The Astral Body Part - I

7/25/2019 The Astral Body Part - I

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THE ASTRAL BODYAND OTHER ASTRAL PHENOMENA

by Arthur A. Powell

The Theosophical Publishing House, London, England; Wheaton,Ill, U..A.; Adyar,

!hennai, India

Published in "#$%, reprinted in "#&' and "#(&

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)y the sa*e Author in this seriesThe Etheric +oubleThe ental )odyThe !ausal )ody

The olar yste*

+E+I!ATI-

This boo/ is dedicated with gratitude and appreciation to all those whose painsta/inglabour

and researches ha0e pro0ided the *aterials out o1 which it has been co*piled

2To /now *an is to /now 3od.To /now 3od is to /now *an.

To study the uni0erse is to learn both 3od and *an;1or the uni0erse is the e4pression o1 the +i0ine Thought,

and the uni0erse is *irrored in *an.5nowledge is necessary i1 the EL6 would beco*e 1ree

and /now Itsel1 as Itsel1 alone.2Annie )esant

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Table of ontents

Introduction..........................................................................................................................7!hapter I 3eneral +escription.............................................................................................#!hapter $ !o*position And tructure...............................................................................""

!hapter 8 !olours.............................................................................................................."(!hapter ' 6unctions...........................................................................................................$'!hapter & !ha/ra*s..........................................................................................................89!hapter ( 5undalini...........................................................................................................8&!hapter % Thought:6or*s..................................................................................................87!hapter 7 Physical Li1e.....................................................................................................&$!hapter # leep:Li1e..........................................................................................................('!hapter "9 +rea*s............................................................................................................%"!hapter # !ontinuity o1 !onsciousness.............................................................................%7!hapter "$ +eath and the +esire:Ele*ental.....................................................................79!hapter "8 A1ter:+eath Li1e Principles............................................................................78

!hapter "' The A1ter:+eath Li1e Particulars....................................................................77

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ONTENTS

HAPTER PA!E

"ntro#$ction %"""1 !eneral Descri&tion 1

2 o'&osition an# Str$ct$re (

) olo$rs 11

( *$nctions 2)

+ hakra's )1

, -$n#alini ).

/ Tho$0ht *or's ()

. Phsical Life ,(

Slee&3Life .2

14 Drea's )11 ontin$it of onscio$sness 14(

12 Death an# the Desire3Ele'ental 14/

1) After3Death Life 5 Princi&les 112

1( After3Death Life 5 Partic$lars 124

lick on this line for the follo6in0 cha&ters

1+ After3Death Life 7 S&ecial ases 1).

1, The Astral Plane 1(,

1/Miscellaneo$s AstralPheno'ena

1+/

1. The *o$rth Di'ension 1,)

1 Astral Entities 5 H$'an 1,.

24 Astral Entities 5 Non3H$'an 1/,

21 Astral Entities 5 Artificial 14

22 S&irit$alis' 1(

2) Astral Death 24,

2( Re3Birth 24

2+ The Master of E'otion 21+

2, De8elo&'ent of Astral Po6ers 22(

2/ lair8oance in S&ace an# Ti'e 2)(2. "n8isible Hel&ers 2).

2 Disci&leshi& 2+2

)4 oncl$sion 2+.

"n#e9 2,1

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http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#composition%23composition

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#colours%23colours

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#functions%23functions

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#chakrams%23chakrams

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#kundalini%23kundalini

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#thought%23thought

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#physical%23physical

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#sleep%23sleep

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#dreams%23dreams

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#continuity%23continuity

http://www.theosophical.ca/AstralBodyByPowell-A.htm#death%23death

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AUTH-< =U-TE+

Ancient :is#o' Besant; Annie 1./ A :

Astral Plane Lea#beater; <:< 114 A P

han0in0 :orl# Besant; Annie 14 :lair8oance Lea#beater; <:< 14.

ro6# in Peace an# :ar on6a; Sir Martin 11+ P :

Death an# After Besant; Annie 141 D A

Drea's Lea#beater; <:< 14) D

Hi##en Si#e of Thin0s 3=ol<1 Lea#beater; <:< 11) H S "

Hi##en Si#e of Thin0s 3=ol<2 Lea#beater; <:< 11) H S ""

"nner Life 3=ol< 1 Lea#beater; <:< 114 " L 1

"nner Life 3=ol< 2 Lea#beater; <:< 111 " L 2

"ntro#$ction to Yo0a Besant; Annie 14. " Y

"n8isible Hel&ers Lea#beater; <:< 111 " H

-ar'a Besant; Annie 1./ -

-e to Theoso&h Bla8atsk; H<P< 1.) - T

La6 of Pschic Pheno'ena H$#son; T<>< 14+ L P P

Life after Death Lea#beater; <:< 112 L A D

Lon#on Lect$res 14/ Besant; Annie 14/ L L

Man an# His Bo#ies Besant; Annie 144 M B

Man =isible an# "n8isible Lea#beater; <:. 142 M = "

Masters an# the Path Lea#beater; <:< 12+ M P

Mona# Lea#beater; <:< 124 M

Occ$lt he'istrBesant; A< ?Lea#beater; <:<

11 O

Occ$lt :orl# Sinnett; A<P< 14, O :

Other Si#e of Death Lea#beater; <:< 14( O S D

Reincarnation Besant; Annie 1.. R

Science of the E'otions Bha0a8an Das 144 S E

Secret Doctrine 3 =ol< 1 Bla8atsk; H<P< 14+ S D "

Secret Doctrine 3 =ol< 2 Bla8atsk; H<P< 14+ S D ""

Secret Doctrine 3 =ol< ) Bla8atsk; H<P< 1./ S D """

Self an# its Sheaths Besant; Annie 14) S S

Se8en Princi&les of Man Besant; Annie 14( S P

Se8en Ras :oo#; Ernest 12+ S R

So'e !li'&ses of Occ$ltis' Lea#beater; <:< 14 S ! O

So'e Occ$lt E9&eriences =an Manen; >< 11) S O E

St$# in onscio$sness Besant; Annie 14( S

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Te9tbook of Theoso&h Lea#beater; <:< 11( T B

Theoso&h an# the Ne6 Pscholo0 Besant; Annie 14 T N P

Tho$0ht *or'sBesant; A< ?Lea#beater; <:<

14+ T *

Tho$0ht Po6er5 "ts ontrol an# $lt$re Besant; Annie 14) T P

N<B< "n a fe6 cases; 6here the $ns$&&orte# o&inionsof the co'&iler are 0i8en; the are in#icate# bletters

Po6ell; A<E< A<E<P<

P@BL"SHERS PRE*AE

THE author>s purpose in co*piling the boo/s in this series was to sa0e students *uchti*e and labour by pro0iding a condensed synthesis o1 the considerable literature on the

respecti0e sub?ects o1 each 0olu*e, co*ing *ostly 1ro* the pens o1 Annie )esant and !.W. Leadbeater. The acco*panying list shows the large nu*ber o1 boo/s 1ro* which hedrew. o 1ar as possible, the *ethod adopted was to e4plain the 1or* side 1irst, be1ore theli1e side to describe the ob?ecti0e *echanis* o1 pheno*ena and then the acti0ities o1 consciousness that are e4pressed through the *echanis*. There is no atte*pt to pro0e or e0en ?usti1y any o1 the state*ents. arginal re1erences gi0e opportunity to re1er to thesources.

The wor/s o1 H. P. )la0ats/y were not used because the author said that the necessaryresearch in The ecret +octrine and other writings would ha0e been too 0ast a tas/ 1or hi* to underta/e. He added 2The debt to H. P. )la0ats/y is greater than could e0er be

indicated by @uotations 1ro* her *onu*ental 0olu*es. Had she not shown the way in the1irst instance, later in0estigators *ight ne0er ha0e 1ound the trail at all.2

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"ntro#$ctionTHE purpose o1 this boo/ is to present to the student o1 Theosophy a condensed synthesis

o1 the in1or*ation at present a0ailable concerning the Astral )ody o1 *an, together witha description and e4planation o1 the astral world and its pheno*ena. The boo/ is thus anatural se@uel o1 The Etheric +ouble and Allied Pheno*ena published in "#$&.

As in the case o1 The Etheric +ouble, the co*piler has consolidated the in1or*ationobtained 1ro* a large nu*ber o1 boo/s, a list o1 which is gi0en, arranging the *aterial,which co0ers a 0ast 1ield and is e4ceedingly co*ple4, as *ethodically as lay within his power. It is hoped that by this *eans present and 1uture students o1 the sub?ect will besa0ed *uch labour and research, being able not only to 1ind the in1or*ation they re@uire presented in a co*parati0ely s*all co*pass, but also, with the help o1 the *arginalre1erences, to re1er, should they so desire, to the original sources o1 in1or*ation.

In order that the boo/ *ay 1ul1ill its purpose by being /ept within reasonable di*ensions,the general plan 1ollowed has been to e4pound the principles underlying astral pheno*ena, o*itting particular e4a*ples or instances. Lecturers and others who wishspeci1ic illustrations o1 the principles enunciated, will 1ind the *arginal re1erences use1ulas a clue to the places where the e4a*ples they see/ *ay be 1ound.

Again, so 1ar as the co*ple4ities and ra*i1ications o1 the sub?ect per*it, the *ethod has been to e4plain the form side 1irst, be1ore the life side i.e., to describe 1irst the ob?ecti0e*echanis* o1 pheno*ena, and then the acti0ities o1 consciousness which are e4pressedthrough that *echanis*. The care1ul student, bearing this in Pa0e 9i8 C *ind, will thus

recognise *any passages, which at 1irst glance *ight appear to be repetiti0e, in which thesa*e pheno*enon is described 1irst 1ro* the point o1 0iew o1 the outer *aterial 1or* andthen again later 1ro* the point o1 0iew o1 the spirit or consciousness.

It is hoped that the present 0olu*e *ay be 1ollowed by si*ilar ones dealing with *an>sental and !ausal bodies, thus co*pleting the consolidation o1 all in1or*ation so 1ar a0ailable regarding *an>s constitution up to the !ausal or Higher ental le0el.

There is today a great deal o1 in1or*ation on these and si*ilar sub?ects, but it is 1or the*ost part scattered o0er large nu*bers o1 boo/s. In order, there1ore, to *a/e the whole o1 it a0ailable 1or the student, whose ti*e 1or intensi0e study is li*ited, such boo/s as the

present is intended to be, are in the writer>s opinionB urgently needed. 2 The proper studyo1 *an/ind is *an 2 and the sub?ect is so 0ast, so absorbing, and so i*portant thate0erything possible should be done to *a/e readily accessible to all who thirst 1or such/nowledge the whole o1 the in1or*ation which has so 1ar been accu*ulated.

Arthur E.Powell

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ha&ter " !eneral Descri&tionPa0e 1C )E6-<E proceeding to a detailed study o1 the astral body, and o1 pheno*enaassociated with it, it *ay be use1ul to lay be1ore the student a brie1 outline o1 the ground

it is proposed to co0er, in order to gi0e in proper perspecti0e a 0iew o1 the whole sub?ectand o1 the relati0e dependence o1 its se0eral parts.

)rie1ly, the astral body o1 *an is a 0ehicle, to clair0oyant sight not unli/e the physical body, surrounded by an aura o1 1lashing colours, co*posed o1 *atter o1 an order o1 1ineness higher than that o1 physical *atter, in which 1eelings, passions, desires ande*otions are e4pressed and which acts as a bridge or *ediu* o1 trans*ission betweenthe physical brain and the *ind, the latter operating in the still higher 0ehicle C the*ind:body.

While e0ery *an possesses and uses an astral body, co*parati0ely 1ew are conscious o1

its e4istence or can control and 1unction in it in 1ull consciousness. In the case o1 largenu*bers o1 persons it is scarcely *ore than an inchoate *ass o1 astral *atter, the*o0e*ents and acti0ities o1 which are little under the control o1 the *an hi*sel1CtheEgo. With others, howe0er, the astral body is a well:de0eloped and thoroughly organised0ehicle, possessing a li1e o1 its own and con1erring on its owner *any and use1ul powers.

+uring the sleep o1 the physical body, an unde0eloped *an leads a drea*y, 0aguee4istence, in his relati0ely pri*iti0e astral body, re*e*bering little or nothing Pa0e 2C o1 his sleep:li1e when he re:awa/ens in his physical body.

In the case o1 a de0eloped *an, howe0er, the li1e in the astral body, whilst the physical

body is wrapped in slu*ber, is acti0e, interesting and use1ul, and the *e*ory o1 it *ay,under certain conditions, be brought down into the physical brain. The li1e o1 such a *anceases to be a series o1 days o1 consciousness and nights o1 obli0ion, beco*ing instead acontinuous li1e o1 unbro/en consciousness, alternating between the physical and the astral planes or worlds.

-ne o1 the 1irst things a *an learns to do in his astral body is to tra0el in it, it being possible 1or the astral body to *o0e, with great rapidity, and to great distances 1ro* thesleeping physical body. An understanding o1 this pheno*enon throws *uch light on alarge nu*ber o1 so:called 2occult 2 pheno*ena, such as 2 apparitions 2 o1 *any /inds,/nowledge o1 places ne0er 0isited physically, etc.

The astral body being par excellence the 0ehicle o1 1eelings and e*otions, anunderstanding o1 its co*position and o1 the ways in which it operates is o1 considerable0alue in understanding *any aspects o1 *an>s psychology, both indi0idual and collecti0e,and also pro0ides a si*ple e4planation o1 the *echanis* o1 *any pheno*ena re0ealed by *odern psycho:analysis.

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A clear understanding o1 the structure and nature o1 the astral body, o1 its possibilities andits li*itations, is essential to a co*prehension o1 the li1e into which *en pass a1ter physical death. The *any /inds o1 2 hea0ens2, 2 hells 2 and purgatorial e4istences belie0ed in by 1ollowers o1 innu*erable religions, all 1all naturally into place and beco*eintelligible as soon as we understand the nature o1 the astral body and o1 the astral world.

A study o1 the astral body will be o1 assistance also in our understanding o1 *any o1 the pheno*ena o1 the sDance roo* and o1 certain psychic or non:physical *ethods o1 healingdisease. Those who are interested Pa0e )C in what is ter*ed the 1ourth di*ension will 1indalso a con1ir*ation o1 *any o1 the theories which ha0e been 1or*ulated by *eans o1 geo*etry and *athe*atics, in a study o1 astral world pheno*ena, as described by thosewho ha0e obser0ed the*.

A study o1 the astral body o1 *an thus ta/es us 1ar a1ield and e4pands enor*ously aconception o1 li1e based solely on the physical world and the purely physical senses. Aswe proceed, we shall see that the physical senses, in0aluable as they are, by no *eans

represent the li*it o1 what *an>s 0ehicles *ay teach hi* o1 the worlds in which he li0es.The awa/ening into 1unctioning acti0ity o1 astral 1aculties re0eals a new world within theold world and, when a *an beco*es able to read aright its signi1icance, he will obtainsuch an e4panded 0iew o1 his own li1e, and all nature, as will re0eal to hi* the al*ostli*itless possibilities latent in *an. 6ro* this, sooner or later but ine0itably, there willco*e the i*pulse, and later the unsha/able deter*ination, to *aster these worlds, andhi*sel1, to rise superior to his earthly destiny, and to beco*e an intelligent co:operator with what has been aptly ter*ed the upre*e Will in E0olution.

We will now proceed to study, in detail, the astral body and *any astral pheno*ena Pa0e(C

#



ha&ter 2 o'&osition An# Str$ct$reAT<AL *atter e4ists in se0en grades or orders o1 1ineness, corresponding to the se0en

grades o1 physical *atter, which are solid, li@uid, gaseous, etheric, super:etheric, sub:ato*ic and ato*ic. o na*es 1or these astral states, howe0er, ha0ing so 1ar been de0ised,it is usual to describe the*, either by the nu*ber o1 the grade or sub:plane, the 1inest being u*ber ", the coarsest u*ber %, or by the corresponding physical grade. E.g., wespea/ o1 astral solid *atter, *eaning thereby the se0enth or lowest 0ariety astral etheric*atter, *eaning the 1ourth 1ro* the 1inest and so on.

Astral *atter, being *uch 1iner than physical *atter, interpenetrates it. E0ery physicalato*, there1ore, 1loats in a sea o1 astral *atter, which surrounds it and 1ills e0eryinterstice in physical *atter. It is o1 course, well /nown that e0en in the hardest substanceno two ato*s e0er touch one another, the space between two ad?acent ato*s being in 1act

enor*ously larger than the ato*s the*sel0es. -rthodo4 physical science long ago has posited an ether which interpenetrates all /nown substances, the densest solid as well asthe *ost rare1ied gas; and ?ust as this ether *o0es with per1ect 1reedo* between the particles o1 densest *atter, so does astral *atter interpenetrate it in turn, and *o0es with per1ect 1reedo* a*ong its particles. Thus a being li0ing in the astral world *ight beoccupying the sa*e space as a being li0ing in the physical world ; yet each would beentirely unconscious o1 the other, and would in no way i*pede the 1ree *o0e*ent o1 theother. The student should thoroughly 1a*iliarise hi*sel1 with this 1unda*entalconception, Pa0e +C as, without grasping it clearly, it is not possible to understand largenu*bers o1 astral pheno*ena.

The principle o1 interpenetration *a/es it clear that the di11erent real*s o1 nature are notseparated in space, but e4ist about us here and now, so that to percei0e and in0estigatethe* no *o0e*ent in space is necessary, but only an opening within oursel0es o1 thesenses by *eans o1 which they can be percei0ed.

The astral world, or plane, is thus a condition o1 nature, rather than a locality.

It *ust be noted that a physical ato* cannot be directly bro/en up into astral ato*s. I1 the1orce which whirls the appro4i*atelyB 1ourteen thousand *illion 2 bubbles in /oilon 2into an ulti*ate physical ato* be pressed bac/ by an e11ort o1 will o0er the threshold o1 the astral plane, the ato* disappears, releasing the 2 bubbles.2 The sa*e 1orce, wor/ing

then on a higher le0el, e4presses itsel1, not through one astral ato*, but through a groupo1 1orty:nine such ato*s.

A si*ilar relationship, represented by the nu*ber '#, e4ists between the ato*s o1 anytwo other contiguous planes o1 nature thus an astral ato* contains '#& or $7$,'%&,$'# 2 bubbles,2 a *ental ato*, '#' bubbles, and so on.

"9



There is reason to belie0e that electrons are astral ato*s. Physicists state that a che*icalato* o1 hydrogen contains probably 1ro* %99 to "999 electrons. -ccult research assertsthat a che*ical ato* o1 hydrogen contains 77$ astral ato*s. This *ay be a coincidence, but that does not see* probable.

It should be noted that ulti*ate physical ato*s c are o1 two /inds, *ale and 1e*ale inthe *ale, 1orce pours in 1ro* the astral world, passes through the ato* and out into the physical world in the 1e*ale, 1orce passes in 1ro* the physical world, through the ato*,and out into the astral world, thus 0anishing 1ro* the physical world.

Astral *atter corresponds with curious accuracy to Pa0e ,C the physical *atter which itinterpenetrates, each 0ariety o1 physical *atter attracting astral *atter o1 correspondingdensity. Thus solid physical *atter is interpenetrated by what we call solid astral *atterli@uid physical by li@uid astral, i.e., by *atter o1 the si4th sub:plane and si*ilarly withgaseous and the 1our grades o1 etheric *atter, each o1 which is interpenetrated by thecorresponding grade o1 astral *atter.

Precisely as it is necessary that the physical body should contain within its constitution physical *atter in all its conditions, solid, li@uid, gaseous and etheric, so it isindispensable that the astral body should contain particles o1 all the se0en astral sub: planes, though, o1 course, the proportions *ay 0ary greatly in di11erent cases.

The astral body o1 *an thus being co*posed o1 *atter o1 all se0en grades, it is possible1or hi* to e4perience all 0arieties o1 desire to the 1ullest possible e4tent, the highest aswell as the lowest.

It is the peculiar type o1 response possessed by astral *atter which enables the astral

*atter to ser0e as the sheath in which the el1 can gain e4perience o1 sensation.

In addition to the ordinary *atter o1 the astral plane, that which is /nown as the ThirdEle*ental 5ingdo*, or si*ply as the Ele*ental Essence o1 the astral plane, also enterslargely into the co*position o1 *an>s astral body, and 1or*s what is called the 2 +esire:Ele*ental,2 which we shall deal with *ore 1ully in later chapters.

Astral ele*ental essence consists o1 *atter o1 the si4 lower le0els o1 the astral plane,0i0i1ied by the econd -utpouring, 1ro* the econd Person o1 the Trinity. Astral *atter o1 the highest or ato*ic le0el, si*ilarly 0i0i1ied, is /nown as onadic Essence.

In an unde0eloped *an, the astral body is a cloudy, loosely organised, 0aguely outlined*ass o1 astral *atter, with a great predo*inance o1 substances 1ro* the lower grades; itis gross, dar/ in colour, and dense C o1ten so dense that the outline o1 the physical Pa0e/C body is al*ost lost in it C and is thus 1itted to respond to sti*uli connected with the passions and appetites. In sie, it e4tends in all directions about ten or twel0e inches beyond the physical body.

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In an a0erage *oral and intellectual *an the astral body is considerably larger, e4tendingabout "7 inches on each side o1 the body, its *aterials are *ore balanced and 1iner in@uality, the presence o1 the rarer /inds gi0ing a certain lu*inous @uality to the whole, andits outline is clear and de1inite.

In the case o1 a spiritually de0eloped *an the astral body is still larger in sie and isco*posed o1 the 1inest particles o1 each grade o1 astral *atter, the higher largely predo*inating.

There is so *uch to be said regarding the colours o1 astral bodies that the sub?ect isreser0ed 1or a separate chapter. Here, howe0er, it *ay be stated that in unde0eloped typesthe colours are coarse and *uddy, gradually beco*ing *ore and *ore lu*inous as the*an de0elops e*otionally, *entally and spiritually. The 0ery na*e 2 astral,2 inherited1ro* *ediae0al alche*ists, signi1ies 2 starry,2 being intended to allude to the lu*inousappearance o1 astral *atter.

