On this subject, Franz Hartmann mentioned the following thing:
« Thus far I had been an enemy to spiritism
because I had been told that all the “spiritistic” phenomena were produced by
trickery and fraud. A believer in
spiritism was, to my mind, a long-haired crank with goggle eyes, who would see
the products of his own diseased imagination in the shape of ghosts in every
comer.
Nevertheless, my curiosity prompted me to study spiritism and there I
saw the most wonderful phenomena of tangible appearances and materializations
of ghosts, known as the spirits of Katie King and certain others.
I had occasion to witness the most interesting phenomena, fully
materialized ghosts became my almost daily companions, fresh seaweeds were
brought from the far distant ocean; I was myself levitated to the ceiling and
carried through the air; in short, all the now well-known spiritual phenomena
occurred under test conditions which left nothing to desire.
I was, and am of course still, a believer in these phenomena, for I
cannot “unknow” that which I have actually experienced and known as well as any
other fact in my daily life; but my experience with my friend Katie Wentworth
had already taught me that these “spirits” were not what they claimed to be was
clearly shown by the fact that, even within half an hour of that lady’s death,
pretended spirits of some of the most celebrated physicians that ever lived on
earth, came and made prescriptions for her and insisted that there was no danger.
And then I mention other cases:
First case
It is remarkable to what extent
certain credulous people will believe even the greatest nonsense if it comes
from the “other world.” A very prominent citizen of Vienna was told by the
spirits that he must spend 30,000 florins for the purpose of establishing a
factory for the manufacture of “planchettes,” so that the poor people might
obtain them at cost price.
He would have actually done so if
he had not been prevented by his family, who caused a legal guardian to be
appointed for him, although in every other respect he was quite reasonable.
Second case
When Baroness R began to have spiritistic séances with some of her friends, an intelligence purporting to be
the spirit of her childhood friend manifested and gave proofs
of his identity by speaking and acting in the same manner as when he was alive,
speaking of events that were known only to him and the Baroness;
But also this spirit now claimed
to live on Mars, describing life and the supposed inhabitants of this planet!
Third case
In Hamburg I was introduced into a society of “occultists,” counting
among its visitors persons of some distinction.
They had their “Masters,” which they held in great veneration, and these
“Masters” produced their phenomena and gave their communications through the
wife of the husband who owned the house where the circle met. This lady seemed
to be in a state of chronic obsession, often lying for weeks in a state of semi-trance,
during which she declared that her own spirit was absent and that the “Masters”
had taken possession of her.
The most remarkable phenomena took place at that house; noises, as if
cannon balls were being rolled over the wooden floor, were heard, and made the
walls shake; lights appeared at night so strong as to make the neighbors
believe that the house was on fire; handfuls of sand were thrown in the faces
of visitors, photographs of scenery of living and dead persons, elementals and
monsters were taken on plates without the use of a camera; but the most
astonishing phenomenon was the almost instantaneous traveling of living people
to long distances and through walls and closed windows, such as I have
described in my article on “Magical Metathesis” in the Occult Review,
July 1906.
What surprised me still more, was the fact that these spirits seemed to
be well acquainted with the contents of Madame Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine and other books on Theosophy, which those people
had never read, while on the other hand the communications received, which were
held very secret and sacred, being shown to only the very select, contained the
greatest vagaries, descriptions of the “realm of Pluto,” the infernal regions
within the interior of the earth, and the like.
These “Masters” not only directed the “spiritual progress” of their
disciples, but also their external affairs, and the disciples always acted
according to the orders received. The end was that the husband of that lady
first entirely neglected and finally gave up his business, and afterwards —
also “by order of the Masters” — sold his house at a great sacrifice. The
family were reduced to poverty and having become destitute they finally
abandoned their “occult research”.
Fourth case
Some of our readers will perhaps remember that a few years ago a dozen
students of Theosophy, being dissatisfied with the slow progress which they
were making in becoming spiritual, formed an “inner circle” at Budapest in
which they soon become witnesses of the most surprising phenomena. They had
materializations and the ghosts represented themselves to be the twelve apostles,
and each “apostle” accepted one of these students as his disciples.
All that had heretofore been taught by H. P. Blavatsky and the Indian
Sages was now by these apostles declared to be nonsense, self sacrifice and
asceticism made ridiculous, and contrary directions, enjoining strict secrecy,
were given.
Finally “Jesus Christ” himself appeared in person; they were ordered to
go to Madagascar and, being partly obsessed by these spooks, they actually went
there, expecting “further orders.” There they lived for a while in the swamps,
contrary to all the laws of hygiene, but soon one after another they fell
victims to the climate. Out of the twelve seven died and the rest returned,
perhaps wiser, but surely poorer men. »
(The
Occult Review, excepts from various articles)
And on this last case, Franz Hartmann detailed more about it in another
article:
« The unfortunate
remnants of that expedition that went to Madagascar in search of divine wisdom
and of which mention was made in the March number of the Occult Review, have
returned, infected with malaria poison, but certainly to a certain extent
wiser, if not better, men.
