it see6s probable that the second type o9 clairvoyance! by 6eans o9 the astral 4Page 295 current! is called into re<uisition. Cut in this case the current or tube is 9or6ed <uite unconsciously! and is o9ten the auto6atic result o9 a strong thought or e6otion pro;ected 9ro6 one end or the other " either 9ro6 the seer or the person 8ho is seen. The si6plest plan 8ill be to give a 9e8 instances o9 the di99erent :inds! and to intersperse a6ong the6 such 9urther e@planations as 6ay see6 necessary. ,r. Stead has collected a large and varied assort6ent o9 recent and 8ell"authenticated cases in his Real ,host Stories! and % 8ill select so6e o9 6y e@a6ples 9ro6 the6! occasionally condensing slightly to save space. There are cases in 8hich it is at once obvious to any Theosophical student that the e@ceptional instance o9 clairvoyance 8as specially brought about by one o9 the band 8ho6 8e have called 7%nvisible #elpers7 in order that aid 6ight be rendered to so6e one in sore need. To this class! undoubtedly! belongs the story told by Captain )onnt! o9 the *apa 'alley in Cali9ornia! to 3r. Cushnell! 8ho repeats it in his Nature and the Su(ernatural =page 10>. 7$bout si@ or seven years previous! in a 6id8interAs night! he had a drea6 in 8hich he sa8 8hat appeared to be a co6pany o9 e6igrants arrested by the sno8s o9 the 6ountains! and perishing rapidly by cold and hunger. #e noted the very cast o9 the scenery! 6ar:ed by a huge! perpendicular 9ront o9 8hite roc: cli99? he sa8 the 6en cutting o99 8hat appeared to be treetops rising out o9 deep gul9s o9 sno8? he distinguished the 4Page 8D5 very 9eatures o9 the persons and the loo: o9 their particular distress. 7#e a8o:e pro9oundly i6pressed by the distinctness and apparent reality o9 the drea6. #e at length 9ell asleep! and drea6ed e@actly the sa6e drea6 over again. %n the 6orning he could not e@pel it 9ro6 his 6ind. -alling in! shortly a9ter 8hich an old hunter co6rade! he told his story! and 8as only the 6ore deeply i6pressed by his recogniBing 8ithout hesitation the scenery o9 the drea6. This co6rade ca6e Page /0

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

over the Sierra by the Carson 'alley Pass! and declared that a spot in the Pass e@actly ans8ered his description. 7Cy this the unsophistical patriarch 8as decided. #e i66ediately collected a co6pany o9 6en! 8ith 6ules and blan:ets and all necessary provisions. The neighbours 8ere laughing 6eanti6e at this credulity. A*o 6atterA! he said! A% a6 able to do this! and % 8ill! 9or % verily believe that the 9act is according to 6y drea6A. The 6en 8ere sent into the 6ountains one hundred and 9i9ty 6iles distant direct to the Carson 'alley Pass. $nd there they 9ound the co6pany e@actly in the condition o9 the drea6! and brought in the re6nant alive7. Since it is not stated that Captain )onnt 8as in the habit o9 seeing visions! it see6s clear that so6e helper! observing the 9orlorn condition o9 the e6igrant party! too: the nearest i6pressionable and other8ise suitable person =8ho happened to be the Captain> to the spot in the astral body! and aroused hi6 su99iciently to 9i@ the scene 9ir6ly in his 6e6ory. The helper 6ay 4Page 815 possibly have arranged an 7astral current7 9or the Captain instead! but the 9or6er suggestion is 6ore probable. $t any rate the 6otive! and broadly the 6ethod! o9 the 8or: are obvious enough in this case. So6eti6es the 7astral current7 6ay be set going by a strong e6otional thought at the other end o9 the line! and this 6ay haven even though the thin:er has no such intention in his 6ind. %n the rather stri:ing story 8hich % a6 about to <uote! it is evident that the lin: 8as 9or6ed by the doctorAs 9re<uent thought about ,rs. Croughton! yet he had clearly no especial 8ish that she should see 8hat he 8as going at the ti6e. That it 8as this :ind o9 clairvoyance that 8as e6ployed is sho8n by the 9i@ity o9 her point o9 vie8 " 8hich! be it observed! is not the doctorAs point o9 vie8 sy6pathetically trans9erred =as it 6ight have been>! since she sees his bac: 8ithout recogniBing hi6. The story is to be 9ound in the 1roceedings of the 1sychical Research Society ='olu6e 2! page 1 D>. 7,rs. Croughton a8o:e one night in 1800! and roused her husband! telling hi6 that so6ething dread9ul had happened in -rance. #e begged her to go to sleep again! and not trouble hi6. She assured hi6 that she 8as not asleep 8hen she sa8 8hat she insisted on telling hi6 " 8hat she sa8 in 9act. 7-irst a carriage accident " 8hich she did not actually see! but 8hat she sa8 8as the result " a bro:en carriage! a cro8d collected! a 9igure gently raised and carried into the nearest house! then a 9igure lying on a bed 8hich she then recogniBed as the 3u:e o9 (rleans. 4Page 825 Fradually 9riends collecting round the bed " a6ong the6 several 6e6bers o9 the -rench royal 9a6ily" the <ueen! then the :ing! all silently! tear9ully! 8atching the evidently dying du:e. (ne 6an =she could see his bac:! but did not :no8 8ho he 8as> 8as a doctor. #e stood bending over the du:e! 9eeling his pulse! 8ith his 8atch in the other hand. $nd then all passed a8ay! and she sa8 no 6ore. 7$s soon as it 8as daylight she 8rote do8n in her ;ournal all that she had seen. %t 8as be9ore the days o9 the electric telegraph! and t8o or 6ore days passed be9ore the Times announced AThe 3eath o9 the 3u:e o9 (rleansA. 'isiting Paris a short ti6e a9ter8ards she sa8 and recogniBed the place o9 the accident and received the e@planation o9 her i6pression. The doctor 8ho attended the dying du:e 8as an old 9riend o9 hers! and as he 8atched by the bed his 6ind had been constantly occupied 8ith her and her 9a6ily7.

Page /1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

$ co66oner instance is that in 8hich strong a99ection sets up the necessary current? probably a 9airly steady strea6 o9 6utual thought is constantly 9lo8ing bet8een the t8o parties in the case! and so6e sudden need or dire e@tre6ity on the part o9 one o9 the6 endues this strea6 te6porarily 8ith the polariBing po8er 8hich is need9ul to create the astral telescope. $n illustrative e@a6ple is <uoted 9ro6 the sa6e 1roceedings =volu6e %! page /D>. 7(n Septe6ber 9th! 1808! at the siege o9 ,ooltan! ,a;or"Feneral &""""""""! C.C.! then ad;utant o9 his regi6ent! 8as 6ost severely and dangerously 8ounded? 4Page 8/5 and! supposing hi6sel9 to be dying! as:ed one o9 the o99icers 8ith hi6 to ta:e the ring o99 his 9inger and send it to this 8i9e! 8ho at the ti6e 8as 9ully one hundred and 9i9ty 6iles distant at -eroBepore. 7A(n the night o9 Septe6ber 9th! 1808A! 8rites his 8i9e! A% 8as lying on 6y bed! bet8een sleeping and 8a:ing! 8hen % distinctly sa8 6y husband being carried o99 the 9ield seriously 8ounded! and heard his voice saying! 7Ta:e this ring o99 6y 9inger and send it to 6y 8i9e7. $ll the ne@t day % could not get the sight or the voice o9 o9 6y 6ind. 7A%n due ti6e % heard o9 Feneral &"""" having been severely 8ounded in the assault o9 ,ooltan. #e survived! ho8ever! and is still living. %t 8as not 9or so6e ti6e a9ter the siege that % heard 9ro6 Feneral L""""! the o99icer 8ho helped to carry 6y husband o99 the 9ield! that the re<uest as to the ring 8as actually 6ade by hi6! ;ust as % heard it at -eroBepore at that very ti6e7. Then there is the very large class o9 casual clairvoyant visions 8hich have no traceable cause " 8hich are apparently <uite 6eaningless! and have no recogniBable relation to any events :no8n to the seer. To this class belong 6any o9 the landscapes seen by so6e people ;ust be9ore they 9all asleep. % <uote a capital and very realistic account o9 an e@perience o9 this sort 9ro6 W.T.SteadAs &eal Fhost Stories =page 1>. 7% got into bed but 8as not able to go to sleep! % shut 6y eyes and 8aited 9or sleep to co6e? instead o9 sleep! ho8ever! there ca6e to 6e a succession o9 4Page 805 curiously vivid clairvoyant pictures. There 8as no light in the roo6! and it 8as per9ectly dar:? % had 6y eyes shut also. Cut not8ithstanding the dar:ness % suddenly 8as conscious o9 loo:ing at a scene o9 singular beauty. %t 8as as i9 % sa8 a living 6iniature about the siBe o9 a 6agic"lantern slide. $t this 6o6ent! % can recall the scene as i9 % sa8 it again. %t 8as a seaside piece. The 6oon 8as shining upon the 8ater! 8hich rippled slo8ly on to the beach. &ight be9ore 6e a long 6ole ran into the 8ater. 7(n either side o9 the 6ole irregular roc:s stood up above the sea"level. (n the shore stood several houses! s<uare and rude! 8hich rese6bled nothing that % had ever seen in house architecture. *o one 8as stirring! but the 6oon 8as there and the sea and the glea6 o9 the 6oonlight on the rippling 8aters! ;ust as i9 % had been loo:ing on the actual scene. 7%t 8as so beauti9ul that % re6e6ber thin:ing that i9 it continued % should be so interested in loo:ing at it that % should never go to sleep. % 8as 8ide a8a:e! and at the sa6e ti6e that % sa8 the scene % distinctly heard the dripping o9 the rain outside the 8indo8. Then suddenly! 8ithout any apparent ob;ect or reason! Page /

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

the scene changed. 7The 6oonlit sea vanished! and in its place % 8as loo:ing right into the interior o9 a reading"roo6. %t see6ed as i9 it had been used as a schoolroo6 in the dayti6e! and 8as e6ployed as a reading"roo6 in the evening. % re6e6ber seeing one reader 8ho had a curious rese6ble to Ti6 #arrington! although it 4Page 815 8as not he! hold up a 6agaBine or boo: in his hand and laugh. %t 8as not a picture " it 8as there. 7The scene 8as ;ust as i9 you 8ere loo:ing through an opera"glass? you sa8 the play o9 the 6uscles! the glea6ing o9 the eye! every 6ove6ent o9 the un:no8n persons in the unna6ed place into 8hich you 8ere gaBing. % sa8 all that 8ithout opening 6y eyes! nor did 6y eyes have anything to do 8ith it. )ou see such things as these as it 8ere 8ith another sense 8hich is 6ore inside your head than in your eyes. 7This 8as a very poor and paltry e@perience! but it enabled 6e to understand better ho8 it is that clairvoyants see than any a6ount o9 dis<uisition. 7The picture 8ere a (ro(os o9 nothing? they had been suggested by nothing % had been reading or tal:ing o9? they si6ply ca6e as i9 % had been able to loo: through a glass at 8hat 8as occurring so6e8here else in the 8orld. % had 6y peep! and then it passed! nor have % had a recurrence o9 a si6ilar e@perience7. ,r. Stead regards that as a 7poor and paltry e@perience7! and it 6ay perhaps be considered so 8hen co6pared 8ith the greater possibilities! yet % :no8 6any students 8ho 8ould be very than:9ul to have even so 6uch o9 direct personal e@perience to tell. S6all though it 6ay be in itsel9! it at once gives the seer a clue to the 8hole thing! and clairvoyance 8ould be a living actuality to a 6an 8ho had seen even that 6uch in a 8ay that it could never have been 8ithout that little touch 8ith the unseen 8orld. These pictures 8ere 6uch too clear to have been 4Page 8 5 6ere re9lections o9 the thought o9 others! and besides! the description un6ista:ably sho8s that they 8ere vie8s seen through an astral telescope? so either ,r. Stead 6ust <uite unconsciously have set a current going 9or hi6sel9! or =8hich is 6uch 6ore probable> so6e :indly astral entity set it in 6otion 9or hi6! and gave hi6! to 8hile a8ay a tedious delay! any pictures that happened to co6e handy at the end o9 the tube. 4Page 825

Page /2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -.CLAIRVOYANC IN TI$ % TH "A!T

Clairvoyance in ti6e " that is to say! the po8er o9 reading the past and the 9uture" is! li:e all the other varieties! possessed by di99erent people in very varying degrees! ranging 9ro6 the 6an 8ho has both 9aculties 9ully at his co66and! do8n to one 8ho only occasionally gets involuntary and very i6per9ect gli6pses or re9lections o9 these scenes o9 other days. $ person o9 the latter type 6ight have! let us say! a vision o9 so6e event in the past? but it 8ould be liable to the 6ost serious distortion! and even i9 it happened to be 9airly accurate it 8ould al6ost certainly be a 6ere isolated picture! and he 8ould probably be <uite unable to relate it to 8hat had occurred be9ore or a9ter it! or account 9or anything unusual 8hich 6ight appear in it. The trained 6an! on the other hand! could 9ollo8 the dra6a connected 8ith his picture bac:8ards or 9or8ards to any e@tent that 6ight see6 desirable! and trace out 8ith e<ual ease the causes 8hich had led up to it or the results 8hich it in turn 8ould produce. We shall probably 9ind it easier to grasp this so6e8hat di99icult section o9 our sub;ect i9 8e consider it in the subdivisions 8hich naturally suggest the6selves! 4Page 885 and deal 9irst 8ith the vision 8hich loo:s bac:8ards into the past! leaving 9or later e@a6ination that 8hich pierces the veil o9 the 9uture. %n each case it 8ill be 8ell 9or us to try to understand 8hat 8e can o9 the modus o(erandi! even though our success can at best be only very 6odi9ied one! o8ing 9irst to the i6per9ect in9or6ation on so6e parts o9 the sub;ect at present possessed by our investigators! and secondly to the recurring 9ailure o9 physical 8ords to e@press a hundred part even o9 the little 8e do :no8n about higher planes and 9aculties. %n the case then o9 a detailed vision o9 the re6ote past! ho8 is it obtained! and to 8hat plane o9 *ature does it really belongG The ans8er to both these <uestions is contained in the reply that it is read 9ro6 the H:Hshic records? but that state6ent in return 8ill re<uire a certain a6ount o9 e@planation 9or 6any readers. The 8ord is in truth so6e8hat o9 a 6isno6er! 9or though the records are undoubtedly read 9ro6 the H:Hsha! or 6atter o9 the 6ental plane! yet it is not to it that they really belong. Still 8orse is the alternative title! 7records o9 the astral light7! 8hich has so6eti6es been e6ployed! 9or these records lie 9ar beyond the astral plane! and all that can be obtained on it are only bro:en gli6pses o9 a :ind o9 double re9lection o9 the6! as 8ill presently be e@plained. Li:e so 6any others o9 our Theosophical ter6s! the 8ord H:Hsha has been very loosely used. %n so6e o9 our earlier boo:s it 8as considered as synony6ous 8ith astral light! and in others it 8as e6ployed to signi9y any :ind 4Page 895 o9 invisible 6atter! 9ro6 ,ulapra:riti do8n to the physical ether. %n later boo:s its use has been restricted to the 6atter o9 the 6ental plane! and it is in that sense that the records 6ay be spo:en o9 as H:Hshic! 9or although they are not originally 6ade on that plane any 6ore than on the astral! yet it is there that 8e 9irst co6e de9initely into contact 8ith the6 and 9ind it possible to do reliable 8or: 8ith the6. This sub;ect o9 the records is by no 6eans an easy one to deal 8ith! 9or it is one o9 that nu6erous class 8hich re<uires 9or its per9ect co6prehension 9aculties o9 a 9ar higher order than any 8hich hu6anity has yet evolved. The real solution o9 its proble6s lies on planes 9ar beyond any that 8e can possibly :no8 at present! and any vie8 that 8e ta:e o9 it 6ust necessarily be o9 the 6ost i6per9ect character! since 8e cannot but loo: at it 9ro6 belo8 instead o9 9ro6 above. The idea 8hich 8e 9or6 o9 it 6ust there9ore be Page /8