As already said, the astral body o1 a *an not only per*eates the physical body, but alsoe4tends around it in e0ery direction li/e a cloud.

That portion o1 the astral body which e4tends beyond the li*its o1 the physical body isusually ter*ed the astral 2aura.2

Intense 1eeling *eans a large aura. It *ay here be *entioned that increased sie o1 theaura is a prere@uisite 1or Initiation, and the 2 =uali1ications2 should be 0isible in it. Theaura naturally increases with each Initiation. The aura o1 the )uddha is said to ha0e beenthree *iles in radius.

The *atter o1 the physical body ha0ing a 0ery strong attraction 1or the *atter o1 the astral body, it 1ollows that by 1ar the greater portion about ## per cent.B o1 the astral particlesare co*pressed within the periphery o1 the physical body, only the re*aining Pa0e .C " per cent, 1illing the rest o1 the o0oid and 1or*ing the aura.

The central portion o1 the astral body thus ta/es the e4act 1or* o1 the physical body andis, in 1act, 0ery solid and de1inite, and @uite clearly distinguishable 1ro* the surroundingaura. It is usually ter*ed the astral counterpart o1 the physical body. The e4actcorrespondence o1 the astral body with the physical, howe0er, is *erely a *atter o1 e4ternal 1or*, and does not at all in0ol0e any si*ilarity o1 1unction in the 0arious organs,as we shall see *ore 1ully in the chapter on !ha/ra*s.

ot only *an>s physical body, but e0erything physical, has its corresponding order o1 astral *atter in constant association with it, not to be separated 1ro* it e4cept by a 0eryconsiderable e4ertion o1 occult 1orce, and e0en then only to be held apart 1ro* it as longas 1orce is being de1initely e4erted to that end. In other words, e0ery physical ob?ect hasits astral counterpart. )ut as the astral particles are constantly *o0ing a*ong one another as easily as those o1 a physical li@uid, there is no per*anent association between any one

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physical particle and that a*ount o1 astral *atter which happens at any gi0en *o*ent to be acting as its counterpart.

Usually the astral portion o1 an ob?ect pro?ects so*ewhat beyond the physical part o1 it,so that *etals, stones, etc., are seen surrounded by an astral aura.

I1 so*e part o1 a *an>s physical body be re*o0ed, e.g., by a*putation, the coherence o1 the li0ing astral *atter is stronger than its attraction towards the se0ered portion o1 the physical. !onse@uently the astral counterpart o1 the li*b will not be carried away withthe se0ered physical li*b. ince the astral *atter has ac@uired the habit o1 /eeping that particular 1or*, it will continue to retain the original shape, but will soon withdrawwithin the li*its o1 the *ai*ed 1or*. The sa*e pheno*enon ta/es place in the case o1 atree 1ro* which a branch has been se0ered. Pa0e C

In the case o1 an inani*ate body, howe0er, such as a chair or a basin, there is not thesa*e /ind o1 indi0idual li1e to *aintain cohesion. !onse@uently, when the physical ob?ect

is bro/en the astral counterpart would also be di0ided.

=uite apart 1ro* the se0en grades o1 *atter, arranged in order o1 1ineness, there is also atotally distinct classi1ication o1 astral *atter, according to its type. In Theosophicalliterature the degree o1 1ineness is usually designated the horizontal di0ision, and the typethe vertical di0ision. The types, o1 which there are se0en, are as thoroughly inter*ingledas are the constituents o1 the at*osphere, and in e0ery astral body there is *atter o1 allse0en types, the proportion between the* showing the disposition o1 the *an, whether he be de0otional or philosophic, artistic or scienti1ic, prag*atic or *ystic.

The whole o1 the astral portion o1 our earth and o1 the physical planets, together with the

purely astral planets o1 our yste*, *a/e up collecti0ely the astral body o1 the olar Logos, thus showing that the old pantheistic conception was a true one.

i*ilarly each o1 the se0en types o1 astral *atter is to so*e e4tent, regarded as a whole, aseparate 0ehicle, and *ay be thought o1 as also the astral body o1 a subsidiary +eity or inister, who is at the sa*e ti*e an aspect o1 the +eity, a /ind o1 ganglion or 1orce:centre in Hi*. Hence the slightest thought, *o0e*ent or alteration o1 any /ind in thesubsidiary +eity is instantly re1lected in so*e way or other in all the *atter o1 thecorresponding type. uch psychic changes occur periodically perhaps they correspond toin:breathing and out:breathing, or to the beating o1 the heart with us on the physical plane. It has been obser0ed that the *o0e*ents o1 the physical planets 1urnish a clue to

the operation o1 the in1luences 1lowing 1ro* these changes hence the rationale o1 astrological science. Hence, 1urther, any such alteration *ust to so*e e4tent a11ect each*an, in proportion to the a*ount o1 that type o1 *atter which he Pa0e 14C possesses in hisastral body. Thus, one change would a11ect the e*otions, or the *ind, or both, another *ight intensi1y ner0ous e4cite*ent and irritability, and so on. It is this proportion whichdeter*ines in each *an, ani*al, plant or *ineral certain 1unda*ental characteristicswhich ne0er change C so*eti*es called his note, colour, or ray.

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To pursue this interesting line o1 thought 1urther would ta/e us beyond the scope o1 this boo/, so the student is re1erred to The Hidden Side of Things, Fol. I, pp. '8:&7.

There are se0en sub:types in each type, *a/ing 1orty:nine sub:types in all.

The type or ray is per*anent through the whole planetary sche*e, so that an ele*entalessence see p. (B o1 type A will in due course ensoul *inerals, plants and ani*als o1 typeA, and 1ro* it will e*erge also hu*an beings o1 the sa*e type.

The astral body slowly but constantly wears away, precisely as does the physical, but,instead o1 the process o1 eating and digesting 1ood, the particles which 1all away arereplaced by others 1ro* the surrounding at*osphere. e0ertheless, the 1eeling o1 indi0iduality is co**unicated to the new particles as they enter, and also the ele*entalessence included with each *an>s astral body undoubtedly 1eels itsel1 a /ind o1 entity, andacts accordingly 1or what i1 considers its own interests.Pa0e 11C

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ha&ter ) olo$rs

To clair0oyant sight one o1 the principal 1eatures o1 an astral body consists o1 the colourswhich are constantly playing through it, these colours corresponding to, and being thee4pression in astral *atter o1 1eelings, passions and e*otions.

All /nown colours, and *any which are at present un/nown to us, e4ist upon each o1 thehigher planes o1 nature, but as we rise 1ro* one stage to another they beco*e *oredelicate and *ore lu*inous, so that they *ay be described as higher octa0es o1 colour. Asit is not possible to portray these octa0es physically on paper, the abo0e 1acts should be borne in *ind when considering the coloured illustrations o1 the astral body which arere1erred to below.

The 1ollowing is a list o1 the principal colours and the e*otions o1 which they are ane4pressionC

Black in thic/ clouds hatred and *alice.

Red deep red 1lashes, usually on a blac/ ground anger.

A scarlet cloud irritability.

Brilliant scarlet on the ordinary bac/ground o1 the aura 2 noble indignation2.

Lurid and sanguinary red un*ista/able, though not easy to describe sensuality.

Bron!grey dull, hard brown:grey sel1ishness one o1 the co**onest colours in theastral body.

Bron!red dull, al*ost rust:colour a0arice, usually arranged in parallel bars across theastral body.

"reenish!#ron lit up by deep red or scarlet 1lashes ?ealousy. In the case o1 an ordinary*an there is usually *uch o1 this colour present when he is 2in lo0e2. Pa0e 12C

"rey hea0y, leaden depression. Li/e the brown:red o1 a0arice, arranged in parallellines, con0eying the i*pression o1 a cage.

"rey$ livid a hideous and 1right1ul hue 1ear.

%rimson dull and hea0y sel1ish lo0e.

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Rose!colour unsel1ish lo0e. When e4ceptionally brilliant, tinged with lilac spiritual lo0e1or hu*anity.

&range pride or a*bition. -1ten 1ound with irritability.

'ello intellect 0aries 1ro* a deep and dull tint, through brilliant gold, to clear andlu*inous le*on or pri*rose yellow. (ull yello ochre i*plies the direction o1 1aculty tosel1ish purposes clear gam#oge indicates a distinctly higher type; primrose yello

denotes intellect de0oted to spiritual ends; gold indicates pure intellect applied to philosophy or *athe*atics.

"reen in general, 0aries greatly in its signi1icance, and needs study to be interpretedcorrectly *ostly it indicates adaptability. "rey!green, sli*y in appearance deceit andcunning. )merald green 0ersatility, ingenuity and resource1ulness, applied unsel1ishly. *ale$ luminous #lue!green deep sy*pathy and co*passion, with the power o1 per1ectadaptability which only they can gi0e. Bright apple!green see*s always to acco*pany

strong 0itality.

Blue dar/ and clear religious 1eeling. It is liable to be tinted by *any other @ualities,thus beco*ing any shade 1ro* indigo or a rich deep 0iolet to *uddy grey:blue. Light!

#lue, such as ultra*arine or cobalt de0otion to a noble spiritual ideal. A tint o1 violet

indicates a *i4ture o1 a11ection and de0otion. Luminous lilac!#lue, usually acco*panied by spar/ling golden stars the higher spirituality, with lo1ty spiritual aspirations.

+ltra!violet higher and purer de0elop*ents o1 psychic 1aculties.

+ltra!red lower psychic 1aculties o1 one who dabbles in e0il and sel1ish 1or*s o1 *agic.

Goy shows itsel1 in a general brightening and radiancy Pa0e 1)C o1 both *ental and astral bodies, and in a peculiar rippling o1 the sur1ace o1 the body. !heer1ulness shows itsel1 ina *odi1ied bubbling 1or* o1 this, and also in a steady serenity.

urprise is shown by a sharp constriction o1 the *ental body, usually co**unicated to both the astral and physical bodies, acco*panied by an increased glow o1 the band o1 a11ection i1 the surprise is a pleasant one, and by an increase o1 brown and grey i1 thesurprise is an unpleasant one. The constriction o1ten causes unpleasant 1eelings, a11ectingso*eti*es the solar ple4us, resulting in sin/ing and sic/ness, and so*eti*es the heartcentre, causing palpitation and e0en death.

It will be understood that, as hu*an e*otions are hardly e0er un*i4ed, so these coloursare seldo* per1ectly pure, but *ore usually *i4tures. Thus the purity o1 *any colours isdi**ed by the hard brown:grey o1 sel1ishness, or tinged with the deep orange o1 pride.

In reading the 1ull *eaning o1 colours, other points ha0e also to be ta/en intoconsideration 0i., the general brilliance o1 the astral body the co*parati0e de1initenessor inde1initeness o1 its outline the relati0e brightness o1 the di11erent centres o1 1orce see

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!hapter &B.The yellow o1 intellect, the rose o1 a11ection, and the blue o1 de0otion arealways 1ound in the upper part o1 the astral body the colours o1 sel1ishness, a0arice,deceit and hatred are in the lower part the *ass o1 sensual 1eeling 1loats usually betweenthe two.

6ro* this it 1ollows that in the unde0eloped *an the lower portion o1 the o0oid tends to be larger than the upper, so that the astral body has the appearance o1 an egg with thes*all end upper*ost. In the *ore de0eloped *an the re0erse is the case, the s*all end o1 the egg pointing downwards. The tendency always is 1or the sy**etry o1 the o0oid to re:assert itsel1 by degrees, so that such appearances are only te*porary.

Each @uality, e4pressed as a colour, has its own special type o1 astral *atter, and thea0erage position Pa0e 1(C o1 these colours depends upon the speci1ic gra0ity o1 therespecti0e grades o1 *atter. The general principle is that e0il or sel1ish @ualities e4pressthe*sel0es in the co*parati0ely slow 0ibrations o1 coarser *atter, while good andunsel1ish @ualities play through 1iner *atter.

This being so, 1ortunately 1or us, good e*otions persist e0en longer than e0il ones, thee11ect o1 a 1eeling o1 strong lo0e or de0otion re*aining in the astral body long a1ter theoccasion that caused it has been 1orgotten.

It is possible, though unusual, to ha0e two rates o1 0ibrations going on strongly in theastral body at the sa*e ti*e, e.g., lo0e and anger. The a1ter:results will go on side byside, but one at a 0ery *uch higher le0el than the other and there1ore persisting longer.

High unsel1ish a11ection and de0otion belong to the highest ato*icB astral sub:plane, andthese re1lect the*sel0es in the corresponding *atter o1 the *ental plane. They thus touch

the causal higher *entalB body, not the lower *ental. This is an i*portant point o1 whichthe student should ta/e especial note. The Ego, who resides on the higher *ental plane, isthus a11ected only by unsel1ish thoughts. Lower thoughts a11ect, not the Ego, but the per*anent ato*s see p. $9%B.

!onse@uently, in the causal body there would be gaps, not bad colours, corresponding tothe lower 1eelings and thoughts. el1ishness, 1or e4a*ple, would show itsel1 as theabsence o1 a11ection or sy*pathy as soon as sel1ishness is replaced by its opposite, thegap in the causal body would be 1illed up.

An intensi1ication o1 the coarse colours o1 the astral body, representing base e*otions,

whilst 1inding no direct e4pression in the causal body, ne0ertheless tends so*ewhat todi* the lu*inosity o1 the colours representing the opposite 0irtues in the causal body.

In order to realie the appearance o1 the astral body, it *ust be borne in *ind that the particles o1 which Pa0e 1+C it is co*posed are always in rapid *otion in the 0ast *a?orityo1 cases the clouds o1 colour *elt into one another and are all the while rolling o0er oneanother, appearing and disappearing as they roll, the sur1ace o1 the lu*inous *istrese*bling so*ewhat the sur1ace o1 0iolently boiling water. The 0arious colours,

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there1ore, by no *eans retain the sa*e positions, though there is a nor*al positiontowards which they tend to return.

The student is re1erred to the boo/, ,an -isi#le and nvisi#le, by !. W. Leadbeater, 1or illustrations o1 the actual appearance o1 astral bodies CPlate FII., p 77, Astral body o1

sa0age. Plate ., p. #', Astral body o1 a0erage *an. Plate III., p. "$8, Astral body o1 de0eloped *an. Edition "#9$.B The *ain characteristics o1 the three types illustrated C the sa0age, the a0erage *an and the de0eloped *an C *ay be brie1ly su**arised as1ollows C

Savage Type. C A 0ery large proportion o1 sensuality, deceit, sel1ishness and greed areconspicuous 1ierce anger is i*plied by s*ears and blots o1 dull scarlet 0ery littlea11ection appears, and such intellect and religious 1eeling as e4ist are o1 the lowest possible /ind. The outline is irregular and the colours blurred, thic/ and hea0y. The whole body is e0idently ill:regulated, con1used and uncontrolled.

Average ,an.Censuality is *uch less though still pro*inent sel1ishness is also pro*inent and there is so*e capability o1 deceit 1or personal ends, though the green is beginning to di0ide into two distinct @ualities, showing that cunning is gradually beco*ing adaptability. Anger is still *ar/ed a11ection, intellect and de0otion are *ore pro*inent and o1 a higher @uality. The colours as a whole are *ore clearly de1ined anddistinctly brighter, though none o1 the* are per1ectly clear. The outline o1 the body is*ore de1ined and regular.

(eveloped ,an.C Undesirable @ualities ha0e al*ost entirely disappeared across the topo1 the body there Pa0e 1,C is a strip o1 lilac, indicating spiritual aspiration abo0e anden0eloping the head there is a cloud o1 the brilliant yellow o1 intellect below that there is

a broad belt o1 the blue o1 de0otion then across the trun/ there is a still wider belt o1 therose o1 a11ection, and in the lower part o1 the body a large a*ount o1 the green o1 adaptability and sy*pathy 1inds its place. The colours are bright, lu*inous, in clearly*ar/ed bands, the outline is well de1ined, and the whole astral body con0eys thei*pression o1 being orderly and under per1ect control.

Although we are not in this boo/ dealing with the *ental body, yet it should be*entioned that as a *an de0elops, his astral body *ore and *ore rese*bles his *ental body, until it beco*es little *ore than a re1lection o1 it in the grosser *atter o1 the astral plane. This, o1 course, indicates that the *an has his desires thoroughly under the controlo1 the *ind and is no longer apt to be swept away by surges o1 e*otion. uch a *an willno doubt be sub?ect to occasional irritability, and to undesirable cra0ings o1 0arious sorts, but he /nows enough now to repress these lower *ani1estations and not to yield to the*.

At a still later stage the *ental body itsel1 beco*es a re1lection o1 the causal body, sincethe *an now learns to 1ollow solely the pro*ptings o1 the higher sel1, and to guide hisreason e4clusi0ely by the*.

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Thus the *ind body and the astral body o1 an Arhat would ha0e 0ery little characteristiccolour o1 their own, but would be reproductions o1 the causal body in so 1ar as their lower octa0es could e4press it. They ha0e a lo0ely iridescence, a sort o1 opalescent, *other:o1: pearl e11ect, which is 1ar beyond either description or representation.

A de0eloped *an has 1i0e rates o1 0ibration in his astral body an ordinary *an shows atleast nine rates, with a *i4ture o1 0arious shades in addition. any people ha0e &9 or "99rates, the whole sur1ace being bro/en up into a *ultiplicity o1 little whirlpools and cross:currents, all battling one against another Pa0e 1/C in *ad con1usion. This is the result o1 unnecessary e*otion and worries, the ordinary person o1 the West being a *ass o1 these,through which *uch o1 his strength is 1rittered away.

An astral body which 0ibrates 1i1ty ways at once is not only ugly but also a seriousannoyance. It *ay be co*pared to a physical body su11ering 1ro* an aggra0ated 1or* o1 palsy, with all its *uscles ?er/ing si*ultaneously in di11erent directions. uch astrale11ects are contagious and a11ect all sensiti0e persons who approach, co**unicating a

pain1ul sense o1 unrest and worry. It is ?ust because *illions o1 people are thusunnecessarily agitated by all sorts o1 1oolish desires and 1eelings that it is so di11icult 1or asensiti0e person to li0e in a great city or *o0e a*ongst crowds. The perpetual astraldisturbances *ay e0en react through the etheric double and set up ner0ous diseases.

The centres o1 in1la**ation in the astral body are to it what boils are to the physical body C not only acutely unco*1ortable, but also wea/ spots through which 0itality lea/saway. They also o11er practically no resistance to e0il in1luences, and pre0ent goodin1luences 1ro* being o1 pro1it. This condition is pain1ully co**on the re*edy is toeli*inate worry, 1ear and annoyance. The student o1 occultis* *ust not ha0e personal1eelings that can be a11ected under any circu*stances whate0er.

-nly a young child has a white or co*parati0ely colourless aura, the colours beginning toshow only as the @ualities de0elop. The astral body o1 a child is o1ten a *ost beauti1ulob?ect C pure and bright in its colours, 1ree 1ro* the stains o1 sensuality, a0arice, ill:willand sel1ishness. In it *ay also be seen lying latent the ger*s and tendencies brought o0er 1ro* his last li1e see p. $""B, so*e o1 the* e0il, so*e good, and thus the possibilities o1 the child>s 1uture li1e *ay be seen.

The yellow o1 intellect, 1ound always near the head, is the origin o1 the idea o1 theni*bus or glory round Pa0e 1.C the head o1 a saint, since this yellow is *uch the *ostconspicuous o1 the colours o1 the astral body, and the one *ost easily percei0ed by a person on the 0erge o1 clair0oyance. o*eti*es, owing to the unusual acti0ity o1 theintellect, the yellow *ay beco*e 0isible e0en in physical *atter, so as to be perceptibleto ordinary physical sight.

We ha0e already seen that the astral body has a certain nor*al arrange*ent, into whichits 0arious portions tend to group the*sel0es. A sudden rush o1 passion or 1eeling,howe0er, *ay te*porarily 1orce the whole, or al*ost the whole, o1 the *atter in an astral body to 0ibrate at a certain rate, thus producing @uite stri/ing results. All the *atter o1 the

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astral body is swept about as i1 by a 0iolent hurricane, so that 1or the ti*e being thecolours beco*e 0ery *uch *i4ed. !oloured e4a*ples o1 this pheno*enon are gi0en in ,an -isi#le and nvisi#le C

Plate I., p. #(, udden rush o1 A11ection.

Plate II., p. #7, udden rush o1 +e0otion.Plate III., p. "99, Intense Anger.Plate IF., p. "98, hoc/ o1 6ear.

In the case o1 a sudden wa0e o1 pure a11ection, when, 1or e4a*ple, a *other snatches upher baby and co0ers it with /isses, the whole astral body in a *o*ent is thrown into a0iolent agitation, and the original colours are 1or the ti*e al*ost obscured.

Analysis disco0ers 1our separate e11ects C

1 !ertain coils or 0ortices o1 0i0id colour are to be seen, well:de1ined and solid:

loo/ing, and glowing with an intense light 1ro* within. Each o1 these is in realitya thought:1or* o1 intense a11ection, generated within the astral body, and about to be poured 1orth 1ro* it towards the ob?ect o1 the 1eeling. The whirling clouds o1 li0ing light are indescribably lo0ely, though di11icult to depict.

2 The whole astral body is crossed by horiontal pulsating lines o1 cri*son light,e0en *ore di11icult to represent, by reason o1 the e4ceeding rapidity o1 their *otion. Pa0e 1C

) A /ind o1 1il* o1 rose:colour co0ers the sur1ace o1 the whole astral body, so thatall within is seen through it, as through tinted glass.

( A sort o1 cri*son 1lush 1ills the entire astral body, tinging to so*e e4tent the other hues, and here and there condensing itsel1 into irregular 1loating wisps, li/e hal1:1or*ed clouds.

