Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism
BY
YOGI RAMACHARAKA
Contents
FOURTEEN
LESSONS
IN YOGI PHILOSOPHY
AND ORIENTAL OCCULTISM
BY
YOGI
RAMACHARAKA
"Know,
O disciple, that those who have passed through
the silence, and felt its peace, and retained
its strength, they long that you shall pass
through it also. Therefore, in the Hall of
Learning, when he is capable of entering there,
the disciple will always find his master."
- Light On The Path
The Yogi
Publication Society
Chicago 10,
Illinois
The copyright for this
work has expired.
IT
is with no ordinary feelings that we address
ourselves to our students of the Yogi class of
1904. We see, as they perhaps do not, that to
many of them this series of lessons will be as
seed planted in fertile soil, which will in due
time put forth sprouts which will force their
way gradually into the sunlight of
consciousness, where they will put forth leaves,
blossom, and fruit. Many of the fragments of
truth which will be presented to you will not be
recognized by you at this time, but in years to
come you will recognize the verity of the
impressions which will be conveyed to you in
these lessons, and then, and then only, will you
make these truths your own.
We
intend to speak to you just as if you were
gathered before us in person, and as if we were
standing before you in the flesh. We feel sure
that the bond of sympathy between us will soon
grow so strong and real that as you read our
words you will feel our presence almost as
strongly as if we were with you in person. We
will be with you in spirit, and, according to
our philosophy, the student who is in harmonious
sympathy with his teachers really establishes a
psychic connection with them, and is in
consequence enabled to grasp the "spirit" of the
teaching and to receive the benefit of the
teacher's thought in a degree impossible to one
who merely reads the words in cold print.
We
are sure that the members of the class of 1904
will get into harmony with each other, and with
us, from the very start, and that we will obtain
results that will surprise even ourselves, and
that the term of the class will mark a wonderful
spiritual growth and unfoldment for many of the
class. This result would be impossible were the
class composed of the general public, in which
the adverse thought vibrations of many would
counteract, or at least retard, the impelling
force generated in the minds of those who are in
sympathy with the work. But we will not have
this obstacle to overcome, as the class has been
recruited only from that class of students who
are interested in the occult. The announcements
sent out by us have been worded in such a way as
to attract the attention only of those for whom
they were intended. The mere sensation hunters
and the "faddists" have not been attracted by
our call, while those for whom the call was
intended have heard and have hastened to
communicate with us. As the poet has sung:
"Where I pass, all my children know me." The
members of the class having been attracted to
us, and we to them, will form a harmonious body
working with us to the common end of
self-improvement, growth, development, and
unfoldment. The spirit of harmony and unity of
purpose will do much for us, and the united
thought of the class, coupled with our own, will
be a tower of strength, and each student will
receive the benefit of it, and will be
strengthened and sustained thereby.
We
will follow the system of instruction of the
East, rather than that of the Western world. In
the East, the teacher does not stop to "prove"
each statement or theory as he makes or advances
it; nor does he make a blackboard demonstration
of spiritual truths; nor does he argue with his
class or invite discussion. On the contrary, his
teaching is authoritative, and he proceeds to
deliver his message to his students as it was
delivered to him, without stopping to see
whether they all agree with him. He does not
care whether his statements are accepted as
truth by all, for he feels sure that those who
are ready for the truth which he teaches will
intuitively recognize it, and as for the others,
if they are not prepared to receive the truth,
no amount of argument will help matters. When a
soul is ready for a spiritual truth, and that
truth, or a part of it, is uttered in its
presence or presented to its attention by means
of writings, it will intuitively recognize and
appropriate it. The Eastern teacher knows that
much of his teaching is but the planting of
seed, and that for every idea which the student
grasps at first there will be a hundred which
will come into the field of conscious
recognition only after the lapse of time.
