BLAVATSKY AND OCCULTISM BY RALPH SHIRLEY

(Ralph Shirley was the editor of the Occult Review magazine, and in the publication of March 1929 [vol.49, no.3, p.145-156]. He wrote the following about Blavastky and her influence on Occultism.)

« There is a road, steep and thorny, beset with perils of every kind — but yet a road; and it leads to the Heart of the Universe. I can tell you how to find those who will show you the secret gateway that leads inwards only, and closes fast behind the neophyte for evermore.

There is no danger that dauntless courage cannot conquer. There is no trial that spotless purity cannot pass through. There is no difficulty that strong intellect cannot surmount. For those who win onwards, there is reward past all telling; the power to bless and save humanity. For those who fail there are other lives in which success may come. »

Such, in her own words, was the message that H. P. Blavatsky came to deliver to a heedless world. The psychological riddle offered by the complex personality of this remarkable character has baffled many a self-styled expert.

Protagonists and detractors each bring forward evidence in support of their own particular view, while to the unbiased mind the real woman remains as hidden as ever.

There remains, however, the testimony of her work, which speaks for itself. In the words of Mr. William Kingsland:

« It is hardly possible even now to make any adequate estimate of the immense revolution in the minds of hundreds of thousands which has been effected by her writings, either directly or indirectly.

What we know as the Modern Theosophical Movement, as apart from any particular or individual Society which has been the direct offspring of that Movement, is now so widespread, and its literature is so extensive, that sooner or later it must be recognized by historians as having modified most profoundly the thought of the Western world in the present age. » ⁽¹⁾

After all, it is not so much the solution of the enigma of the personality of Madame Blavatsky which is important, as the success or failure to appreciate the value of the mission with which she claimed to be entrusted.

The finding of that Road that leads to “the Heart of the Universe” and the great reward: the “power to bless and save humanity” are of intimate concern to every soul incarnate upon this earth — for in this or other lives which are still hidden in the dim future, the destiny of the individual, the spiritual purpose for which the long road of ignorance and suffering is trodden, must at last be fulfilled.

Nevertheless, every fresh attempt to solve the riddle of “the sphinx of the nineteenth century,” every effort to disperse the cloud of popular misrepresentations surrounding the Messenger of “the Elder Brothers of the race” is welcome to the sincere investigator in search of truth.

Mr. Kingsland brings to his task the advantage of personal acquaintance with Madame Blavatsky, and in his efforts to reveal the great soul behind the perplexing personality of the woman who played so vital a part in the launching of the Theosophical Movement, exhibits a restraint of feeling and a balance of judgment which combine to carry to the open-minded reader the conviction that this much-misunderstood pioneer was in a very real sense a martyr to the mission with which she was charged for the benefit of the Western world.

Never does the moderation which characterizes his work entirely forsake Mr. Kingsland, even in the bitterness of his reproach of H.P. Blavatsky’s detractors. He says:

« She sacrificed the last ounce of her life-blood that she might disclose to the world some glimpse of that Ancient Wisdom which is beyond all price, which leads to ‘the Heart of the Universe,’ to liberation, and the final goal of all human endeavor.

Criticize her teachings by all means — that is fair and legitimate — but even so remember that she was but a very imperfect instrument, and that much has been withheld which the world, individualistic to the core as it is, and pressing all its knowledge of natural forces into the service of more and still more destructive weapons of war — is by no means as yet ready to receive.

Criticize her teachings by all means, if you have not the wit to perceive their deep import and application to your own professed religion; but henceforth let only he amongst you who is without sin cast another stone at her. »

As a matter of fact, the human soul is cursed with a fatal facility in the passing of judgment upon others; forgetful of the limitations which cause it to be lamentably ignorant of its own shortcomings. To criticize her work, however, is really to criticize the woman. The two are inseparably interwoven. “She explained Theosophy, and Theosophy explains her.” Nothing could be more true; and H.P.B. herself would have asked no higher criterion of judgment.

« Theosophy [continues Mr. Kingsland] explains not merely the motive and incentive of her life-work and mission, but it explains also much in her character, and many incidents in her life which, without a knowledge of its teachings, are not merely inexplicable, but are liable to harsh criticism and judgment on the part of those who can see no deeper than the surface of things. »

To-day, thirty-five years after her death, the Theosophical Movement which Madame Blavatsky inaugurated is represented by numerous independent and often mutually hostile societies scattered over the globe, but which carry actually or implicitly the designation of Theosophical.