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

only partial! yet it need not 6islead us unless 8e allo8 ourselves to thin: o9 the tiny 9rag6ent 8hich is all that 8e can see as though it 8ere the per9ect 8hole. %9 8e are care9ul that such conceptions as 8e 6ay 9or6 shall be accurate as 9ar as they go! 8e shall have nothing to unlearn! though 6uch to add! 8hen in the course o9 our 9urther progress 8e gradually ac<uire the higher 8isdo6. Ce it understood then at the co66ence6ent that a thorough grasp o9 our sub;ect is an i6possibility at the present stage o9 our evolution! and that 6any points 8ill arise as to 8hich no e@act e@planation is yet obtainable! though it 6ay o9ten be possible to suggest 4Page 9D5 analogies and to indicate the lines along 8hich an e@planation 6ust lie. Let us then try to carry bac: our thoughts to the beginning o9 this solar syste6 to 8hich 8e belong. We are all 9a6iliar 8ith the ordinary astrono6ical theory o9 its origin " that 8hich is co66only called the nebular hypothesis " according to 8hich it 9irst ca6e into e@istence as a gigantic glo8ing nebula! o9 a dia6eter 9ar e@ceeding that o9 the orbit o9 even the outer6ost o9 the planets! and then! as in the course o9 countless ages that enor6ous sphere gradually cooled and contracted! the syste6 as 8e :no8 it 8as 9or6ed. (ccult science accepts that theory! in its broad outline! as correctly representing the purely physical side o9 the evolution o9 our syste6! but it 8ould add that i9 8e con9ine our attention to this physical side only 8e shall have a very inco6plete and incoherent idea o9 8hat really happened. %t 8ould postulate! to begin 8ith! that the e@alted Ceing 8ho underta:es the 9or6ation o9 a syste6 =8ho6 8e so6eti6es call the Logos o9 the syste6> 9irst o9 all 9or6s in his 6ind a co6plete conception o9 the 8hole o9 it 8ith all its successive chains o9 8orlds. Cy the very act o9 9or6ing that conception #e calls the 8hole into si6ultaneous ob;ective e@istence on the plane o9 #is thought " a plane o9 course 9ar above all those o9 8hich 8e :no8 anything " 9ro6 8hich the various globes descend 8hen re<uired into 8hatever state o9 9urther ob;ectivity 6ay be respectively destined 9or the6. .nless 8e constantly bear in 6ind this 9act o9 the real e@istence o9 the 8hole syste6 4Page 915 9ro6 the very beginning on a higher plane! 8e shall be perpetually 6isunderstanding the physical evolution 8hich 8e see ta:ing place do8n here. Cut (ccultis6 has 6ore than this to teach us on the sub;ect. %t tells us not only that all this 8onder9ul syste6 to 8hich 8e belong is called into e@istence by the Logos! both on lo8er and on higher planes! but also that its relation to #i6 is closer even than that! 9or it is absolutely a part o9 #i6 " a partial e@pression o9 #i6 upon the physical plane " and that the 6ove6ent and energy o9 the 8hole syste6 is his energy! and is all carried on 8ithin the li6its o9 his aura. Stupendous as this conception is! it 8ill yet not be 8holly unthin:able to those o9 us 8ho have 6ade any study o9 the sub;ect o9 the aura. We are 9a6iliar 8ith the idea that as a person progresses on the up8ard path his causal body! 8hich is the deter6ining li6it o9 his aura! distinctly increases in siBe as 8ell as in lu6inosity and purity o9 colour. ,any o9 us :no8 9ro6 e@perience that the aura o9 a pupil 8ho has already 6ade considerable advance on the Path is very 6uch larger than that o9 one 8ho is but ;ust setting his 9oot upon its 9irst step! 8hile in the case o9 an $dept the proportional increase is 9ar greater still. We read in <uite e@oteric (riental scriptures o9 the i66ense e@tension o9 the aura o9 the Cuddha? % thin: that three 6iles is 6entioned on one occasion as its li6it! but 8hatever the e@act 6easure6ent 6ay be! it is obvious that 8e have here another record o9 this 9act o9 the e@tre6ely rapid gro8th o9 the causal body as 4Page 925 6an passes on his up8ard 8ay. There can be little doubt that the rate o9 this gro8th 8ould itsel9 increase in geo6etrical progression! so that it need not surprise us to hear o9 an $dept on a still higher level 8hose aura is capable o9 including the entire 8orld at once? and 9ro6 this 8e 6ay gradually lead our 6inds up to the Page /9

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

conception that there is a Ceing so e@alted as to co6prehend 8ithin #i6sel9 the 8hole o9 our solar syste6. $nd 8e should re6e6ber that! enor6ous as this see6s to us! it is but as the tiniest drop in the vast ocean o9 space. So o9 the Logos =8ho has in #i6 all the capacities and <ualities 8ith 8hich 8e can possibly endo8 the highest Fod 8e can i6agine> it is literally true! as 8as said o9 old! that 7o9 #i6 and through #i6! and to #i6 are all things7! and 7in #i6 8e live and 6ove and have our being7. *o8 i9 this be so! it is clear that 8hatever happens 8ithin our syste6 happens absolutely 8ithin the consciousness o9 its Logos! and so 8e at once see that the true record 6ust be #is 6e6ory? and 9urther6ore! it is obvious that on 8hatever plane that 8ondrous 6e6ory e@ists! it cannot but be 9ar above anything that 8e :no8! and conse<uently 8hatever records 8e 6ay 9ind ourselves able to read 6ust be only a re9lection o9 that great do6inant 9act! 6irrored in the denser 6edia o9 the lo8er planes. (n the astral plane it is at once evident that this is so " that 8hat 8e are dealing 8ith is only a re9lection o9 a re9lection! and an e@ceedingly i6per9ect one! 9or such 4Page 9/5 records as can be reached there are 9rag6entary in the e@tre6e! and o9ten seriously distorted. We :no8 ho8 universally 8ater is used as a sy6bol o9 the astral light! and in this particular case it is a re6ar:ably apt one. -ro6 the sur9ace o9 still 8ater 8e 6ay get a clear re9lection o9 the surrounding ob;ects! ;ust as 9ro6 a 6irror? but at the best it is only a re9lection " a representation in t8o di6ensions o9 three"di6ensional ob;ects! and there9ore di99ering in all its <ualities! e@cept colour! 9ro6 that 8hich it represents? and in addition to this! it is al8ays reversed. Cut let the sur9ace o9 the 8ater be ru99led by the 8ind and 8hat do 8e 9ind thenG $ re9lection still! certainly! but so bro:en up and distorted as to be <uite useless or even 6isleading as a guide to the shape and real appearance o9 the ob;ects re9lected. #ere and there 9or a 6o6ent 8e 6ight happen to get a clear re9lection o9 so6e 6inute part o9 the scene " o9 a single lea9 9ro6 a tree! 9or e@a6ple? but it 8ould need long labour and considerable :no8ledge o9 natural la8s to build up anything li:e a true conception o9 the ob;ect re9lected by putting together even a large nu6ber o9 such isolated 9rag6ents o9 an i6age o9 it. *o8 in the astral plane 8e can never have anything approaching to 8hat 8e have i6aged as a still sur9ace! but on the contrary 8e have al8ays to deal 8ith one in rapid and be8ildering 6otion? ;udge! there9ore! ho8 little 8e can depend upon getting a clear and de9inite re9lection. Thus a clairvoyant 8ho possesses only the 9aculty o9 astral sight can never rely upon any 4Page 905 picture o9 the past that co6es be9ore hi6 as being accurate and per9ect? here and there so6e part o9 it 6ay be so! but he has no 6eans o9 :no8ing 8hich it is. %9 he is under the care o9 a co6petent teacher he 6ay! by long and care9ul training! be sho8n ho8 to distinguish bet8een reliable and unreliable i6pressions! and to construct 9ro6 the bro:en re9lections so6e :ind o9 i6age o9 the ob;ect re9lected? but usually long be9ore he has 6astered those di99iculties he 8ill have developed the 6ental sight! 8hich renders such labour unnecessary. (n the ne@t plane! 8hich 8e call the 4devachanic5 6ental! conditions are very di99erent. There the record is 9ull and accurate! and it 8ould be i6possible to 6a:e any 6ista:e in the reading. That is to say! i9 three Page 0D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

clairvoyants possessing the po8ers o9 the 6ental plane agreed to e@a6ine a certain record there! 8hat 8ould be presented to their vision 8ould be absolutely the sa6e re9lection in each case! and each 8ould ac<uire a correct i6pression 9ro6 it in reading it. %t does not! ho8ever! 9ollo8 that 8hen they all co6pared notes later on the physical plane their reports 8ould agree e@actly. %t is 8ell :no8n that! i9 three people 8ho 8itness an occurrence do8n here in the physical 8orld set to 8or: to describe it a9ter8ards! their accounts 8ill di99er considerably! 9or each 8ill have noticed especially those ite6s 8hich 6ost appeal to hi6! and 8ill insensibly have 6ade the6 the pro6inent 9eatures o9 the event! so6eti6es ignoring other points 8hich 8ere in reality 6uch 6ore i6portant. 4Page 915 *o8 in the case o9 an observation on the 6ental plane this personal e<uation 8ould not appreciably a99ect the i6pressions received! 9or since each 8ould thoroughly grasp the entire sub;ect it 8ould be i6possible 9or hi6 to see its parts out o9 due proportion? but! e@cept in the case o9 care9ully trained and e@perienced persons! this 9actor does co6e into play in trans9erring the i6pressions to the lo8er planes. %t is in the nature o9 things i6possible that any account given do8n here o9 a 4devachanic5 6ental vision or e@perience on the 6ental plane can be co6plete! since nine"tenths o9 8hat is seen and 9elt there could not be e@pressed by physical 8ords at all? and! since all e@pression 6ust there9ore be partial! there is obviously so6e possibility o9 selection as to the part e@pressed. %t is 9or this reason that in all our Theosophical investigations o9 recent years so 6uch stress has been laid upon the constant chec:ing and veri9ying o9 clairvoyant testi6ony! nothing 8hich rests upon the vision o9 one person only having been allo8ed to appear in our later boo:s. Cut even 8hen the possibility o9 errors 9ro6 this 9actor o9 personal e<uation has been reduced to a 6ini6u6 by a care9ul syste6 o9 counterchec:ing! there still re6ains the very serious di99iculty 8hich is inherent in the operation o9 bringing do8n i6pressions 9ro6 a higher plane to a lo8er one. This is so6ething analogous to the di99iculty e@perienced by a painter in his endeavour to reproduce a three" di6ensional landscape on a 9lat sur9ace " that is! practically in t8o di6ensions. Iust as the artist needs long and care9ul training o9 eye and 4Page 9 5 hand be9ore he can produce a satis9actory representation o9 *ature! so does the clairvoyant need long and care9ul training be9ore he can describe accurately on a lo8er plane 8hat he sees on a higher one? and the probability o9 getting an e@act description 9ro6 an untrained person is about e<ual to that o9 getting a per9ectly"9inished landscape 9ro6 one 8ho has never learnt ho8 to dra8. %t 6ust be re6e6bered! too! that the 6ost per9ect picture is in reality in9initely 9ar 9ro6 being a reproduction o9 the scene 8hich it represents! 9or hardly a single line or angle in it can ever be the sa6e as those in the ob;ect copied. %t is si6ply a very ingenious atte6pt to 6a:e upon only one o9 our 9ive senses! by 6eans o9 lines and colours on a 9lat sur9ace! an i6pression si6ilar to that 8hich 8ould have been 6ade i9 8e had actually had be9ore us the scene depicted. +@cept by a suggestion dependent entirely on our o8n previous e@perience! it can convey to us nothing o9 the roar o9 the sea! o9 the scent o9 the 9lo8ers! o9 the taste o9 the 9ruit! o9 o9 the so9tness or hardness o9 the sur9ace dra8n. (9 e@actly si6ilar nature! though 9ar greater in degree! are the di99iculties e@perienced by a clairvoyant in his atte6pt to describe upon the physical plane 8hat he has seen upon the astral? and they are 9urther6ore greatly enhanced by the 9act that! instead o9 having 6erely to recall to the 6inds o9 his hearers conceptions 8ith 8hich they are already 9a6iliar! as the artist does 8hen he paints 6en or ani6als! 9ields or trees! he has to endeavour by the very i6per9ect 6eans at his disposal 4Page 925 to suggest to the6 conceptions 8hich in 6ost cases are absolutely ne8 to the6. Page 01

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

S6all 8onder then that! ho8ever vivid and stri:ing his descriptions 6ay see6 to his audience! he hi6sel9 should constantly be i6pressed 8ith their total inade<uacy! and should 9eel that his best e99orts have entirely 9ailed to convey any idea o9 8hat he really sees. $nd 8e 6ust re6e6ber that in the case o9 the report given do8n here o9 a record read on the 6ental plane! this di99icult operation o9 trans9erence 9ro6 the higher to the lo8er has ta:en place not once but t8ice! since the 6e6ory has been brought through the intervening astral plane. +ven in a case 8here the investigator has the advantage o9 having developed his 6ental 9aculties so that he has the use o9 the6 8hile a8a:e in the physical body! he is still ha6pered by the absolute incapacity o9 physical language to e@press 8hat he sees. Try 9or a 6o6ent to realiBe 9ully 8hat is called the 9ourth di6ension! o9 8hich 8e said so6ething in an earlier chapter. %t is easy enough to thin: o9 our o8n three di6ensions " to i6age in our 6inds the length! breadth and height o9 any ob;ect? and 8e see that each o9 these three di6ensions is e@pressed by a line at right angles to both o9 the others. The idea o9 the 9ourth di6ension is that it 6ight be possible to dra8 a 9ourth line 8hich shall be at right angles to all three o9 those already e@isting. *o8 the ordinary 6ind cannot grasp this idea in the least! though so6e 9e8 8ho have 6ade a special study 4Page 985 o9 the sub;ect have gradually co6e to be able to realiBe one or t8o very si6ple 9our" di6ensional 9igures. Still! no 8ords that they can use on this plane can bring any i6age o9 these 9igures be9ore the 6ind o9 others! and i9 any reader 8ho has not specially trained hi6sel9 along that line 8ill 6a:e the e99ort to visualiBe such a shape he 8ill 9ind it <uite i6possible. *o8 to e@press such a 9or6 clearly in physical 8ords 8ould be! in e99ect! to describe accurately a single ob;ect o9 the astral plane? but in e@a6ining the records on the 6ental plane 8e should have to 9ace the additional di99iculties o9 a 9i9th di6ensionK So that the i6possibility o9 9ully e@plaining these records 8ill be obvious to even the 6ost super9icial observation. We have spo:en o9 the records as the 6e6ory o9 the Logos! yet they are very 6uch 6ore than a 6e6ory in an ordinary sense o9 the 8ord. #opeless as it 6ay be to i6agine ho8 these i6ages appear 9ro6 #is point o9 vie8! 8e yet :no8n that as 8e rise higher and higher 8e 6ust be dra8ing nearer to the true 6e6ory " 6ust be seeing 6ore nearly as #e sees? so that great interest attaches to the e@perience o9 the clairvoyant 8ith re9erence to these records 8hen he stands upon the buddhic plane " the higher 8hich his consciousness can reach even 8hen a8ay 9ro6 the physical body until he attains the level o9 the $rhats. #ere ti6e and space no longer li6it hi6? he no longer needs! as on the 6ental plane! to pass a series o9 events in revie8! 9or past! present and 9uture are all ali:e si6ultaneously present to hi6! 6eaningless 4Page 995 as that sounds do8n here. %ndeed! in9initely belo8 the consciousness o9 the Logos as even that e@alted plane is! it is yet abundantly clear 9ro6 8hat 8e see there that to #i6 the record 6ust be 9ar 6ore than 8hat 8e call a 6e6ory! 9or all that has happened in the past and all that 8ill happen in the 9uture is ha((ening now be9ore his eyes ;ust as are the events o9 8hat 8e call the present ti6e. .tterly incredible! 8idely inco6prehensible! o9 course! to our li6ited understanding? yet absolutely true 9or all that. *aturally 8e could not e@pect to understand at our present stage o9 :no8ledge ho8 so 6arvelous a Page 02