We
do not mean that the Eastern teachers insist
upon the student blindly accepting every truth
that is presented to him. On the contrary, they
instruct the pupil to accept as truth only that
which he can prove for himself, as no truth is
truth to one until he can prove it by his own
experiments. But the student is taught that
before many truths may be so proven he must
develop and unfold. The teacher asks only that
the student have confidence in him as a
pointer-out of the way, and he says, in effect,
to the student: "This is the way; enter upon it,
and on the path you will find the things of
which I have taught you; handle them, weigh
them, measure them, taste them, and know for
yourself. When you reach any point of the path
you will know as much of it as did I or any
other soul at that particular stage of the
journey; but until you reach a particular point,
you must either accept the statements of those
who have gone before or reject the whole subject
of that particular point. Accept nothing as
final until you have proven it; but, if you are
wise, you will profit by the advice and
experience of those who have gone before. Every
man must learn by experience, but men may serve
others as pointers of the way. At each stage of
the journey it will be found that those who have
progressed a little further on the way have left
signs and marks and guideposts for those who
follow. The wise man will take advantage of
these signs. I do not ask for blind faith, but
only for confidence until you are able to
demonstrate for yourselves the truths I am
passing on to you, as they were passed on to me,
by those who went before.
We
ask the student to have patience. Many things
which will appear dark to him at first will be
made clear as we progress.
The
Constitution Of Man.
Man
is a far more complete being than is generally
imagined. He has not only a body and a soul, but
he is a spirit possessing a soul, which soul has
several vehicles for expression, these several
vehicles being of different degrees of density,
the body being the lowest form of expression.
These different Vehicles manifest upon different
"planes," such as the "physical plane," the
"astral plane," etc., all of which will be
explained as we proceed.
The
real self is pure spirit-a spark of the divine
fire. This spirit is encased within numerous
sheaths, which prevent its full expression. As
man advances in development, his consciousness
passes from the lower planes to the higher, and
he becomes more and more aware of his higher
nature. The spirit contains within it all
potentialities, and as man progresses he unfolds
new powers, new qualities, into the light.
The
Yogi philosophy teaches that man is composed of
seven principles - is a sevenfold creature. The
best way to think of man is to realize that the
spirit is the real self, and that the lower
principles are but confining sheaths. Man may
manifest upon seven planes, that is, the highly
developed man, as the majority of men of this
age can manifest only upon the lower planes, the
higher planes not having as yet been reached by
them, although every man, no matter how
undeveloped, possesses the seven principles
potentially. The first five planes have been
attained by many, the sixth by a few, the
seventh by practically none of this race at this
time.
The
Seven Principles Of Man.
The
seven principles of man, as known to the Yogi
philosophy, are herewith stated, English terms
being substituted for Sanskrit words, so far as
may be:
7. Spirit.
6. Spiritual-Mind.
5. Intellect.
4. Instinctive-Mind.
3. Prana, or Vital Force.
2. Astral Body.
1. Physical Body.
We
will briefly run over the general nature of each
of these seven principles, that the student may
understand future references to them; but we
will defer our detailed treatment of the subject
until later on in the lessons.
(1)
The Physical Body.
Of
all the seven principles of man, the physical
body is of course the most apparent. It is the
lowest in the scale, and is the crudest
manifestation of the man. But this does not mean
that the physical should be despised or
neglected. On the contrary, it is a most
necessary principle for the growth of man in his
present stage of development--the temple of the
living Spirit--and it should be carefully tended
and cared for in order to render it a more
perfect instrument. We have but to look around
us and see how the physical bodies of different
men show the different degrees of development
under mental control. It is a duty of each
developed man to train his body to the highest
degree of perfection in order that it may be
used to advantage. The body should be kept in
good health and condition and trained to obey
the orders of the mind, rather than to rule the
mind, as is so often the case. The care of the
body, under the intelligent control of the mind,
is an important branch of Yogi philosophy, and
is known as "Hatha Yoga." We are preparing a
little text-book upon "Hatha Yoga," which will
soon be ready for the press, that will give the
Yogi teachings upon this most important branch
of self-development. The Yogi philosophy teaches
that the physical body is built up of cells,
each cell containing within it a miniature
"life," which controls its action. These "lives"
are really bits of intelligent mind of a certain
degree of growth, which enable the cells to
perform their work properly. These bits of
intelligence are, of course, subordinate to the
control of the central mind of the man, and will
readily obey orders from headquarters, given
either subconsciously or consciously. These cell
intelligences manifest a perfect adaptation for
their particular work. The selective action of
the cells, extracting from the blood the
nourishment needed and rejecting that which is
not required, is an instance of this
intelligence. The process of digestion,
assimilation, etc., shows the intelligence of
the cells, either separately or collectively in
groups. The healing of wounds, the rush of the
cells to the points where they are most needed,
and hundreds of other examples known to the
student of physiology, all mean to the Yogi
student examples of the "life" within each atom.