Their case is undoubtedly very
instructive, as it goes to prove that devils may parade in the garb of angels
and talk like saints. It shows how even
highly intelligent, but in metaphysical matters inexperienced, persons may be
easily misled by spiritual phenomena and astral delusions.
The following account is from one
of those who were fortunate enough to escape:
They were twelve persons,
Austrians, Germans and Hungarians, nine men, two ladies and one child, all of
them highly educated, some wealthy and one of them, Mr. B, well known in
Germany as a public speaker on theosophical subjects.
They met at the house of a well-known
spiritualist, Dr. R, at Budapest, who was himself clairaudient, while his wife
was in possession of clairvoyant powers, and both of them seem to have had the
elements necessary for the production of semi-materialized spectral forms.
Through the mediumship of those
persons they received the most unctuous and high-sounding sermons, in which
they were admonished that they must give up the world and devote themselves completely
to the service of God.
They were informed that they had
been chosen as the elect vessels for divine grace, and, being as such superior
to all mundane matters and relations, they must abandon all inferior things,
such as their parents and families, money and other worldly possessions, social
connections, business obligations, etc., and go to a place designated
hereafter, where they would be removed from the harmful influence of western
civilization and where they would find no obstacles to hinder their rapid
spiritual progress, but where further instructions would await them.
Moreover, these communicating
spirits were not of a common kind; they revealed themselves as the twelve
apostles, and each of these twelve apostles took one of those twelve seekers
for wisdom under his special care and protection and accepted him as his
disciple.
Mr. L thus became the favorite
disciple of St. Peter, Mr. K of St. Paul, Mr. B of St. John, and so forth, and
to make a climax the Lord Jesus Christ himself appeared in person and gave them
special advice. All the theosophical teachings, such as are contained in the
books of the ancient sages and rehearsed at the meetings of H. P. Blavatsky and
her followers, were now authoritatively declared to be rubbish and trash, and
the true doctrine was said to be found only within the ranks of the priesthood
of the Roman Catholic Church.
Incredible as it may appear,
those persons who heretofore considered it to be the object of their life to
spread the doctrine of liberty of thought and freedom of investigation now
believed it their duty to repudiate the truths which they had already grasped,
and they easily fell victims of those astral delusions, a circumstance which
can only be explained by the fact that they were completely hypnotized and
under the influence of a foreign will and suggestion.
Mr. K, having regained his normal
state of mind, assures me that when the letters written by him at that period
of time were shown to him after his return, he could not believe that he had
ever written such letters himself. We may, perhaps, wonder at the power of such
suggestions; but men easily believe things which they wish to be true,
especially if they are supposed to come from a higher plane.
Great is the power of vanity when
it takes possession of the human heart, and who would not be tickled at the
prospect of being taken under the special protection of a Mahatma, an apostle,
or even of the historical Christ?
Thus our friends were easily
persuaded that they had been exceptionally shown the one way of salvation for
their own respectable personalities, and they wanted to get all the benefits of
this favor for themselves.
They were ordered to go to
Madagascar, and they were only too willing to "give up their self-will”
and to obey. Moreover, they received orders to keep everything very secret, the
evident object being to prevent any one giving them contrary advice, or to
enlighten them in regard to the nature of the influences to which they
submitted.
These influences not only
manifested themselves through the senses of hearing and sight; but K assures me
that when he and his friends were sitting for meditation, they often distinctly
felt astral hands passing through their bodies and manipulating their internal
organs, kidneys and heart, as if these “apostles” intended, not only to reform
their mental qualities but also remodel their physical forms.
In addition to this they were
told that they were to become redeemers of the world, but that they must first
become redeemed themselves, before they could redeem others, and that for this
purpose they must give up all self-will and selfthought and implicitly obey
the instructions received from their invisible “guides” and unknown superiors.
The following is an extract from
one of the letters written by one of our deluded friends to his parents, and
goes to show the trap in which they were caught by these Jesuitical influences;
which are the more dangerous, because the views expressed therein are
undoubtedly correct, if properly understood; while if they are misunderstood,
as they naturally will be by those incapable of grasping their true meaning,
they will open the door to idiocy and insanity.
"My dear parents, brothers
and sisters,
“I have made up my mind to become
a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord and to abandon myself entirely to the
will of God for the purpose of saving my soul and to become a redeemer of
others. I have found the true way. It is
the way of giving up all worldly things, all personal possessions, powers,
knowledge, desires, hopes and aspirations, intentions and fears, and to surrender
myself entirely to God. Do not worry about me. I am in good care. When you
receive this letter I shall already be far away, and you will probably never
hear of my personality,” etc.