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

result is produced! and to atte6pt an e@planation 8ould only be to involve ourselves in a 6ist o9 8ords 9ro6 8hich 8e should gain no real in9or6ation. )et a line o9 though recurs to 6y 6ind 8hich perhaps suggests the direction in 8hich it is possible that that e@planation 6ay lie? and 8hatever helps us to realiBe that so astounding a state6ent 6ay a9ter all not be 8holly i6possible 8ill be o9 assistance in broadening our 6inds. So6e thirty years ago % re6e6ber reading a very curious little boo:! called! % thin:! The Stars and the arth! the ob;ects o9 8hich 8as to endeavour to sho8 ho8 it 8as scienti9ically possible that to the 6ind o9 Fod the past and the present 6ight be absolutely si6ultaneous. %ts argu6ents struc: 6e at the ti6e as decidedly ingenious! and % 8ill proceed to su66ariBe the6! as % thin: they 8ill be 9ound so6e8hat suggestive in a connection 8ith the sub;ect 8hich 8e have been considering. 4Page 1DD5 When 8e see anything! 8hether it be the boo: 8hich 8e hold in our hands or a star 6illions o9 6iles a8ay! 8e do so by 6eans o9 a vibration in the ether! co66only called a ray o9 light! 8hich passes 9ro6 the ob;ect seen to our eyes. *o8 the speed 8ith 8hich this vibration passes is so great " about 18 !DDD 6iles in a second " that 8hen 8e are considering any ob;ect in our o8n 8orld 8e 6ay regard it as practically instantaneous. When! ho8ever! 8e co6e to deal 8ith interplanetary distances 8e have to ta:e the speed o9 light into consideration! 9or an appreciable period is occupied in traversing these vast spaces. -or e@a6ple it ta:es eight 6inutes and a <uarter 9or light to travel to us 9ro6 the sun! so that 8hen 8e loo: at the solar orb 8e see it by 6eans o9 a ray o9 light 8hich le9t it 6ore than eight 6inutes ago. -ro6 this 9ollo8s a very curious result. The ray o9 light by 8hich 8e see the sun can obviously report to us only the state o9 a99airs 8hich e@isted in that lu6inary 8hen it started on its ;ourney! and 8ould not be in the least a99ected by anything that happened there a9ter it le9t? so that 8e really see the sun not as he is! but as he 8as eight 6inutes ago. That is to say that i9 anything i6portant too: place in the sun " the 9or6ation o9 a ne8 sunspot! 9or instance " an astrono6er 8ho 8as 8atching the orb through his telescope at the ti6e 8ould be <uite una8are o9 the incident 8hile it 8as happening! since the ray o9 light bearing the ne8s 8ould not reach hi6 until 6ore than eight 6inutes later. 4Page 1D15 The di99erence is 6ore stri:ing 8hen 8e consider the 9i@ed stars! because in their case the distances are so enor6ously greater. The pole star! 9or e@a6ple! is so 9ar o99 that light! traveling at the inconceivable speed above 6entioned! ta:es a little 6ore than 9i9ty years to reach our eyes? and 9ro6 that 9ollo8s the strange but inevitable in9erence that 8e see the pole star no as and 8here it is at this 6o6ent! but as and 8here it 8as 9i9ty years ago. *ay! i9 to6orro8 so6e cos6ic catastrophe 8ere to shatter the pole star into 9rag6ents! 8e should still see it peace9ully shining in the s:y all the rest o9 our lives? our children 8ould gro8 up to 6iddle age and gather their children about the6 in turn be9ore the ne8s o9 that tre6endous accident reached any terrestrial eye. %n the sa6e 8ay there are other stars so 9ar distant that light ta:es thousands o9 years to travel 9ro6 the6 to us! and 8ith re9erence to their condition our in9or6ation is there9ore thousands o9 years behind ti6e. *o8 carry the argu6ent a step 9arther. Suppose that 8e 8ere able to place a 6an at the distance o9 18 !DDD 6iles 9or6 the earth! and yet to endo8 hi6 8ith the 8onder9ul 9aculty o9 being able 9ro6 that distance to see 8hat 8as happening here as clearly as though he 8ere still close beside us. %t is evident that a 6an so placed 8ould see everything a second later a9ter the ti6e 8hen it really happened! and so Page 0/

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

at the present 6o6ent he 8ould be seeing 8hat happened a second ago. 3ouble the distance! and he 8ould be t8o seconds behind ti6e! and so on? re6ove hi6 to the 4Page 1D25 distance o9 the sun =still allo8ing hi6 to preserve the sa6e 6ysterious po8er o9 sight> and he 8ould loo: do8n and 8atch you doing not 8hat you are doing no8! but 8hat you were doing eight 6inutes and a <uarter ago. Carry hi6 a8ay to the pole star! and he 8ould see passing be9ore his eyes the events o9 9i9ty years ago? he 8ould be 8atching the childish ga6bols o9 those 8ho at the very sa6e 6o6ent 8ere really 6iddle"aged 6en. ,arvelous as this 6ay sound! it is literally and scienti9ically true! and cannot be denied. The little boo: 8ent on to argue logically enough that Fod! being al6ighty! 6ust possess the 8onder9ul po8er o9 sight 8hich 8e have been postulating 9or our observed? and 9urther! that being o6nipresent! #e 6ust be at each o9 the stations 8hich 8e 6entioned! and also at every inter6ediate point! not successively but si6ultaneously. Franting these pre6ises! the inevitable deduction 9ollo8s that everything 8hich has ever happened 9ro6 the very beginning o9 the 8orld must %e at this very 6o6ent ta:ing place be9ore the eye o9 Fod " not a 6ere 6e6ory o9 it! but the actual occurrence itsel9 being under #is observation. $ll this is 6aterialistic enough! and on the plane o9 purely physical science! and 8e 6ay there9ore be assured that it is not the 8ay in 8hich the 6e6ory o9 the Logos acts? yet it is neatly 8or:ed out and absolutely incontrovertible! and as % have said be9ore! it is not 8ithout its use! since it gives us a gli6pse o9 so6e possibilities 8hich other8ise 6ight not occur to us. 4Page 1D/5 Cut! it 6ay be as:ed! ho8 is it possible! a6id the be8ildering con9usion o9 these records o9 the past! to 9ind any particular picture 8hen it is 8antedG $s a 6atter o9 9act! the untrained clairvoyant usually cannot do so 8ithout so6e special lin: to put hi6 en ra((ort 8ith the sub;ect re<uired. Psycho6etry is an instance in point! and it is <uite probable that our ordinary 6e6ory is really only another present6ent o9 the sa6e idea. %t see6s as though there 8ere a sort o9 6agnetic attach6ent or a99inity bet8een any particle o9 6atter and the record 8hich contains its history " an a99inity 8hich enables it to act as a :ind o9 conductor bet8een that record and the 9aculties o9 anyone 8ho can read it. -or e@a6ple! % once brought 9ro6 Stonehenge a tiny 9rag6ent o9 stone! not larger than a pinAs head! and on putting this into an envelope and handing it to a psycho6eter 8ho had no idea 8hat it 8as! she at once began to describe that 8onder9ul ruin and the desolate country surrounding it! and then 8ent on to picture vividly 8hat 8ere evidently scenes 9ro6 its early history! sho8ing that that in9initesi6al 9rag6ent had been su99icient to put her into co66unication 8ith the records connected 8ith the spot 9ro6 8hich it ca6e. The scenes through 8hich 8e pass in the course o9 our li9e see6 to act in the sa6e 6anner upon the cells o9 our brain as did the history o9 Stonehenge upon that particle o9 stone? they establish a connection 8ith those cells by 6eans o9 8hich our 6ind is put en ra((ort 8ith that particular portion o9 the records! and so 8e 7re6e6ber7 8hat 8e have seen. 4Page 1D05 +ven a trained clairvoyant needs so6e lin: to enable hi6 to 9ind the record o9 an event o9 8hich he has no previous :no8ledge. %9! 9or e@a6ple! he 8ished to observe the landing o9 Iulius Caesar on the shores o9 +ngland! there are several 8ays in 8hich he 6ight approach the sub;ect. %9 he happened to have visited the scene o9 the occurrence! the si6plest 8ay 8ould probably be to call up the i6age o9 that spot! and then run bac: through its records until he reached the period desired. %9 he had not seen the place! he 6ight run bac: in ti6e to the date o9 the event! and then search the Channel 9or a 9leet o9 &o6an Page 00

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

galleys? or he 6ight e@a6ine the records o9 &o6an li9e at about that period! 8here he 8ould have no di99iculty in identi9ying so pro6inent a 9igure as Caesar! or in tracing hi6 8hen 9ound through all his Fallic 8ars until he set his 9oot upon Critish land. People o9ten en<uire as to the aspect o9 these records " 8hether they appear near or 9ar a8ay 9ro6 the eye! 8hether the 9igures in the6 are large or s6all! 8hether the pictures 9ollo8 one another as in a panora6a or 6elt into another li:e dissolving vie8s! and so on. (ne can only reply that their appearance varies to a certain e@tent according to the conditions under 8hich they are seen. .pon the astral plane the re9lection is 6ost o9ten a si6ple picture! though occasionally the 9igures seen 8ould be endo8ed 8ith 6otion? in this latter case! instead o9 a 6ere snapshot a rather longer and 6ore per9ect re9lections has ta:en place. (n the 6ental plane they have t8o 8idely 4Page 1D15 di99erent aspects. When the visitor to that plane is not thin:ing specially o9 the6 in any 8ay! the records si6ply 9or6 a bac:ground to 8hatever is going on! ;ust as the re9lections in a pier"glass at the end o9 a roo6 6ight 9or6 a bac:ground to the li9e o9 the people in it. %t 6ust al8ays be borne in 6ind that under these conditions they are really 6erely re9lections 9ro6 the ceaseless activity o9 a great Consciousness upon a 9ar higher plane! and have very 6uch the appearance o9 an endless succession o9 the recently invented cinematogra(her! or living photographs. They do not 6elt into one another li:e dissolving vie8s! nor do a series o9 ordinary pictures 9ollo8 one another? but the action o9 the re9lection 9igures constantly goes on! as though one 8ere 8atching the actors on a distant stage. Cut i9 the trained investigator turns his attention specially to any one scene! or 8ishes to call it up be9ore hi6! an e@traordinary change at once ta:es place! 9or this is the plane o9 thought! and to thin: o9 anything is to bring it instantaneously be9ore you. -or e@a6ple! i9 a 6an 8ills to see the records o9 that event to 8hich 8e be9ore re9erred " the landing o9 Iulius Caesar " he 9inds hi6sel9 in a 6o6ent not loo:ing at any picture! but standing on the shore a6ong the legionaries! 8ith the 8hole scene being enacted around hi6! precisely in every respect as he 8ould have seen it i9 he had stood there in the 9lesh on that autu6n 6orning in the year 11 C.C.. Since 8hat he sees is but a re9lection! the actors are o9 course entirely unconscious o9 hi6! nor can any e99ort o9 his change the course o9 their action in the 4Page 1D 5 s6allest degree! e@cept only that he can control the rate at 8hich the dra6a shall pass be9ore hi6 " can have the events o9 a 8hole year rehearsed be9ore his eyes in a single hour! or can at any 6o6ent stop the 6ove6ent altogether! and hold any particular scene in vie8 as a picture as long as he chooses. %n truth he observes not only 8hat he 8ould have seen i9 he had been there at the ti6e in the 9lesh! but 6uch 6ore. #e hears and understands all that the people say! and he is conscious o9 all their thoughts and 6otives? and one o9 the 6ost interesting o9 the 6any possibilities 8hich open up be9ore one 8ho has learnt to read the records is the study o9 the thought o9 ages long past " the thought o9 the cave6en and the la:e"d8ellers as 8ell as that 8hich ruled the 6ighty civilisations o9 $tlantis! o9 +gypt or Chaldea. What splendid possibilities open up be9ore the 6an 8ho is in 9ull possession o9 this po8er 6ay easily be i6agined. #e has be9ore hi6 a 9ield o9 historical research o9 6ost entrancing interest. *ot only can he revie8 at his leisure all history 8ith 8hich 8e are ac<uainted! correcting as he e@a6ines it the 6any errors and 6isconceptions 8hich have crept into the accounts handed do8n to us? he can also range at 8ill over the 8hole story o9 the 8orld 9ro6 its very beginning! 8atching the slo8 develop6ent o9 intellect in 6an! the descent o9 the Lords o9 the -la6e! and the gro8th o9 the 6ighty civilisations 8hich They 9ounded. Page 01

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

*or is his study con9ined to the progress o9 hu6anity alone? he has be9ore hi6! as in a 6useu6! all the 4Page 1D25 strange ani6al and vegetable 9or6s 8hich occupied the stage in days 8hen the 8orld 8as young? he can 9ollo8 all the 8onder9ul geological changes 8hich have ta:en place! and 8atch the course o9 the great cataclys6s 8hich have altered the 8hole 9ace o9 the earth again and again. %n one especial case an even closer sy6pathy 8ith the past is possible to the reader o9 the records. %9 in the course o9 his en<uiries he has to loo: upon so6e scene in 8hich he hi6sel9 has in a 9or6er birth ta:en part! he 6ay deal 8ith it in t8o 8ays: he can either regard it in in the usual 6anner as a spectator =though al8ays! be it re6e6bered! as a spectator 8hose insight and sy6pathy are per9ect> or he 6ay once 6ore identi9y hi6sel9 8ith that long"dead personality o9 his " 6ay thro8 hi6sel9 bac: 9or the ti6e into that li9e o9 long ago! and absolutely e@perience over again the thoughts and the e6otions! the pleasures and the pains o9 a prehistoric past. *o 8ilder and 6ore vivid adventures can be conceived than so6e o9 those through 8hich he thus 6ay pass? yet though it all he 6ust never lose hold o9 the consciousness o9 his o8n individuality" 6ust retain the po8er to return at 8ill to his present personality. %t is o9ten as:ed ho8 it is possible 9or an investigator accurately to deter6ine the date o9 any picture 9ro6 the 9ar"distance past 8hich he disinters 9ro6 the records. The 9act is that it is so6eti6es rather tedious 8or: to 9ind an e@act date! but the thing can usually be done i9 it is 8orth 8hile to spend the ti6e and trouble over it. %t 8e are dealing 8ith Free: or &o6an ti6es 4Page 1D85 the si6plest 6ethod is usually to loo: into the 6ind o9 the 6ost intelligent person present in the picture! and see 8hat date he supposes it to be? or the investigator 6ight 8atch hi6 8riting a letter! or other docu6ent and observe 8hat date! i9 any! 8as included in 8hat 8as 8ritten. When once the &o6an or Free: date is thus obtained! to reduce it to our o8n syste6 o9 chronology is 6erely a 6atter o9 calculation. $nother 8ay 8hich is 9re<uently adopted is to turn 9ro6 the scene under e@a6ination to a conte6porary picture in so6e great and 8ell":no8n city such as &o6e! and note 8hat 6onarch is reigning there! or 8ho are the consuls 9or the year? and 8hen such data are discovered a glance at any good history 8ill give the rest. So6eti6es a date can be obtained by e@a6ining so6e public procla6ation or so6e legal docu6ent? in 9act in the ti6es o9 8hich 8e are spea:ing the di99iculty is easily sur6ounted. The 6atter is by no 6eans so si6ple! ho8ever! 8hen 8e co6e to deal 8ith periods 6uch earlier than this " 8ith a scene 9ro6 early +gypt! Chaldea! or China! or to go 9urther bac: still! 9ro6 $tlantis itsel9 or any o9 its nu6erous colonies. $ date can still be obtained easily enough 9ro6 the 6ind o9 any educated 6an! but there is no longer any 6eans o9 relating it to our o8n syste6 o9 dates! since the 6an 8ill be rec:oning by eras o9 8hich 8e :no8 nothing! or by the reigns o9 :ings! 8hose history is lost in the night o9 ti6e. (ur 6ethods! nevertheless! are not yet e@hausted. %t 6ust be re6e6bered that it is possible 9or the 4Page 1D95 investigator to pass the records be9ore hi6 at any speed that he 6ay desire " at the rate o9 a year in a second i9 he 8ill! or even very 6uch 9aster still. *o8 there are one or t8o events in ancient history 8hose dates have already been accurately 9i@ed " as! 9or e@a6ple! the sin:ing o9 Poseidonis in the year 9!1 0 C.C.. %t is there9ore obvious that i9 9ro6 the general appearance o9 the surroundings it see6s probable that a picture seen is 8ithin 6easurable distance o9 one o9 these events! it can be related to that event by the si6ple process o9 running through the record rapidly! and counting the years bet8een the t8o as they pass. Page 0