This display would probably last only a 1ew seconds, and then the body would rapidlyresu*e its nor*al condition, the 0arious grades o1 *atter sorting the*sel0es again intotheir usual ones by their speci1ic gra0ities. et e0ery such rush o1 1eeling adds a little tothe cri*son in the higher part o1 the o0al and *a/es it a little easier 1or the astral body torespond to the ne4t wa0e o1 a11ection which *ay co*e.

i*ilarly, a *an who 1re@uently 1eels high de0otion soon co*es to ha0e a large area o1 blue in his astral body. The e11ects o1 such i*pulses are thus cu*ulati0e and in additionthe radiation o1 0i0id 0ibrations o1 lo0e and ?oy produce good in1luences on others.

With the substitution o1 blue 1or cri*son, a sudden access o1 de0otion, surging o0er a nunengaged in conte*plation, produces an al*ost identical e11ect.

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In the case o1 intense anger, the ordinary bac/ground o1 the astral body is obscured bycoils or 0ortices o1 hea0y, thunderous *asses o1 sooty blac/ness, lit up 1ro* within bythe lurid glare o1 acti0e hatred. Wisps o1 the sa*e dar/ cloud are to be seen de1iling thewhole astral body, while the 1iery arrows o1 uncontrolled anger shoot a*ong the* li/e1lashes o1 lightning. These terrible 1lashes are capable o1 penetrating other astral bodies

li/e swords and thus in1licting in?ury upon other people.

In this instance, as in the others, each outburst o1 rage would predispose the *atter o1 theentire astral body to respond so*ewhat *ore readily than be1ore to these 0eryundesirable 0ibrations.

A sudden shoc/ o1 terror will in an instant su11use the whole body with a curious li0idgrey *ist, while horiontal lines o1 the sa*e hue appear, but 0ibrating Pa0e 24C with such0iolence as to be hardly recognisable as separate lines. The result is indescribablyghastly all light 1ades out 1or the ti*e 1ro* the body and the whole grey *ass @ui0ershelplessly li/e a ?elly.

A 1lood o1 e*otion does not greatly a11ect the *ental body, though 1or a ti*e it *ayrender it al*ost i*possible 1or any acti0ity 1ro* the *ental body to co*e through intothe physical brain, because the astral body, which acts as a bridge between the *ental body and the brain, is 0ibrating so entirely at one rate as to be incapable o1 con0eying anyundulation which is not in har*ony with it.

The abo0e are e4a*ples o1 the e11ects o1 sudden and te*porary outbursts o1 1eeling.There are other so*ewhat si*ilar e11ects o1 a *ore per*anent character produced bycertain dispositions or types o1 character.

Thus, when an ordinary *an 1alls in lo0e, the astral body is so co*pletely trans1or*ed asto *a/e it scarcely recognisable as belonging to the sa*e person. el1ishness, deceit anda0arice 0anish, and the lowest part o1 the o0al is 1illed with a large de0elop*ent o1 ani*al passions. The green o1 adaptability has been replaced by the peculiar brownish:green o1 ?ealousy, and the e4tre*e acti0ity o1 this 1eeling is shown by bright scarlet1lashes o1 anger which per*eate it. )ut the undesirable changes are *ore thancounterbalanced by the splendid band o1 cri*son which 1ills so large a part o1 the o0al.This is, 1or the ti*e, a do*inant characteristic, and the whole astral body glows with itslight. Under its in1luence the general *uddiness o1 the ordinary astral body hasdisappeared, and the hues are all brilliant and clearly *ar/ed, good and bad ali/e. It is anintensi1ication o1 the li1e in 0arious directions. The blue o1 de0otion is also distinctlyi*pro0ed, and e0en a touch o1 pale 0iolet appears at the su**it o1 the o0oid, indicating acapacity o1 response to a really high and unsel1ish ideal. The yellow o1 intellect, howe0er,has entirely 0anished 1or the ti*e C a 1act which the cynical *ight consider ascharacteristic o1 the condition J Pa0e 21C

The astral body o1 an irritable *an usually shows a broad band o1 scarlet as a pro*inent1eature, and, in addition, the whole astral body is co0ered with little 1loating 1lec/s o1 scarlet, so*ewhat li/e notes o1 interrogation.

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In the case o1 a *iser, a0arice, sel1ishness, deceit and adaptability are naturallyintensi1ied, but sensuality is di*inished. The *ost re*ar/able change, howe0er, is thecurious series o1 parallel horiontal lines across the o0al, gi0ing the i*pression o1 a cage.The bars are a deep brown in colour, al*ost burnt sienna.

The 0ice o1 a0arice see*s to ha0e the e11ect o1 co*pletely arresting de0elop*ent 1or theti*e, and it is 0ery di11icult to sha/e o11 when once it has gained a 1ir* hold.

+eep depression produces an e11ect in grey, instead o1 brown, 0ery si*ilar to that o1 the*iser. The result is indescribably gloo*y and depressing to the obser0er. o e*otionalcondition is *ore in1ectious than the 1eeling o1 depression.

In the case o1 a non:intellectual *an who is de1initely religious, the astral body assu*es acharacteristic appearance. A touch o1 0iolet suggests the possibility o1 response to a highideal. The blue o1 de0otion is unusually well de0eloped, but the yellow o1 intellect isscanty. There is a 1air proportion o1 a11ection and adaptability, but *ore than the a0erage

o1 sensuality, and deceit and sel1ishness are also pro*inent. The colours are irregularlydistributed, *elting into one another, and the outline is 0ague, indicating the 0agueness o1 the de0otional *an>s conceptions.

E4tre*e sensuality and the de0otional te*pera*ent are 1re@uently seen in association perhaps because these types o1 *en li0e chie1ly in their 1eelings, being go0erned by the*instead o1 trying to control the* by reason.

A great contrast is shown by a *an o1 a scienti1ic type. +e0otion is entirely absent,sensuality is *uch below the a0erage, but the intellect is de0eloped to Pa0e 22C anabnor*al degree. A11ection and adaptability are s*all in @uantity and poor in @uality. Agood deal o1 sel1ishness and a0arice is present and also so*e ?ealousy. A huge cone o1 bright orange in the *idst o1 the golden yellow o1 intellect indicates pride and a*bitionin connection with the /nowledge that has been ac@uired. The scienti1ic and orderly habito1 *ind causes the arrange*ent o1 the colours to 1all into regular bands, the lines o1 de*arcation being @uite de1inite and clearly *ar/ed.

The student is urged to study 1or hi*sel1 the ad*irable boo/ 1ro* which the abo0ein1or*ation is ta/en, this being one o1 the *ost 0aluable o1 the *any wor/s produced bythat great and gi1ted writer C !. W. Leadbeater.

As we ha0e been dealing here with colours in the astral body, it *ay be *entioned thatthe *eans o1 co**unication with the ele*entals, which are associated so closely with*an>s astral body, is by sounds and colours. tudents *ay recollect obscure allusions nowand again to a language o1 colours, and the 1act that in ancient Egypt sacred *anuscriptswere written in colours, *ista/es in copying being punished with death. To ele*entals,colours are as intelligible as words are to *en. Pa0e 2)C

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ha&ter ( *$nctions

THE 1unctions o1 the astral body *ay be roughly grouped under three headings C

". To *a/e sensation possible.$. To ser0e as a bridge between *ind and physical *atter.8. To act as an independent 0ehicle o1 consciousness and action.

We will deal with these three 1unctions in se@uence.

When *an is analysed into 2 principles,2 i.e., into *odes o1 *ani1esting li1e, the 1our lower principles, so*eti*es ter*ed the 2Lower =uaternary2, are C

Physical )ody.Etheric )odyPrKna, or Fitality.5K*a, or +esire.

The 1ourth principle, 5K*a, is the li1e *ani1esting in the astral body and conditioned byit its characteristic is the attribute o1 1eeling, which in rudi*entary 1or* is sensation, andin co*ple4 1or* e*otion, with *any grades in between these two. This is so*eti*essu**ed up as desire, that which is attracted or repelled by ob?ects, according as theygi0e pleasure or pain.

5K*a thus includes 1eelings o1 e0ery /ind, and *ight be described as the passional ande*otional nature. It co*prises all ani*al appetites, such as hunger, thirst, se4ual desireall passions, such as the lower 1or*s o1 lo0e, hatred, en0y, ?ealousy; it is the desire 1or sentient e4istence, 1or e4perience o1 *aterial ?oys C 2the lust o1 the 1lesh, the lust o1 theeyes, the pride o1 li1e2.

5K*a is the brute in us, the 2ape and tiger2 o1 Tennyson, the 1orce which *ost a0ails to/eep us Pa0e 2(C bound to earth and to sti1le in us all higher longings by the illusions o1 sense. It is the *ost *aterial in *an>s nature, and is the one that binds hi* 1ast to earthlyli1e. 2 It is not *olecularly constituted *atter, least o1 all the hu*an body, thla harira,that is the grossest o1 all our > principles>, but 0erily the *iddle principle, the real ani*al

centre; whereas our body is but its shell, the irresponsible 1actor and *ediu* throughwhich the beast in us acts all its li1e2 ecret +octrine,Folu*e I, pages $79 and $7".

5K*a or +esire is also described as a re1lection or lower aspect o1 At*a or Will, thedistinction being that Will is el1:deter*ined, whereas +esire is *o0ed to acti0ity byattractions to or repulsions 1ro* surrounding ob?ects. +esire is thus Will discrowned, thecapti0e, the sla0e o1 *atter.

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Another way o1 regarding 5K*a has been well e4pressed by r. Ernest Wood in hisillu*inating boo/ The e0en <ays 5K*a 2 *eans all desire. And desire is the outward:turned aspect o1 lo0e, the lo0e o1 the things o1 the three worlds; while lo0e proper is lo0eo1 li1e and lo0e o1 the di0ine, and belongs to the higher or inward:turned sel1.2

6or our purposes in this boo/ desire and e*otion are 1re@uently used as practicallysynony*ous strictly, howe0er, e*otion is the product o1 desire and intellect.

The astral body is o1ten /nown as the 5K*a <pa and so*eti*es, in the older no*enclature, as the Ani*al oul.

I*pacts 1ro* without, stri/ing on the physical body, are con0eyed as 0ibrations by theagency o1 PrKna or Fitality, but they would re*ain as 0ibrations only, *erely *otion onthe physical plane, did not 5K*a, the principle o1 sensation, translate the 0ibration into1eeling. Thus pleasure and pain do not arise until the astral centre is reached. Hence5K*a ?oined to PrKna is spo/en o1 as the 2breath o1 li1e2, the 0ital sentient principle

spread o0er e0ery particle o1 the body. Pa0e 2+C

It appears that certain organs o1 the physical body are speci1ically associated with thewor/ings o1 5K*a a*ong these are the li0er and the spleen.

It *ay be noted here that 5K*a, or desire, is ?ust beginning to be acti0e in the *ineral/ingdo*, where it e4presses itsel1 as che*ical a11inity.

In the 0egetable /ingdo* it is, o1 course, *uch *ore de0eloped, indicating a 1ar greater capacity o1 utiliing lower astral *atter. tudents o1 botany are aware that li/es anddisli/es, i.e., desire, are *uch *ore pro*inent in the 0egetable world than in the *ineral,

and that *any plants e4hibit a great deal o1 ingenuity and sagacity in attaining their ends.

Plants are @uic/ to respond to lo0ing care and are distinctly a11ected by *an>s 1eelingstowards the*. They delight in and respond to ad*iration they are also capable o1 indi0idual attach*ents, as well as o1 anger and disli/e.

Ani*als are capable to the 1ullest possible e4tent o1 e4periencing the lower desires,though the capacity 1or the higher desires is *ore li*ited. e0ertheless it e4ists, and ine4ceptional cases an ani*al is capable o1 *ani1esting an e4ceedingly high @uality o1 a11ection or de0otion.

Passing now to the second 1unction o1 the astral body C to act as a bridge between *indand physical *atter C we note that an impact on the physical senses is trans*ittedinwards by PrKna, beco*es a sensation by the action o1 the sense:centres, which aresituated in 5K*a, and is perceived by anas, or ind. Thus, without the general actionthrough the astral body there would be no connection between the e4ternal world and the*ind o1 *an, no connection between physical i*pacts and the perception o1 the* by the*ind.

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!on0ersely, whene0er we thin/, we set in *otion the *ental *atter within us; the0ibrations thus generated are trans1erred to the *atter o1 our astral body, the astral *atter a11ects the etheric *atter, this, in turn, acting on the dense physical *atter, the grey*atter o1 the brain. Pa0e 2,C

The astral body is thus 0eritably a bridge between our physical and our *ental li1e,ser0ing as a trans*itter o1 0ibrations both 1ro* physical to *ental and 1ro* *ental to physical, and is, in 1act, principally de0eloped by this constant passage o1 0ibrations toand 1ro.

In the course o1 the e0olution o1 *an>s astral body, there are two distinct stages the astral body has 1irst to be de0eloped to a 1airly high point as a transmitting vehicle then it hasto be de0eloped as an independent body, in which the *an can 1unction on the astral plane.

In *an, the nor*al brain:intelligence is produced by the union o1 5K*a with anas, or

ind, this union being o1ten spo/en o1 as 5K*a:anas. 5K*a:anas is described by H.P. )la0ats/y as 2 the rational, but earthly or physical intellect o1 *an, encased in, and bound by *atter, and there1ore sub?ect to the in1luence o1 the latter2; this is the 2lower sel12 which, acting on this plane o1 illusion, i*agines itsel1 to be the real el1 or Ego, andthus 1alls into what )uddhist philosophy ter*s the 2 heresy o1 separateness2.

5K*a:anas, that is anas with desire, has also been pictures@uely described as anasta/ing an interest in e4ternal things.

It *ay, in passing, be noted that a clear understanding o1 the 1act that 5K*a:anas belongs to the hu*an personality, and that it 1unctions in and through the physical brain,is essential to a ?ust grasp o1 the process o1 reincarnation, and is su11icient o1 itsel1 toshow how there can be no *e*ory o1 pre0ious li0es so long as the consciousness cannotrise beyond the brain:*echanis*, this *echanis*, together with that o1 5K*a, being*ade a1resh each li1e, and there1ore ha0ing no direct touch with pre0ious li0es.

anas, o1 itsel1, could not a11ect the *olecules o1 the physical brain cells but, whenunited to 5K*a, it is able to set the physical *olecules in *otion, and thus produce 2 brain:consciousness2, including the brain *e*ory and all the 1unctions o1 the hu*anPa0e 2/C *ind, as we ordinarily /now it. It is, o1 course, not the Higher anas, but theLower anas, i.e.$ *atter o1 the 1our lower le0els o1 the *ental planeB, which isassociated with 5K*a. In Western psychology, this 5K*a:anas beco*es a part o1 whatin that syste* is ter*ed ind. 5K*a:anas, 1or*ing the lin/ between the higher andlower nature in *an, is the battleground during li1e, and also, as we shall see later, playsan i*portant part in post:*orte* e4istence.

o close is the association o1 anas and 5K*a that the Hindus spea/ o1 *an ha0ing 1i0esheaths, one o1 which is 1or all *ani1estations o1 wor/ing intellect and desire. These 1i0eare :

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1 Anan#a'aakosha the Bliss sheath B$##hi

2 =i0nFna'aakosha the Discri'inatin0 sheath Hi0her Manas an# -F'a

) Mano'aakosha the sheath of "ntellect an# Desire Lo6er Manas an# -F'a

( PrFna'aakosha the =italit sheath PrFna

+ Anna'aakosha the *oo# sheath Dense &hsical bo#

In the di0ision used by anu, the PrKna*aya/osha and the Anna*aya/osha are classedtogether, and /nown as the )htKt*an or ele*ental sel1, or body o1 action.

The FignKna*aya/osha and the ano*aya/osha he ter*s the body o1 1eeling, gi0ing itthe na*e GM0a he de1ines it as that body in which the 5nower, the 5shetragna, beco*essensible o1 pleasure and o1 pains.

In their e4ternal relations, the FignKna*aya/osha and the ano*aya/osha, especiallythe ano*aya/osha, are related to the +e0a world. The +e0as are said to ha0e 2entered

into2 *an, the re1erence being to the presiding deities o1 the ele*ents see page "77B.Those presiding deities gi0e rise to sensations in *an, changing the contacts 1ro* withoutinto Pa0e 2.C sensations, or the recognition o1 the contacts, 1ro* within, this beingessentially a +e0a action. Hence the lin/ with all these lower +e0as, which, whensupre*e control has been obtained, *a/es *an the *aster in e0ery region o1 theUni0erse.

anas, or *ind, being unable, as said abo0e, to a11ect the gross particles o1 the brain, pro?ects a part o1 itsel1, i.e., lower anas, which clothes itsel1 with astral *atter, and thenwith the help o1 etheric *atter per*eates the whole ner0ous syste* o1 the child be1ore birth. The pro?ection 1ro* anas is o1ten spo/en o1 as its re1lection, its shadow, its ray,

and is /nown also by other allegorical na*es. H. P. )la0ats/y writes 5ey to Theosophy, p. "7'B 2 -nce i*prisoned, or incarnate, their the anasB essence beco*es dual; that isto say, the rays o1 the eternal di0ine ind, considered as indi0idual entities, assu*e atwo:1old attribute, which is aB their essential, inherent, characteristic, hea0en:aspiring*ind higher anasB, and bB the hu*an @uality o1 thin/ing, o1 ani*al cogitation,rationalied owing to the superiority o1 the hu*an brain, the 5K*a:tending or lower anas2.

Lower anas is thus engul1ed in the @uaternary, and *ay be regarded as clasping 5K*awith one hand, whilst with the other it retains its hold on its 1ather, the higher anas.Whether it will be dragged down by 5K*a altogether and be torn away 1ro* the triad

at*K:buddhi:*anasB to which, by its nature it belongs, or whether it will triu*phantlycarry bac/ to its source the puri1ied e4periences o1 its earth li1e C that is the li1e:proble*set and sol0ed in each successi0e incarnation. This point will be considered 1urther in thechapters on After!(eath Life.

5a*a thus supplies the ani*al and passional ele*ents; lower anas rationalises theseand adds the intellectual 1aculties. In *an these two principles are interwo0en during li1eand rarely act separately.

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anas *ay be regarded as the 1la*e, 5K*a and the physical brain as the wic/ and 1uelwhich 1eed the 1la*e. The egos o1 all *en, de0eloped or unde0eloped, Pa0e 2C are o1 thesa*e essence and substance that which *a/es o1 one a great *an, and o1 another a0ulgar, silly person, is the @uality and *a/e:up o1 the physical body, and the ability o1 the brain and body to trans*it and e4press the light o1 the real inner *an.

In brie1, 5K*a:anas is the personal sel1 o1 *an Lower anas gi0es the indi0idualisingtouch that *a/es the personality recognise itsel1 as 2I2, Lower anas is a ray 1ro* thei**ortal Thin/er, illuminating a personality. It is Lower anas which yields the lasttouch o1 delight to the senses and to the ani*al nature, by con1erring the power o1 anticipation, *e*ory and i*agination.

Whilst it would be out o1 place in this boo/ to encroach too 1ar into the do*ain o1 anasand the *ental body, yet it *ay help the student at this stage to add that 1reewill residesin anas, anas being the representati0e o1 ahat, the Uni0ersal ind. In physical *an,the Lower anas is the agent o1 1reewill. 6ro* anas co*es the 1eeling o1 liberty, the

/nowledge that we can rule oursel0es, that the higher nature can *aster the lower. Toidenti1y the consciousness with the anas, instead o1 with 5K*a, is thus an i*portantstep on the road to sel1:*astery.

The 0ery struggle o1 anas to assert itsel1 is the best testi*ony that it is by nature 1ree. Itis the presence and power o1 the ego which enables a *an to choose between desires andto o0erco*e the*. As the lower anas rules 5K*a, the lower @uaternary ta/es itsright1ul position o1 subser0ience to the higher triad C at*K:buddhi:*anas.

We *ay classi1y the principles o1 *an in the 1ollowing *annerC

313Gt'a

"''ortalB$##hi

Hi0her Manas

323 -F'a3Manas on#itionall "''ortal

3)3

PrFna

MortalEtheric Do$ble

Dense Bo#

Pa0e )4C We co*e now to consider the third 1unction o1 the astral body C as anindependent 0ehicle o1 consciousness and action. The 1ull treat*ent o1 this portion o1 our sub?ect C the use, de0elop*ent, possibilities and li*itations o1 the astral body on its own plane C will be dealt with step by step in *ost o1 the succeeding chapters. 6or the present it will su11ice to enu*erate 0ery brie1ly the principal ways in which an astral bodycan be used as an independent 0ehicle o1 consciousness. These are as 1ollows C

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1< +uring ordinary wa/ing consciousness, i.e., while the physical brain and sensesare wide:awa/e, the powers o1 the astral senses *ay be brought into action. o*eo1 these powers correspond to the senses and powers o1 action possessed by the physical body. They will be dealt with in the ne4t chapter, on %hakrams.

2< +uring sleep or trance it is possible 1or the astral body to separate itsel1 1ro* the

physical body and to *o0e about and 1unction 1reely on its own plane. This will be dealt with in the chapter on Sleep!Life.)< It is possible so to de0elop the powers o1 the astral body that a *an *ay

consciously and deliberately, at any ti*e that he chooses, lea0e the physical bodyand pass with unbro/en consciousness into the astral body. This will be dealt within the chapter on %ontinuity of %onsciousness.

(< A1ter physical death the consciousness withdraws itsel1 into the astral body, and ali1e, 0arying greatly in intensity and duration, dependent upon a nu*ber o1 1actors, *ay be led on the astral plane. This will be dealt with in the chapters on After!(eath Life.

+< These di0isions o1 our sub?ect, with nu*erous ra*i1ications, will constitute the

*a?or portion o1 the re*ainder o1 this treatise. Pa0e )1C

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!hapter & !ha/ra*s

THE word !ha/ra* is ans/rit, and *eans literally a wheel, or re0ol0ing disc. It is used

to denote what are o1ten called 6orce:!entres in *an. There are such !ha/ra*s in all*an>s 0ehicles, and they are points o1 connection at which 1orce 1lows 1ro* one 0ehicleto another. They are also inti*ately associated with the powers or senses o1 the 0arious0ehicles.

The !ha/ra*s o1 the etheric body are 1ully described in The Etheric +ouble, and thestudent is re1erred to that wor/, as a study o1 the etheric !ha/ra*s will *aterially assisthi* to understand the astral !ha/ra*s.