Each atom is to the Yogi a living thing, leading
its own independent life. These atoms combine
into groups for some end, and the group
manifests a group-intelligence as long as it
remains a group; these groups again combining in
turn, and forming bodies of a more complex
nature, which serve as vehicles for higher forms
of consciousness. When death comes to the
physical body the cells separate and scatter,
and that which we call decay sets in. The force
which has held the cells together is withdrawn,
and it becomes free to go its own way and form
new combinations. Some go into the body of the
plants in the vicinity, and eventually find
themselves again in the body of an animal;
others remain in the organism of the plant;
others remain in the ground for a time, but the
life of the atom means incessant and constant
change. As a leading writer has said: "Death is
but an aspect of life, and the destruction of
one material form is but a prelude to the
building up of another."
We
will not devote further space to the
consideration of the physical, as that is a
subject by itself, and, then, our students are
no doubt anxious to be led into subjects with
which they are not quite so familiar. So we will
leave this first principle and pass on to the
second, wishing, however, again to remind the
student that the first step in Yogi development
consists of the mastery of the physical body and
its care and attention. We will have more to say
of this subject before we are through with this
course.
(2)
The Astral Body.
This
second principle of man is not nearly so well
known as its physical brother, although it is
closely connected with the latter and is its
exact counterpart in appearance. The astral body
has been known to people in all ages, and has
given rise to many superstitions and mysteries,
owing to a lack of knowledge of its nature. It
has been called the "ethereal body"; the
"fluidic body"; the "double"; the "wraith"; the
"Doppelganger," etc. It is composed of matter of
a finer quality than that composing our physical
bodies, but matter none the less.
In
order to give you a clearer idea of what we
mean, we will call your attention to water,
which manifests in several well-known forms.
Water at a certain temperature is known as ice,
a hard, solid substance; at a little higher
temperature it assumes its best-known form,
which we call "water"; at a still higher
temperature it escapes in the form of a vapor
which we call "steam," although the real steam
is invisible to the human eye, and becomes
apparent only when it mixes with the air and has
its temperature lowered a little, when it
becomes vapor visible to the eye, and which
vapor we call "steam."
The
astral body is the best counterpart of the
physical body and may be separated from it under
certain circumstances. Ordinarily, conscious
separation is a matter of considerable
difficulty, but in persons of a certain degree
of psychical development the astral body may be
detached and often goes on long journeys. To the
clairvoyant vision the astral body is seen
looking exactly like its counterpart, the
physical body, and united to it by a slender
silken cord. The astral body exists some time
after the death of the person to whom it
belongs, and under certain circumstances it is
visible to living persons, and is called a
"ghost." There are other means whereby the
spirits of those who have passed on may become
manifest, and the astral shell which is
sometimes seen after it has been sloughed off by
the soul which has passed on is in such cases
nothing more than a corpse of finer matter than
its physical counterpart. In such cases it is
possessed of no life or intelligence, and is
nothing more than a cloud seen in the sky
bearing a resemblance to a human form. It is a
shell, nothing more. The astral body of a dying
person is sometimes projected by an earnest
desire, and is at such times seen by friends and
relatives with whom he is in sympathy. There are
many cases of this kind on record, and the
student probably is aware of occurrences of this
kind. We will have more to say about the astral
body and astral shells in other lessons in this
course. We will have occasion to go into further
detail when we reach the subject of the astral
plane, and, in fact, the astral body will form a
part of several lessons.