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

Still! i9 those years ran into a thousand! as they 6ight so6eti6es do! this plan 8ould be insu99erably tedious. %n that case 8e are driven bac: upon the astrono6ical 6ethod. %n conse<uence o9 the 6ove6ent 8hich is co66only called the precession o9 the e<uino@es! though it 6ight 6ore accurately be described as a :ind o9 second rotation o9 the earth! the angle bet8een the e<uator and the ecliptic steadily but very slo8 varies. Thus! a9ter long intervals o9 ti6e 8e 9ind the pole o9 the earth no longer pointing to8ards the sa6e spot in the apparent sphere o9 the heavens! or in other 8ords! our pole star is not! as at present! a .rsae ,inoris! but so6e other celestial body? and 9ro6 this position o9 the pole o9 the earth! 8hich can easily be ascertained by care9ul observation o9 the night"s:y o9 the picture under consideration! an appro@i6ate date can be calculated 8ithout di99iculty. %n esti6ating the date o9 occurrences 8hich too: 4Page 11D5 place 6illions o9 years ago in earlier races! the period o9 a secondary rotation =or the precession o9 the e<uino@es> is 9re<uently used as a unit! but o9 course absolute accuracy is not usually re<uired in such cases! round nu6bers being su99icient 9or all practical purposes in dealing 8ith epochs so re6ote. The accurate reading o9 the records! 8hether o9 oneAs o8n past lives or those o9 others! 6ust not! ho8ever! be thought o9 as an achieve6ent possible to anyone 8ithout care9ul previous training. $s has been already re6ar:ed! though occasional re9lections 6ay be had upon the astral plane! the po8er to use the 6ental 4devachanic5 sense is necessary be9ore any reliable reading can be done. %ndeed! to 6ini6ise the possibility o9 error! that sense ought to be 9ully at the co66and o9 the investigator 8hile a8a:e in the physical body? and to ac<uire that 9aculty needs years o9 ceaseless labour and rigid sel9" discipline. ,any people see6 to e@pect that as soon as they have signed their application and ;oined the Theosophical Society they 8ill at once re6e6ber at least three or 9our o9 their past births? indeed! so6e o9 the6 pro6ptly begin to i6agine recollections and declare that in their last incarnation they 8ere ,ary Jueen o9 Scots! Cleopatra! or Iulius CaesarK (9 course such e@travagant clai6s si6ply bring discredit upon those 8ho are so 9oolish as to 6a:e the6? but un9ortunately so6e o9 that discredit is liable to be re9lected! ho8ever un;ustly! upon the Society to 8hich they belong! so that a 6an 8ho 9eels seething 8ithin hi6 4Page 1115 the conviction that he 8as #o6er or Sha:espeare 8ould do 8ell to pause and apply co66onsense tests on the physical plane be9ore publishing the ne8s to the 8orld. %t is <uite true that so6e people have had gli6pses o9 scenes 9ro6 their past lives in drea6s! but naturally these are usually 9rag6entary and unreliable. % had 6ysel9 in earlier li9e an e@perience o9 this nature. $6ong 6y drea6s % 9ound that one 8as constantly recurring " a drea6 o9 a house 8ith a portico overloo:ing a beauti9ul bay! not 9ar 9ro6 a hill on the top o9 8hich rose a grace9ul building. % :ne8 that house per9ectly! and 8as as 9a6iliar 8ith the position o9 its roo6s and the vie8 9ro6 its door as % 8as 8ith those o9 6y ho6e! in this present Li9e. %n those days % :ne8 nothing bout reincarnation! so that it see6ed to 6e si6ply a curious coincidence that this drea6 should repeat itsel9 so o9ten? and it 8as not until so6e ti6e a9ter % had ;oined the Society that! 8hen one 8ho :ne8 8as sho8ing 6e so6e pictures o9 6y last incarnation! % discovered that this persistent drea6 had been in a reality a partial recollection! and that the house 8hich % :ne8 so 8ell 8as the one in % 8as born 6ore than t8o thousands years ago. Cut although there are several cases on record in 8hich so6e 8ell"re6e6bered scene has thus co6e through 9ro6 one li9e to another! a considerable develop6ent o9 occult 9aculty is necessary be9ore an Page 02

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

investigator can de9initely trace a line o9 incarnations! 8hether they be his o8n or another 6anAs. This 8ill be obvious i9 8e 4Page 1125 re6e6ber the conditions o9 the proble6 8hich has to be 8or:ed out. To 9ollo8 a person 9ro6 this li9e to the one preceding it! it is necessary 9irst o9 all to trace his present li9e bac:8ards to his birth and then to 9ollo8 up in reverse order the stages by 8hich the +go descended into incarnation. This 8ill obviously ta:e us bac: eventually to the condition o9 the +go upon its o8n plane " the arLpa level o9 devachan 4the highest levels o9 the 6ental plane5 the highest levels o9 the 6ental plane? so it 8ill be seen that to per9or6 this tas: e99ectually the investigator 6ust be able to use the sense corresponding to that e@alted level 8hile a8a:e in his physical body " in other 8ords! his consciousness 6ust be centred in the reincarnating +go itsel9! and no longer in the lo8er personality. %n that case! the 6e6ory o9 the +go being aroused! his o8n past incarnations 8ill be spread out be9ore hi6 li:e an open boo:! and he 8ould be able! i9 he 8ished! to e@a6ine the conditions o9 another ego upon that level and trace hi6 bac:8ards through the devachanic 4lo8er 6ental5 and astral lives 8hich led up to it! until he ca6e to the last physical death o9 that +go! and through it to his previous li9e. There is no 8ay but this in 8hich the chain o9 lives can be 9ollo8ed through 8ith absolute certainty? and conse<uently 8e 6ay at once put aside as conscious or unconscious i6postors those people 8ho advertise that they are able to trace out anyoneAs past incarnations 9or so 6any shillings a head. *eedless to say! the true occultist does not advertise! and never under any circu6stances accepts 6oney 9or any e@hibition o9 his po8ers. 4Page 11/5 $ssuredly the student 8ho 8ishes to ac<uire the po8er o9 9ollo8ing up a line o9 incarnations can do so only by learning 9ro6 a <uali9ied teacher ho8 the 8or: is to be done. There have been those 8ho persistently asserted that it 8as only necessary 9or a 6an to 9eel good and devotional and 7brotherly7! and all the 8isdo6 o9 the ages 8ould i66ediately 9lo8 in upon hi6? but a little co66on"sense 8ill at once e@pose the absurdity o9 such a position. #o8ever good a child 6ay be! i9 he 8ants to :no8 the 6ultiplication table he 6ust set to 8or: and learn it? and the case is precisely si6ilar 8ith the capacity to use spiritual 9aculties. The 9aculties the6selves 8ill not doubt 6ani9est as the 6an evolves! but he can learn ho8 use the6 reliably and to the best advantage only by steady hard 8or: and persevering e99ort. Ta:e the case o9 those 8ho 8ish to help others 8hile on the astral plane during sleep? it is obvious that the 6ore :no8ledge they possess here! the 6ore valuable 8ill their services be on that higher plane. -or e@a6ple! the :no8ledge o9 languages 8ould be use9ul to the6! 9or though on the 6ental plane 6en can co66unicate directly by thought"trans9erence! 8hatever their languages 6ay be! on the astral plane this is not so! and a thought 6ust be de9initely 9or6ulated in 8ords be9ore it is co6prehensible. %9! there9ore! you 8ish to help a 6an on that plane!you 6ust have so6e language in co66on by 6eans o9 8hich you can co66unicate 8ith hi6! and conse<uently the 6ore languages you :no8 the 6ore 8idely use9ul you 8ill be. %n 9act 4Page 1105 there is perhaps no :ind o9 :no8ledge 9or 8hich a use cannot be 9ound in the 8or: o9 the occultist. %t 8ould be 8ell 9or all students to bear in 6ind that occultis6 is the apotheosis o9 co66onsense! and that every vision 8hich co6es to the6 is not necessarily a picture 9ro6 the H:Hshic records! nor every e@perience a revelation 9ro6 on high. %t is better 9ar to err on the side o9 healthy s:epticis6 than o9 over" credulity? and it is an ad6irable rule never to hunt about 9or an occult e@planation o9 anything 8hen a plain and obvious physical one is available. (ur duty is to endeavour to :eep our balance al8ays! and Page 08

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

never to lose our sel9"control! but to ta:e a reasonable! co66onsense vie8 o9 8hatever 6ay happen to us? so shall 8e be better Theosophists! 8iser occultists! and 6ore use9ul helpers than 8e have ever been be9ore. $s usual! 8e 9ind e@a6ples o9 all degrees o9 the po8er to see into this 6e6ory o9 nature! 9ro6 the trained 6an 8ho can consult the record 9or hi6sel9 at 8ill! do8n to the person 8ho gets nothing but occasional vague gli6pses! or has even perhaps had only one such gli6pse. Cut even the 6an 8ho possesses this 9aculty only partially and occasionally still 9inds it o9 the deepest interest. The psycho6eter! 8ho needs an ob;ect physically connected 8ith the past in order to bring it all into li9e again around hi6! and the crystal"gaBer 8ho can so6eti6es direct his less certain astral telescope to so6e historic scene o9 long ago! 6ay both derive the greatest en;oy6ent 9ro6 the e@ercise o9 their respective gi9ts! even thought they 6ay not al8ays 4Page 1115 understand e@actly ho8 their results are produced! and 6ay not have the6 9ully under control under all circu6stances. %n 6any cases o9 the lo8er 6ani9estations o9 these po8ers 8e 9ind that they are e@ercised unconsciously? 6any a crystal"gaBer 8atches scenes 9ro6 the past 8ithout being able to distinguish the6 9ro6 visions o9 the present! and 6any a vaguely"psychic person 9inds pictures constantly arising be9ore his eyes 8ithout ever realiBing that he is in e99ect psycho6etriBing the various ob;ects around hi6 as he happens to touch the6 or stand near the6. $n interesting variant o9 this class o9 psychics is the 6an 8ho is able to psycho6etriBe persons only! and not inani6ate ob;ects as is 6ore usual. %n 6ost cases this 9aculty sho8s itsel9 erratically! so that such a psychic 8ill! 8hen introduced to a stranger! o9ten see in a 9lash so6e pro6inent event in that strangerAs earlier li9e! but on other si6ilar occasions 8ill receive no special i6pression. ,ore rarely 8e 6eet 8ith so6eone 8ho gets details visions o9 the past li9e o9 everyone 8ho6 he encounters. Perhaps one o9 the best e@a6ples o9 this class 8as the Fer6an 8riter Mscho::e! 8ho describes in his autobiography this e@traordinary po8er o9 8hich he 9ound hi6sel9 possessed. #e says: 7%t has happened to 6e occasionally at the 9irst 6eeting 8ith a total stranger! 8hen % have been listening in silence to his conversation! that his past li9e up to the present 6o6ent! 8ith 6any 6inute 4Page 11 5 circu6stances belonging to one or other particular scene in it! has co6e across 6e li:e a drea6! but distinctly! entirely involuntarily and unsought! occupying in duration a 9e8 6inutes. 7-or a long ti6e % 8as disposed to consider these 9leeting visions as a tric: o9 the 9ancy " the 6ore so as 6y drea6"vision displayed to 6e the dress and 6ove6ents o9 the actors! the appearance o9 the roo6! the 9urniture! and other accidents o9 the scene? till on one occasion! in a ga6eso6e 6ood! % narrated to 6y 9a6ily the secret history o9 a se6pstress 8ho had ;ust be9ore <uitted the roo6. % had never seen the person be9ore. *evertheless the hearers 8ere astonished! and laughed and 8ould not be persuaded but that % had a previous ac<uaintance 8ith the 9or6er li9e o9 the person! inas6uch as 8hat % had stated 8as per9ectly true. 7% 8as not less astonished to 9ind that 6y drea6"vision agreed 8ith reality. % then gave 6ore attention to the sub;ect! and as o9ten as propriety allo8ed o9 it! % related to those 8hose lives had so passed be9ore 6e the substance o9 6y drea6"vision! to obtain 9ro6 the6 its contradiction or con9ir6ation. (n every Page 09

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

occasion its con9ir6ation 9ollo8ed! not 8ithout a6aBe6ent on the part o9 those 8ho gave it. 7(n a certain 9air"day % 8ent into the t8o o9 Waldshut acco6panied by t8o young 9oresters! 8ho are still alive. %t 8as evening! and! tired 8ith our 8al:! 8e 8ent into an inn called the A'ineA. We too: our supper 8ith a nu6erous co6pany at the public table! 8hen it happened that they 6ade the6selves 6erry 4Page 1125 over the peculiarities and si6plicity o9 the S8iss in connection 8ith the belie9 in 6es6eris6. LavaterAs physiogno6ical syste6 and the li:e. (ne o9 6y co6panions!8hose national pride 8as touched by their raillery! begged 6e to 6a:e so6e reply! particularly in ans8er to a young 6an o9 superior appearance 8ho sat opposite! and had indulged in unrestrained ridicule. A%t happened that the events o9 this personAs li9e had ;ust previously passed be9ore 6y 6ind. % turned to hi6 8ith the <uestion 8hether he 8ould reply to 6e 8ith truth and candour i9 % narrated to hi6 the 6ost secret passages o9 his history! he being as little :no8n to 6e as % to hi6G That 8ould! % suggested! go so6ething beyond LavaterAs physiogno6ical s:ill. #e pro6ised i9 % told the truth to ad6it it openly. Then % narrated the events 8ith 8hich 6y drea6 vision had 9urnished 6e! and the stable learnt the history o9 the young trades6anAs li9e o9 his school years! his peccadilloes! and 9inally! o9 a little act o9 roguery co66itted by hi6 on the strongbo@ o9 his e6ployer. % described the uninhabited roo6 8ith its 8hite 8alls! 8here to the right o9 the bro8n door there had stood upon the table the s6all bac: 6oney"chest! etc. The 6an! 6uch struc:! ad6itted the correctness o9 each circu6stance " even! 8hich % could not e@pect! o9 the last7. $nd a9ter narrating this incident! the 8orthy Mscho::e cal6ly goes on to 8onder 8hether perhaps a9ter all this re6ar:able po8er! 8hich he had so o9ten displayed! 6ight not really have been al8ays the result o9 6ere chance coincidenceK 4Page 1185 Co6paratively 9e8 accounts o9 persons possessing this 9aculty o9 loo:ing bac: into the past are to be 9ound in the literature o9 the sub;ect! and it 6ight there9ore be supposed to be 6uch less co66on than prevision. % suspect! ho8ever! that the truth is rather that it is 6uch less co66only recogniBed. $s % said be9ore! it 6ay very easily happen that a person 6ay see a picture o9 the past 8ithout recogniBing it as such! unless there happens to be in it so6ething 8hich attracts special attention! such as a 9igure in ar6our or in anti<ue costu6e. $ prevision also 6ight not al8ays be recogniBed as such at the ti6e? but the occurrence o9 the event 9oreseen recalls it vividly at the sa6e ti6e that it 6ani9ests its nature! so that it is unli:ely to be overloo:ed. %t is probable! there9ore! that occasional gli6pses o9 these astral re9lections o9 the H:Hshic records are co66oner than the published accounts 8ould lead us to believe. 4Page 1195

Page 1D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -/CLAIRVOYANC IN TI$ % TH &'T'R

+ven i9! in a di6 sort o9 8ay! 8e 9eel ourselves able to grasp the idea that the 8hole o9 the past 6ay be si6ultaneously and actively present in a su99iciently e@alted consciousness! 8e are con9ronted by a 9ar greater di99iculty 8hen 8e endeavour to realiBe ho8 all the 9uture 6ay also be co6prehended in that consciousness. %9 8e could believe in the ,oha66edan doctrine o9 :is6et! or the Calvinistic theory o9 predestination! the conception 8ould be easy enough! but :no8ing as 8e do that both these are grotes<ue distortions o9 the truth! 8e 6ust loo: round 9or a 6ore acceptable hypothesis. There 6ay still be so6e people 8ho deny the possibility o9 prevision! but such denial si6ply sho8s their ignorance o9 the evidence on the sub;ect. The large nu6ber o9 authenticated cases leaves no roo6 9or doubt as to the 9act! but 6any o9 the6 are o9 such a nature as to render a reasonable e@planation by no 6eans easy to 9ind. %t is evident that the ego possesses a certain a6ount o9 previsional 9aculty! and i9 the events 9oreseen 8ere al8ays o9 great i6portance! one 6ight suppose that an e@traordinary sti6ulus had enabled hi6 9or that occasion only to 6a:e a clear i6pression 4Page 12D5 o9 8hat he sa8 upon his lo8er personality. *o doubt that is the e@planation o9 6any o9 the cases in 8hich death or grave disaster is 9oreseen! but there are a large nu6ber o9 instances on record to 8hich it does not see6 to apply! since the events 9oretold are 9re<uently e@ceedingly trivial and uni6portant. $ 8ell":no8 story o9 second"sight in Scotland 8ill illustrate 8hat % 6ean. $ 6an 8ho had no belie9 in the occult 8as 9ore8arned by a #ighland seer o9 the approaching death o9 neighbour. The prophecy 8as given 8ith considerable 8ealth o9 detail! including a 9ull description o9 the 9uneral! 8ith the na6es o9 the 9our pallbearers and others 8ho 8ould be present. The auditor see6s to have laughed at the 8hole story and pro6ptly 9orgotten it! but the death o9 his neighbour at the ti6e 9oretold recalled the 8arning to 6ind! and he deter6ined to 9alsi9y part o9 the prediction at any rate by being one o9 the pallbearers hi6sel9. #e succeeded in getting 6atters arranged as he 8ished! but ;ust as the 9uneral 8as about to start he 8as called a8ay 9ro6 his post by so6e s6all 6atter 8hich detained hi6 only a 6inute or t8o. $s he ca6e hurrying bac: he sa8 8ith surprise that the procession had started 8ithout hi6! and that the prediction had been e@actly 9ul9illed! 9or the 9our pallbearers 8ere those 8ho had been indicated in the vision. *o8 here is a very tri9ling 6atter! 8hich could have been o9 no possible i6portance to anybody! de9initely 9oreseen 6onths be9orehand? and although a 6an 6a:es a deter6ined e99ort to alter the arrange6ent 4Page 1215 indicated he 9ails entirely to a99ect it in the least. Certainly this loo:s very 6uch li:e predestination! even do8n to the s6allest detail! and it is only 8hen 8e e@a6ine this <uestion 9ro6 higher planes that 8e are able to see our 8ay to escape that theory. (9 course! as % said be9ore about another branch o9 the sub;ect! a 9ull e@planation eludes us as yet! and obviously 6ust do so until our :no8ledge is in9initely greater than it is no8? the 6ost that 8e can hope to do 9or the present is to indicate the line along 8hich an e@planation 6ay be 9ound. There is no doubt 8hatever that! ;ust as 8hat is happening no8 is the result o9 causes set in 6otion in the past! so 8hat 8ill happen in the 9uture 8ill be the result o9 causes already in operation. +ven do8n Page 11