The etheric !ha/ra*s are situated in the sur1ace o1 the etheric double and are usuallydenoted by the na*e o1 the physical organ to which they correspond.

They are C

". )ase o1 pine !ha/ra*.$. a0el !ha/ra*.8. pleen !ha/ra*.'. Heart !ha/ra*.&. Throat !ha/ra*.(. )etween the Eyebrows !ha/ra*.%. Top o1 the Head !ha/ra*.

There are also three lower !ha/ra*s, but as these are used only in certain schools o1 2 blac/ *agic,2 we are not concerned with the* here.

The astral !ha/ra*s, which are 1re@uently in the interior o1 the etheric double, are0ortices in 1our di*ensions see !hapter "7B, thus ha0ing an e4tension in a direction @uitedi11erent 1ro* the etheric conse@uently, though they correspond to the etheric !ha/ra*s,they are by no *eans always coter*inous with the*, though so*e part is alwayscoincident. Pa0e )2C

The astral !ha/ra*s are gi0en the sa*e na*es as those in the etheric double, and their 1unctions are as 1ollowsC

". Base of Spine %hakram .CThis is the seat o1 the erpent 6ire, 5undalini, a 1orcewhich e4ists on all planes and by *eans o1 which the rest o1 the !ha/ra*s arearoused. -riginally, the astral body was an al*ost inert *ass, possessing but the0aguest consciousness, with no de1inite power o1 doing anything, and with noclear /nowledge o1 the world surrounding it. The 1irst thing that happened was theawa/ening o1 5undalini at the astral le0el.

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$. . /avel %hakram.C 5undalini ha0ing been awa/ened in the 1irst !ha/ra*, it*o0ed to the na0el !ha/ra*, which it 0i0i1ied, thus awa/ening in the astral bodythe power o1 1eeling C a sensiti0eness to all sorts o1 in1luences, though withoutas yet anything li/e the de1inite co*prehension that conies 1ro* seeing andhearing.

8. 8. Spleen %hakram.C5undalini then *o0ed to the spleen !ha/ra*, and throughit 0italised the whole astral body, this !ha/ra* ha0ing as one o1 its 1unctions theabsorption o1 PrKna, the Fitality 6orce, which also e4ists on all planes. The0i0i1ication o1 the spleen !ha/ra* enables the *an to tra0el in his astral bodyconsciously, though with only a 0ague conception as yet o1 what he encounters onhis ?ourneys.

'. Heart %hakram.CThis !ha/ra* enables the *an to co*prehend and sy*pathisewith the 0ibrations o1 other astral entities, so that he can instincti0ely understandtheir 1eelings.

&. Throat %hakram.CThis !ha/ra* con1ers the power in the astral world whichcorresponds to hearing in the physical world.

(. Beteen the )ye#ros %hakram.CThis !ha/ra* con1ers the power to percei0ede1initely the shape and nature o1 astral ob?ects, instead o1 *erely 0aguely sensingtheir presence.

Associated with this !ha/ra* appears also the power Pa0e ))C o1 *agni1ying at willthe *inutest physical or astral particle to any desired sie, as though by a *icroscope.This power enables an occult in0estigator to percei0e and study *olecules, ato*s,etc. The 1ull control o1 this 1aculty, howe0er, belongs rather to the causal body.

The power o1 *agni1ication is one o1 the siddhis described in -riental boo/s as 2the power o1 *a/ing onesel1 large or s*all at will.2 The description is apposite, because

the *ethod e*ployed is that o1 using a te*porary 0isual *echanis* o1 inconcei0able*inuteness. !on0ersely, *ini1ication o1 0ision *ay be obtained by the constructiono1 a te*porary and enor*ously larger 0isual *echanis*.

The power o1 *agni1ication is @uite distinct 1ro* the 1aculty o1 1unctioning on ahigher plane, ?ust as the power o1 an astrono*er to obser0e planets and stars is @uite adi11erent thing 1ro* the ability to *o0e or 1unction a*ongst the*.

In the Hindu sutras it is stated that *editation in a certain part o1 the tongue willcon1er astral sight. The state*ent is a 2 blind,2 the re1erence being to the pituitary body, situated ?ust o0er this part o1 the tongue.

%. Top of the Head %hakram.CThis !ha/ra* rounds o11 and co*pletes the astralli1e, endowing the *an with the per1ection o1 his 1aculties.

There appear to be two *ethods in which this !ha/ra* wor/s. In one type o1 *an,the si4th and se0enth !ha/ra*s both con0erge upon the pituitary body, this body being 1or this type practically the only direct lin/ between the physical and the higher planes.

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In another type o1 *an, howe0er, while the si4th !ha/ra* is still attached to the pituitary body, the se0enth !ha/ra* is bent or slanted until its 0orte4 coincides withthe pineal gland. In people o1 this type the pineal gland is thus 0i0i1ied and *ade intoa line o1 co**unication directly with the lower *ental, without apparently passingthrough the inter*ediate astral plane in the ordinary way. Pa0e )(C

In the physical body, as we /now, there are specialised organs 1or each sense, the eye1or seeing, the ear 1or hearing, and so on. In the astral body, howe0er, this is not thecase.

The particles o1 the astral body are constantly 1lowing and swirling about li/e those o1 boiling water conse@uently, there are no special particles which re*ain continuously inany o1 the !ha/ra*s. -n the contrary, all the particles o1 the astral body pass througheach o1 the !ha/ra*s.

Each !ha/ra* has the 1unction o1 awa/ening a certain power o1 response in the particles,

which 1low through it, one !ha/ra* the power o1 sight, another that o1 hearing, and soon.

!onse@uently, any one astral sense is not, strictly spea/ing, localised or con1ined to any particular part o1 the astral body. It is rather the whole o1 the particles o1 the astral bodywhich possess the power o1 response. A *an, there1ore, who has de0eloped astral sightuses any part o1 the *atter o1 his astral body in order to see, and so can see e@ually wellob?ects in 1ront, behind, abo0e, below, or to either side. i*ilarly with all the other senses. In other words, the astral senses are e@ually acti0e in all parts o1 the body.

It is not easy to describe the substitute 1or language by *eans o1 which ideas are

co**unicated astrally. ound in the ordinary sense o1 the word is not possible in theastral world : in 1act it is not possible e0en in the higher part o1 the physical world. Itwould also not be correct to say that the language o1 the astral world is thought:trans1erence the *ost that could be said is that it is the trans1erence o1 thoughts1or*ulated in a particular way.

In the *ental world a though is instantaneously trans*itted to the *ind o1 another without any 1or* o1 words there1ore in the *ental world language does not in the least*atter. )ut astral co**unications lies, as it were, hal1:way between the thought:trans1erence o1 the *ental world and the concrete speech o1 the physical, and it is stillnecessary to Pa0e )+C to 1or*ulate the thought in words. 6or this e4change it is there1ore

necessary that the two parties should ha0e a language in co**on.

The astral and etheric !ha/ra*s are in 0ery close correspondence; but between the*, andinterpenetrating the* in a *anner which is not readily describable, there is a sheath or web o1 closely wo0en te4ture, co*posed o1 a single layer o1 physical ato*s *uchco*pressed and per*eated by a special 1or* o1 PrKna. The di0ine li1e which nor*allydescends 1ro* the astral body to the physical is so attuned as to pass through this shieldwith per1ect ease, but it is an absolute barrier to all the 1orces which cannot use the

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ato*ic *atter o1 both planes. The web is natural protection to pre0ent a pre*atureopening up o1 co**unication between the planes, a de0elop*ent which could lead tonothing but in?ury.

It is this which nor*ally pre0ents clear recollection o1 the sleep:li1e, and which also

causes the *o*entary unconsciousness which always occurs at death. )ut 1or this pro0ision the ordinary *an could at any *o*ent be brought by any astral entity under thein1luence o1 1orces with which he could not possibly cope. He would be liable to constantobsession by astral entities desirous o1 seiing his 0ehicles.

The web *ay be in?ured in se0eral ways :

": A great shoc/ o1 the astral body, e.g.$ a sudden 1right, *ay rend apart this delicateorganis* and, as it is co**only e4pressed, dri0e the *an *ad.

A tre*endous outburst o1 anger *ay also produce the sa*e e11ect, as *ay any other 0ery

strong e*otion o1 an e0il character which produces a /ind o1 e4plosion in the astral body.

$: The use o1 alcohol or narcotic drugs, including tobacco. These substances contain*atter which on bra/ing up 0olatilises, so*e o1 it passing 1ro* the physical to the astral plane. E0en tea and co11ee contain this *atter, but only in in1initesi*al @uantities, so thatonly long:continued abuse o1 the* would produce the e11ect. Pa0e ),C

These constituents rush through the !ha/ras in the opposite direction to that 1or whichthey are intended, and in doing this repeatedly they seriously in?ure and 1inally destroythe delicate web.

This deterioration or destruction *ay ta/e place in two ways, according to the type o1 person concerned and to the proportion o1 the constituents in his etheric and astral bodies.

In one type o1 person the rush o1 0olatilising *atter actually burns away the web, andthere1ore lea0es the door open to all sorts o1 irregular 1orces and e0il in1luences. Thosea11ected in this way 1all into deliriu* tre*ens, obsession o1 insanity.

In the other type o1 person, the 0olatile constituents, in 1lowing through, so*ehow hardenthe ato* so that its pulsation is to a large e4tent chec/ed and crippled, and it is no longer capable o1 being 0italised by the particular type o1 PrKna which welds it into a web. Thisresults in a /ind o1 ossi1ication o1 the web, so that instead o1 too *uch co*ing through

1ro* one plane to another, we ha0e 0ery little o1 any /ind co*ing through. uch sub?ectstend to a general deadening down o1 their @ualities, resulting in gross *aterialis*, brutality and ani*alis*, in the loss o1 all 1iner 1eelings and o1 the power to controlthe*sel0es. This type is said to be 0ery co**on a*ongst sla0es o1 the tobacco habit.

All i*pressions which pass 1ro* one plane to the other are intended to co*e onlythrough the ato*ic sub:planes, but when the deadening process ta/es place it in1ects notonly other ato*ic *atter, but e0en *atter o1 the second and third sub:planes, so that the

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only co**unication between the astral and the etheric is 1ro* the lower sub:planes, uponwhich only unpleasant and e0il in1luences are to be 1ound.

The consciousness o1 the ordinary *an cannot yet use pure ato*ic *atter, either o1 the physical or astral and there1ore there is nor*ally 1or hi* no possibility o1 conscious

co**unication at will between the two planes. The proper way to obtain it is to puri1ythe 0ehicles Pa0e )/C until the ato*ic *atter in both is 1ully 0i0i1ied, so that allco**unications between the two *ay pass by that road. In that case the web retains tothe 1ullest degree its position and acti0ity, and yet is no longer a barrier to the per1ectco**unication, while it still continues to pre0ent close contact with the lower andundesirable sub:planes.

8 : The third way in which the web *ay be in?ured is that /nown in spiritualistic parlanceas 2sitting 1or de0elop*ent2.

It is @uite possible, in 1act 0ery co**on, 1or a *an to ha0e his astral !ha/ras well

de0eloped, so that he is able to 1unction 1reely on the astral plane, and yet he *ayrecollect nothing o1 his astral plane when he returns to wa/ing consciousness. With this pheno*enon and its e4planation we shall deal *ore appropriately in the !hapter on (reams. Pa0e ).C

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!hapter ( 5undalini

The student is re1erred to The )theric (ou#le 1or a description o1 5undalini with specialre1erence to the etheric body and its !ha/ras. Here we are concerned with it inconnection with the astral body.

The three /nown 1orces which e*anate 1ro* the Logos are :

". 6ohat which shows itsel1 as electricity, heat, light *otion, etc.

$. PrKna ; which shows itsel1 as 0itality.

8. 5undalini also /nown as the erpent 6ire.

Each o1 these three 1orces e4ists on all planes o1 which we /now anything. o 1ar as is/nown, no one o1 the three is con0ertible into any o1 the others they each re*ainseparate and distinct.

5undalini is called in The -oice of the Silence 2the 6iery Power2, and 2the World>sother2. The 1irst, because it appears li/e li@uid 1ire as it rushes through the body; andthe course it should 1ollow is a spiral one, li/e the coils o1 a serpent. It is called theWorld>s other because through it our 0arious 0ehicles *ay be 0i0i1ied, so that thehigher worlds *ay open be1ore us in succession.

Its ho*e in *an>s body is the !ha/ra* at the base o1 the spine, and 1or the ordinary *anit lies there unawa/ened and unsuspected during the whole o1 his li1e. It is 1ar better 1or itto re*ain dor*ant until the *an has *ade de1inite *oral de0elop*ent, until his will isstrong enough to control it and his thoughts pure enough to enable hi* to 1ace itsawa/ening without in?ury. o one should e4peri*ent with it without de1inite instruction1ro* a teacher who thoroughly understands the sub?ect, 1or the dangers Pa0e )Cconnected with it are 0ery real and terribly serious. o*e o1 the* are purely physical. Itsuncontrolled *o0e*ent o1ten produces intense physical pain, and it *ay readily tear tissues, and e0en destroy physical li1e. It *ay also do per*anent in?ury to 0ehicles higher than the physical.

-ne 0ery co**on e11ect o1 rousing it pre*aturely is that it rushes downwards in the body instead o1 upwards, and thus e4cites the *ost undersirable passions : e4cites the*and intensi1ies their e11ects to such a degree that it beco*es @uite i*possible 1or the *anto resist the*, because a 1orce has been brought into play in whose presence he is @uitehelpless. uch *en beco*es satyrs, *onsters o1 depra0ity, the 1orce being beyond thenor*al hu*an power o1 resistance. They *ay probably gain certain supernor*al powers, but these will be such as will bring the* into touch with a lower order o1 e0olution, with

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which hu*anity is intended to hold no co**erce, and to escape 1ro* its thralldo* *ayta/e *ore than one incarnation.

There is a school o1 blac/ *agic which purposely uses this power in this way, in order that through it *ay be 0i0i1ied those lower !ha/ra*s which are ne0er used by 1ollowers

o1 the 3ood Law.

The pre*ature un1old*ent o1 5undalini has other unpleasant possibilities. It intensi1iese0erything in the *an>s nature, and it reaches the lower and e0il @ualities *ore readilythan the good. In the *ental body, a*bition is 0ery readily aroused, and soon swells to anincredibly inordinate degree. It would probably bring with it a great intensi1ication o1 intellect, acco*pagnied by abnor*al and satanic pride, such as is @uite inconcei0able tothe ordinary *en.

An uninstructed *an who 1inds that 5undalini has been aroused by accident should atonce consult so*e one who 1ully understands these *atters.

The arousing o1 5undalini : the *ethod o1 doing which is not publicly /nown : and theatte*pt to pass it through the !ha/ra*s : the order o1 which is Pa0e (4C also deliberatelyconcealed 1ro* the public : should ne0er be atte*pted e4cept at the e4press suggestion o1 a aster, who will watch o0er His pupil during the 0arious stages o1 the e4peri*ent.

The *ost sole*n warnings are gi0en by e4perienced occultists against in any wayatte*pting to arouse 5undalini, e4cept under @uali1ied tuition, because o1 the real andgreat dangers in0ol0ed. As is said in the Hathayogapradipika; 2It gi0es liberation toogis and bondage to 1ools2. III, "9%B.

In so*e cases 5undalini wa/es spontaneously, so that a dull glow is 1elt it *ay e0en begin to *o0e o1 itsel1, though this rare. In this latter case it would be li/ely to causegreat pain, as, since the passages are not prepared 1or it, it would ha0e to clear its way byactually burning up a great deal o1 etheric dross, which is necessarily a pain1ul process.When it thus awa/es o1 itsel1 or is accidentally aroused, it usually tries to rush up theinterior o1 the spine, instead o1 1ollowing the spiral course into which the occultist istrained to guide it. I1 it be possible, the will should be set in *otion to arrest its onwardrush, but i1 that pro0es to be i*possible, as is *ost li/ely, no alar* need be 1elt. It will probably rush out through the head and escape into the surrounding at*osphere, and it isli/ely that no har* will result beyond a slight wea/ening. othing worse than ate*porary loss o1 consciousness need be apprehended. The worst dangers are connected,

not with its upward rush, but with its turning downwards and inwards.

Its principal 1unction in connection with occult de0elop*ent is that by being sent throughthe !ha/ra*s in the etheric body, it 0i0i1ies these !ha/ras between the physical andastral bodies. It is said in The -oice of the Silence that when 5undalini reaches the centre between the eyebrows and 1ully 0i0i1ies it, it con1ers the power o1 hearing the 0oice o1 the aster : which *eans, in this case, the 0oice o1 the ego or higher sel1. The reason is

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http://www.theosophical.ca/VoiceSilence.htm





that when Pa0e (1C the pituitary body is brought into wor/ing order it 1or*s a per1ect lin/ with the astral 0ehicle, so that through it all co**unications 1ro* within can be recei0ed.

In addition, all the higher !ha/ra*s ha0e to be awa/ened, in due course, and each *ust be *ade responsi0e to all /inds o1 astral in1luences 1ro* the 0arious astral sub:planes.

ost people cannot gain this during the present incarnation, i1 it is the 1irst in which theyha0e begun to ta/e these *atters seriously in hand. o*e Indians *ight succeed in doingso, as their bodies are by heredity *ore adaptable than *ost others but it is 1or the*a?ority o1 *en the wor/ o1 a later <ound altogether.

The con@uest o1 5undalini has to be repeated in each incarnation, since the 0ehicles arenew each ti*e, but a1ter it has been once achie0ed these repetitions will be an easy*atter. Its action will 0ary with di11erent types o1 people. o*e would see the higher sel1 rather than hear its 0oice. Also this connection with the higher has *any stages; 1or the personality it *eans the in1luence o1 the ego but 1or the ego hi*sel1 it *eans the power o1 the *onad and 1or the *onad in turn it *eans to beco*e a conscious e4pression o1

the Logos.

There does not appear to be any age li*it with regard to the arousing o1 5undalini but physical health is a necessity owing to the strain in0ol0ed.

An ancient sy*bol was the thyrsus : that is, a sta11 with a pie:cone on its top. In India thesa*e sy*bol is 1ound, but instead o1 the sta11, a stic/ o1 ba*boo with se0en /nots isused. In so*e *odi1ications o1 the *ysteries a hollow iron rod, said to contain 1ire, wasused instead o1 the hyrsus. The sta11, or stic/, with se0en /nots represents the spinal cord,with its se0en !ha/ra*s. The hidden 1ire is, o1 course, 5undalini. The thyrsus was notonly a sy*bol, but also an ob?ect o1 practical use. It was a 0ery strong *agnetic

instru*ent, used by initiates to 1ree the astral body 1ro* the physical when they passed inPa0e (2C 1ull consciousness to this higher li1e. The priest who had *agnetised it laid itagainst the spinal cord o1 the candidate and ga0e hi* in that way so*e o1 his own*agnetis*, to help hi* in that di11icult li1e and in the e11orts which lay be1ore hi*. Pa0e()C

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!hapter % Thought:6or*s

The *ental and astral bodies are those chie1ly concerned with the production o1 what arecalled thought:1or*s. The ter* thought:1or* is not wholly accurate, because the 1or*s produced *ay be co*posed o1 *ental *atter, or, in the 0ast *a?ority o1 cases, o1 bothastral and *ental *atter.

Although in this boo/ we are dealing pri*arily with the astral, and not with the *ental body, yet thought:1or*s, as ?ust said, are, in a 0ast *a?ority o1 cases, both astral and*ental. In order, there1ore, to *a/e the sub?ect intelligible, it is necessary to deal 0erylargely with the *ental as well as with the astral aspect o1 the sub?ect.

A purely intellectual and i*personal thought : such as one concerned with algebra or geo*etry : would be con1ined to *ental *atter. It on the other hand the thought has in itso*ething o1 sel1ish or personal desire,it will draw round itsel1 astral *atter in addition tothe *ental. I1, 1urther*ore,the thought be o1 a spiritual nature,i1 it be tinged with lo0e andaspiration or deep and unsel1ish 1eeling, then there *ay also enter in so*e o1 thesplendour and glory o1 the buddhic plane.

E0ery de1inite thought produces two e11ects 1irst, a radiating 0ibration second, a 1loating1or*.

The 0ibration set up in and radiating 1ro* the *ental body is acco*panied with a play o1 colour which has been described as li/e that in the spray o1 a water1all as the sunlightstri/es it, raised to the nth degree o1 colour and 0i0id delicacy.

This radiating 0ibration tends to reproduce its own rate o1 *otion in any *ental body onwhich it *ay Pa0e ((C i*pinge .e.$ to produce thoughts o1 the sa*e type as those 1ro*which the 0ibration originated. It should be noted that the radiating 0ibration carries, notthe sub?ect o1 the thought, but its character. Thus, the wa0es o1 thought:e*otion radiating1ro* a Hindu sitting rapt in de0otion to hri 5rishna would tend to sti*ulate de0otional1eeling in any who ca*e under its in1luence, not necessarily towards ri 5rishna, but, inthe case o1 a !hristian, to the !hrist, in the case o1 a )uddhist, to the Lord )uddha andso on.

The power o1 the 0ibration to produce such e11ects depends principally upon the clearnessand de1initeness o1 the thought:e*otion, as well, o1 course, as upon the a*ount o1 1orce put into it.

These radiating 0ibrations beco*e less e11ecti0e in proportion to the distance 1ro* their source, though it is probable that the 0ariation is proportional to the cube o1 the distance

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instead o1 as with gra0itation and other physical 1orcesB to the s@uare, because o1 theadditional 1ourthB di*ension in0ol0ed.

The distance to which a thought:wa0e can radiate e11ecti0ely also depends upon theopposition with which it *eets. Wa0es in the lower types o1 astral *atter are usually soon

de1lected or o0erwhel*ed by a *ultitude o1 other 0ibrations at the sa*e le0el, ?ust as aso1t sound is drowned in the roar o1 a city.