That the divergences have their roots for the most part in the claims of particular individuals to be the direct successors to H.P.B. there is little room for doubt.

It is a fact, however, not without significance, that with the passing of the years, the interest in Madame Blavatsky and her work strengthens rapidly, and this in spite of the counter-attractions which figure so prominently in certain Theosophical quarters.

At no time more than the present have her works been in greater demand, while the popularity of what are known as the “facsimile” editions of The Secret Doctrine and The Voice of the Silence shows a proportionate increase.

Incidentally the publishers of this magazine are in the position of being able to bear gratifying testimony in regard to the growing interest in Mme. Blavatsky.

The welcome accorded to the first edition of Mr. G. Baseden Butt’s study of H.P.B. has made it possible to decide upon the issue of a new and cheaper edition which will be available shortly, and the demand for which, it is confidently anticipated, will equal, if it does not exceed, that for the earlier edition. ⁽²⁾

Her two most trascendetal works

A noteworthy point in connection with the Secret Doctrine may with advantage be referred to here; i.e., the statement of the learned Tibetan, the late Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup, formerly Chief Inspector on the staff of the Tibetan Plenipotentiary to the Indian Government.

As recorded by Mr. W. Y. Evans Wentz, M.A., D.Litt., B.Sc. (the able editor of the Tibetan Book o f the Dead). He says:

« The late Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup was of opinion that, despite the adverse criticisms directed against H.P.B.’s works, there is adequate internal evidence in them of their author’s intimate acquaintance with the higher lamaistic teachings, into which she claimed to have been initiated. »

Encyclopedic and monumental, however, as the Secret Doctrine undoubtedly is, the core of Madame Blavatsky’s message is to be found in the little treatise so well known, by title at any rate — The Voice o f the Silence, dedicated to "The Few.”

For the secret road, the existence of which she proclaimed, is not for the footsteps of the crowd, especially at this stage of the evolution of humanity. Mr. Kingsland regards The Voice of the Silence as the finishing touch to the work of H.P.B. He says:

«  In its mystical aspects it points to a transcendent achievement that can appeal only to those whose mystical intuition and vision far outreaches the common hopes and fears and limitations of the formal mind or intellect; and it points to the goal of this achievement as being the finding of the Self, and in the finding of that Self the finding of the One Reality which underlies all this phenomenal world, and which it is the vain effort of the metaphysician, working only with the formal mind, to define. This, of course, is the underlying principle of all Mysticism, though it is sometimes expressed in terms of Christian Mysticism as the finding of God. »

It is a sketch of that Road to which she would direct the footsteps of the Few. Always, in the ranks of ordinary humanity, may be found a few who, possessing no outstanding gifts of intellect, have yet the special qualifications which make the possibility of finding and treading the Path the one thing worth while in life.

Mr. Kingsland remarks:

« Intellect alone is a bar and a stumbling-block rather than a qualification. »

What is the truly Occultism?

In the collection of Mahatma Letters addressed to Mr. Sinnett is to be found one written during July, 1884, from which the following is quoted:

« You were told that the path to Occult Science has to be trodden laboriously and crossed at the danger of life; that every new step in it leading to the final goal is surrounded by pitfalls and cruel thorns; that the pilgrim who ventures upon it is made first to confront and conquer the thousand-and-one furies who keep watch over its adamantine gates and entrance — the furies of Doubt, Skepticism, Scorn, Ridicule, Envy, and finally, Temptation — especially the latter; and that he who would see beyond, had first to destroy this living wall; that he must be possessed of a heart and soul clad in steel, and of an iron, never-failing determination, and yet be meek and gentle, humble, and have shut out of his heart every human passion that leads to evil.  Are you all this?  Have you ever begun the course of training which would lead to it? »

Again, on p. 341 of the same collection of letters, Mahatma K. H. writes to Mr. Sinnett in the following strain:

« Nothing draws us to any outsider save his evolving spirituality. He may be a Bacon or an Aristotle in knowledge, and still not even make his current felt a feather’s-weight by us, if his power is confined to the Manas. The supreme energy resides in the Buddhi; latent — when wedded to Atman alone — active and irresistible when galvanized by the essence of Manas, and when none of the dross of the latter commingles with that pure essence to weigh it down by its finite nature. Manas, pure and simple, is of a lower degree, and of the earth earthy; and so your greatest men count but as nonentities in the arena where greatness is measured by the standard of spiritual development. »

Inevitably one is reminded of the teaching given to the aspirant through Light on the Path, inspired this time by a European master:

« Those that ask shall have. But though the ordinary man asks perpetually, his voice is not heard. For he asks with the mind only; and the voice of the mind is heard only on that plane on which the mind acts. »

These specific indications of the nature of true occultism afford a timely commentary on the letter published in the present issue of this magazine, from a correspondent over the pseudonym, “Heimdallr.”