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

here 8e can calculate that i9 certain actions are per9or6ed certain results 8ill 9ollo8! but our rec:oning is constantly liable to be disturbed by the inter9erence o9 9actors 8hich 8e have not been able to ta:e into account. Cut i9 8e raise our consciousness to the 6ental plane 8e can see very 6uch 9arther into the results o9 our actions. We can trace! 9or e@a6ple! the e99ect o9 a casual 8ord! not only upon the person to 8ho6 it 8as addressed! but through hi6 on 6any others as it is passed on in 8idening circles! until it see6s to have a99ected the 8hole country? and one gli6pse o9 such a vision is 9ar 6ore e99icient than any nu6ber o9 6oral precepts in pressing upon us the necessity o9 e@tre6e circu6spection in thought! 8ord! and deed. *ot only can 8e 4Page 1225 9ro6 that plane see thus 9ully the result o9 every action! but 8e can also see 8here and in 8hat 8ay the results o9 other actions apparently <uite unconnected 8ith it 8ill inter9ere 8ith and 6odi9y it. %n 9act! it 6ay be said that the results o9 all causes at present in action are clearly visible " that the 9uture! as it 8ould be i9 no entirely ne8 causes should arise! lies open be9ore our gaBe. *e8 causes o9 course do arise! because 6anAs 8ill is 9ree? but in the case o9 all ordinary people the use 8hich they 8ill 6a:e o9 their 9reedo6 can be calculated be9orehand 8ith considerable accuracy. The average 6an has so little real 8ill that he is very 6uch the creature o9 circu6stances? his action i6 previous lives places hi6 a6id certain surroundings! and their in9luence upon hi6 is so very 6uch the 6ost i6portant 9actor in his li9e"story that his 9uture course 6ay be predicted 8ith al6ost 6athe6atical certainty. With the developed 6an the case is di99erent? 9or hi6 also the 6ain events o9 li9e are arranged by his past actions! but the 8ay in 8hich he 8ill allo8 the6 to a99ect hi6! the 6ethods by 8hich he 8ill deal 8ith the6 and perhaps triu6ph over the6 " these are all his o8n! and they cannot be 9oreseen even on the 6ental 4devachanic5 plane e@cept as probabilities. Loo:ing do8n on 6anAs li9e in this 8ay 9ro6 above! it see6s as though his 9ree 8ill could be e@ercised only at certain crises in his career. #e arrives at a point in his li9e 8here there are obviously t8o or three alternative courses open be9ore hi6? he is absolutely 4Page 1225 9ree to choose 8hich o9 the6 he pleases! and although so6eone 8ho :ne8 his nature thoroughly 8ell 6ight 9eel al6ost certain 8hat his choice 8ould be! such :no8ledge on his 9riendAs part is in no sense a co6pelling 9orce. Cut 8hen he has chosen! he has to go through 8ith it and ta:e the conse<uences? having entered upon a particular path he 6ay! in 6any cases! be 9orced to go on 9or a very long 8ay be9ore he has any opportunity to turn aside. #is position is so6e8hat li:e that o9 the driver o9 a train? 8hen he co6es to a ;unction he 6ay have the points set either this 8ay or that! and so can pass on to 8hichever line he pleases! but 8hen he has passed on to one o9 the6 he is co6pelled to run on along the line 8hich he has selected until he reaches another set o9 points! 8here again an opportunity o9 choice is o99ered to hi6. *o8! in loo:ing do8n 9ro6 the 6ental plane! these points o9 ne8 departure 8ould be clearly visible! and all the results o9 each choice 8ould lie open be9ore us! certain to be 8or:ed out even to the s6allest detail. The only point 8hich 8ould re6ain uncertain 8ould be the all"i6portant one as to 8hich choice the 6an 8ould 6a:e. We should! in 9act! have not one but several 9utures 6apped out be9ore our eyes! 8ithout necessarily being able to deter6ine 8hich o9 the6 8ould 6aterialiBe itsel9 into acco6plished 9act. %n 6ost instances 8e should see so strong a probability that 8e should not hesitate to co6e to a decision! but the case 8hich % have described is certainly theoretically possible. 4Page 1205 Still! even this Page 12

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

6uch :no8ledge 8ould enable us to do 8ith sa9ety a good deal o9 prediction? and it is not di99icult 9or us to i6agine that a 9ar higher po8er than ours 6ight al8ays be able to 9oresee 8hich 8ay every choice 8ould go! and conse<uently to prophesy 8ith absolute certainty. (n the buddhic plane! ho8ever! no such elaborate process o9 conscious calculation is necessary! 9or! as % said be9ore! in so6e 6anner 8hich do8n here is totally ine@plicable! the past! the present! and the 9uture are there all e@isting si6ultaneously. (ne can only accept this 9act! 9or its cause lies in the 9aculty o9 the plane! and the 8ay in 8hich this higher 9aculty 8or:s is naturally <uite inco6prehensible to the physical brain. )et no8 and then one 6ay 6eet 8ith a hint that see6s to bring us a tri9le nearer to a di6 possibility o9 co6prehension. (ne such hint 8as given by Sir (live Lodge in his address to the Critish $ssociation at Cardi99. #e said? 7$ lu6inous and help9ul idea is that ti6e is but a relative 6ode o9 regarding things? 8e progress through pheno6ena at a certain de9inite pace and this sub;ective advance 8e interpret in an ob;ective 6anner! as i9 events 6oved necessarily in this order and at this precise rate. Cut that 6ay be only one 6ode o9 regarding the6. The events 6ay be in so6e sense in e@istence al8ays! both past and 9uture! and it 6ay be 8e 8ho are arriving at the6! not they 8hich happening. The analogy o9 a traveler in a rail8ay train is use9ul? i9 he could never leave the train nor alter its pace he 4Page 1215 8ould probably consider the landscapes as necessarily successive and be unable to conceive their coe@istence... We perceive! there9ore! a possible 9ourth di6ensional aspect about ti6e! the ine@orableness o9 8hose 9lo8 6ay be a natural part o9 our present li6itations. $nd i9 8e once grasp the idea that past and 9uture 6ay be actually e@isting! 8e can recogniBe that they 6ay have a controlling in9luence on all present action! and the t8o together 6ay constitute the Ahigher planeA or totality o9 things a9ter 8hich! as it see6s to 6e! 8e are i6pelled to see:! in connection 8ith the directing o9 9or6 or deter6inis6! and the action o9 living beings consciously directed to a de9inite and preconceived end7. Ti6e is not in reality the 9ourth di6ension at all? yet to loo: at it 9or the 6o6ent 9ro6 that point o9 vie8 is so6e slight help to8ards grasping the ungraspable. Suppose that 8e hold a 8ooden cone at right angles to a sheet o9 paper! and slo8ly push it through its point 9irst. $ 6icrobe living on the sur9ace o9 that sheet o9 paper! and having no po8er o9 conceiving anything outside o9 that sur9ace! could not only never see the cone as a 8hole! but could 9or6 no sort o9 conception o9 such a body at all. $ll that he 8ould see 8ould be the sudden appearance o9 a tiny circle! 8hich 8ould gradually and 6ysteriously gro8 larger and larger until it vanished 9ro6 his 8orld as suddenly and inco6prehensibly as it had co6e into it. Thus! 8hat 8ere in reality a series o9 sections o9 the cone 8ould appear to hi6 to be successive stages in the 4Page 12 5 li9e o9 a circle! and it 8ould be i6possible 9or hi6 to grasp the idea that these successive stages could be seen si6ultaneously. )et it is! o9 course! easy enough 9or us! loo:ing do8n upon the transaction 9ro6 another di6ension! to see that the 6icrobe is si6ply under a delusion arising 9ro6 its o8n li6itations! and that the cone e@ists as a 8hole all the 8hile. (ur o8n delusion as to past! present! and 9uture is possibly not dissi6ilar! and the vie8 that is gained o9 any se<uence o9 events 9ro6 the buddhic plane corresponds to the vie8 o9 the cone as a 8hole. *aturally! any atte6pt to 8or: out this suggestion lands us in a series o9 startling parado@es? but the 9act re6ains a 9act! nevertheless! and the ti6e 8ill co6e 8hen it 8ill be clear as noonday to our co6prehension.

Page 1/

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

When the pupilAs consciousness is 9ully developed upon the buddhic plane! there9ore! per9ect prevision is possible to hi6! though he 6ay not " nay! he certainly 8ill not be able to bring the 8hole result o9 this sight through 9ully and in order into this li9e. Still! a great deal o9 clear 9oresight is obviously 8ithin his po8er! 8henever he li:es to e@ercise it? and even 8hen he is not e@ercising it! 9re<uent 9lashes o9 9ore:no8ledge co6e through into his ordinary li9e! so that he o9ten has an instantaneous intuition as to ho8 things 8ill turn out even be9ore their inception. Short o9 this per9ect prevision 8e 9ind! as in the previous cases! that all degrees o9 this type o9 clairvoyance e@ist! 9ro6 the occasional vague pre6onitions 8hich cannot in any true sense be called sight at 4Page 1225 all! up to 9re<uent and 9airly co6plete second"sight. The 9aculty to 8hich this latter so6e8hat 6isleading na6e has been given is an e@tre6ely interesting one and 8ould 8ell repay 6ore care9ul and syste6atic study than has ever higher to been given to it. %t is best :no8 to us as a not in9re<uent possession o9 the Scottish #ighlanders! though it is by no 6eans con9ir6ed to the6. (ccasional instances o9 it have appeared in al6ost every nation! but it has al8ays been co66onest a6ong 6ountaineers and 6en o9 lonely li9e. With us in +ngland it is o9ten spo:en o9 as though it 8ere the e@clusive appanage o9 the Celtic race! but in reality it has appeared a6ong si6ilarly situated peoples the 8orld over. %t is stated! 9or e@a6ple! to be very co66on a6ong the Westphalian peasantry. So6eti6es the second"sight consists o9 a picture clearly 9oresho8ing so6e co6ing event? 6ore 9re<uently! perhaps! the gli6pse o9 the 9uture is given by so6e sy6bolical appearance. %t is note8orthy that the events 9oreseen are invariably unpleasant ones " death being the co66onest o9 all? % do not recollect a single instance in 8hich the second"sight has sho8n anything 8hich 8as not o9 the 6ost gloo6y nature. %t has a ghastly sy6bolis6 8hich is all its o8n " a sy6bolis6 o9 shrouds and corpse" candles! and other 9uneral horrors. %n so6e cases it appears to be to a certain e@tent dependent on locality! 9or it is stated that inhabitants o9 the %sle o9 S:ye 8ho possess the 9aculty o9ten lose it 8hen they leave the island! even though it be 4Page 1285 only to cross to the 6ainland. The gi9t o9 such sight is so6eti6es hereditary in a 9a6ily 9or generations! but this is not an invariable rule! 9or it o9ten appears sporadically in one 6e6ber o9 a 9a6ily other8ise 9ree 9ro6 its lugubrious in9luence. $n e@a6ple in 8hich an accurate vision o9 a co6ing event 8as seen so6e 6onths be9orehand by second"sight has already been given. #ere is another and perhaps a 6ore stri:ing one! 8hich % give e@actly as it 8as related to 6e by one o9 the actors in the scene. 7We plunged into the ;ungle! and had 8al:ed on 9or about an hour 8ithout 6uch success! 8hen Ca6eron! 8ho happened to be ne@t to 6e! stopped suddenly! turned pale as death! and! pointing straight be9ore hi6! cried in accents o9 horror: 7ASeeK seeK 6erci9ul heaven! loo: thereKA 7AWhereG 8hatG 8hat is itGA 8e all shouted con9usedly! as 8e rushed up to hi6 and loo:ed round in e@pectation o9 encountering a tiger" a cobra" 8e hardly :ne8 8hat! but assuredly Page 10

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

so6ething terrible! since it had been su99icient to cause such evident e6otion in our usually sel9"contained co6rade. Cut neither tiger nor cobra 8as visible " nothing but Ca6eron pointing 8ith ghastly! haggard 9ace and staring eyeballs at so6ething 8e could not see. 7ACa6eronK Ca6eronKA cried %! seiBing his ar6! A9or heavenAs sa:e! spea:K What is the 6atterGA 7Scarcely 8ere the 8ords out o9 6y 6outh 8hen a lo8! but very peculiar sound struc: on 6y ear! and Ca6eron! dropping his pointing hand! said in a hoarse! 4Page 1295 strained voice! AThereK you heard itG Than: Fod itAs overKA and 9ell to the ground insensible. 7There 8as a 6o6entary con9usion 8hile 8e un9astened his collar! and % dashed in his 9ace so6e 8ater 8hich % 9ortunately had in 6y 9las:! 8hile another tried to pour brandy bet8een his clenched teeth? and under cover o9 it! % 8hispered to the 6an ne@t to 6e =one o9 our greatest sceptics! by the 8ay>! 7 Ceaucha6p ! did you hear anythingGA 7AWhy! yes!A he replied! A a curious sound! very? a sort o9 crash or rattle 9ar a8ay in the distance! yet very distinct? i9 the thing 8ere not utterly i6possible! % could have s8orn it 8as the rattle o9 6us:etryA. 7AIust 6y i6pressionA! 6ur6ured %? Abut hushK he is recoveringA. 7%n a 6inute or t8o he 8as able to spea: 9eebly! and began to than: us and apologiBe 9or giving trouble? and soon he sat up! leaning against a tree! and in a 9ir6! though still lo8 voice said: 7A,y dear 9riends! % 9eel % o8e you an e@planation o9 6y e@traordinary behaviour. %t is an e@planation that % 8ould 9ain avoid giving? but it 6ust co6e so6e ti6e! and so 6ay as 8ell be given no8. )ou 6ay perhaps have noticed that 8hen during our voyage you all ;oined in sco99ing at drea6s! portents and visions! % invariably avoided giving any opinion on the sub;ect. % did so because! 8hile % had no desire to court ridicule or provo:e discussion! % 8as unable to agree 8ith you! :no8ing only too 8ell 9ro6 6y o8n dread e@perience that the 8orld 8hich 6en agree to call that o9 the 4Page 1/D5 supernatural is ;ust as real as " nay! perhaps! even 9ar 6ore real than this 8orld 8e see about us. %n other 8ords! %! li:e 6any o9 6y country 6en! a6 cursed 8ith the gi9t o9 second"sight " that a89ul 9aculty 8hich 9oretells in vision cala6ities that are shortly to occur. 7ASuch a vision % had ;ust no8! and its e@ceptional horror 6oved 6e as you have seen. % sa8 be9ore 6e a corpse " not that o9 one 8ho has died a peace9ul natural death! but that o9 the victi6 o9 so6e terrible accident? a ghastly! shapeless 6ass! 8ith a 9ace s8ollen! crushed! unrecognisable. % sa8 this dread9ul ob;ect placed in a co99in! and the 9uneral service per9or6ed over it. % sa8 the burial ground! % sa8 the clergy6an? and though % had never seen either be9ore! % can picture both per9ectly in 6y 6indAs eye no8? % sa8 you! 6ysel9! Ceaucha6p! all o9 Page 11