The
astral body is invisible to the ordinary eye,
but is readily perceived by those having
clairvoyant power of a certain degree. Under
certain circumstances the astral body of a
living person may be seen by friends and others,
the mental condition of the persons and the
observer having much to do with the matter. Of
course, the trained and developed occultist is
able to project his astral body consciously, and
may make it appear at will; but such powers are
rare and are acquired only after a certain stage
of development is reached.
The
adept sees the astral body rising from the
physical body as the hour of death approaches.
It is seen hovering over the physical body, to
which it is bound by a slender thread. When the
thread snaps the person is dead, and the soul
passes on carrying with it the astral body,
which in turn is discarded as the physical body
has been before. It must be remembered that the
astral body is merely a finer grade of matter,
and that it is merely a vehicle for the soul,
just as is the physical, and that both are
discarded at the proper time. The astral body,
like the physical, disintegrates after the death
of the person, and persons of a psychic nature
sometimes see the dissolving fragments around
cemeteries, in the shape of violet light.
We
are merely calling attention to the different
vehicles of the soul of man, his seven
principles, and we must hasten on to the next
principle. We would like to speak to you of the
interesting phenomenon of the ego leaving the
physical body in the astral body while one is
"asleep." We would like to tell you just what
occurs during sleep, and how one may give orders
to his astral self to gain certain information
or to work out certain problems while he is
wrapped in sleep, but that belongs to another
phase of our subject, and we must pass on after
merely whetting your appetite. We wish you to
get these seven principles well fixed in your
mind, so that you may be able to understand the
terms when we use them later on.
(3)
Prana, or Vital Force.
We
have said something of Prana in our little book,
"The Science of Breath," which many of you have
read. As we said in that book, Prana is
universal energy, but in our consideration of it
we will confine ourselves to that manifestation
of Prana which we call vital force. This vital
force is found in all forms of life--from the
amoeba to man--from the most elementary form of
plant life to the highest form of animal life.
Prana is all-pervading. It is found in all
things having life, and as the occult philosophy
teaches that life is in all things--in every
atom-the apparent lifelessness of some things
being only a lesser degree of manifestation, we
may understand that Prana is everywhere, in
everything. Prana is not the Ego, but is merely
a form of energy used by the Ego in its material
manifestation. When the Ego departs from the
physical body, in what we call "death," the
Prana, being no longer under the control of the
Ego, responds only to the orders of the
individual atoms or their groups, which have
formed the physical body, and as the physical
body disintegrates and is resolved back to its
original elements, each atom takes with it
sufficient Prana to enable it to form new
combinations, the unused Prana returning to the
great universal storehouse from whence it came.
Prana is in all forms of matter, and yet it is
not matter--it is the energy or force which
animates matter. We have gone into the matter of
Prana in our little book previously referred to,
and we do not wish to take up the students' time
in repeating what we said there.
But
before taking up the next principle, we wish to
direct the student's attention to the fact that
Prana is the force underlying magnetic healing,
much of mental healing, absent treatment, etc.
That which has been spoken of by many as human
magnetism is really Prana.
In
"Science of Breath," we have given you
directions for increasing the Prana in your
system; distributing it over the body,
strengthening each part and organ and
stimulating every cell. It may be directed
toward relieving pain in one's self and others
by sending to the affected part a supply of
Prana extracted from the air. It may be
projected to a distance so far as to affect
other persons. The thought of the projector
sends forth and colors the Prana gathered for
the purpose, and finds lodgment in the psychic
organism of the patient. Like the Marconi waves
it is invisible to the eye of man (with the
exception of certain persons who have attained a
high degree of clairvoyant power); it passes
through intervening obstacles and seeks the
person attuned to receive it.
This
transferring of Prana under the direction of the
will is the underlying principle of thought
transference, telepathy, etc. One may surround
himself with an aura of Prana, colored with
strong positive thought, which will enable him
to resist the adverse thought waves of others,
and which will enable him to live serene in an
atmosphere of antagonistic and inharmonious
thought.