He quotes Edward Maitland’s definition of Mysticism and Occultism respectively, with a view to limiting the scope of the latter term to the astral plane only.

The distinction lies not so much in the goal as in the point of departure. The line of approach for the Occultist is by the way of Science; for the Mystic by the way of Religion.

One might perhaps venture to define true Occultism as the pursuit of the aim of Religion by the method of Science, provided always that these terms are used in their wider connotation, and not confined to their conventional usage.  It is in the very nature of things that the message of occultist and mystic should be couched in similar terms. The Self or God, the goal of both paths, is One.

That there is only one Path it is impossible to concede; that there is only one Goal may be unreservedly admitted. Without undue exaggeration it would be possible to go still further and maintain that there are as many paths as there are individuals; for no two souls are alike in manifestation. Head and heart are blended in every-varying proportions. Most apposite are the words of Light on the Path:

« Each man is to himself absolutely the way, the truth and the life. »

Against the use of the term “Mysticism” Mr. Kingsland raises the objection that it is so frequently associated with “vague, unhealthy emotionalism”; while Occultism aims at the unfoldment of the latent spiritual faculties of man “through a definite intensive training, in which knowledge of the deeper and higher laws of Nature and our own being” is gradually achieved.

« The Occultist is one who is steadily climbing the mountain; making sure of his footing at each step and adapting himself as he ascends to the changing conditions and rarefied atmosphere of the heights which he reaches and overpasses. »

Differences with Spiritism

The fact that the concern of true Occultism is not solely with the astral plane lies at the root of the differences which exist between it and Spiritualism. Occultism is at one with Spiritualism in admitting the validity of the phenomena of the séance room.

Together with Spiritualism it can afford to smile at newspaper stunts initiated with a view to increasing the circulation, in which Spiritualism is put “on trial”!  On trial, forsooth!

The phenomena of the séance room have been known as facts to Spiritualists and Occultists (or their counterparts under other names) since the dawn of history. It is on the interpretation of the phenomena that the two part company.

While prepared to admit that a disembodied or even at times an incarnate personality may manifest through mediumistic trance, the Occultist contends that the preponderance of such trance messages are the result of the activities of astral shells, which, persisting for a period of time after the individuality has departed, are animated by sub-human intelligences who reproduce the automatisms characteristic of the once living personality.

Even in the case of a highly developed individuality, it is not feasible that it should manifest efficiently in its higher aspects through an alien nervous system whose rightful owner is in a state of trance. The higher or subjective Spiritualism, however, was never disputed by H.P.B. or her Teachers.

In this connection we find the Master, K.H., writing in the collection of Mahatma Letters as follows:

« It is not against true Spiritualism that we set ourselves, but only against indiscriminate mediumship and physical manifestations — materializations and trance possessions especially. »

The rationale of direct communication with disembodied personalities on the astral plane is graphically explained in the following paragraph, extracted from a letter from the same source as the previous one:

« Many of the subjective spiritual communications — most of them when the sensitives are pure-minded — are real. . . . The spirit of the sensitive getting odylised, so to say, by the aura of the Spirit in Devachan, becomes for a few minutes that departed personality, and writes in the handwriting of the latter, in his language and in his thoughts as they were during his life­time. The two spirits become blended in one, and the preponderance of the one over the other during such phenomena determines the preponderance of personality in the characteristics exhibited. . . . What you call ‘rapport’ is in plain fact an identity of molecular vibration between the astral part of the incarnate medium and the astral part of the discarnate personality. . . . »

There are some remarkable books consisting of records obtained by that higher spiritual rapport above referred to. Mr. Kingsland instances as an example the case of an anonymous work which has enjoyed and continues to enjoy wide popularity, Christ in You.