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

us and 6any 6ore! standing round as 6ourners? % sa8 the soldiers raise their 6us:ets a9ter the service 8as over? % heard the volley they 9ired " and then % :ne8 no 6oreA. 7$s he spo:e o9 that volley o9 6us:etry % glanced across 8ith a shudder at Ceaucha6p! and the loo: o9 stony horror on that handso6e scepticAs 9ace 8as not to be 9orgotten7. This is only one incident =and by no 6eans the principal one> in a very re6ar:able story o9 psychic e@perience! but as 9or the 6o6ent 8e are concerned 6erely 8ith the e@a6ple o9 second"sight 8hich it gives us! % need only say that later in the day the party o9 young soldiers discovered the body o9 their co66anding o99icer 4Page 1/15 in the terrible condition so graphically described by ,r.Ca6eron. The narrative continues: 7When! on the 9ollo8ing evening! 8e arrived at our destination! and our 6elancholy deposition had been ta:en do8n by the proper authorities! Ca6eron and % 8ent out 9or a <uiet 8al:! to endeavour 8ith the assistance o9 the soothing in9luence o9 nature to sha:e o99 so6ething o9 the gloo6 8hich paralyBed our spirits. Suddenly he clutched 6y ar6! and pointing through so6e rude railings! said in a tre6bling voice. 7)es! there it isK that is the burial"ground % sa8 yesterdayA. $nd 8hen later on 8e 8ere introduced to the chaplain o9 the post! % noticed! though 6y 9riends did not! the irrepressible shudder 8ith 8hich Ca6eron too: his hand! and % :ne8 that he had recogniBed the clergy6an o9 his vision7. $s 9or the occult rational o9 al this! % presu6e ,r. Ca6eronAs vision 8as a pure case o9 second"sight! and i9 so the 9act that the t8o 6en 8ho 8ere evidently nearest to hi6 =certainly one " probably both " actually touching hi6> participated in it to the li6ited e@tent o9 hearing the concluding volley! 8hile the others 8ho 8ere not so close did not! 8ould sho8 that the intensity 8ith 8hich the vision i6pressed itsel9 upon the seer occasioned vibrations in his 6ind"body 8hich 8ere co66unicated to those o9 the persons in contact 8ith hi6! as in ordinary thought"trans9erence. $nyone 8ho 8ishes to read the rest o9 the story 8ill 9ind it in the pages o9 2ucifer! 'ol. 2! page 012. Scores o9 e@a6ples o9 si6ilar nature to these 6ight 4Page 1/25 easily be collected. With regard to the sy6bolical variety o9 this sight! it is co66only stated a6ong those 8ho possess it that i9 on 6eeting a living person they see a phanto6 shroud 8rapped around hi6! it is a sure prognostication o9 his death. The date o9 the approaching decease is indicated either by the e@tent to 8hich the shroud covers the body! or by the ti6e o9 day at 8hich the vision is seen? 9or i9 it be in the early 6orning they say that the 6an 8ill die during the sa6e day! but i9 it be in the evening! then it 8ill be only so6e ti6e 8ithin a year. $nother variant =and a re6ar:able one> o9 the sy6bolic 9or6 o9 second"sight is that in 8hich the headless apparition o9 the person 8hose death is 9oretold 6ani9ests itsel9 to the seer. $n e@a6ple o9 that class is given in Signs %efore -eath as having happened in the 9a6ily o9 3r. -errier! though in that case! i9 % recollect rightly! the vision did not occur until the ti6e o9 the death ! or very near it. Turning 9ro6 seers 8ho are regularly in possession o9 a certain 9aculty! although its 6ani9estations are only occasionally 9ully under their control! 8e are con9ronted by a large nu6ber o9 isolated instances o9 prevision in the case o9 people 8ith 8ho6 it is not in any 8ay a regular 9aculty. Perhaps the 6a;ority o9 Page 1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

these occur in drea6s! although e@a6ples o9 the 8a:ing vision are by no 6eans 8anting. So6eti6es the prevision re9ers to an event o9 distinct i6portance to the seer! and so ;usti9ies the action o9 the +go in ta:ing the trouble to i6press it. %n other cases! the event is one 8hich is 4Page 1//5 o9 no apparent i6portance! or is not in any 8ay connected 8ith the 6an to 8ho6 the vision co6es. So6eti6es it is clear that the intention o9 the +go =or the co66unicating entity! 8hatever it 6ay be> is to 8arn the lo8er sel9 o9 the approach o9 so6e cala6ity! either in order that it 6ay be prevented or! i9 that be not possible! that the shoc: 6ay be 6ini6iBed by preparation. The event 6ost 9re<uently thus 9oreshado8ed is! perhaps not unnaturally! death " so6eti6es the death o9 the seer hi6sel9! so6eti6es that o9 one dear to hi6. This type o9 prevision is so co66on in the literature o9 the sub;ect! and its ob;ect is so obvious! that 8e need hardly cite e@a6ples o9 it? but one or t8o instances in 8hich the prophetic sight! though clearly use9ul! 8as yet o9 a less so6bre character! 8ill prove not uninteresting to the reader. The 9ollo8ing is culled 9ro6 that storehouse o9 the student o9 the uncanny! ,rs. Cro8eAs Night Side of Nature! page 22. 7$ 9e8 years ago 3r. Watson! no8 residing at Flasgo8! drea6t that he received a su66ons to attend a patient at a place so6e 6iles 9ro6 8here he 8as living? that he started on horsebac:! and that as he 8as crossing a 6oor he sa8 a bull 6a:ing 9uriously at hi6! 8hose horns he only escaped by ta:ing re9uge on a spot inaccessible to the ani6al! 8here he 8aiting a long ti6e till so6e people! observing his situation! ca6e to his assistance and released hi6. 7Whilst at brea:9ast on the 9ollo8ing 6orning the su66ons ca6e! and s6iling at the odd coincidence =as 4Page 1/05 he thought it>! he started on horsebac:. #e 8as <uite ignorant o9 the road he had to go! but by and by he arrived at the 6oor! 8hich he recogniBed! and presently the bull appeared! co6ing 9ull tilt to8ards hi6. Cut his drea6 had sho8n hi6 the place o9 re9uge 9or 8hich he instantly 6ade! and there he spent three or 9our hours! besieged by the ani6al! till the country people set hi6 9ree. 3r Watson declares that but 9or the drea6 he should not have :no8n in 8hat direction to run 9or sa9ety7. $nother case! in 8hich a 6uch longer interval separated the 8arning and its 9ul9ill6ent! is given by 3r.-.F.Lee! in ,lim(ses of the Su(ernatural! 'olu6e 1! page 20D. 7,rs. #annah Freen! the house:eeper o9 a country 9a6ily in (@9ordshire! drea6t one night that she had been le9t alone in the house upon a Sunday evening! and that hearing a :noc: at the door o9 the chie9 entrance she 8ent to it! and there 9ound an ill"loo:ing tra6p ar6ed 8ith a bludgeon! 8ho insisted on 9orcing hi6sel9 into the house. She thought that she struggled 9or so6e ti6e to prevent hi6 so doing! but <uite ine99ectually! and that! being struc: do8n by hi6 and rendered insensible! he thereupon gained ingress to the 6ansion. (n this she a8o:e. 7$s nothing happened 9or a considerable period! the circu6stance o9 the drea6 8as soon 9orgotten! and! as she hersel9 asserts! had altogether passed a8ay 9ro6 her 6ind. #o8ever! seven years a9ter8ards this sa6e house:eeper 8as le9t 8ith t8o other servants to ta:e 4Page 1/15 charge o9 an isolated 6ansion at Nensington =subse<uently the to8n residence o9 the 9a6ily>! 8hen on a certain Sunday evening! her 9ello8"servants having gone out and le9t her alone! she 8as suddenly startled by a loud :noc: at the 9ront door. Page 12

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

7$ll o9 a sudden the re6e6brance o9 her 9or6er drea6 returned to her 8ith singular vividness and re6ar:able 9orce! and she 9elt her lonely isolation greatly. $ccordingly! having at once lighted a la6p on the hall table " during 8hich act the loud :noc: 8as repeated 8ith vigour " she too: the precaution to go up to a landing on the stair and thro8 up the 8indo8? and there to her intense terror she sa8 in the 9lesh the very 6an 8ho years previously she had seen in her drea6! ar6ed 8ith the bludgeon and de6anding an entrance. 7With great presence o9 6ind she 8ent do8n to the chie9 entrance! 6ade that and other doors and 8indo8s 6ore secure! and then rang the various bells o9 the house violently! and placed lights in the upper roo6s. %t 8as concluded that by the acts the intruder 8as scared a8ay. +vidently in this case also the drea6 8as o9 practical use! as 8ithout it the 8orthy house:eeper 8ould 8ithout doubt 9ro6 sheer 9orce o9 habit have opened the door in the ordinary 8ay in ans8er to the :noc:. %t is not! ho8ever! only in drea6 that the ego i6presses his lo8er sel9 8ith 8hat he thin:s it 8ell 9or it to :no8. ,any instances sho8ing this 6ight be ta:en 9ro6 the boo:s! but instead o9 <uoting 9ro6 the6 % 4Page 1/ 5 8ill give a case related only a 9e8 8ee:s ago by a lady o9 6y ac<uaintance " a case 8hich! although not surrounded 8ith any ro6antics incident! has at least the 6erit o9 being ne8. ,y 9riend! then! has t8o <uite young children! and a little 8hile ago the elder o9 the6 caught =as 8as supposed> a bad cold! and su99ered 9or so6e days 9ro6 a co6plete stoppage in the upper part o9 the nose. The 6other thought little o9 this! e@pecting it to pass o99! until one day she suddenly sa8 be9ore her in the air 8hat she describes as a picture o9 a roo6! in the centre o9 8hich 8as a table on 8hich her child 8as lying insensible or dead! 8ith so6e people bending over her. The 6inutest details o9 the scene 8ere clear to her! and she particularly noticed that the child 8ore a 8hite nightdress! 8hereas she :ne8 that all gar6ents o9 that description possessed by her little daughter happened to be pin:. The vision i6pressed her considerably! and suggested to her 9or the 9irst ti6e that the child 6ight be su99ering 9ro6 so6ething 6ore serious than a cold! so she carried her o99 to a hospital 9or e@a6ination. The surgeon 8ho attended to her discovered the presence o9 dangerous gro8th in the nose! 8hich he pronounced 6ust be re6oved. $ 9e8 days later the child 8as ta:en to the hospital 9or the operation! and 8as put to bed. When the 6other arrived at the hospital she 9ound she had 9orgotten to bring one o9 the childAs night"dresses! and so the nurses had to supply one! 8hich 8as white. %n this 8hite dress the operation 4Page 1/25 8as per9or6ed on the girl the ne@t day! in the roo6 that her 6other sa8 in her vision! every circu6stance being e@actly reproduced. %n all these cases the prevision achieved its result! but the boo:s are 9ull o9 stories o9 8arnings neglected or scouted! and o9 the disaster that conse<uently 9ollo8ed. %n so6e cases the in9or6ation is given to so6eone 8ho has practically no po8er to inter9ere in the 6atter! as in the historic instance 8hen Iohn Willia6s! a Cornish 6ine"6anager! 9oresa8 in the 6inutest detail! eight or nine days be9ore it too: place! the assassination o9 ,r. Spencer Perceval! the then Chancellor o9 the +@che<uer! in the lobby o9 the #ouse o9 Co66ons. +ven in this case! ho8ever! it is ;ust possible that so6ething 6ight have been done! 9or 8e read that ,r. Willia6s 8as so 6uch i6pressed that he consulted his 9riends as to 8hether he ought not to go up to London to 8arn ,r. Perceval. .n9ortunately they dissuaded hi6! and the Page 18

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

assassination too: place. %t does not see6 very probable that! even i9 he had gone up to to8n and related his story! 6uch attention 8ould have been paid to hi6? still there is ;ust the possibility that so6e precautions 6ight have been ta:en 8hich 8ould have prevented the 6urder. There is little to sho8 us 8hat particular action on higher planes led to this curious prophetic vision. The parties 8ere entirely un:no8n to one another! so that it 8as not caused by any close sy6pathy bet8een the6. %9 it 8as an atte6pt 6ade by so6e helper to avert the threatened doo6! it see6s strange that no one 8ho 8as 4Page 1/85 su99iciently i6pressible could be 9ound nearer than Corn8all. Perhaps ,r. Willia6s! 8hen on the astral plane during sleep! so6eho8 ca6e across this re9lection o9 the 9uture! and being naturally horri9ied thereby! passed it on to his lo8er 6ind in the hope that so6eho8 so6ething 6ight be done to prevent it? but it is i6possible to diagnose the case 8ith certainty 8ithout e@a6ining the H:Hshic records to see 8hat actually too: place. $ typical instance o9 the absolutely purposeless 9oresight is that related by ,r. Stead! in his Real ,host Stories =page 8/>! o9 his 9riend ,iss -reer! co66only :no8n as ,iss O. When staying at a country house this lady! being 8ide a8a:e and 9ully conscious! once sa8 a dogcart dra8n by a 8hite horse standing at the hall door! 8ith t8o strangers in it! one o9 8ho6 got out o9 the cart and stood playing 8ith a terrier. She noticed that he 8as 8earing an ulster! and also particularly observed the 9resh 8heel"6ar:s 6ade by the cart on the gravel. *evertheless there 8as no cart there at the ti6e? but hal9 an hour later t8o strangers did drive up in such an e<uipage! and every detail o9 the ladyAs vision 8as accurately 9ul9illed. ,r. Stead goes on to cite another instance o9 e<ually purposeless prevision 8here seven years separated the drea6 =9or in this case it 8as a drea6> and its 9ul9ill6ent. $ll these instances =and they are 6erely rando6 selections 9ro6 6any hundreds> sho8 that a certain a6ount o9 prevision is undoubtedly possible to the ego! and such cases 8ould evidently be 6uch 6ore 9re<uent i9 it 4Page 1/95 8ere not 9or the e@ceeding density and lac: o9 response in the lo8er vehicles o9 the 6a;ority o9 8hat 8e call civiliBed 6an:ind " <ualities chie9ly attributable to the gross practical 6aterialis6 o9 the present age. % a6 not thin:ing o9 any pro9ession o9 6aterialistic belie9 as co66on! but o9 the 9act that in all practical a99airs o9 daily li9e nearly everyone is guided solely by considerations o9 8orldly interest in so6e shape or other. %n 6any cases the ego hi6sel9 6ay be an undeveloped one! and his prevision conse<uently very vague? in others he hi6sel9 6ay see clearly! but 6ay 9ind his lo8er vehicles so uni6pressible that all he can succeed in getting through into his physical brain 6ay be an inde9inite presage o9 co6ing disaster. $gain! there are cases in 8hich a pre6onition is not the 8or: o9 the ego at all! but o9 so6e outside entity! 8ho 9or so6e reasons ta:es a 9riendly interest in the person to 8ho6 the 9eeling co6es. %n the 8or: 8hich % <uote above! ,r. Stead tells us o9 the certainty 8hich he 9elt 6any 6onths be9orehand that he 8ould be le9t in change o9 the 1all Mall ,a3ette! through 9ro6 an ordinary point o9 vie8 nothing see6ed less probable. Whether that 9ore:no8ledge 8as the result o9 an i6pression 6ade by his o8n ego or o9 a 9riendly hint 9ro6 so6eone else it is i6possible to say 8ithout de9inite investigation! but his con9idence in it 8as 9ully ;usti9ied. There is one 6ore variety o9 clairvoyance in ti6e 8hich ought not to be le9t 8ithout 6ention. %t is a co6paratively rare one! but there are enough e@a6ples on record to clai6 our attention! though un9ortunately 4Page 10D5 the particulars given do not usually include those 8hich 8e should re<uire in Page 19