The second e11ect, that o1 a 1loating 1or*, is caused by the *ental body throwing o11 a0ibrating portion o1 itsel1 shaped by the nature o1 the thought, which gathers round itsel1 *atter o1 the corresponding order o1 1ineness 1ro* the surrounding ele*ental essencesee page (B o1 the *ental plane, This is a thought:1or* pure and si*ple, being co*posedo1 *ental *atter only.

I1 *ade o1 the 1iner /inds o1 *atter, it will be o1 great power and energy, and *ay be usedas a *ost potent agent when directed by a strong and steady will.

When the *an directs his energy towards e4ternal ob?ects o1 desire, or is occupied with passional or Pa0e (+C e*otional acti0ities, a si*ilar process ta/es place in his astral body a portion o1 it is thrown o11 and gathers round itsel1 ele*ental essence o1 the astral plane.uch thought:desire 1or*s are caused by 5K*a:anas, the *ind under the do*inion o1 the ani*al nature, anas do*inated by 5K*a

uch a thought:desire 1or* has 1or its body the ele*ental essence, and 1or its ani*atingsoul, as it were, the desire or passion which threw it 1orth. )oth these thought:desire1or*s, and also purely *ental thought:1or*s, are called artificial elementals. The 0ast*a?ority o1 ordinary thought:1or*s are o1 the 1or*er type, as 1ew thoughts o1 ordinary

*en and wo*en are untinged with desire, passion or e*otion.

)oth *ental and astral ele*ental essence, which possess a hal1:intelligence li1e o1 their own, respond 0ery readily to the in1luence o1 hu*an thought and desire conse@uentlye0ery i*pulse sent out, either 1ro* a *an>s *ental body or 1ro* his astral body, isi**ediately clothed in a te*porary 0ehicle o1 ele*ental essence. These arti1icialele*entals thus beco*e 1or the ti*e a /ind o1 li0ing creature, entities o1 intense acti0ityani*ated by the one idea that generated the*. They are, in 1act, o1ten *ista/en byuntrained psychics or clair0oyants 1or real li0ing entities.

Thus, when a *an thin/s o1 a concrete ob?ect : a boo/, house, landscape, etc. : he builds

a tiny i*age o1 the ob?ect in the *atter o1 his *ental body. This i*age 1loats in the upper part o1 that body, usually in 1ront o1 the 1ace o1 the *an, and at about the le0el o1 theeyes. It re*ains there as long as the *an is conte*plating the ob?ect, and usually 1or alittle ti*e a1terwards, the length o1 li1e depending upon the intensity and the clearness o1 the thought. The 1or* is @uite ob?ecti0e and can be seen by another person possessed o1 *ental sight. I1 a *an thin/s o1 another person he creates a tiny portrait in ?ust the sa*eway.

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Thought:1or*s ha0e been use1ully co*pared to a Leyden ?ar a 0essel charged with staticelectricityB, Pa0e (,C the ?ar itsel1 corresponding to the ele*ental essence and the electriccharge to the thought:e*otion. And ?ust as a Leyden ?ar when it touches another ob?ectdischarges its stored electricity into that ob?ect, so does an arti1icial ele*ental, when itstri/es a *ental or astral body, discharge its stored *ental and e*otional energy into that

body.

The principles which underlie the production o1 all thought:e*otion 1or*s are :

". %olour is deter*ined by the 0uality o1 the thought or e*otion.

$. 1orm is deter*ined by the nature o1 the thought or e*otion.

8. %learness of &utline is deter*ined by the definiteness o1 the thought or e*otion.

The li1e:period o1 a thought:1or* depends upon N"O its initial intensity; N$O the nutri*ent

a1terwards supplied to it by a repetition o1 the thought, either by the generator or byothers. Its li1e *ay be continually rein1orced by this repetition, a thought which is brooded o0er ac@uiring great stability o1 1or*. o again thought:1or*s o1 si*ilar character are attracted to and *utually strengthen each other, *a/ing a 1or* o1 greatenergy and intensity.

6urther*ore, such a thought:1or* appears to possess instincti0e desire to prolong itsli1e,and will react on its creator, tending to e0o/e 1ro* hi* renewal o1 the 1eeling whichcreated it. It will react in a si*ilar, though not so per1ect, *anner on any others withwho* it *ay co*e into contact.

The colours in which thought:1or*s e4press the*sel0es are identical with the colours1ound in the aura, 0ide page "":"$.

The brilliance and dept o1 the colours are usually a *easure o1 the strength and theacti0ity o1 the 1eeling.

6or our present purpose we *ay classi1y thought:1or*s into three /inds "B thoseconnected solely with their originator $B those connected with another person 8Bthose not de1initely personal Pa0e (/C

I1 a *an>s thought is about hi*sel1, or based on a personal 1eeling, as the 0ast *a?ority o1

thoughts are, the 1or* will ho0er in the i**ediate neighborhood o1 its generator. Anyti*e, then, when he is in a passi0e condition, his thoughts and 1eelings not beingspeci1ically occupied, his own thought:1or* will return to hi* and discharge itsel1 uponhi*. In addition, each *an also ser0es as a *agnet to draw towards hi*sel1 the thought:1or*s o1 others si*ilar to his own, thus attracting towards hi*sel1 rein1orce*ents o1 energy 1ro* outside. People who are beco*ing sensiti0e ha0e so*eti*es i*agined, insuch cases, that they ha0e been te*pted by the 2de0il2, whereas it is their own thoughts:desire 1or*s which are the cause o1 the 2te*ptation2. Long brooding o0er the sa*e

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sub?ect *ay create a thought:1or* o1 tre*endous power. uch a 1or* *ay last 1or *anyyears and ha0e 1or a ti*e all the appearance and powers o1 real li0ing entity. ost *en*o0e through li1e enclosed literally within a cage o1 their own building, surrounded by*asses o1 1or*s created by their habitual thoughts. -ne i*portant e11ect o1 this is thateach *an loo/s out upon the world through his own thought:1or*s, and thus sees

e0erything tinged by the*.

Thus a *an>s own thought:1or*s re:act upon hi*, tending to reproduce the*sel0es andthus setting up de1inite habits o1 thought and 1eeling, which *ay be help1ul i1 o1 a lo1tycharacter, but are o1ten cra*ping and a hindrance to growth,obscuring the *ental 0isionand 1acilitating the 1or*ation o1 pre?udice and 1i4ed *oods or attitudes which *ayde0elop into de1inite 0ices.

As a aster has written 2an is continually peopling his current in space with a worldo1 his own, crowed with the o11spring o1 his 1ancies, desires, i*pulses and passions.2These thought:1or*s re*ain in his aura, increasing in nu*ber and intensity, until certain

/inds o1 the* so do*inate his *ental and e*otional li1e that the *an rather answers totheir Pa0e (.C i*pulse than decides anew thus are habits, the outer e4pression o1 hisstored:up 1orce, created, and thus is character built.

oreo0er, as each *an lea0es behind hi* a trail o1 thought:1or*s, it 1ollows that as wego along a street we are wal/ing a*idst a sea o1 other *en>s thoughts. I1 a *an lea0es his*ind blan/ 1or a ti*e, these thoughts o1 others dri1t through it i1 one happens to attracthis attention, his *ind seies upon it, *a/es it its own, strengthening it by the addition o1 its 1orce, and then casts it out again to a11ect so*ebody else. A *an, there1ore, is notresponsible 1or a thought which 1loats into his *ind, but he is responsible i1 he ta/es itup, dwells upon it, and then sends it out again strengthened.

An e4a*ple o1 thought:1or*s is that o1 the shapeless clouds o1 hea0y blue which *ayo1ten be seen rolling along li/e wreaths o1 dense s*o/e o0er the heads o1 thecongregation o1 a church. In churches when the le0el o1 spirituality is a low one, the*inds o1 the *en *ay create rows o1 1igures, representing their calculations o1 businessdeals or speculations, while the *inds o1 the wo*en *ay create pictures o1 *illinery, ?ewellery, etc..

Hypnotis* pro0ides another e4a*ple o1 thought:1or*s. The operator *ay *a/e athought:1or* and pro?ect it on to blan/ paper,where it *ay beco*e 0isible to hishypnotised sub?ect or he *ay *a/e the 1or* so ob?ecti0e that the sub?ect will see and1eel it as thought it were an actual physical ob?ect. The literature o1 hypnotis* is 1ull o1 such e4a*ples.

I1 the thought:1or* is directed towards another person, it will go to that person. Either o1 two e11ects *ay then result. "B I1 in the aura o1 the person concerned there is *aterialcapable o1 responding sy*pathetically to the 0ibration o1 the thought:1or*, then thethought:1or* will re*ain near the person, or e0en in his aura, and, as opportunity ser0es,auto*atically discharge itsel1, thus tending to strengthen in the person that particular rate

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o1 0ibration. I1 the person Pa0e (C at who* a thought 1or* is ai*ed happens to be busy,or already engaged in so*e de1inite train o1 thought, the thought 1or*, being unable todischarge itsel1 into the *an>s *ental body, which is already 0ibrating at a certaindeter*inate rate, hangs in the 0icinity until the *an>s *ental body is su11iciently at rest to per*it its entrance, when it i**ediate discharges itsel1.

In doing this it will display what appears li/e a 0ery considerable a*ount o1 intelligenceand adaptability, though really it is a 1orce acting a long the line o1 least resistance : pressing steadily in one direction all the ti*e, and ta/ing ad0antage o1 any channel that itcan 1ind. uch ele*entals can, o1 course, be strengthened and their li1e:period e4tended by repetition o1 the sa*e thought.

$B I1, on the other hand, there is in the person>s aura no *atter capable o1 response, thenthe thought:1or* cannot a11ect it at all. It will there1ore rebound 1ro* it, with a 1orce proportional to the energy with which i*pinged upon it, and return to and stri/e itscreator.

Thus, 1or e4a*ple,the thought o1 the desire 1or drin/ could not enter the body o1 a purelyte*perate *an. It would stri/e upon his astral body, but it could not penetrate and itwould then return to the sender.

The old saying that 2!urses to which *ight be added blessingsB co*e ho*e to roost2con0eys this truth and e4plains cases where, as *any ha0e /nown, e0il thoughts directedto a good and highly ad0anced *an a11ect such a *an not at all, but re:act, so*eti*eswith terrible and de0astating e11ect, on their creator. Hence also the ob0ious corollary thata pure heart and *ind are the best protection against ini*ical assaults o1 1eeling andthought.

-n the other hand, a thought:1or* o1 lo0e and o1 desire to protect, strongly directed toso*e belo0ed ob?ects, acts as a shielding and protecting agent it will see/ allopportunities to ser0e and de1end, will Pa0e +4C strengthen 1riendly 1orces and wea/enun1riendly ones, that i*pinge on the aura. It *ay protect its ob?ects 1ro* i*purity,irritability, 1ear, etc.

6riendly thoughts and earnest good wishes thus create and *aintain what is practically a2guardian angel2 always at the side o1 the person thought o1, no *atter where he *ay be.any a *other>s thoughts and prayers, 1or e4a*ple, ha0e gi0en assistance and protectionto her child. They *ay o1ten be seen by clair0oyants, and in rare cases they *ay e0en

*aterialise and beco*e physically 0isible.

It is thus apparent that a thought o1 lo0e sent 1ro* one person to another in0ol0es theactual trans1erence o1 a certain a*ount both o1 1orce and o1 *atter 1ro* the sender to therecipient.

I1 the thought is su11iciently strong, distance *a/es absolutely no di11erence to it but awea/ and di11used thought is not e11ecti0e outside a li*ited area.

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A 0ariant o1 our 1irst group consists o1 those cases where a *an thin/s strongly o1 hi*sel1 in a distant place. The 1or* thus created contains a large proportion o1 *ental *atter,ta/es the i*age o1 the thin/er, and is at 1irst s*all and co*pressed. It draws around itsel1 a considerable a*ount o1 astral *atter and usually e4pands to li1e sie be1ore it appears atits destination. uch 1or*s are o1ten seen by clair0oyants, and not in1re@uently are

*ista/en 1or the *an>s astral body or e0en 1or the *an hi*sel1.

When this ta/es place, the thought or desire *ust be su11iciently strong to do one o1 threethings "B To call up by *es*eric in1luence the i*age o1 the thin/er in the *ind o1 the person to who* he wishes to appear $B by the sa*e power to sti*ulate 1or the *o*entthat person>s psychic 1aculties so that he is able to see the astral 0isitor; 8B to produce ate*porary *aterialisation which will be physically 0isible.

Apparitions at the ti*e o1 death, which are by no *eans unco**on, are 0ery o1ten reallythe astral 1or* o1 the dying *an but they *ay also be thought:1or*s called into being byhis earnest wish to see so*e 1riend Pa0e +1C be1ore he passes on. In so*e instances the

0isitor is percei0ed ?ust a1ter the *o*ent o1 death, instead o1 ?ust be1ore but 1or 0ariousreasons this 1or* o1 apparition is 1ar less 1re@uent than the other.

A 1a*ily ghost *ay be "B a thought:1or*, $B an unusually 0i0id i*pression in the astrallight, or 8B a genuine earth:bound ancestor still haunting so*e particular place.

In this connection, it *ay be added that where0er any intense passion has been 1elt, suchas terror, pain, sorrow, hatred, etc., so power1ul an i*pression is *ade on the astral lightthat persons with but a 1aint gli**er o1 psychic 1aculty *ay be i*pressed by it. A slightte*porary increase o1 sensibility would enable a *an to 0isualie the entire scene hence*any stories o1 haunted places, and o1 the unpleasant in1luences o1 such spots as Tyburn

Tree, the !ha*ber o1 Horrors at ada*e Tussaud>s, etc..

Apparitions at the spot where a cri*e was co**itted are usually thought:1or*s pro?ected by the cri*inal who, whether li0ing or dead, but *ost especially when dead, is perpetually thin/ing o0er again and again the circu*stances o1 his actions. ince thesethoughts are naturally specially 0i0id in his *ind on the anni0ersary o1 his cri*e, it *ayhappen that the thought:1or* is strong enough to *aterialie itsel1 so as to be 0isible to physical sight, thus accounting 1or *any cases where the *ani1estation is periodical.

i*ilarly, a ?ewel, which has been the cause o1 *any cri*es, *ay retain the i*pressionso1 the passions pro*pting the cri*es, with uni*paired clearness, 1or *any thousands o1

years, and continue to radiate the*.

A thought o1 pheno*enal energy and concentration, whether it be a blessing or a curse,calls into being an ele*ental which is practically a li0ing storage:battery with a /ind o1 cloc/wor/ attach*ent. It can be arranged to discharge itsel1 regularly at a certain our daily, or upon a certain anni0ersary, or its discharge *aybe contingent upon certainoccurrences. any instances o1 this class o1 ele*ental are on record, Pa0e +2C particularlyin the Highlands o1 cotland, where physical warnings occur be1ore the death o1 a

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*e*ber o1 the 1a*ily. In these cases it is usually the power1ul thought:1or* o1 anancestor which gi0es the warning, according to the intention with which it was charged.

A su11iciently strong wish : a concentrated e11ort o1 intense lo0e or en0eno*ed hate :would create such an entity once 1or all, an entity which would then be @uite

disconnected 1ro* its creator, and would carry on its appointed wor/ entirely irrespecti0eo1 later intentions and desire on his part. ere repentance could not recall it or pre0ent itsaction any *ore than repentance could stop a bullet once discharged. Its power could beto a considerable e4tent neutralised only by sending a1ter it thoughts o1 a contrarytendency.

-ccasionally an ele*ental o1 this class, being unable to e4pend its 1orce either upon itsob?ect or its creator, *ay beco*e a /ind o1 wandering de*on, and be attracted by any person who harbours si*ilar 1eelings. I1 su11iciently power1ul, it *ay e0en sie upon andinhabit a passing shell see page "%"B, in which it is able to husband its resources *orecare1ully. In this 1or* it *ay *ani1est through a *ediu*, and, by *as@uerading as a

well:/nown 1riend, *ay obtain in1luence o0er people upon who* it would otherwiseha0e little hold.

uch ele*entals, whether 1or*ed consciously or unconsciously, which ha0e beco*ewandering de*ons, in0ariably see/ to prolong their li1e, either by 1eeding li/e 0a*piresupon the 0itality o1 hu*an beings, or by in1luencing the* to *a/e o11erings to the*.A*ong si*ple hal1:sa0age tribes they ha0e 1re@uently succeeded in getting the*sel0esrecognised as 0illage or 1a*ily gods. The less ob?ectionable types *ay be content witho11erings o1 rice and coo/ed 1oods the lowest and *ost loathso*e class de*and blood:sacri1ices. )oth 0arieties e4ist today in India, and in greater nu*bers in A1rica.

)y drawing *ainly upon the 0itality o1 their Pa0e +)C de0otees, and also upon thenourish*ent they can obtain 1ro* the o11erings, they *ay prolong their e4istence 1or years, or e0en centuries. They *ay e0en per1or* occasional pheno*ena o1 a *ild type inorder to sti*ulate the 1aith and eal o1 their 1ollowers, and they in0ariably *a/ethe*sel0es unpleasant in so*e way or other i1 the sacri1ices are neglected.

The blac/ *agicians o1 Atlantis : the 2lords o1 the dar/ 1ace2 : see*s to ha0e specialisedin this type o1 arti1icial ele*entals, so*e o1 which, it is hinted, *ay ha0e /ept the*sel0esin e4istence e0en to this day. The terrible Indian goddess, 5Kli, *ay well be a relic o1 thistype.

The 0ast *a?ority o1 thought:1or*s are si*ply copies or i*ages o1 people or other *aterial ob?ects. They are 1or*ed 1irst within the *ental body and then pass outwardsand re*ain suspended be1ore the *an. This applies to anything about which one *ay bethin/ing persons, houses, landscapes, or anything else.

A painter, 1or e4a*ple, builds out o1 the *atter o1 his *ental body a conception o1 his1uture picture, pro?ects it into space in 1ront o1 hi*, /eeps it be1ore his 2*ind>s eye2, andcopies it. This thought and e*otion:1or* persists and *ay be regarded as the unseen

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counterpart o1 the picture, radiating out its own 0ibrations and a11ecting all who co*ewithin its in1luence.

i*ilarly a no0elist builds in *ental *atter i*ages o1 his characters, and then, by hiswill, *o0es these puppets 1ro* one position or grouping to another, so that the plot o1 the

story is literally acted out be1ore hi*.

A curious e11ect arises in such a case. A play1ul nature:spirit ee !hapter $9B *ay ensoulthe i*ages and cause the* to do things other than those which the author intended the*do to. ore 1re@uently a dead writer *ay percei0e the i*ages and, being still interestedin the cra1t o1 writing, *ay *ould the characters and in1luence their actions according tohis Pa0e +(C own ideas. The actual writer thus o1ten 1inds his plots wor/ing the*sel0esout according to a plan @uite di11erent 1ro* his original conception.

In reading a boo/, it is possible 1or a genuine student, with attention 1ully concentrated, toget into touch with the original thought:1or* which represents the author>s conception as

he wrote. Through the thought:1or* the author hi*sel1 *ay e0en be reached, andadditional in1or*ation thus obtained, or light gained on di11icult points.

There are in the *ental and astral worlds *any renderings o1 well:/nown stories, eachnation usually ha0ing its special presentation, with the characters dressed in its own particular national garb. There thus e4ist e4cellent and li1e:li/e thought:1or*s o1 peopleli/e herloc/ Hol*es, !aptain 5ettle, <obinson !rusoe, ha/espeare>s characters, etc..

In 1act, there are on the astral plane 0ast nu*bers o1 thought:1or*s o1 a co*parati0ely per*anent character, o1ten the result o1 the cu*ulati0e wor/ o1 generations o1 people.any o1 these re1er to alleged religious history, and the sight o1 the* by sensiti0e people

is responsible 1or *any @uite genuine accounts gi0en by untrained seers and seeresses.Any great historical e0ent, ha0ing been constantly thought o1, and 0i0idly i*aged bylarge nu*bers o1 people, e4ists as a de1inite thought:1or* on the *ental plane, andwhere0er there is any strong e*otion connected with it, it is *aterialised also in astral*atter and conse@uently can be seen by a clair0oyant.

The abo0e applies e@ually, o1 course, to scenes and situations in 1iction, dra*a, etc..

!onsidered in the *ass, it is easy to realie the tre*endous e11ect that these thought:1or*s or arti1icial ele*entals ha0e in producing national and race:1eelings, and thus in biasing and pre?udicing the *ind 1or thought:1or*s o1 a si*ilar /ind ha0e a tendency to

aggregate together and 1or* a /ind o1 collecti0e entity. We see e0erything through thisat*osphere, e0ery thought is *ore or less re1racted by it, and our own Pa0e ++C astral bodies are 0ibrating in accord with it. As *ost people are recepti0e rather than initiati0ein their nature, they act al*ost as auto*atic reproducers o1 the thoughts which reachthe*, and thus the national at*osphere is continually intensi1ied. This 1act ob0iouslye4plains *any o1 the pheno*ena o1 crowd:consciousness ee !hapter $&B

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The in1luence o1 these aggregated thought:1or*s e4tends still 1urther. Thought:1or*s o1 adestructi0e type act as a disrupti0e agent and o1ten precipitate ha0oc on the physical plane, causing 2accidents2, natural con0ulsions, stor*s, earth@ua/es, 1loods, or cri*e,disease, social uphea0als and wars.

It is possible also 1or dead people and other non:hu*an entities, such as *ischie0ousnature:spirits, see page "7"B 1or e4a*ple, to enter and 0i0i1y these thought:i*ages. Thetrained seer has to learn to distinguish the thought:1or*, e0en when 0i0i1ied, 1ro* theli0ing being, and pro*inent 1acts o1 the astral world 1ro* the te*porary *oulds intowhich they are cast.