One instinctively calls to mind also such records as the Cleophas Scripts, the communications given through “El Eros,” the messages of El Daoud; and Elsa Barker’s "Letters from a Living Dead Man," to mention only a few.

It also happens that in the present issue of this magazine another example is afforded by a remarkable communication obtained in this manner by Miss Geraldine Cummins, which purports to emanate from a distinguished writer upon whom the public lavished high praise during his lifetime.

It is not so much in conscious rapport with discarnate personalities that danger lies as in the “indiscriminate (trance) mediumship” to which the writer of the Mahatma Letter above-quoted refers.

Nothing can be lost, and much stands to be gained by calm scientific investigation and classification of trance phenomena, whether the manifestations are of the physical or psychical order.

Such methodical and sane investigation, fortunately, is characteristic of psychical research, so that, to quote Mr. Kingsland again:

« We may to day make a broad distinction between Spiritualism and Psychical Research. The latter includes the phenomena of the former, but does not necessarily accept the hypothesis of spirit agency as affording a satisfactory explanation; nor does it import into the investigation of the phenomena any religious element.

Psychical Research has disclosed many factors in connection with the subconscious, with telepathy, clairvoyance, etc., which introduce elements into many so-called spirit-communications that appear to many investigators to rule out altogether their validity as such.

It is true, however, that many of these scientific and materialistic investigators have stretched the subconscious theory to breaking point in their endeavor to avoid the spirit hypothesis; but on the other hand it must be said that the credulity with which many, if not most of the spiritists accept such communications on their own hypothesis and attach an exaggerated importance to them as if what comes from 'the other side’ must necessarily be accepted from that mere fact, is repellent to the scientific and rational mind. »

Levitation

Nor is the challenge of the scientific spirit confined merely to psychical research. The same influence is apparently making its presence felt even in traditional Catholicism.

Levitation: an Examination of the Evidence and Explanations, by Olivier Leroy ⁽³⁾, is the title of a work in which the records of Roman Catholic hagiography have been diligently searched with a view to comparing the manifestations of this phenomenon among its ecstatic and saints with those of mediumship and psychical research generally.

The author claims for his Church the possession of an ancient, continuous and varied record of facts in this connection with which the comparatively modern annals of psychical research cannot hope to compete.

Prof. Richet is constrained to put it on record that in his opinion “inexorable science is not yet entitled to regard levitation as a proved phenomenon,” Monsieur Leroy, with the tradition of his Church to fall back upon, finds no difficulty whatever in subscribing to the conviction that “hagiographic levitation,” as he terms it, is a firmly-established fact.

It would obviously be too much to expect a churchman to be entirely free from bias in favor of his own beliefs; but when due allowance is made for the tendency to discriminate in favor of evidence which best suits his faith, it must be admitted in all fairness, that his contribution to the literature of an obscure subject, if only for the wealth of material gathered together between its covers, is likely to prove of distinct and permanent value alike to the psychical investigator and the student of psychology.

His conclusions, of course, will meet with acceptance in a degree varying with the predilections and mental outlook of the reader. Complete agreement would mean the unequivocal acceptance of the dogmas of his Church.

Commencing with a definition of the term “Levitation,” and the sense in which it is intended to be used in the course of his treatise, Monsieur Leroy gathers together promiscuously all the available records in regard to his subject, with a view to sifting them and weighing the evidence publicly, so to speak, in a later section of his book, which is divided into three main parts.

The first section is devoted to the traditions of levitation both in the Roman Catholic Church and others derived from non-Christian sources. The second section is devoted to an examination and weighing up of the evidence thus gathered, and an attempt is made to formulate definite conclusions in regard to the phenomenon; while the third and final section comprises, naturally, a summation of the whole of the preceding portion of the book.

The air of scientific impartiality with which the examination of the phenomenon of levitation among the Catholic mystics is carried out makes a curious impression on the lay reader. A short table, here reproduced, sets out with methodical exactitude the “estimates concerning levitation founded on serious evidence.”

St. Teresa	25 cm
Blessed Bemadino Realino	100 cm
Francis Suarez	100 cm
St. Alphonsus Liguori	50 cm
Blessed Andrew Hubert Foumet	25 cm
Mother du Bourg	50 cm
Domenica Barbagli	60 cm

The description in detail of the physical characteristics of levitation include: peculiarities of bodily movement; the sphere of influence of the levitation; the ascensional power; the luminosity; duration of the phenomenon; age; health; and various other particulars.