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

order to be able to diagnose it 8ith certainty. % re9er to the cases in 8hich spectral ar6ies or phanto6 9loc:s o9 ani6als have been seen. %n The Night Side of Nature =page 0 2 et se4.> 8e have accounts o9 several such visions. We are there told ho8 at #avarah Par:! near &ipley! a body o9 soldiers in 8hite uni9or6! a6ounting to several hundreds! 8as seen by reputable people to go through various evolutions and then vanish? and ho8 so6e years earlier a si6ilar visionary ar6y 8as seen in the neighbourhood o9 %nverness by a respectable 9ar6er and his son. %n this case also the nu6ber o9 troops 8as very great! and the spectators had not the slightest doubt at 9irst that they 8ere substantial 9or6s o9 9lesh and blood. They counted at least si@teen pairs o9 colu6ns! and had abundance o9 ti6e to observe every particular. The 9ront ran:s 6arched seven abreast! and 8ere acco6panied by a good 6any 8o6en and children! 8ho 8ere carrying tin cans and other i6ple6ents o9 coo:ery. The 6en 8ere clothed in red! and their ar6s shone brightly in the sun. %n the 6idst o9 the6 8as an ani6al! a deer or horse! they could not distinguish 8hich! that they 8ere driving 9uriously 9or8ard 8ith their bayonets. The younger o9 the t8o 6en observed to the other that every no8 and then the rear ran:s 8ere obliged to run to overta:e the van? and the elder one! 8ho had been a soldier! re6ar:ed that that 8as al8ays the case! and reco66ended hi6 i9 he ever served to try to 6arch 4Page 1015 in the 9ront. There 8as only one 6ounted o99icer? he rode a grey dragoon horse! and 8ore a gold"laced hat and blue #ussar cloa:! 8ith 8ide open sleeves lined 8ith red. The t8o spectators observed hi6 so particularly that they said a9ter8ards they should recogniBe hi6 any8here. They 8ere! ho8ever! a9raid o9 being ill"treated or 9orced to go along 8ith the troops! 8ho6 they concluded to have co6e 9ro6 %reland! and landed at #yntyre? and 8hilst they 8ere cli6bing over a dy:e to get out o9 their 8ay! the 8hole thing vanished. $ pheno6enon o9 the sa6e sort 8as observed in the earlier part o9 this century at Paderborn in Westphalia! and seen by at least thirty people? but as! so6e years later! a revie8 o9 t8enty thousand 6en 8as held on the very sa6e spot! it 8as concluded that the vision 6ust have been so6e sort o9 second" sight " a 9aculty not unco66on in the district. Such spectral hosts! ho8ever! are so6eti6es seen 8here an ar6y o9 ordinary 6en could by no possibility have 6arched! either be9ore or a9ter. (ne o9 the 6ost re6ar:able accounts o9 such apparitions is given by ,iss #arriet ,artineau! in her description o9 The nglish 2akes. She 8rites as 9ollo8s: 7This Souter or Soutra -ell is the 6ountain on 8hich ghosts appeared in 6yriads! at intervals during ten years o9 the last century! presenting the sa6e appearances to t8enty"si@ chosen 8itnesses! and to all the inhabitants o9 all the cottages 8ithin vie8 o9 the 6ountain! and 9or a space o9 t8o hours and a hal9 at one ti6e " the spectral sho8 being closed by dar:nessK 4Page 1025 The 6ountain! be it re6e6bered is 9ull o9 precipices! 8hich de9y all 6arching o9 bodies o9 6en? and the north and 8est sides present a sheer perpendicular o9 9DD 9eet. 7(n ,idsu66er +ve! 12/1! a 9ar6 servant o9 ,r.Lancaster! hal9 a 6ile 9ro6 the 6ountain! sa8 the eastern side o9 its su66it covered 8ith troops! 8hich pursued their on8ard 6arch 9or an hour. They ca6e! indistinct bodies! 9ro6 an e6inence on the north and disappeared in a niche in the su66it. When the poor 9ello8 told his tale! he 8as insulted on all hands! as original Page D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

observers usually are 8hen they see anything 8onder9ul. T8o years a9ter! also on a ,idsu66er +ve! ,r. Lancaster sa8 so6e 6en there! apparently 9ollo8ing their horses! as i9 they had returned 9ro6 hunting. #e thought nothing o9 this? but he happened to loo: up again ten 6inutes a9ter! and sa8 the 9igures! no8 6ounted! and 9ollo8ed by an inter6inable array o9 troops! 9ive abreast! 6arching 9ro6 the e6inence and over the cle9t as be9ore. $ll the 9a6ily sa8 this! and the 6anoeuvres o9 the 9orce! as each co6pany 8as :ept in order by a 6ounted o99icer! 8ho galloped this 8ay and that. $s the shades o9 t8ilight ca6e on! the disciple appeared to rela@! and the troops inter6ingled! and rode at une<ual paces till all 8as lost in dar:ness. *o8 o9 course all the Lancasters 8ere insulted! as their servant had been? but their ;usti9ication 8as not long delayed. 7(n the ,idsu66er +ve o9 the 9ear9ul 1201! t8enty"si@ persons! e@pressly su66oned by the 9a6ily! sa8 all 4Page 10/5 that had been seen be9ore! and 6ore. Carriages 8ere no8 interspersed 8ith the troops? and everybody :ne8 that no carriages had been! or could be! on the su66it o9 Souter -ell. The 6ultitude 8as beyond i6agination? 9or the troops 9illed a space o9 hal9 a 6ile! and 6arched <uic:ly till night hid the6 " still 6arching. There 8as nothing vaporous or indistinct about the appearance o9 the spectres. So real did they see6! that so6e o9 the people 8ent up the ne@t 6orning! to loo: 9or the hoo9"6ar:s o9 the horses? and a89ul it 8as to the6 to 9ind not one 9ootprint on heather or grass. The 8itnesses attested the 8hole story on oath be9ore a 6agistrate? and 9ear9ul 8ere the e@pectations held by the 8hole countryside about the co6ing events o9 the Scotch rebellion. 7%t no8 co6es out that t8o other persons had seen so6ething o9 the sort in the interval " 'i3.! in 120/ " but had concealed it! to escape the insults to 8hich their neighbours 8ere sub;ected. ,r. Wren! o9 Wilton #all! and his 9ar6 servant! sa8! one su66er evening! a 6an and a dog on the 6ountain! pursuing so6e horses along a place so steep that a horse could hardly by any possibility :eep a 9ooting on it. Their speed 8as prodigious! and their disappearance at the south end o9 the 9ell so rapid! that ,r. Wren and the servant 8ent up! the ne@t 6orning! to 9ind the body o9 the 6an 8ho 6ust have been :illed. (9 6an! horse! or dog! they 9ound not a trace? and they ca6e do8n and held their tongues. When they did spea:! they 9ared not 6uch better 9or having t8enty"si@ s8orn co6rades in their disgrace. 4Page 1005 7$s 9or the e@planation! the editor o9 the 2onsdale Maga3ine declared =volu6e %%! page /1/> that it 8as discovered that on the ,idsu66er +ve o9 1201 the rebels 8ere Ae@ercising on the 8estern cost o9 Scotland! 8hose 6ove6ents had been re9lected by so6e transparent vapour! si6ilar to the -ata ,organaA. This is not 6uch in the 8ay o9 e@planation? but it is! as 9ar as 8e :no8! all that can be had at present. These 9acts! ho8ever! brought out a good 6any 6ore? as the spectral 6arch o9 the sa6e :ind seen in Leicestershire in 12D2! and the tradition o9 the tra6p o9 ar6ies over #elvellyn! on the eve o9 the battle o9 ,arston ,oor7. (ther cases are cited in 8hich 9loc:s o9 spectral sheep have been seen on certain roads! and there are o9 course various Fer6an stories o9 phanto6 cavalcades o9 hunters and robbers. *o8 in these cases! as so o9ten happens in the investigation o9 occult pheno6ena! there are several possible causes! any one o9 8hich 8ould be <uite ade<uate to the production o9 the observed Page 1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

occurrences! but in the absence o9 9uller in9or6ation it is hardly 9easible to do 6ore than guess as to 8hich o9 these possible causes 8ere in operation in any particular instance. The e@planation usually suggested =8henever the 8hole story is not ridiculed as a 9alsehood> is that 8hat is seen is a re9lection by 6irage o9 the 6ove6ents o9 a real body and troops! ta:ing place at a considerable distance. % have 6ysel9 seen the ordinary 6irage on several occasions and :no8 so6ething there9ore o9 its 8onder9ul po8ers o9 deception? but it see6s to 6e that 4Page 1015 8e should need so6e entirely ne8 variety o9 6irage! <uite di99erent 9or6 that at present :no8n to science! to account 9or these tales o9 phanto6 ar6ies! so6e o9 8hich pass the spectator 8ithin a 9e8 years. -irst o9 all! they 6ay be! as apparently in the Westphalian case above 6entioned! si6ply instances o9 prevision on a gigantic scale" by 8ho6 arranged! and 9or 8hat purpose! it is not easy to divine. $gain! they 6ay o9ten belong to the past instead o9 the 9uture! and be in 9act the re9lection o9 scenes 9ro6 the a:ashic records " though here again the reason and 6ethod o9 such re9lection is not obvious. There are plenty o9 tribes o9 nature"spirits per9ectly capable! i9 9or any reason they 8ished to do so! o9 producing such appearances by their 8onder9ul po8er o9 gla6our = See Theoso(hical Manual# No 5! page 8 >! and such action 8ould be <uite in :eeping 8ith their delight in 6ysti9ying and i6pressing hu6an beings. (r it 6ay even so6eti6es be :indly intended by the6 as a 8arning to their 9riends o9 events that they :no8 to be about to ta:e place. %t see6s as though so6e e@planation along these lines 8ould be the 6ost reasonable 6ethod o9 accounting 9or the e@traordinary series o9 pheno6ena described by ,iss ,artineau " that is! i9 the stories told to her can be relied upon. $nother possibility is that in so6e cases 8hat have been ta:en 9or soldiers 8ere si6ply the nature"spirits the6selves going through so6e o9 the ordered evolutions in 8hich they ta:e so 6uch delight! though it 6ust be ad6itted that these are rarely o9 a character 8hich could 4Page 10 5 be 6ista:en 9or 6ilitary 6anoeuvres e@cept by the 6ost ignorant. The 9loc:s o9 ani6als are probably in 6ost instances 6ere records! but there are cases 8here they! li:e the 78ild hunts6en7 o9 Fer6an story! belong to an entirely di99erent class o9 pheno6ena 8hich is altogether outside o9 our present sub;ect. Students o9 the occult 8ill be 9a6iliar 8ith the 9act that the circu6stances surrounding any scene o9 intense terror or passion! such as an e@ceptionally horrible 6urder! are liable to be occasionally reproduced in a 9or6 8hich it needs a very slight develop6ent o9 psychic 9aculty to be able to see? and it has so6eti6es happened that various ani6als 9or6ed part o9 such surroundings! and conse<uently they also are periodically reproduced by the action o9 the guilty conscience o9 the 6urderer. =See ,anual 1> Probably 8hatever 9oundation o9 9act underlies the various stories o9 spectral horse6en and hunting" troops 6ay generally be re9erred to this category. This is also the e@planation! evidently! o9 so6e o9 the visions o9 ghostly ar6ies! such as that re6ar:able reenact6ent o9 the battle o9 +dgehill 8hich see6s to have ta:en place at intervals 9or so6e 6onths a9ter the date o9 the real struggle! as testi9ied by a ;ustice o9 the peace! a clergy6an! and other eye8itnesses in a curious conte6porary pa6phlet entitled 1rodigious Noises of War and Battle# at dgehill# near 6einton# in Northam(tonshire. $ccording to the pa6phlet this case 8as investigated at the ti6e by so6e o99icers o9 the ar6y! 8ho clearly 4Page 1025 Page 2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

recogniBed 6any o9 the phanto6 9igures that they sa8. This loo:s decidedly li:e an instance o9 the terrible po8er o9 6anAs unrestrained passions to reproduce the6selves! and to cause in so6e strange 8ay a :ind o9 6aterialiBation o9 their record. %n so6e cases it is clear that the 9loc:s o9 ani6als seen have been si6ply hordes o9 unclean arti9icial ele6entals ta:ing that 9or6 in order to 9eed upon the loathso6e e6anations o9 peculiarly horrible places! such as 8ould be the site o9 a gallo8s. $n instance o9 this :ind is 9urnished by the celebrated 7Fyb Fhosts7! or ghosts o9 the gibbet! describe in More ,lim(ses of the World 7nseen! page 1D9! as being repeatedly seen in the 9or6 o9 herds o9 6isshapen s8ine"li:e creatures! rushing! rooting and 9ighting night a9ter night on the site o9 that 9oul 6onu6ent o9 cri6e. Cut these belong to the sub;ect o9 apparitions rather than to that o9 clairvoyance. 4Page 1085

Page /

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater CHA"T R -0$ THO1! O& 1 V LO"$ NT

When a 6en beco6es convinced o9 the reality o9 the valuable po8er o9 clairvoyance! his 9irst <uestion usually is! 7#o8 can % develop in 6y o8n case this 9aculty 8hich is said to be latent in everyoneG7 *o8 the 9act is that there are 6any 6ethods by 8hich it 6ay be developed! but only one 8hich be at all sa9ely reco66ended 9or general use " that o9 8hich 8e shall spea: last o9 all. $6ong the less advanced nations o9 the 8orld the clairvoyant state has been produced in various ob;ectionable 8ays? a6ong so6e o9 the non"$ryan tribes o9 %ndia! but the use o9 into@icating drugs or the inhaling o9 stupe9ying 9u6es? a6ong the dervishes! by 8hirling in a 6ad dance o9 religious 9ervour until vertigo and insensibility supervene? a6ong the 9ollo8ers o9 the abo6inable practice o9 the 'oodoo cult! by 9right9ul sacri9ices and loathso6e rites o9 blac: 6agic. ,ethods such as these are happily not in vogue in our race! yet even a6ong us large nu6bers o9 dabblers in this ancient art adopt so6e plan o9 sel9"hypnotiBation! such as gaBing at a bright spot or the repetition o9 so6e 9or6ula until a condition o9 se6i"stupe9action is produced? 8hile yet 4Page 1095 another school a6ong the6 8ould endeavour to arrive at si6ilar results by the use o9 so6e o9 the %ndian syste6s o9 regulation o9 the breath. $ll these 6ethods are une<uivocally to be conde6ned as <uite unsa9e 9or the practice o9 the ordinary 6an 8ho has no idea o9 8hat he is doing " 8ho is si6ply 6a:ing vague e@peri6ents in an un:no8n 8orld. +ven the 6ethod o9 obtaining clairvoyance by allo8ing onesel9 to be 6es6eriBed by another person is one 9ro6 8hich % should 6ysel9 shrin: 8ith the 6ost decided distaste? and assuredly it should never be atte6pted e@cept under conditions o9 absolute trust and a99ection bet8een the 6agnetiBer and the 6agnetiBed! and a per9ection o9 purity in heart and soul! in 6ind and intention! such as is rarely to be seen a6ong any but the greatest o9 saints. +@peri6ents in connection 8ith the 6es6eric trance are o9 the deepest interest! as o99ering =a6ong other things> a possibility o9 proo9 o9 the 9act o9 clairvoyance to the sceptic! yet e@cept under such conditions as % have ;ust 6entioned " conditions! % <uite ad6it! al6ost i6possible to realiBe " % should never counsel anyone to sub6it hi6sel9 as a sub;ect 9or the6. Curative 6es6eris6! =in 8hich! 8ithout putting the patient into the trance state at all! an e99ort is 6ade to relieve his pain! to re6ove his disease! or to pour vitality into hi6 by 6agnetic passes> stands on an entirely di99erent 9ooting? and i9 the 6es6eriBer! even though <uite untrained! is hi6sel9 in good health and ani6ated by pure intentions! no har6 is li:ely to be done to the 4Page 11D5 sub;ect. %n so e@tre6e a case as that o9 a surgical operation! a 6an 6ight reasonably sub6it hi6sel9 even to the 6es6eric trance! but it is certainly not a condition 8ith 8hich one ought lightly to e@peri6ent. %ndeed! % should 6ost strongly advise any one 8ho did 6e the honour to as: 9or 6y opinion on the sub;ect! not to atte6pt any :ind o9 e@peri6ental investigation into 8hat are still to hi6 the abnor6al 9orces o9 nature! until he has 9irst o9 all read care9ully everything that has been 8ritten on the sub;ect! or" 8hich is by 9ar the best o9 all " until he is under the guidance o9 a <uali9ied teacher.

Page 0

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

Cut 8here! it 8ill be said! is the <uali9ied teacher to be 9oundG *ot! 6ost assuredly! a6ong any 8ho advertise the6selves as teachers! 8ho o99er to i6part 9or so 6any guineas or dollars the sacred 6ysteries o9 the ages! or hold 7developing circles7 to 8hich casual applicants are ad6itted at so 6uch per head. ,uch has been said in this treatise o9 the necessity 9or care9ul training " o9 the i66ense advantages o9 the trained over the untrained clairvoyant? but that again brings us bac: to the sa6e <uestion" 8here is this de9inite training to be hadG The ans8er is that the training 6ay be had precisely 8here it has al8ays been to be 9ound since the 8orldAs history began " at the hands o9 the Freat White Crotherhood o9 $depts! 8hich stands no8! as it has al8ays stood! at the bac: o9 hu6an evolution! guiding and helping it under the s8ay o9 the great Cos6ic La8s 8hich represent to us the Will o9 the +ternal. 4Page 1115 Cut ho8! it 6ay be as:ed! is access to be gained to the6G #o8 is the aspirant thirsting 9or :no8ledge to signi9y to the6 his 8ish 9or instructionG (nce 6ore! by the ti6e"honoured 6ethods only. There is no ne8 patent 8hereby a 6an can <uali9y hi6sel9 8ithout trouble to beco6e a pupil in that School " no royal road to the learning 8hich has to be ac<uired in it. $t the present day! ;ust as in the 6ists o9 anti<uity! the 6an 8ho 8ishes to attract Their notice 6ust enter upon the slo8 and toilso6e path o9 sel9"develop6ent " 6ust learn 9irst o9 all to ta:e hi6sel9 in hand and 6a:e hi6sel9 all that he ought to be. The steps o9 that path are no secret? % have given the6 in 9ull details in &n'isi%le Hel(ers! so % need not repeat the6 here. Cut it is no easy road to 9ollo8! and yet sooner or later all 6ust 9ollo8 it! 9or the great la8 o9 evolution s8eeps 6an:ind slo8ly but resistlessly to8ards its goal. -ro6 those 8ho are pressing into this path the great ,asters select their pupils! and it is only by <uali9ying hi6sel9 to be taught that a 6an can put hi6sel9 in the 8ay o9 getting the teaching. Without that <uali9ication 6e6bership in any Lodge or Society! 8hether secret or other8ise! 8ill not advance his ob;ect in the slightest degree. %t is true! as 8e all :no8! that it 8as at the instance o9 so6e o9 these ,asters that our Theosophical Society 8as 9ounded! and that 9ro6 its ran:s so6e have been chosen to pass into closer relations 8ith the6. Cut that choice depends upon the earnestness o9 the candidate! not upon his 6ere 6e6bership o9 the Society or o9 anybody 8ithin it. 4Page 1125 That! then! is the only absolutely sa9e 8ay o9 developing clairvoyance " to enter 8ith all oneAs energy upon the path o9 6oral and 6ental evolution! at one stage o9 8hich this and other o9 the higher 9aculties 8ill spontaneously begin to sho8 the6selves. )et there is one practice 8hich is advised by all the religions ali:e " 8hich i9 adopted care9ully and reverently can do no har6 to any hu6an being! yet 9ro6 8hich a very pure type o9 clairvoyance has so6eti6es been developed and that is the practice o9 6editation. Let a 6an choose a certain ti6e every day " a ti6e 8hen he can rely upon being <uiet and undisturbed! though pre9erably in the dayti6e rather than at night " and set hi6sel9 at that ti6e to :eep his 6ind 9or a Page 1