-ur third class o1 thought:e*otion 1or*s consists o1 those which are not directlyconnected with any natural ob?ects, and which there1ore e4press the*sel0es in 1or*sentirely their own, displaying their inherent @ualities in the *atter which they drawaround the*sel0es. In this group, there1ore, we ha0e a gli*pse o1 the 1or*s natural to theastral and *ental planes. Thought:1or*s o1 this class al*ost in0ariably *ani1est

the*sel0es on the astral plane, as the 0ast *a?ority o1 the* are e4pressions o1 1eeling aswell as o1 thought.

uch a 1or* si*ply 1loats detached in the at*osphere, all the ti*es radiating 0ibrationssi*ilar to those originally sent 1orth by its creator. I1 it does not co*e into contact withany other *ental body, the radiation gradually e4hausts its store o1 energy and the 1or*then 1alls to pieces; but i1 it succeeds in awa/ening sy*pathetic 0ibrations in any *ental body near at hand, an attraction is set up, and the thought:1or* is usually absorbed bythat *ental body. Pa0e +,C

6ro* the abo0e we see that the in1luence o1 a thought: form is less 1ar:reaching than that

o1 a thought:vi#ration, but it acts with *uch greater precision. A thought:0ibrationreproduces thoughts o1 an order similar to that which ga0e it birth. A thought:1or*reproduces the same thought. The radiations *ay a11ect thousands and stir in the*thoughts o1 the sa*e le0el as the original, though none o1 the* *ay be identical with it.The thought:1or* can a11ect only 0ery 1ew, but in those 1ew cases it will reproducee4actly the initiatory idea.

6or pictorial, coloured illustrations o1 *any /inds o1 thought and e*otion 1or*s, thestudent is re1erred to the classic wor/ on the sub?ect Thought!1orms$ by Annie )esantand !.W.Leadbeater This whole chapter, indeed, is largely a condensed su**ary o1 the principles enunciated in that wor/.

Fague thoughts or 1eelings show the*sel0es as 0ague clouds. +e1inite thought or 1eelingscreate clearly de1ined 1or*s. Thus a 1or* o1 de1inite a11ection directed to a a particular indi0idual shapes itsel1 not unli/e a pro?ectile a thought o1 protecti0e a11ection beco*esso*ewhat li/e a bird, with a central portion o1 yellow and two wing:shaped pro?ectionso1 rose:pin/ a thought o1 uni0ersal lo0e beco*es a rose:pin/ sun with rays in e0erydirection.

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Thoughts in which sel1ishness or greed are pro*inent usually ta/e a hoo/ed 1or*, thehoo/s in so*e case actually clawing round the ob?ect desired.

As a general principle, the energy o1 a sel1ish thought *o0es in a closed cur0e, and thusine0itably returns and e4pends itsel1 upon its own le0el. An absolutely unsel1ish thought

or 1eeling, howe0er, rushes 1orth in an open cur0e, and thus does not return, in theordinary sense, but pierces through into the plane abo0e, because only in that higher condition, with its additional di*ension, can it 1ind roo* 1or its e4pansion. )ut, in thus brea/ing through, such a thought or 1eeling opens a door, as we *ight say sy*bolically,o1 di*ension e@ui0alent to its dia*eter, and thus pro0ides a Pa0e +/C channel throughwhich the higher planes can pour the*sel0es into the lower : o1ten with wonder1ulresults, as in the case o1 prayer, both 1or the thin/er and 1or others.

Herein lies the highest and best part o1 the belie1 in answers to prayer. -n the higher planes there is an in1inite 1lood o1 1orce always ready and waiting to be poured throughwhen a channel is o11ered. A thought o1 per1ectly unsel1ish de0otion pro0ides such a

channel, the grandest and noblest part o1 such a thought ascending to the Logos Hi*sel1.The response 1ro* Hi* is a descent o1 the di0ine li1e, resulting in a great strengtheningand upli1ting o1 the *a/er o1 the channel, and the spreading all about hi* o1 a power1uland bene1icent in1luence, which 1lows through the reser0oir that e4ists on the higher planes 1or the helping o1 *an/ind. It is this adding to the reser0oir o1 spiritual 1orcewhich is the truth in the catholic idea o1 wor/s o1 supererogation. The ir*Kna/Kyas areespecially associated with this great reser0oir o1 1orce.

editation upon a aster *a/es a lin/ with Hi*, which shows itsel1 to clair0oyant0ision as a /ind o1 line o1 light. The aster always subconsciously 1eels the i*pinging o1 such a line, and sends out along it in response a steady strea* o1 *agnetis* which

continues to play long a1ter the *editation is o0er. <egularity in such *editation is a 0eryi*portant 1actor.

A thought o1 de1inite, well:sustained de0otion *ay assu*e a 1or* closely rese*bling a1lower, whilst de0otional aspiration will create a blue cone, the ape4 pointing upwards.

uch thought:1or*s o1 de0otion are o1ten e4ceedingly beauti1ul, 0arying *uch in outline, but characterised by cur0ed upward:pointing petals li/e aure 1la*es. It is possible thatthe 1lower:li/e characteristic o1 de0otion 1or*s *ay ha0e led to the custo* o1 o11ering1lowers in religious worship, the 1lowers suggesting the 1or*s 0isible to astral sight. Pa0e+.C

Intense curiosity, or desire to /now, ta/es the 1or* o1 a yellow sna/e e4plosi0e anger or irritation, o1 a splash o1 red and orange sustained anger, o1 a sharp, red stiletto spite1ul ?ealousy shows itsel1 as a brownish sna/e.

6or*s produced by people who ha0e *ind and e*otion well under control and de1initelytrained in *editation, are clear, sy**etrical ob?ects o1 great beauty, o1ten ta/ing well:/nown geo*etrical 1or*s, such as triangles, two triangles interlaced, 1i0e:pointed stars,

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he4agons, crosses, and so on, these indicating thoughts concerned with cos*ic order, or *etaphysical concepts.

The power o1 the united thought o1 a nu*ber o1 people is always 1ar *ore than the su*o1 their separate thoughts it would be *ore nearly represented by their product.

usic also produces 1or*s which are perhaps not technically thought:1or*s : unless weta/e the*, as we the*, as we well *ay, as the result o1 the thought o1 the co*poser,e4pressed by the s/ill o1 the *usician through his instru*ent.

These *usic 1or*s will 0ary according to the type o1 *usic, the /ind o1 instru*ent which plays it, and the s/ill and *erits o1 the per1or*er. The sa*e piece o1 *usic will, i1 accurately played, always build the sa*e 1or*, but that 1or* will, when played on achurch organ or by an orchestra, be enor*ously larger than, as well as o1 di11erent te4ture1ro* that produced when played upon a piano. There will also be a di11erence in te4ture between the result o1 a piece o1 *usic played upon a 0iolin and the sa*e piece e4ecuted

upon a 1lute. There is also a wide di11erence between the radiant beauty o1 the 1or* produced by a true artist, per1ect e4pression and e4ecution, and the relati0ely dull e11ect produced by a wooden and *echanical player.

usic 1or*s *ay re*ain as coherent erections 1or a considerable ti*e : an hour or two atleast : and during all that ti*e they are radiating their characteristics Pa0e +C 0ibrationsin e0ery direction, ?ust as thought:1or*s do.

In Thought!1orms three coloured e4a*ples are gi0en, o1 *usic 1or*s build by *usic o1 endelssohn, o1 3ounod, and o1 Wagner respecti0ely.

The 1or*s which are built 0ary *uch with di11erent co*posers. An o0erture by Wagner *a/es a *agni1icent whole, as though he built with *ountains o1 1la*e 1or stones. -neo1 )ach>s 1ugues builds up an ordered 1or*, bold yet precise, rugged but sy**etrical,with parallel ri0ulets o1 sil0er and gold or ruby running through it, *ar/ing thesuccessi0e appearances o1 the motif. -ne o1 endelssohn>s Lieber ohne Worte *a/es anairy erection, li/e a castle o1 1iligree wor/ in 1rosted sil0er.

These 1or*s, created by the per1or*ers o1 the *usic, are @uite distinct 1ro* the thought:1or*s *ade by the co*poser hi*sel1, which o1ten persist 1or *any years, e0en 1or centuries, i1 he is so 1ar understood and appreciated that his original conception isstrengthened by the thoughts o1 his ad*irers. i*ilar edi1ices are constructed by a poet>s

idea o1 his epic, or a writer>s conception o1 his sub?ect. o*eti*es crowds o1 nature:spirits see page "7"B *ay be seen ad*iring the *usic :1or*s and bathing in the wa0es o1 in1luence which they send 1orth.

In studying pictorial representations o1 thought:1or*s it is i*portant to bear in *ind thatthought:1or*s are 1our:di*ensional ob?ects. It is there1ore a practical i*possibility todescribe the* ade@uately in words which pertain to our ordinary three:di*ensionale4periences, still less to portray the* in two:di*ensional pictures on paper. tudents o1

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the 1ourth di*ension will realise that the *ost that can be done is to represent a section o1 the 1our:di*ensional 1or*s.

It is re*ar/able, and possibly deeply signi1icant 1act,that *any o1 the higher types o1 thought:1or*s assu*e shapes closely rese*bling 0egetable and ani*al 1or*s. We thus

ha0e at least a presu*ption that the 1orces o1 nature wor/ along lines so*ewhat si*ilar Pa0e ,4C to those along which thought and e*otion wor/. ince the whole uni0erse is a*ighty thought:1or* called into e4istence by the Logos, it *ay well be that tiny parts o1 it also result 1ro* the thought:1or*s o1 *inor entities engaged in the sa*e creati0e wor/.This conception naturally recalls the Hindu belie1 that there are 889,999,999 +e0as.

It is also worthy o1 notice that, whilst so*e o1 the thought:1or*s are so co*plicated andso e4@uisitely 1ashioned as to be beyond the power o1 the hu*an hand to reproduce, yetthey *ay be 0ery closely appro4i*ated by *echanical *eans. The instru*ent, /nown asa Har*onograph, consists o1 a 1ine point guided in its path by se0eral pendulu*s, each o1 which has its own independent swing, all o1 these being welded into one co*posite

*o0e*ent, which is co**unicated to the pointer, and which the pointer registers on asuitable sur1ace.

-ther, though si*pler 1or*s, rese*ble the sand 1igures produced by the well:/nown!hladni>s sound plate or by the Eidophone N0ide )idophone -oice 1igures$ by argaretWatts HughesB.

cales and arpeggios thrown out lasso:li/e loops and cur0es a song with a chorus produces a nu*ber o1 beads strung on a sil0er thread o1 *elody in a glee or part:songintertwining threads o1 di11erent colours and te4tures are produced. A processional hy*n builds a series o1 precise rectangular 1or*s, li/e the lin/s o1 a chain or the carriages o1 a

railway train. An Anglican chant *a/es glittering 1rag*ents, @uite di11erent 1ro* theglowing uni1or*ity o1 the 3regorian tone, which is not unli/e the e11ect o1 ans/rit0erses chanted by an Indian pandit.

ilitary *usic produces a long strea* o1 rhyth*ically 0ibrating 1or*s, the regular beato1 these undulations tending to strengthen those o1 the astral bodies o1 the soldiers, thei*pact o1 a succession o1 steady and power1ul oscillations supplying 1or the ti*e the place o1 the will:1orce which, through 1atigue, *ay ha0e been slac/ened. Pa0e ,1C

A thunderstor* creates a 1la*ing band o1 colour, a crash *a/ing a 1or* suggesti0e o1 ane4ploding bo*b, or an irregular sphere with spi/es pro?ecting 1ro* it. ea:wa0es

brea/ing on the shore create wa0y, parallel lines o1 changing colour, beco*ing *ountainranges in a stor*. Wind in the lea0es o1 1orest co0ers it with iridescent networ/, risingand 1alling with gentle wa0e:li/e *o0e*ent.

The song o1 birds shows as cur0ing lines and loops o1 light, 1ro* the golden globes o1 thecampanero to the a*orphous and coarsely:coloured *ass o1 the screa* o1 a parrot or *acaw. The roar o1 a lion is also 0isible in higher *atter and it is possible that so*e wildcreatures are able to see it clair0oyantly, thus adding to their terror. A purring cat

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surrounds itsel1 with concentric rosy cloud:1il*s a bar/ing dog shoots 1orth well:de1inedsharp:pointed pro?ectiles not unli/e a ri1le bullet, which pierce the astral bodies o1 peopleand seriously disturb the*. The bay o1 a bloodhound throws o11 beads li/e 1ootballs,slower in *otion and less liable to in?ure. The colour o1 these pro?ectiles is usually red or brown, 0arying with the e*otion o1 the ani*al and the /ey o1 his 0oice.

The lowing o1 a cow produces blunt:ended clu*sy shapes li/e logs o1 wood. A 1loc/ o1 sheep *a/es a *any:pointed yet a*orphous cloud not unli/e a dust:cloud. The cooing o1 a pair o1 do0es *a/es grace1ul cur0ed 1or*s li/e the letter re0ersed.

Turning to hu*an sounds, an angry e?aculation throws itsel1 1orth li/e a scarlet spear astrea* o1 silly chatter produces an intricate networ/ o1 hard brown:grey *etallic lines,1or*ing an al*ost per1ect barrier against any higher or *ore beauti1ul thoughts and1eelings. The astral body o1 a garrulous person is a stri/ing ob?ect:lesson on the 1olly o1 unnecessary, useless and unpleasant speech.

A child>s laughter bubbles 1orth in rosy cur0es the gu11aw o1 an e*pty:*inded personcauses an e4plosi0e e11ect in an irregular *ass, usually brown or dirty green. A sneer throws out a shapeless pro?ectile Pa0e ,2C o1 dull red, usually 1lec/ed with brownish:green and bristling with sharp points.

The cachinations o1 the sel1:conscious produce the appearance and colour o1 a pool o1 boiling *ud. er0ous giggles creates a sea:weed li/e tangle o1 brown and dull yellowlines, and ha0e a 0ery bad e11ect upon the astral body. A ?olly, /indly laugh billows out inrounded 1or*s o1 gold and green. A so1t and *usical whistle produces an e11ect notunli/e that o1 a s*all 1lute, but sharper and *ore *etallic. Tuneless whistling sends outs*all piercing pro?ectiles o1 dirty brown.

6idgetiness or 1ussiness produces in the aura tre*ulous 0ibrations, so that no thought or 1eeling can pass in or out without distortion, e0en good through that is being sent outta/ing with it a shi0er that practically neutralises it. Accuracy in thought is essential, butit should be attained not by hurry or 1uss but by per1ect cal*ness.

The strident screech o1 a railway engine *a/es a 1ar *ore penetrating and power1ul pro?ectile than e0en the bar/ o1 a dog, producing upon the astral body an e11ectco*parable to that o1 a sword thrust upon the physical body. An astral wound heals in a1ew *inutes, but the shoc/ to the astral organis* disappears by no *eans so readily.

The 1iring o1 a gun produces a serious e11ect upon astral currents and astral bodies. <i1leor pistol 1ire throws out a strea* o1 s*all needles.

<epeated noises a11ect the *ental and astral bodies precisely as blows a11ect the physical body. In the physical body the result would be pain in the astral body it *eansirritability in the *ental body a 1eeling o1 1atigue and inability to thin/ clearly.

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It is abundantly clear that all loud, sharp or sudden sounds should, as 1ar as possible, bea0oided by any one who wishes to /eep his astral and *ental 0ehicles in good order.Especially disastrous is the e11ect, e.g.$ o1 the ceaseless noise and roar o1 a city upon the plastic astral and *ental bodies o1 children. Pa0e ,)C

All the sounds o1 nature blend the*sel0es into one tone, called by the !hinese the 23reatTone2, or 5U3. This also has its 1or*, a synthesis o1 all 1or*s, 0ast and change1ul as thesea, representing the note o1 our earth in the *usic o1 the spheres. This is said by so*ewriters to be the note 6 o1 our scale.

It is, o1 course, possible to destroy a thought:1or*, and this is so*eti*es done, 1or e4a*ple, where a person a1ter death is pursued by a *alignant thought:1or*, created probably by the hate o1 those who* the person had in?ured whilst in the physical world.Although such a thought:1or* *ay appear al*ost as a li0ing creature : an instance isgi0en where it rese*bled a huge distorted gorilla : it is si*ply a te*porary creation o1 e0il passion and in no sense an e0ol0ing entity, so that to dissipate it is si*ply li/e

destroying a Leyden ?ar, and it is not in any sense a cri*inal action.

ost *en recognie that acts which in?ure others are de1initely and ob0iously wrong, but1ew recognie that it is also wrong to 1eel ?ealousy, hatred, a*bition, etc., e0en thoughsuch 1eelings are not e4pressed in speech or deed. An e4a*ination o1 the conditions o1 li1e a1ter death !hapters "8 to "&B re0eals that such 1eelings in?ure the *an who harboursthe*, and cause hi* acute su11ering a1ter death.

A study o1 thought:1or*s thus brings ho*e to the earnest student the tre*endous possibilities o1 such creations, and the responsibility attaching to a right use o1 the*.Thoughts are not only things, but e4ceedingly puissant things. E0ery one is generating

the* unceasingly night and day. -1ten it is not possible to render physical aid to those inneed, but there is no case in which help *ay not be gi0en by thought, or in which it can1ail to produce a de1inite result. o one need hesitate to use this power to the 1ull pro0ided always that it be e*ployed 1or unsel1ish purposes, and 1or 1urthering the di0inesche*e o1 e0olution. Pa0e ,(C

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!hapter 7 Physical Li1e

In !hapter $ we considered, in general outline, the co*position and structure o1 the astral body. We shall now proceed to study it, in greater detail, as it e4ists and is used during theordinary aking consciousness o1 the physical body.

The 1actors which deter*ine the nature and @uality o1 the astral body during physical li1e*ay be roughly grouped as 1ollows :

": The physical li1e.$: The e*otional li1e.8: The *ental li1e

": The *hysical Life. ! We ha0e already seen page 7B that e0ery particle o1 the physical body has its corresponding astral 2counterpart2. !onse@uently, as the solids, li@uids, gasesand ethers o1 which the physical is co*posed *ay be coarse or re1ined, gross or delicate,so will be the nature o1 the corresponding astral en0elopes. A physical body nourished oni*pure 1ood will produce a corresponding i*pure astral body, whilst a physical body 1edon clean 1ood and drin/ will help to puri1y the astral 0ehicle.

The astral body being the 0ehicle o1 e*otion, passion and sensation, it 1ollows that anastral body o1 the grosser type will be chie1ly a*enable to the grosser 0arieties o1 passionand e*otion whereas a 1iner astral body will *ore readily 0ibrate to *ore re1inede*otions and aspirations.

It is i*possible to *a/e the physical body coarse and at the sa*e ti*e to organise theastral and *ental bodies 1or 1iner purposes neither is it possible to ha0e a pure physical body with i*pure *ental and astral bodies. All three bodies are thus interdependent. Pa0e,+C

ot only the physical body, but also the higher bodies also, are a11ected by the 1oodwhich is eaten. !arni0orous diet is 1atal to anything li/e real occult de0elop*ent andthose who adopt it are throwing serious and unnecessary di11iculties in their own way, 1or 1lesh 1ood intensi1ies all the undesirable ele*ents and passions o1 the lower planes.

In the ancient ysteries were *en o1 the ut*ost purity and they were in0ariably0egetarian. The <K?a ogi ta/es especial pains to puri1y the physical body by an elaboratesyste* o1 1ood, drin/, sleep, etc., and insists on 1oods which are sattvic$ or 2rhyth*ic2. Awhole syste* relating to 1oodstu11s is built up to help in the preparation o1 the body 1or use by the higher consciousness. 6lesh 1oods are ra23sic$ i.e., they co*e under the @ualityo1 acti0ity, being sti*ulants, and built up to e4press ani*al desires and acti0ities. Theyare utterly unsuited to the 1iner type o1 ner0ous organiation. The yogi there1ore cannota11ord to use these 1or the higher processes o1 thought.

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6oods on the way to decay, such as ga*e, 0enison, etc., as well as alcohol, are tam3sic$ or hea0y, and also to be a0oided.

6oods which tend to growth, such as grain and 1ruits, are s3tvic, or rhyth*ic, being the*ost highly 0italised and suitable 1or building up a body sensiti0e and at the sa*e ti*e

strong.

!ertain other substances also a11ect the physical and astral bodies detri*entally. Thustobacco per*eates the physical body with i*pure particles, causing e*anations so*aterial that they are 1re@uently perceptible to the sense o1 s*ell, astrally, tobacco notonly introduces i*purity, but tends also to deaden the sensibility o1 the body 2soothingthe ner0es2, as it is called. While this *ay, in conditions o1 *odern li1e, be so*eti*esless har*1ul than lea0ing the ner0es 2unsoothed2, it is certain undesirable 1or an occultist,who needs the capacity o1 answering instantly to all possible 0ibrations, co*bined, o1 course, with per1ect control. Pa0e ,,C

i*ilarly, there is no doubt whate0er that 1ro* the point o1 0iew o1 both astral and *ental bodies the use o1 alcohol is always an e0il.

)odies 1ed on 1lesh and alcohol are liable to be thrown out o1 health by opening up o1 thehigher consciousness and ner0ous diseases are partly due to the 1act that the hu*anconsciousness is trying to e4press itsel1 through bodies clogged with 1lesh products and poisoned with alcohol. In particular, the pituitary body is 0ery readily poisoned by e0en a0ery s*all a*ount o1 alcohol, and its highest e0olution is thereby chec/ed. It is the poisoning o1 the pituitary body with alcohol that leads to the abnor*al and irrational0ision associated with deliriu* tre*ens.

In addition to the direct coarsening o1 the physical and astral bodies, *eat, tobacco andalcohol are open also to the serious ob?ection that they tend to attract undesirable astralentities which ta/e pleasure in the scent o1 blood and spirits they surge around the person, i*pressing their thoughts upon hi*, 1orcing their i*pressions on his astral body,so that the person *ay ha0e a /ind o1 shell o1 ob?ectionable entities hanging on to hisaura. Principally 1or this reason, in the oga o1 the <ight Hand Path *eat and wine areabsolutely 1orbidden.