We
advise students to re-read that portion of
"Science of Breath" which deals with the use of
Prana. We propose going into great detail
regarding this phase of the subject, during the
course of these lessons, but "Science of Breath"
gives a good fundamental idea of the nature of
Prana and the methods of its use, and students
will do well to refresh their minds on this
subject.
We
do not wish to weary you by this description of
each of the seven principles, and we are aware
that you are impatient to enter into the more
interesting phases of the subject. But it is
absolutely necessary that you obtain a clear
idea of these seven principles, in order that
you may understand that which follows, and to
obviate the necessity of your being "sent back"
to relearn the lesson which you have "skipped."
We had this idea in mind when we started this
class in November, 1903, instead of waiting
until January, 1904, and we give you the
November and December lessons as "good measure,"
so as to be able to reach the more interesting
part of the subject by the January lesson.
We
will leave the subject of Prana and will pass on
to the next principle; but we trust that you
will not leave this part of the lesson until you
have acquired a clear idea of Prana and its
qualities and uses. Study your "Science of
Breath" until you understand something of Prana.
The
Western reader who has studied the writings of
some of the recent Western will recognize in the
Instinctive Mind certain attributes of the
so-called "subjective" or "subconscious" minds
spoken of so frequently by the said writers.
These writers discovered in man these
characteristics, as well as certain higher
phases of the mind (coming from the Spiritual
Mind), and without stopping to investigate
further, they advanced a "new" theory that man
is possessed of two minds, i.e., the "objective"
and "subjective," or as some have termed them,
the "conscious and "subconscious." This was all
very well so far as it went, but these set the
"conscious" mind aside and bundled all the rest
into their "subconscious" or "subjective" mind,
ignoring the fact that they were mixing the
highest and lowest qualities of mind and putting
them in the same class, and leaving the middle
quality by itself. The "subjective mind" and the
"subconscious" theories are very confusing, as
the student finds grouped together the most
sublime flashes of genius and the silliest
nothings of the man of low development, the mind
of the latter being almost altogether
"subjective."
To
those who have read up on these theories, we
would say that such reading will materially help
them to understand the three mental principles
of man, if they will remember that the
"conscious" or "objective" mind corresponds very
nearly with the "Intellect" principle in the
Yogi philosophy; and that the lowest portions of
the "subjective" or "subconscious mind are what
the Yogis term the "Instinctive Mind" principle;
while the higher and sublime qualities, which
the Western writers have noticed and have
grouped with the lower qualities in forming
their "subjective mind" and "subconscious mind"
theories, is the "Spiritual Mind" principle of
the Yogis, with the difference that the
"Spiritual Mind" has additional properties and
qualities of which these Western theorists have
never dreamed. As we touch upon each of these
three mental principles, you will see the points
of resemblance and the points of difference
between the Yogi teachings and the Western
theories.
We
wish it distinctly understood, however, that we
do not desire to detract from the praise justly
earned by these Western investigators; in fact,
the Yogis owe them a debt of gratitude for
preparing the Western mind for the fuller
teachings. The student who has read the works of
the writers referred to will find it very much
easier to grasp the idea of the three mental
principles in man than if he had never heard of
any division in the functioning of the mind of
man. Our principal reason for calling attention
to the mistake of the Western dual-mind theories
was that to the mind of the Yogi it is painful
to see that which he knows to be the highest
manifestation of mind, that which is the seat of
inspiration and flashes of genius, that which
touches the pure Spirit (the Spiritual Mind),
which is just beginning to awaken in men of
development and growth-confused and confounded
with and placed in the same class with the
lowest mental principle (the Instinctive Mind)
which, while most necessary and useful to man,
under the direction of his higher principle is
still something which is common to the most
undeveloped man, even to the lower form of the
animal kingdom--yea, even to the plant life. We
trust that the student will free his mind of
preconceived ideas on this important subject,
and will listen to what we say before forming
his final opinion. In our next lesson, we will
go into detail regarding each of the three
Mental Principles.