It may be asked: If any one
wishes to abandon his self-will entirely to God and trust himself entirely to
His guidance, why then should he exercise his own self-will for the purpose of
gratifying his selfish desire for personal advancement and spiritual
superiority, or become a blind tool for waylaying spirits and unknown
"masters,” whose real nature he does not know?
Can any one do the will of God, unless the will of God becomes manifest
in his own heart?
Heretofore our friends had been
addicted to a vegetable diet, abstained from alcoholic drinks and other
pleasures; but now the "masters” told them that all asceticism was
harmful, that it would be an exercise of self-will if they were to control
their nature, and that they were consequently at liberty to let their nature
have its own way.
It is clear that such teaching is
exceedingly pernicious; for although it is true that for the purpose of
obtaining true self-control we need the influence and assistance of the divine
power that comes to us from our higher self, to expect that God would drive
away our passions and overcome our lower nature without our consent, would be
the same as expecting God to become our servant and to fulfill the duties which
we are destined to accomplish ourselves.
To make the matter short, our
friends arrived at Antananarivo and there they exercised their self-will by
hiring a cottage, because God did not hire it for them. Leaving, however, everything, even the care
of their health, as much as possible to God, they lived in a way not at all
suitable to the climate of Madagascar and soon became the victims of swamp
fever. One of the party had the good
sense to escape with his wife and returned to Europe.
Mr. L died first, and Mr. B soon
after followed him to the grave; Dr. R became insane and died, and his wife
departed this life on board ship while returning to Europe with her child. The
rest of the emigrants returned to Europe, some of them with ruined health, and,
wonderful to relate, some even now, in spite of their experiences, not yet
cured of their illusions. There is also no doubt that if a similar opportunity
were offered again, there would be multitudes willing and anxious to go to
Madagascar and be led by the nose.
The explanation of such cases
seems clear to every one acquainted with the conditions existing on the
superterrestrial planes. There are not only the powers of light but also the
powers of darkness, endowed with intelligence and cunning for the purpose of
misleading mankind. All the mystics and occultists speak of these “powers of
the air” (inhabitants of the astral plane), and Lord Lytton describes some of
them in his Zattoni as being possessed of extreme malice.
They are naturally opposed to the
spiritual evolution of humanity, and it is not improbable that they should be
highly inimical to the "theosophical movement” and try all means to ruin those
who are prominently active in the spreading of theosophical teachings.
Moreover, the above cited case is
by no means a solitary example. From certain sects in Russia who delight in
mutilating themselves “for the greater glory of God,” down to the latest
outgrowths of so-called “Christian Science,” where attempts are made to drag
divine powers down and debase them for the purpose of serving material and
selfish purposes, the world is full of sectarian bodies and secret societies in
which intelligent and well-meaning, but in spiritual things ignorant, persons
are unconsciously under the dominion of the powers of darkness and misled by
astral delusions.
The door through which these
powers find entrance into the human mind is personal vanity, and many of the
best public speakers and leaders of progressive thought have already fallen
victims to it, while others are about to follow.
The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be
obtained by dragging it down to earth, we must rise up to it, if we wish to
enter it; darkness cannot come into possession of light; but when the light
becomes manifest, darkness must disappear. Selfishness and spirituality are
incompatible, and if we desire to obtain some particular favor for ourselves,
such a motive is selfish, even if we wish that the good things expected should
also be shared by our friends.
Paracelsus says:
-
“He who asks of God
some service for himself or his friends, loves himself or his friends better
than God. He is like the peasant who loves his cow only on account of the milk
he receives from her, and if he were to receive no milk he would not care for
the cow.”
Where the seed of selfishness is
hidden within the fruit, there putrefaction begins. "Self” cannot overcome
“self”; this can only be done through the power of the Divinity in man which
belongs to the real self, and the consciousness of the real self begins only
where the illusion of “self” with all its selfish desires sinks into forgetfulness.
But this doctrine is difficult to
understand for those who have not yet learned to distinguish within their
hearts between the eternal reality and the temporal illusion of self. This may
also be expressed in other words by saying:
-
"The realization
of divine truth can take place within the heart and mind only by the grace and
the light of God.”
Without the arising of this
interior light nothing can be accomplished in a spiritual way and therefore the
saintly Thomas and Kempis truly says:
-
“There is nothing
real in this world except the love of God (the light of truth in the soul).”
There are numerous would-be
seekers of truth, who, having obtained a glimpse of the light of wisdom,
imagine themselves to be the possessors of all of it and suppose themselves to
be called upon to reform the world.
Being, perhaps, in possession of
eloquence, they are soon surrounded by flatterers and admiring crowds. Then
enters the devil of vanity, ambition and love of power, and is followed by
jealousy, envy, intolerance and sectarian quarrels, and the higher they have
risen, the deeper will be their fall. »
(Occult
Review, November 1907, p.254-258)
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