These entities consist o1 arti1icial ele*entals, gi0en birth to by the thoughts and desires o1 *en, and also o1 depra0ed *en i*prisoned in their astral bodies, /nown as ele*entariessee page "'&B. The ele*entals are attracted towards people whose astral bodies contain

*atter congenial to their nature, while the ele*entaries naturally see/ to indulge in 0icessuch as they the*sel0es encouraged while in physical bodies. An astral clair0oyant cansee hordes o1 loathso*e ele*entals crowding round butchers> shops, whilst in beer:houses and gin:palaces ele*entaries specially gather, 1easting on the e*anation o1 theli@uors,and thrusting the*sel0es so*eti*es into the 0ery bodies o1 the drin/ers.

early all drugs : such as opiu*, cocaine, Pa0e ,/C theine in tea, ca11eine in co11ee, etc. : produce a deleterious e11ect upon the higher 0ehicles. -ccasionally they are, o1 course,

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al*ost a necessity, in certain diseases but an occultist should use the* as sparingly as possible.

-ne who /nows how to do it can re*o0e the e0il e11ect o1 opiu* which *ay ha0e beenused to relie0e great painB 1ro* the astral and *ental bodies a1ter it has done its wor/ on

the physical.

+irt o1 all /inds is also *ore ob?ectionable in the higher worlds e0en than in the physicaland attracts a low class o1 nature:spirits see page "7"B. The occultist there1ore needs to be stringent in all *atters o1 cleanliness. Especial attention should be paid to the handsand 1eet, because through these e4tre*ities e*anations 1low out so readily.

Physical noises, such as pre0ail in cities, ?ar the ner0es and thus cause irritations and1atigue the e11ect is accentuated by the pressure o1 so *any astral bodies 0ibrating atdi11erent rates, and all e4cited and disturbed by tri1les. Although such irritation issuper1icial, and *ay pass out o1 the *ind in ten *inutes, yet an e11ect *ay be produced in

the astral body lasting 1or 1orty:eight hours. Hence it is di11icult, whilst li0ing in *oderncities, to a0oid irritability, especially 1or one whose bodies are *ore highly strung andsensiti0e than those o1 the ordinary *an.

In general, it *ay be said that e0erything which pro*otes the health o1 the physical bodyalso reacts 1a0orably upon the higher 0ehicles.

Tra0el is another o1 the *any 1actors which a11ect the astral body, by bringing to bear onthe tra0eler a change o1 etheric and astral in1luences connected with each place or district.-cean, *ountain, 1orest, water1all, each has its own special type o1 li1e, astral and ethericas well as 0isible, and there1ore its own set o1 in1luences. any o1 these unseen entities

are pouring out 0itality, and in any case their e11ect on etheric, astral and *ental bodies isli/ely to be healthy and desirable in the long run, though a change *ay be so*ewhattiring at the ti*e. Hence an occasional Pa0e ,.C change 1ro* town to country is bene1icialon the ground o1 e*otional as well as physical health.

The astral body *ay also be a11ected by such ob?ects as talis*ans. The *ethods o1 *a/ing the* ha0e already been described in The )theric (ou#le $ pages ""8 to ""#. Weshall here deal only with their general e11ects.

When an ob?ect is strongly charged with *agnetis* 1or a particular purpose by aco*petent person, it beco*es a talis*an, and when properly *ade continues to radiate

this *agnetis* with uni*paired strength 1or *any years.

It *ay be used 1or *any purposes. Thus, 1or e4a*ple, a talis*an *ay be charged withthoughts o1 purity, which will e4press the*sel0es as de1inite rates o1 0ibration in astraland *ental *atter. These 0ibratory rates, being directly contrary to thoughts o1 i*purity,will tend to neutralise or o0erpower any i*pure thought which *ay arise. In *any casesthe i*pure thought is a casual one that has been pic/ed up and is not there1ore a thing o1 great power in itsel1. The talis*an, on the other hand, has been intentionally and strongly

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charged, so that when the two strea*s o1 thought *eet, there is not the slightest doubtthat the thoughts connected with the talis*an will 0an@uish the others.

In addition, the initial con1lict between the opposing sets o1 thoughts will attract the*an>s attention, and thus gi0e hi* ti*e to recollect hi*sel1, so that he will not be ta/en

o11 this guard, as so 1re@uently happens.

Another e4a*ple would be that o1 a talis*an charged with 1aith and courage. This wouldoperate in two ways. 6irst, the 0ibrations radiating 1ro* the talis*an would oppose1eelings o1 1ear as soon as they arose, and thus pre0ent the* 1ro* accu*ulating andstrengthening one another, as they o1ten do, until they beco*e irresistible. The e11ect has been co*pared to that o1 a gyroscope which, once set in *otion in one direction, stronglyresists being turned into another direction.

econdly, the talis*an wor/s indirectly upon the Pa0e ,C *ind o1 the wearer as soon ashe 1eels the beginnings o1 1ear, he will probably recollect the talis*an, and call up the

reser0e strength o1 his own will to resists the undesirable 1eeling.

A third possibility o1 a talis*an is that o1 its being lin/ed with the person who *ade it. Inthe e0ent o1 the wearer being in desperate circu*stances, he *ay call upon the *a/er ande0o/e a response 1ro* hi*. The *a/er *ay or *ay not be physically conscious o1 theappeal, but in any case his ego will be conscious and will respond by rein1orcing the0ibrations o1 the talis*an.

!ertain articles are to a large e4tent natural a*ulets or talis*ans. All precious stones aresuch, each ha0ing a distinct in1luence which can be utilied in two ways "B the in1luenceattracts to it ele*ental essence o1 a certain /ind, and thoughts and desires which naturally

e4press the*sel0es through that essence; $B these natural peculiarities *a/e it a 1it0ehicle 1or *agnetis* which is intended to wor/ along the sa*e line as those thoughtsand e*otions. Thus, 1or e4a*ple, 1or an a*ulet o1 purity, a stone should be chosen whosenatural undulations are inhar*onious to the /ey in which i*pure thoughts e4pressthe*sel0es.

Although the particles o1 the stone are physical, yet, being in a /ey identical at this le0elwith the /ey o1 purity on higher le0els, they will, e0en without the stone being*agnetised, chec/ i*pure thought or 1eeling by 0irtue o1 the o0ertones. 6urther*ore, thestone can readily be charged at astral and *ental le0els with the undulations o1 purethought and 1eeling which are set in the sa*e /ey.

-ther e4a*ples are "B the rudra/sha berry, 1re@uently used 1or nec/laces in India, whichis especially suitable 1or *agnetisation where sustained holy thought or *editation isre@uired, and where all disturbing in1luences are to be /ept away; $B the beads o1 thetulsi plant, whose in1luence is so*ewhat di11erent.

-b?ects which produce strong scents are natural talis*ans. Thus the gu*s chosen 1or incense gi0e Pa0e /4C out radiations 1a0ourable to spiritual and de0otional thought, and do

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not har*onie with any 1or* o1 disturbance or worry. ediae0al witches so*eti*esco*bined the ingredients o1 incense so as to produce the opposite e11ect, and it is alsodone today in Luci1erian cere*onies. It is generally desirable to a0oid coarse and hea0yscents, such as that o1 *us/ or o1 satchet powder, as *any o1 the* are a/in to sensual1eelings.

An ob?ect not intentionally charged *ay so*eti*es ha0e the 1orce o1 a talis*an e.g.$ a present 1ro* a 1riend, worn on the person, such as a ring or chain, or e0en a letter.

An ob?ect, such as a watch, habitually carried in the poc/et, beco*es charged with*agnetis* and is able, i1 gi0en away, to produce decided e11ects on the recipient. !oinsand *oney notes are usually charged with *i4ed *agnetis*, 1eeling and thought, and*ay, there1ore, radiate a disturbing and irritating e11ect.

A *an>s thoughts and 1eelings thus a11ect not only hi*sel1 and other people, but alsoi*pregnate the inani*ate ob?ects round hi*, e0en walls and 1urniture. He thus

unconsciously *agnetises these physical ob?ects, so that they ha0e the power o1 suggesting si*ilar thoughts and 1eelings to other people within range o1 their in1luence.

$B The )motional Life. : It is scarcely necessary to insist that the @uality o1 the astral body is largely deter*ined by the /ind o1 1eelings and e*otions which constantly playthrough it.

A *an is using his astral body, whether he be conscious o1 the 1act or not, whene0er hee4presses an e*otion, ?ust as he is using his *ental body whene0er he thin/s, or his physical body whene0er he per1or*s physical wor/. This, o1 course, is @uite a di11erentthing 1ro* utiliing his astral body as an independent 0ehicle through which his

consciousness can be 1ully e4pressed, a *atter which we shall ha0e to consider later, indue course.

The astral body, as we ha0e seen, is the 1ield o1 *ani1estation o1 desire, the *irror inwhich e0ery 1eeling Pa0e /1C is instantly re1lected, in which e0en e0ery thought whichhas in it anything that touches the personal sel1 *ust e4press itsel1. 6ro* the *aterial o1 the astral body bodily 1or* is gi0en to the dar/ 2ele*entals2 se page '&B, which *encreate and set in *otion by e0il wishes and *alicious 1eelings 1ro* it also are bodied1orth the bene1icent ele*entals called into li1e by good wishes, gratitude and lo0e.

The astral body grows by use, ?ust as e0ery other body does, and it also has its own

habits, built up and 1i4ed by constant repetition o1 si*ilar acts. The astral body during physical li1e being the recipient o1 and respondent to sti*uli both 1ro* the physical bodyand 1ro* the lower *ental, it tends to repeat auto*atically 0ibrations to which it isaccusto*ed; ?ust as the hand *ay repeat a 1a*iliar gesture, so *ay the astral body repeata 1a*iliar 1eeling or thought.

All the acti0ities that we call e0il, whether sel1ish thoughts *entalB or sel1ish e*otionsastralB, in0ariably show the*sel0es as 0ibrations o1 the coarser *atter o1 those planes,

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whist good and unsel1ish thought or e*otion sets in 0ibrations the higher types o1 *atter.As 1iner *atter is *ore easily *o0ed than coarse, it 1ollows that a gi0en a*ount o1 1orcespent in good thought or 1eeling produces perhaps a hundred ti*es as *uch result as thesa*e a*ount o1 1orce sent out into coarser *atter. I1 this were not so, it is ob0ious thatthe ordinary *an could ne0er *a/e any progress at all.

The e11ect o1 "9 o1 1orce directed to good ends enor*ously outweighs that o1 #9de0oted to sel1ish purposes, and so on the whole such a *an *a/es an appreciablead0ance 1ro* li1e to li1e. A *an who has e0en " o1 good *a/es a slight ad0ance. A *anwhose account balances e4actly, so that he neither ad0ances nor retrogresses, *ust li0e adistinctly e0il li1e whilst in order to go downwards in e0il a person *ust be an unusuallyconsistent 0illain.

Thus e0en people who are doing nothing consciously towards their e0olution, and who lete0erything go as Pa0e /2C it will, are ne0ertheless gradually e0ol0ing, because o1 theirresistible 1orce o1 the Logos which is steadily pressing the* onwards. )ut they are

*o0ing so slowly that it will ta/e the* *illions o1 years o1 incarnation and trouble anduselessness to gain e0en a step.

The *ethod by which progress is *ade certain is si*ple and ingenious. As we ha0e seen,e0il @ualities are 0ibrations o1 the coarser *atter o1 the respecti0e planes, while good@ualities are e4pressed through the higher grades o1 *atter. 6ro* this 1ollow twore*ar/able results.

It *ust be born in *ind that each sub:plane o1 the astral body has a special relationship tothe corresponding sub:plane o1 the *ental body; thus the 1our lower astral sub:planescorrespond to the 1our /inds o1 *atter in the *ental body, while the three higher astral

sub:planes correspond to the three /inds o1 *atter in the causal body.

Hence the lower astral 0ibrations can 1ind no *atter in the causal body capable o1 responding to the*, and so the higher @ualities alone can be built into the causal body.Thence it e*erges that any good which a *an de0elops in hi*sel1 is per*anentlyrecorded by a change in his causal body, while the e0il which he does, 1eels, or thin/scannot possibly touch the real ego, but can cause disturbance and trouble only to the*ental body, which is renewed 1or each 1resh incarnation. The result o1 e0il is stored inthe astral and *ental per*anent ato*s the *an, there1ore, has still to 1ace it all o0er ando0er again, until he has 0an@uished it, and 1inally rooted 1ro* his 0ehicles all tendency torespond to it. That is e0idently a 0ery di11erent *atter 1ro* ta/ing it into the ego and*a/ing it really a part o1 hi*sel1.

Astral *atter responds *ore rapidly that physical to e0ery i*pulse 1or* the world o1 *ind, and conse@uently the astral body o1 a *an, being *ade o1 astral *atter, shares thisreadiness to respond to the i*pact o1 thought, and thrills in answer to e0ery thought Pa0e/)C that stri/es it, whether the thoughts co*e 1ro* without, i.e.$ 1ro* the *inds o1 other *en, or 1ro* within, 1ro* the *ind o1 its owner.

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An astral body, there1ore, which is *ade by its owner to respond habitually to e0ilthoughts acts as a *agnet to si*ilar thought : and e*otion:1or*s in its 0icinity, whereas a pure astral body acts on such thoughts with repulsi0e energy, and attracts to itsel1 thought: and e*otion:1or*s o1 *atter and 0ibrations congruous with its own.

6or it *ust be borne in *ind that the astral world is 1ull o1 thoughts and e*otions o1 other *en, and that these e4ert a ceaseless pressure, constantly bo*barding e0ery astral bodyand setting up in it 0ibrations si*ilar to their own.

In addition, there are nature:spirits see page "7"B o1 a low order, which en?oy the coarse0ibrations o1 anger and hatred, and throw the*sel0es into any current o1 such nature, thusintensi1ying the undulations and adding 1resh li1e to the*. People yielding the*sel0es tocoarse 1eelings can depend on being constantly surrounded by such carrion:crows o1 theastral world who ?ostle one another in eager anticipation o1 an outburst o1 passion.

any o1 the *oods to which *ost people are sub?ect, in greater or lesser degree, are due

to outside astral in1luences. Whilst depression, 1or e4a*ple, *ay be due to a purely physical cause, such as indigestion, a chill, 1atigue, etc., e0en *ore 1re@uently it is caused by the presence o1 an astral entity who is hi*sel1 depressed and is ho0ering around either in search o1 sy*pathy or in the hope o1 drawing 1ro* the sub?ect the 0itality which helac/s.

6urther*ore, a *an who, 1or e4a*ple, is beside hi*sel1 with rage, te*porarily loses holdo1 his astral body, the desire:ele*ental see page (B beco*ing supre*e. Under suchcircu*stances the *an *ay be seied upon and obsessed either by a dead *an o1 si*ilar nature or by so*e e0il arti1icial ele*ental. Pa0e /(C

The student should sternly and especially disregard depression, which is a great barrier to progress, and at least should endea0or to let no one else /now that he is oppressed by it. Itindicates that he is thin/ing *ore o1 hi*sel1 than o1 the aster, and it *a/es it *oredi11icult 1or the aster>s in1luence to act upon hi*. +epression causes *uch su11ering tosensiti0e people, and is responsible 1or *uch o1 the terror o1 children at night. The inner li1e o1 an aspirant ought not to be one o1 continual e*otional oscillation.

Abo0e all things, the aspirant should learn not to worry. !ontent*ent is not inco*patiblewith aspiration. -pti*is* is ?usti1ied by the certainty o1 the ulti*ate triu*ph o1 good,though it is true that i1 we ta/e into account only the physical plane it is not easy to*aintain that position.

Under the stress o1 0ery power1ul e*otions, i1 a *an lets hi*sel1 go too 1ar, he *ay die, beco*e insane, or be obsessed. uch obsession need not necessarily be what we call e0il,though the truth is that all obsession is in?urious.

An illustration o1 this pheno*enon *ay be ta/en 1ro* 2con0ersion2 at a religious re0i0al.-n such occasions so*e *en get wor/ed up into a condition o1 such tre*endouse*otional e4cite*ent that they swing beyond the degree o1 sa1ety they *ay then be

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obsessed by a departed preacher o1 the sa*e religious persuasion, and thus two souls *ay be te*porarily wor/ through one body. The tre*endous energy o1 these hystericale4cesses is contagious and *ay spread rapidly through a crowd.

An astral disturbance is set up o1 the nature o1 a gigantic whirlpool. Towards this pour

astral entities whose one desire is 1or sensation these are all /inds o1 nature:spirits see page "7"B who delight in and bathe in the 0ibrations o1 wild e4cite*ent, o1 whate0er character, be it religious or se4ual, ?ust as children pay in the sur1. They supply andrein1orce the energy so rec/lessly e4pended. The do*inant idea being usually the sel1ishone o1 sa0ing one>s own soul, Pa0e /+C the astral *atter is o1 a coarse /ind, and thenature:spirits are also o1 a pri*iti0e type.

The e*otional e11ect o1 a religious re0i0al is thus 0ery power1ul. In so*e cases a *an*ay be genuinely and per*anently bene1ited by his 2con0ersion2, but the serious studento1 occultis* should a0oid such e4cesses o1 e*otional e4cite*ent, which 1or *any peopleare apt to be dangerous. 2E4cite*ent is alien to the spiritual li1e2.

There are, o1 course, *any causes o1 insanity it *ay be due to de1ects in one or *ore o1 the 0ehicles : physical, etheric, astral, and *ental. In one 0ariety it is caused by a want o1 accurate ad?ust*ent between the astral particles and the particles o1 either the etheric or the *ental body. uch a case would not reco0er sanity until he reached the hea0en:world,i.e.$ until he had le1t his astral body and passed into his *ental body. This type o1 insanityis rare.

The e11ect on the astral body caused by astral 0ibrations o1 another astral body has long been recognised in the East, and is one o1 the reasons why it is such an i**ensead0antage to a pupil to li0e in close pro4i*ity to one *ore highly e0ol0ed than hi*sel1.

An Indian teacher not only *ay prescribe 1or his pupil special /inds o1 e4ercises or study,in order to puri1y, strengthen and de0elop the astral body, but also by /eeping the pupil inhis neighborhood physically see/s by this close association to har*onie and attune the pupil>s 0ehicles to his own. uch a teacher has already cal*ed his own 0ehicles andaccusto*ed the* to 0ibrate at a 1ew care1ully selected rates instead o1 in a hundred pro*iscuous 1renies. These 1ew rates o1 0ibration are 0ery strong and steady, and eachday and night, whether he is sleeping or wa/ing, they play unceasingly upon the 0ehicleso1 the pupil, and gradually raise hi* to his teacher>s /ey.

6or si*ilar reasons, an Indian, who wishes to li0e the higher li1e, retires to the ?ungle, asa *an o1 other races withdraws 1ro* the world and li0es as a her*it. He thus has at least breathing space, and rest 1ro* Pa0e /,C 1ro* the endless con1lict caused by the perpetual battering on his 0ehicles o1 other people>s 1eelings and thoughts, and can 1ind ti*e tothin/ coherently. The cal* in1luences o1 ature are also to a certain e4tent help1ul.

o*ewhat analogous are the e11ects produced on ani*als which are closely associatedwith hu*an beings. The de0otion o1 an ani*al 1or the *aster who* he lo0es, and his*ental e11orts to understand his *aster>s wishes and to please hi*, enor*ously de0elopthe ani*al>s intellect and his power o1 de0otion and a11ection. )ut in addition to this, the

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constant play o1 the *an>s 0ehicles on those o1 the ani*al greatly assist the process, andthus prepare the way 1or the ani*al to indi0idualie and beco*e a hu*an entity.

It is possible, by an e11ort o1 will, to *a/e a shell o1 astral *atter on the periphery o1 theastral aura. This *ay be done 1or three purposes "B to /eep out e*otional 0ibrations,

such as anger, en0y or hatred, intentionally directed at one by another; $B to /eep outcasual 0ibrations o1 low type which *ay be 1loating in the astral world and i*pinge uponone>s aura; 8B to protect the astral body during *editation. uch shells do not usually last1or long, but need to be 1re@uently renewed i1 re@uired 1or any length o1 ti*e.

uch a shell would, o1 course, /eep 0ibrations in as well as out. The student shouldthere1ore *a/e the shell only o1 the coarsest astral *atter, as he will not wish to /eepaway, or to pre0ent 1ro* passing outwards, 0ibrations in the higher types o1 astral *atter.

As a general principle, it *ay be said that to use a shell 1or onesel1 is to so*e e4tent acon1ession o1 wea/ness, as i1 one is all one should be, no arti1icial protection o1 this /ind

would be needed. -n the other hand, shells *ay o1ten be used with ad0antage to helpother people who need protection.

It will be recollected see page (B that a *an>s astral body consists not only o1 ordinaryastral *atter, but also o1 a @uantity o1 ele*ental essence. +uring the Pa0e //C *an>s li1ethis ele*ental essence is segregated 1ro* the ocean o1 si*ilar *atter around, and practically beco*es 1or that ti*e what *ay be described as a /ind o1 arti1icial ele*entalsee page '&9 i.e.$ a /ind o1 se*i:intelligent separate entity /nown as the +esire:Ele*ental. The +esire:Ele*ental 1ollows the course o1 its own e0olution downwards into*atter without any re1erence to or, indeed, any /nowledge o1B the con0enience or intention o1 the Ego to who* it happens to be attached. Its interests are thus dia*etrically

opposed to those o1 the *an, as it is see/ing e0er stronger and coarser 0ibrations. Hencethe perpetual struggle described by t. Paul as 2the law in the *e*bers warring againstthe law o1 the *ind2. 6urther*ore, 1inding that association with the *ental *atter o1 the*an>s *ind:body brings to it *ore 0i0id 0ibrations, it endea0ors to stir up the *ental*atter into sy*pathy with it, and to induce the *an to belie0e that he desires thesensations which it desires.

!onse@uently, it beco*es a sort o1 te*pter. e0ertheless the desire:ele*ental is not ane0il entity in 1act it is not an e0ol0ing entity at all, ha0ing no power o1 reincarnation it isonly the essence o1 which it is co*posed which is e0ol0ing. or has this shadowy beingany e0il designs upon the *an, 1or it /nows nothing whate0er o1 the *an o1 who*, 1or the ti*e, it 1or*s a part. It is thus in no way a 1iend to the regarded with horror, but is as*uch a part o1 the di0ine li1e as the *an hi*sel1, though at a di11erent stage o1 itsun1old*ent.