Among the psychological circumstances attending levitation, Monsieur Leroy points out that “everything suggests that the moral dispositions and the way of living of the levitated persons had something to do with the phenomenon, and even that they might set working the cause or causes of it.”

Some of the most common psychological features attending levitation amongst the Catholic mystics appear to be extreme asceticism and fervor of devotion. This, however, does not get us very far in the way of discovering the underlying psycho-physiological forces involved in such manifestations.

The author’s examination of mediumistic levitation, however, results in conclusions which throw an interesting light on the subject as they are displayed in the synoptic table exhibiting the differences between the levitation of mystics and that of mediums. From this table the following comparisons are taken.

MYSTICS	MEDIUMS
The body seems to have partially lost weight; may be swung to and fro by a feeble breath.	The body does not seem to have escaped gravitation but to be lifted by some lever or lean on a support.
A steady and sometimes dazzling irradiation of the body	Luminous manifestations rare; when present lack intensity and assume flickering forms.
Locality immaterial.	The séance room should be carefully accommodated.
Levitation in daylight, artificial light, or in darkness.	Darkness or semi-darkness usually required.
No alteration (unless it be a rising) of the ambient atmospheric temperature.	Frequent lowering of ambient atmospheric temperature.
Spontaneous ecstasy.	Induced trance.
No co-operation of those present.	Co-operation of sitters
Severe asceticism.	No asceticism.

While there is a certain resemblance between the phenomenon of levitation in the case of the medium and in that of the religious ecstatic, there are at the same time points of divergence sufficiently striking to warrant the conjecture that different forces are in operation in either case.

An examination of these differences, in fact, leads Monsieur Leroy to the formulation of the following alternative:

« Either levitation, despite contrary appearances, has nothing to do with its moral circumstances, or the phenomena experienced by mystics and mediums offer but a seeming analogy concealing essential differences, suggesting a different origin for each class of facts. »

The latter alternative would appear to be the more likely, and there can be little doubt that the severe asceticism and fervent devotion of the mystic call into play forces of a different order to those which are brought into action in the séance room. None but a Catholic, however, could agree with the reasoning of our author as expressed in the following argument:

« If levitation of the mediums is supposed to be something else than a subtle piece of trickery, a preternatural (but not miraculous) origin should be assigned to it.

The intervention of an intelligent entity in the levitations produced in mediumistic séances is (according to Mgr. Farges) an explanation that forces itself on the candid observer, for the phenomena will take place when those present ask, or simply express a mental desire for them.

And nothing but an intelligence is able to produce intelligent phenomena and draw physical effects from Nature by its command.

Now, these entities cannot be disembodied souls, because the spirits of the dead are unable (unless through a miracle) to have intercourse with the world of the living and to move matter.

Hence the levitation of the mediums, wherever it is not a cheat, is a diabolical achievement. »

(Sic!)

Although this kind of special pleading is admirably calculated to irritate that type of mind which is a slave to form, the intelligent searcher after truth, and especially the serious student of occultism, will be grateful for the work which Monsieur Leroy has done, and extend with readiness the indulgence for which he appeals in his preface.

He says:

« My attempt is not a final treatment, but a first clearing-up of the question, and I think I may claim not to be censured too harshly for the deficiencies of my information or the weakness of my method. . . . I made up my mind to publish this book, despite its short-comings, in the hope that it may serve as a basis and frame for a more important work, richer in facts, evidences, and suggestions. . . . I solicit criticism and shall be thankful for any suggested amendment. . . . »

~ * ~

The mission of Madame Blavatsky was to point out a secret Road — secret only because the attention of mankind is directed towards matters material rather than spiritual. She hints at the nature of the Goal — an apotheosis of humanity proclaimed by all the great spiritual teachers of the world.

She also taught that there is no religion higher than Truth. Every new fact of Nature, whether in the material or more subtle realms, every new examination and classification of the body of facts which we call Science, contributes towards the establishment of Truth.

Let Truth be sought wherever it may be found for “the Truth shall make you free.”

THE EDITOR.

Books

1. The Real H. P. Blavatsky. London: J. M. Watkins, 16s
2. Madame Blavatsky, by G. Baseden Butt. London: Rider & Co.
3. London ; Burns, Oates  & Washboume, Ltd., 10s. 6d.