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

9e8 6inutes entirely 9ree 9ro6 all earthly thoughts o9 any :ind 8hatever and! 8hen that is achieved! to direct the 8hole 9orce o9 his being to8ards the highest spiritual ideal that he happens to :no8. #e 8ill 9ind that to gain such per9ect control o9 thought is enor6ously 6ore di99icult than he supposes! but 8hen he attains it! it cannot but be in every 8ay 6ost bene9icial to hi6! and as he gro8s 6ore and 6ore able to elevate and concentrate his thought! he 6ay gradually 9ind that ne8 8orlds are opening be9ore his sight. ($s a preli6inary training to8ards the satis9actory achieve6ent o9 such 6editation! he 8ill 9ind it desirable to 6a:e a practice o9 concentration in the a99airs o9 daily li9e " even in the s6allest o9 the6. %9 he 8rites a letter! let hi6 thin: o9 nothing else but that letter until it is 9inished? i9 he reads a boo:! let hi6 see to it that his thought is never allo8ed to 8ander 9ro6 his authorAs 6eaning. #e 6ust learn to hold his 6ind in chec:! and to be 6aster o9 that also! as 8ell as o9 his lo8er passions? he 6ust patiently labour to ac<uire absolute control o9 his thoughts! so that he 8ill al8ays :no8 e@actly 8hat he is thin:ing about! and 8hy " so that he can use his 6ind! and turn it or hold it still! as a practised s8ords6an turns his 8eapon 8here he 8ilt) )et a9ter all! i9 those 8ho so earnestly desire clairvoyance could possess it te6porarily 9or a day or even an hour! it is 9ar 9ro6 certain that they 8ould choose to retain the gi9t. True! it opens be9ore the6 ne8 8orlds o9 study! ne8 po8ers o9 use9ulness! and 9or this latter reason 6ost o9 us 9eel it 8orth 8hile? but it should be 4Page 11/5 re6e6bered that 9or one 8hose duty still calls hi6 to live in the 8orld it is by no 6eans an un6i@ed blessing. .pon one in 8ho6 that vision is opened the sorro8 and the 6isery! the evil and the greed o9 the 8orld press as an ever"present burden! until in the earlier days o9 his :no8ledge he o9ten 9eels inclined to echo the passionate ad;uration contained in those rolling lines o9 SchillerAs: 3ein (ra:el Bu ver:Pnden! 8aru6 8ar9est du 6ich hin %n die Stadt der e8ing Clinden! 6it de6 aug9eschlossAnen SinnG -ro66tAs! den Schleier au9Buheben! 8o das na6e Schrec:niss drohtG *ur der %rrthu6 ist das Leben? dieses Wissen ist der Tod. *i66! ( ni66 die trauAge Narlheit 6ir vo6 $ugA den blutAgen ScheinK Schrec:lich ist es deiner Wahrheit sterbliches Fe9Qss Bu seynK 8hich 6ay perhaps be translated! 7Why hast thou cast 6e thus into the to8n o9 the ever"blind! to proclai6 thine oracle by the opened senseG What pro9its it to li9t the veil 8here the near dar:ness threatensG (nly ignorance is li9e? this :no8ledge is death. Ta:e bac: this sad clear"sightedness? ta:e 9ro6 6ine eyes this cruel lightK %t is horrible to be the 6ortal channel o9 thy truth7 $nd again later he cries! Page

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

7Five 6e bac: 6y blindness! the happy dar:ness o9 6y senses? ta:e bac: thy dread9ul gi9tK7. Cut this o9 course is a 9eeling 8hich passes! 9or the higher sight soon sho8s the pupil so6ething beyond the sorro8 " soon bears in upon his soul the over8hel6ing 4Page 1105 certainty that! 8hatever appearances do8n here 6ay see6 to indicate! all things are 8ithout shado8s o9 doubt 8or:ing together 9or the eventual good o9 all. #e re9lects that the sin and the su99ering are there! 8hether he is able to perceive the6 or not! and that 8hen he can see the6 he is a9ter all better able to give e99icient help than he 8ould be i9 he 8ere 8or:ing in the dar:? and so by degrees he learns to bear his share o9 the heavy :ar6a o9 the 8orld. So6e 6isguide 6ortals there are 8ho! having the good 9ortune to possess so6e slight touch o9 this higher po8er! are nevertheless so absolutely destitute o9 all right 9eeling in connection 8ith it as to use it 9or the 6ost sordid ends " actually even to advertise the6selves as 7test and business clairvoyantsK7. *eedless to say! such use o9 the 9aculty is a 6ere prostitution and degradation o9 it! sho8ing that its un9ortunate possessor has so6eho8 got hold o9 it be9ore the 6oral side o9 his nature has been su99iciently developed to stand the strain 8hich it i6poses. $ perception o9 the a6ount o9 evil :ar6a that 6ay be generated by such action in a very short ti6e changes oneAs disgust into pity 9or the unhappy perpetrator o9 that sacrilegious 9olly. %t is so6eti6es ob;ect that the possession o9 clairvoyance destroys all privacy! and con9ers a li6itless ability to e@plore the secrets o9 others. *o doubt it does con9er such an a%ility! but nevertheless the suggestion is an a6using one to any one 8ho :no8s anything practically about the 6atter. Such an ob;ection 6ay possibly be 8ell"9ounded as regards the very li6ited 4Page 1115 po8ers o9 the 7test and business clairvoyant7! but the 6an 8ho brings it 9or8ard against those 8ho have had the 9aculty opened 9or the6 in the course o9 their instruction! and conse<uently possess it 9ully! is 9orgetting three 9unda6ental 9acts: 9irst! that it is <uite inconceivable that anyone! having be9ore hi6 the splendid 9ields 9or investigation 8hich true clairvoyance opens up! could ever have the slightest 8ish to pry into the tru6pery little secrets o9 any individual 6an? secondly! that even i9 by so6e i6possible chance our clairvoyant had such indecent curiosity about 6atters o9 petty gossip! there is! a9ter all! such a thing as the honour o9 a gentle6an! 8hich! on that plane as on this! 8ould o9 course prevent hi6 9ro6 conte6plating 9or an instant the idea o9 grati9ying it? and thirdly! in case! by any unheard"o9 possibility! one 6ight encounter so6e variety o9 lo8"class pitri 8ith 8ho6 the above considerations 8ould have no 8eight! 9ull instructions are al8ays given to every pupil! as soon as he develops any sign o9 9aculty! as to the li6itations 8hich are placed upon its use. Put brie9ly! these restrictions are that there shall be no prying! no sel9ish use o9 the po8er! and no displaying o9 pheno6ena. That is to say! that the sa6e considerations 8hich 8ould govern the actions o9 a 6an o9 right 9eeling upon the physical plane are e@pected to apply upon the astral and 6ental planes also? that the pupil is never under any circu6stances to use the po8er 8hich his additional :no8ledge gives to hi6 in order to pro6ote his o8n 8orldly advantage! or indeed 4Page 11 5 in connection 8ith gain in any 8ay? and that he is never to give 8hat is called in spiritualistic circle 7a test7 " that is! to do anything 8hich 8ill incontestably prove to sceptics on the physical plane that he possesses 8hat to the6 8ould appear to be an abnor6al po8er. With regard to this latter proviso people o9ten say! 7Cut 8hy should he notG %t 8ould be so easy to con9ute Page 2

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

and convince your sceptic! and it 8ould do hi6 goodK7 Such critics lose sight o9 the 9act that! in the 9irst place! none o9 those 8ho :no8 anything want to con9ute or convince sceptics! or trouble the6selves in the slightest degree about the scepticAs attitude one 8ay or the other? and in the second! they 9ail to understand ho8 6uch better it s 9or that sceptic that he should gradually gro8 into an intellectual appreciation o9 the 9acts o9 nature! instead o9 being suddenly introduced to the6 by a :noc:do8n blo8! as it 8ere. Cut the sub;ect 8as 9ully considered 6any years ago in ,r. SinnettAs 8ccult World! and it is needless to repeat again the argu6ents there adduced. %t is very hard 9or so6e o9 our 9riends to realiBe that the silly gossip and idle curiosity 8hich so entirely 9ill the lives o9 the brainless 6a;ority on earth can have no place in the 6ore real li9e o9 the disciple? and so they so6eti6es en<uire 8hether! even 8ithout any special 8ish to see! a clairvoyant 6ight not casually observe so6e secret 8hich another person 8as trying to :eep! in the sa6e 8ay as oneAs glance 6ight casually 9all upon a sentence in so6eone elseAs letter 8hich happened to be lying open upon the table. (9 course he 6ight! 4Page 1125 but 8hat i9 he didG The 6an o9 honour 8ould at once avert his eyes! in one case as in the other! and it 8ould be as thought he had not seen. %9 ob;ectors could but grasp the idea that no pupil cares about other peopleAs business! e@cept 8hen it co6es 8ithin his province to try to help the6! and that he has al8ays a 8orld o9 8or: o9 his o8n to attend to! they 8ould not be so hopelessly 9ar 9ro6 understanding the 9acts o9 the 8ide li9e o9 the trained clairvoyant. +ven 9ro6 the little that % have said 8ith regard to the restrictions laid upon the pupil! it 8ill be obvious that in very 6any cases he 8ill :no8 6uch 6ore than he is at liberty to say. That is o9 course true in a 9ar 8ider sense o9 the great ,asters o9 Wisdo6 the6selves! and that is 8hy those 8ho have the privilege o9 occasionally entering their presence pay so 6uch respect to their lightest 8ord in sub;ects <uite apart 9ro6 the direct teaching. -or opinion o9 a 6aster! or even o9 one o9 his higher pupils! upon any sub;ect is that o9 a 6an 8hose opportunity o9 ;udging accurately is out o9 all proportion to ours. #is position and his e@tended 9aculties are in reality the heritage o9 all 6an:ind! and! 9ar though 8e 6ay no8 be 9ro6 those grand po8ers! they 8ill none the less certainly be ours one day. )et ho8 di99erent a place 8ill this old 8orld be 8hen hu6anity as a 8hole possesses the higher clairvoyanceK Thin: 8hat the di99erence 8ill be to history 8hen all can read the records? to science!8hen all the processes about 8hich no8 6en theoriBe can be 8atched through all their 4Page 1185 course? to 6edicine! 8hen doctor and patients ali:e can see clearly and e@actly all that is being done? to philosophy! 8hen there is no longer any possibility o9 discussion as to its basis! because all ali:e can see a 8ider aspect o9 the truth? to labour! 8hen all 8or: 8ill be ;oy! because every 6an 8ill be put only to that 8hich he can do best? to education! 8hen the 6inds and hearts o9 the children are open to the teacher 8ho is trying to 9or6 their character? to religion! 8hen there is no longer any possibility o9 dispute as to its broad dog6as! since the truth about the states a9ter death! and the Freat La8 that governs the 8orld! 8ill be patent to all eyes. $bove all! ho8 9ar easier it 8ill be then 9or the evolved 6en to help one another under those so 6uch 9reer conditions. The possibilities that open be9ore the 6ind are as glorious vistas stretching in all directions! so that our seventh round should indeed be a veritable golden age. Well 9or us that these grand 9aculties 8ill not be possessed by all hu6anity until it has evolved to a 9ar higher level in 6orality as 8ell as in 8isdo6! else should 8e but repeat once 6ore under still 8orse conditions the terrible do8n9all o9 the great $tlantean civiliBation! 8hose 6e6bers 9ailed to realiBe that increased po8er 6eant increased responsibility. )et 8e ourselves 8ere 6ost o9 us a6ong those very 6en? let us hope that 8e have learnt 8isdo6 by that 9ailure! and that 8hen the possibilities o9 the 8ider li9e open be9ore use once Page 8

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

6ore! this ti6e 8e shall bear the trial better.

Page 9

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

In2or3ation 2ro3 di22erent 4lo55arie5 1evachan "" 4Tibetan! %de*%a*can! pronounced de*wa*chen5 $ translation o9 the Sans:rit sukha'ati! the 7happy place7 or god"land. %t is the state bet8een earth"lives into 8hich the hu6an entity! the hu6an 6onad! enters and there rests in bliss and repose. When the second death a9ter that o9 the physical body ta:es place "" and there are 6any deaths! that is to say 6any changes o9 the vehicles o9 the ego "" the higher part o9 the hu6an entity 8ithdra8s into itsel9 all that aspires to8ards it! and ta:es that 7all7 8ith it into the devachan? and the at6an! 8ith the buddhi and 8ith the higher part o9 the 6anas! beco6e thereupon the spiritual 6onad o9 6an. 3evachan as a state applies not to the highest or heavenly or divine 6onad! but only to the 6iddle principles o9 6an! to the personal ego or the personal soul in 6an! overshado8ed by at6a"buddhi. There are 6any degrees in devachan: the highest! the inter6ediate! and the lo8est. )et devachan is not a locality! it is a state! a state o9 the beings in that spiritual condition. 3evachan is the 9ul9illing o9 all the un9ul9illed spiritual hopes o9 the past incarnation! and an e99lorescence o9 all the spiritual and intellectual yearnings o9 the past incarnation 8hich in that past incarnation have not had an opportunity 9or 9ul9ill6ent. %t is a period o9 unspea:able bliss and peace 9or the hu6an soul! until it has 9inished its rest ti6e and stage o9 recuperation o9 its o8n energies. %n the devachanic state! the reincarnating ego re6ains in the boso6 o9 the 6onad =or o9 the 6onadic essence> in a state o9 the 6ost per9ect and utter bliss and peace! revie8ing and constantly revie8ing! and i6proving upon in its o8n bliss9ul i6agination! all the un9ul9illed spiritual and intellectual possibilities o9 the li9e ;ust closed that its naturally creative 9aculties auto6atically suggest to the devachanic entity. ,an here is no longer a <uaternary o9 substance"principles =9or the second death has ta:en place>! but is no8 reduced to the 6onad 8ith the reincarnating ego sleeping in its boso6! and is there9ore a spiritual triad. $ayavi-R6pa "" =Sans:rit> This is a co6pound o9 t8o 8ords: maya'i! the ad;ectival 9or6 o9 the 8ord maya! hence 7illusory7? ru(a! 79or67? the 6ayavi"rupa or thought"body! or illusory"body! a higher astral" 6ental 9or6. The 6ayavi can assu6e all 9or6s or any 9or6! at the 8ill o9 an $dept. $ synony6ous philosophical ter6 is protean soul. %n Fer6any 6edieval 6ystics called it the do((elganger. There is a very 6ystical 9act connected 8ith the 6ayavi"rupa: the $dept is enabled to pro;ect his consciousness in the 6ayavi"rupa to 8hat 8ould see6 to the uninitiated incredible distances! 8hile the physical body is le9t! as it 8ere! intranced. %n Tibet this po8er o9 pro;ecting the 6ayavi"rupa is called hpho"8a. $ayavi-r6pa! $ayavi! Hpho-7a The ,ayavi"rupa is the Aillusory bodyA or Athought"bodyA o9 an %nitiate? the Ahigher astral 6ental 9or6A? not the lo8er astral 9or6 :no8n as the Linga"sarira or astral 6ental"body. This 8ord is a co6pound o9 maya'i "" illusory! the ad;ectival 9or6 o9 maya?and ru(a "" 9or6. This 9or6 is created by the po8er o9 8ill and thought o9 an adept! and 6ay be 6ade an e@act double o9 the 6an or any other shape desired. %t is called an illusory body because it is only a te6porary creation o9 the adept. When it has acco6plished the intended purpose o9 the adept it is 8ithdra8n and dissolved. %n the 8ccult Page 2D

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

,lossary!F. de Puruc:er 8rites: There is a very 6ystical 9act connected 8ith the 6ayavi"rupa! i!e!!the $dept is enabled to pro;ect his consciousness in the 6ayavi"rupa to 8hat 8ould see6 to the uninitiated incredible distances! 8hile the physical body is le9t! as it 8ere! intranced. %n Tibet this po8er o9 pro;ecting the 6ayavi"rupa is called #pho"8a. %n those 6ystical initiations 8hich ta:e a 6an into the starry spaces the 6ayavi"rupa is the vehicle used.

Page 21