It is a *ista/e to i*agine that by re1using to grati1y the desire:ele*ental with coarse0ibrations, a *an is thereby chec/ing its e0olution 1or this is not the case. )y controllingthe passions and de0eloping the higher @ualities, a *an drops the lower and helps toe0ol0e the higher types o1 essence the lower /inds o1 0ibrations can be supplied by an

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ani*al, at so*e later ti*e, e0en better than by a *an, whereas no one but a *an cane0ol0e the higher type o1 essence.

All through li1e a *an should de1initely 1ight against Pa0e /.C the desire:ele*ental and itstendency to see/ 1or the lower, coarser physical 0ibrations, recogniing @uite clearly that

its consciousness, its li/e and disli/es, are not his own. He has hi*sel1 created it andshould not beco*e a sla0e to it, but learn to control it and realie hi*sel1 as apart 1ro* it.

This *atter will be 1urther considered in !hapter "$.

8B The ,ental Life. ! -ur third and last 1actor which a11ects the astral body duringordinary wa/ing consciousness is the *ental li1e. The *ental acti0ities ha0e the *ost 1ar:reaching e11ects on the astral body 1or two reasons :

"B )ecause lower *ental *atter, anas, is so ine4tricably lin/ed with astral *atter,5K*a, that it is al*ost i*possible 1or *ost people to utilie one without the other i.e.$

1ew people can thin/ without at the sa*e ti*e 1eeling, or 1eel without at the sa*e ti*e, toso*e e4tent, thin/ing.

$B )ecause the organiation and control o1 the astral body rest with the *ind. This is ane4a*ple o1 the general principle that each body is built up by consciousness wor/ing inthe plane ne4t abo0e it. Without the creati0e power o1 thought the astral body cannot beorganied.

E0ery i*pulse sent by the *ind to the physical body has to pass through the astral body,and produces an e11ect on it also. 6urther, as astral *atter is 1ar *ore responsi0e tothought:0ibrations than is physical, the e11ect o1 *ental 0ibrations on it is proportionately

greater than on the physical body. !onse@uently a controlled, trained and de0eloped *indtends also to bring the astral body under control and to de0elop it. When, howe0er, the*ind is not acti0ely controlling the astral body, the latter, being peculiarly susceptible tothe in1luence o1 passing thought:currents, is perpetually recei0ing these sti*uli 1ro*without, and eagerly responding to the*.

o 1ar, we ha0e dealt with the general e11ects produced on the astral body, duringordinary li1e, by the nature o1 the physical, e*otional and *ental li1e. Pa0e /C We ha0enow to deal, but in general outline only, with the use o1 the special 1aculties o1 the astral body itsel1, during the wa/ing consciousness.

The nature o1 these 1aculties, and their connection with the 0arious !ha/ra*s in the astral body, we ha0e already described in !hapter &. )y *eans o1 the powers o1 astral *atter itsel1, de0eloped through the agency o1 the !ha/ra*s, a *an is enabled not only torecei0e 0ibrations 1ro* etheric *atter, trans*itted through the astral body to his *ind, but also to recei0e i*pressions direct 1ro* the surrounding *atter o1 the astral world,these, o1 course, being also si*ilarly trans*itted through the *ental body to the real *anwithin.

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)ut in order to recei0e i*pressions in this *anner direct 1ro* the astral world, the *an*ust learn to 1ocus his consciousness in his astral body, instead o1, as is usually the case,in his physical brain.

In the lower types o1 *en, 5K*a, or desire, is still e*phatically the *ost pro*inent

1eature, though the *ental de0elop*ent has also proceeded to so*e e4tent. Theconsciousness o1 such *en is centred in the lower part o1 the astral body, their li1e beinggo0erned by sensations connected with the physical plane. That is the reason why theastral body 1or*s the *ost pro*inent part o1 the aura in the unde0eloped *an.

An ordinary *an o1 our own race is also still li0ing al*ost entirely in his sensations,although the higher astral is co*ing into play but still, 1or hi*, the pro*inent @uestionwhich guides his conduct is not what is right or reasonable to do, but si*ply what hehi*sel1 desires to do. The *ore cultured and de0eloped are beginning to go0ern desire byreason that is to say, the centre o1 consciousness is gradually trans1erring itsel1 1ro* thehigher astral to the lower *ental. lowly as the *an progresses it *o0es up 1urther still,

and the *an begins to be do*inated by principle rather than be interest and desire.

The student will recollect that hu*anity is still Pa0e .4C in the 6ourth <ound, whichshould naturally be de0oted to the de0elop*ent o1 desire and e*otion; yet we areengaged in the un1olding o1 intellect, which is to be the special characteristic o1 the 6i1th<ound. That this is so is due to the i**ense sti*ulus gi0en to our e0olution by thedescent o1 the Lords o1 the 6la*e 1ro* Fenus, and by the wor/ o1 the Adepts, who ha0e preser0ed 1or us that in1luence and steadily sacri1iced the*sel0es in order that we *ight*a/e the better progress.

It should also be recollected that, in the s*aller cycle o1 races,the 6i1th <oot <ace is

wor/ing at the *ind:body, whereas the 6ourth <oot <ace is *ore especially concernedwith the astral body.

In spite o1 the 1act that, in the 0ast *a?ority o1 cases the centre o1 consciousness is locatedin the astral body, *ost *en are @uite unaware o1 the 1act, /nowing nothing at all aboutthe astral body or its uses. They ha0e behind the* the traditions and custo*s o1 a longseries o1 li0es in which the astral 1aculties ha0e not been used; yet all the ti*e those1aculties ha0e been gradually and slowly growing inside a shell, so*ewhat as a chic/ grows inside the egg. Hence a 0ery large nu*ber o1 people ha0e astral 1aculties, o1 whichthey are entirely unconscious, in reality 0ery near the sur1ace, so to spea/, and its probable that in the near 1uture, as these *atters beco*e *ore widely /nown andunderstood, in great nu*bers o1 cases these latent 1aculties will brea/ through, and astral powers will then beco*e 1ar *ore co**on than they are today.

The shell spo/en o1 abo0e is co*posed o1 a great *ass o1 sel1:centred thought in whichthe ordinary *an is al*ost hopelessly ento*bed. This applies also, perhaps with e0engreater 1orce, to the sleep li1e,with which we shall deal in the ne4t chapter.

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We spo/e abo0e o1 1ocusing the consciousness in the astral body. The consciousness o1 *an can be 1ocused in only one 0ehicle at a ti*e, though he *ay be si*ultaneouslyconscious through the others in a 0ague way. Pa0e .1C a si*ple analogy *ay be ta/en1ro* ordinary physical sight. I1 the 1inger be held up be1ore the 1ace, the eyes can be so1ocussed as to see the 1inger per1ectly at the sa*e ti*e the distant bac/ground can also

be seen, though i*per1ectly, because it is out o1 1ocus. In a *o*ent the 1ocus can bechanged so that the bac/ground is seen per1ectly, but the 1inger, now out o1 1ocus, onlydi*ly and 0aguely.

Precisely in the sa*e way, i1 a *an who has de0eloped astral and *ental consciousness1ocuses hi*sel1 in the physical brain, as in ordinary li1e, he will see per1ectly the physical bodies o1 people, and at the sa*e ti*e he will see their astral and *ental bodies, but onlyso*ewhat di*ly. In 1ar less than a *o*ent he can change the 1ocus o1 his consciousnessso that he sees the astral 1ully and per1ectly but in that case he will see the *ental and physical bodies also, but not in 1ull detail. The sa*e thing is true o1 the *ental sight ando1 the sight o1 higher planes.

Thus in the case o1 a highly de0eloped *an, whose consciousness has already de0elopede0en beyond the causal higher *entalB body, so that he is able to 1unction 1reely on the buddhic plane, and has also a *easure o1 consciousness upon the Kt*ic plane, the centreo1 consciousness lies between the higher *ental and the buddhic plane. The higher *ental and the higher astral are in hi* *uch *ore de0eloped than their lower parts, andthough he still retains his physical body, he holds it *erely 1or the con0enience o1 wor/ing in it, and not in any way because his thoughts and desires are 1i4ed there. uch a*an has transcended all 5K*a which could bind hi* to incarnation, and his physical body is there1ore retained in order that it *ay ser0e as an instru*ent 1or the 1orces o1 thehigher planes to reach down e0en to the physical plane<Pa0e .2C

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!hapter # leep:Li1e

The real cause o1 sleep would appear to be that the bodies grow tired o1 one another. Inthe case o1 the physical body, not only e0ery *uscular e4ertion, but also e0ery 1eelingand thought, produce certain slight che*ical changes. A healthy body is always trying tocounteract these changes, but it ne0er @uite succeeds whilst the body is awa/e.!onse@uently with e0ery thought, 1eeling or action there is a slight, al*ost i*perceptibleloss, the cu*ulati0e e11ect o1 which e0entually lea0es the physical body too e4hausted to be capable o1 1urther thought or wor/. In so*e cases e0en a 1ew *o*ents o1 sleep will besu11icient 1or recuperation, this being e11ected by the physical ele*ental.

In the case o1 the astral body, it 0ery soon beco*es tired o1 the hea0y labour o1 *o0ingthe particles o1 the physical brain, and needs a considerable period o1 separation 1ro* itto enable it to gather strength to resu*e the ir/so*e tas/.

-n its own plane, howe0er, the astral body is practically incapable o1 1atigue, since it has been /nown to wor/ incessantly 1or twenty:1i0e years without showing signs o1 e4haustion.

Although e4cessi0e and long:continued e*otion tires a *an 0ery @uic/ly in ordinary li1e,it is not the astral body which beco*es 1atigued, but the physical organis* though whichthe e*otion is e4pressed or e4perienced.

i*ilarly with the *ental body. When we spea/ o1 *ental 1atigue, it is in reality a*isno*er, 1or it is the brain, not the *ind, that is tired. There is no such thing as 1atigueo1 the mind. Pa0e .)C

When a *ean lea0es his body in sleep or in deathB, the pressure o1 the surrounding astral*atter : which really *eans the 1orce o1 gra0ity on the astral plane : i**ediately 1orcesother astral *atter into the astrally e*pty space. uch a te*porary astral counterpart is ane4act copy, so 1ar as arrange*ent is concerned, o1 the physical body, but ne0ertheless ithas no real connection with it, and could ne0er be used as a 0ehicle. It is *erely a1ortuitous concurrence o1 particles, drawn 1ro* any astral *atter o1 a suitable /ind thathappens to be at hand. When the true astral body returns, it pushes out this other astral*atter without the slightest opposition.

This is clearly one reason why e4tre*e care should be e4ercised as to the surroundings inwhich a *an sleeps 1or, i1 those surrounding are e0il, astral *atter o1 an ob?ectionabletype *ay 1ill the physical body while the *an>s astral body is absent, lea0ing behindin1luences which cannot but react unpleasantly upon the real *an when he returns.

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When a *an 2goes to sleep2, his higher principles in their astral 0ehicle withdraw 1ro*the physical body, the dense body and the etheric body re*aining by the*sel0es on the bed, the astral body 1loating in the air abo0e the*. In sleep, then, a *an is si*ply usinghis astral body instead o1 his physical it is only the physical body that is asleep, notnecessarily the *an hi*sel1.

Usually the astral body, thus withdrawn 1ro* the physical, will retain the 1or* o1 the physical body, so that the person is readily recogniable to any one who /nows hi* physically. This is due to the 1act that the attraction between the astral and the physical particles, continued all through physical li1e, sets up a habit or *o*entu* in the astral*atter, which continues e0en while it is te*porarily withdrawn 1ro* the sleeping physical body.

6or this reason, the astral body o1 a *an who is asleep will consist o1 a central portioncorresponding Pa0e .(C to the physical body, relati0ely 0ery dense, and a surroundingaura, relati0ely *uch rarer.

In the case o1 a 0ery unde0eloped *an, such as a sa0age, he *ay be nearly as *uchasleep as his physical body, because he is capable o1 0ery little de1inite consciousness inhis astral body. He is also unable to *o0e away 1ro* the i**ediate neighborhood o1 thesleeping physical body, and i1 an atte*pt were *ade to draw hi* away in his astral body,he would probably awa/e in his physical body in terror.

His astral body is a so*ewhat shapeless *ass, a 1loating wreath o1 *ist, roughly o0oid inshape, but 0ery irregular and inde1inite in outline the 1eatures and shape o1 the inner 1or* the dense astral counterpart o1 the physical bodyB are also 0ague, blurred andindistinct, but always recogniable.

A *an o1 this pri*iti0e type has been using his astral body, during wa/ing consciousness,sending *ind currents through the astral to the physical brain. )ut when, during sleep,the physical brain is inacti0e, the astral body, being unde0eloped, is incapable o1 recei0ing i*pressions on its own account, and so the *an is practically unconscious, being unable to e4press hi*sel1 clearly through the poorly organied astral body. Thecentres o1 sensation in it *ay be a11ected by passing thought:1or*s, and he *ay answer in it to sti*uli that rouse the lower nature. )ut the whole e11ect gi0en to the obser0er isone o1 sleepiness and 0agueness, the astral body lac/ing all de1inite acti0ity and 1loatingidly, inchoate, abo0e the sleeping physical 1or*.

In a @uite une0ol0ed person, there1ore, the higher principles, i.e.$ the *an hi*sel1, areal*ost as *uch asleep as the physical body.

In so*e cases the astral body is less lethargic, and 1loats drea*ily about on the 0ariousastral currents, occasionally recognising other people in a si*ilar condition, and *eetingwith e4periences o1 all sorts, pleasant and unpleasant, the *e*ory o1 which, hopelesslycon1used and o1ten tra0estied into a grotes@ue Pa0e .+C caricature o1 what really

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happened ee !hapter "9 on (reamsB will cause the *an to thin/ ne4t *orning what are*ar/able drea* he has had.

In the case o1 a *ore e0ol0ed *an, there is a 0ery great di11erence. The inner 1or* is*uch *ore distinct and de1inite : a closer reproduction o1 the *an>s physical appearance.

Instead o1 the surrounding *ist:wreath, there is a sharply de1ined o0oid 1or* preser0ingits shape una11ected a*idst all the 0aried currents which are always swirling around it onthe astral plane.

A *an o1 this type is by no *eans unconscious in his astral body, but is @uite acti0elythin/ing. e0ertheless, he *ay be ta/ing 0ery little *ore notice o1 his surroundings thanthe sa0age. ot because he is incapable o1 seeing, but because he is so wrapped up in hisown thought that he does not see, though he could do so i1 he chose. Whate0er *ay ha0e been the thoughts engaging his *ind during the past day, he usually continues the* whenhe 1alls asleep, and he is thus surrounded by so dense a wall o1 his own *a/ing that heobser0es practically nothing o1 what is going on outside. -ccasionally a 0iolent i*pact

1ro* without, or e0en so*e strong desire o1 his own 1ro* within, *ay tear aside thiscurtain o1 *ist and per*it hi* to recei0e so*e de1inite i*pression. )ut e0en then the 1ogwould close in again al*ost i**ediately, and he would drea* on un:obser0antly as be1ore.

In the case o1 a still *ore de0eloped *an, when the physical body goes to sleep, the astral body slips out o1 it, and the *an is then in 1ull consciousness. The astral body is clearlyoutlined and de1initely organised, bearing the li/eness o1 the *an, and the *an is able touse it as a 0ehicle, a 0ehicle 1ar *ore con0enient than the physical body.

The recepti0ity o1 the astral body has increased, until it is instantly responsi0e to all the

0ibrations o1 its plane, the 1ine as well as the coarser but in the astral body o1 a 0eryhighly de0eloped person Pa0e .,C there would, o1 course, be practically no *atter le1tcapable o1 responding to coarse 0ibrations.

uch a *an is wide awa/e, is wor/ing 1ar *ore acti0ely, *ore accurately, and withgreater power o1 co*prehension, than when he was con1ined in the denser physical0ehicle. In addition, he can *o0e about 1reely and with i**ense rapidity to any distance,without causing the least disturbance to the sleeping physical body.

He *ay *eet and e4change ideas with 1riends, either incarnate or discarnate, who happento be e@ually awa/e on the astral plane, He *ay *eet people *ore e0ol0ed than hi*sel1,

and recei0e 1ro* the* warning or instruction or he *ay be able to con1er bene1its onthose who /now less than hi*sel1. He *ay co*e into contact with non:hu*an entities o1 0arious /inds see !hapters $9 and $" on Astral )ntitiesB he will be sub?ect to all /indso1 astral in1luences, good or e0il, strengthening or terri1ying.

He *ay 1or* 1riendships with people 1ro* to their parts o1 the world he *ay gi0e or listen to lectures i1 he is a student, he *ay *eet other students and, with the additional

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1aculties which the astral world gi0es, he *ay be able to sol0e proble*s which presenteddi11iculties in the physical world.

A physician, 1or e4a*ple, during the sleep o1 the body, *ay 0isit cases in which he isespecially interested. He *ay thus ac@uire new in1or*ation, which *ay co*e through as

a /ind o1 intuition to his wa/ing consciousness.

In a highly e0ol0ed *an, the astral body, being thoroughly organised and 0italised, beco*es as *uch the 0ehicle o1 consciousness on the astral plane as the physical body ison the physical plane.

The astral world being the 0ery ho*e o1 passion and e*otion, those who yieldthe*sel0es to an e*otion can e4perience it with a 0igour and a /eenness *erci1ullyun/nown on earth. Whilst in the physical body *ost o1 the e11iciency o1 an e*otion ise4hausted in trans*ission to the physical plane, but in the astral Pa0e ./C world the wholeo1 the 1orce is a0ailable in its own world. Hence it is possible in the astral world to 1eel

1ar *ore intense a11ection or de0otion than is possible in the physical world si*ilarly anintensity o1 su11ering is possible in the astral world which is uni*aginable in ordinary physical li1e.

An ad0antage o1 this state o1 a11airs is that in the astral world all pain and su11ering are0oluntary and absolutely under control, hence li1e there is *uch easier, 1or the *an whounderstands. To control physical pain by the *ind is possible, but e4ceedingly di11icult but in the astral world anyone can in a *o*ent dri0e away the su11ering caused by astrong e*otion. The *an has only to e4ert his will, when the passion straightwaydisappears. This assertion sounds startling but it is ne0ertheless true, such being the power o1 will and *ind o0er *atter.

To ha0e attained 1ull consciousness in the astral body is to ha0e already *ade aconsiderable a*ount o1 progress when a *an has also bridged o0er the chas* betweenastral and physical consciousness, day and night no longer e4ist 1or hi*, since he leads ali1e unbro/en in its continuity. 6or such a *an, e0en death, as ordinarily concei0ed, hasceased to e4ist, since he carries that unbro/en consciousness not only through night andday, but also through the portals o1 death itsel1, and up to the end o1 his li1e upon theastral plane, as we shall see later when we co*e to deal with the a1ter:death li1e.

Tra0elling in the astral body is not instantaneous but it is so swi1t that space and ti*e*ay be said to be practically con@uered 1or although a *an is passing through space, it is

passed through so rapidly that its power to di0ide is nearly non:e4istent. In two or three*inutes a *an *ight *o0e round the world.

Any 1airly ad0anced and cultured *an a*ong the higher races o1 *an/ind has alreadyconsciousness 1ully de0eloped in the astral body, and is per1ectly capable o1 e*ploying itas a 0ehicle, though in *any Pa0e ..C case he does not do so, because he has not *ade thede1inite e11ort which is at 1irst necessary, until the habit beco*es established.

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The di11iculty with the ordinary person is not that the astral body cannot act, but that 1or thousands o1 years that body has been accusto*ed to being set in *otion only byi*pressions recei0ed through the physical 0ehicle, so that *en do not realise that theastral body can wor/ on its own plane and on its own account, and that the will can actupon it directly. People re*ain 2unawa/e2 astrally because they get into the habit o1

waiting 1or the 1a*iliar physical 0ibrations to call out their astral acti0ity. Hence they*ay be said to be awa/e on the astral plane $ but not in the least to the plane, andconse@uently they are conscious o1 their surroundings only 0ery 0aguely, i1 at all.

When a *an beco*es a pupil o1 one o1 the asters, he is usually at once sha/en out o1 his so*nolent condition on the astral plane, 1ully awa/ened to the realities around hi* onthat plane, and set to learn 1ro* the* and to wor/ a*ong the*, so that his hours o1 sleepare no longer a blan/, but are 1illed with acti0e and use1ul occupation, without in the leastinter1ering with the healthy repose o1 the tired physical body.

In !hapter $7 on nvisi#le Helpers we shall deal *ore 1ully with care1ully planned and

organised wor/ in the astral body here it *ay be stated that e0en be1ore that stage isreached, a great deal o1 use1ul wor/ *ay be and is constantly being done. A *an who1alls asleep with the de1inite intention in his *ind o1 doing a certain piece o1 wor/ willassuredly go and atte*pt to carry out his intention as soon as he is 1reed 1ro* his physical body in sleep. )ut, when the wor/ is co*pleted, it is li/ely that the 1og o1 his own sel1:centred thoughts will close round hi* once *ore, unless he has accusto*ed hi*sel1 toinitiate 1resh lines o1 action when 1unctioning apart 1ro* the physical brain. In so*ecases, o1 course, the wor/ Pa0e .C chosen is such as to occupy the whole o1 the ti*espent in sleep, so that such a *an would be e4erting hi*sel1 to the 1ullest e4tent possible,so 1ar as his astral de0elop*ent per*its.

E0ery one should deter*ine each night to do so*ething use1ul on the astral plane toco*1ort so*e one in trouble to use the will to pour strength into a 1riend who is wea/ or ill to cal* so*e one who is e4cited or hysterical or to per1or* so*e si*ilar ser0ice.

o*e *easure o1 success is absolutely certain, and i1 the helper obser0es closely, he willo1ten recei0e indications in the physical world o1 de1inite results achie0ed.

There are 1our ways in which a *an *ay be 2awa/ened2 to sel1:conscious acti0ity in hisastral body.

"B )y the ordinary course o1 e0olution, which though slow, is sure.

$B )y the *an hi*sel1, ha0ing learnt the 1acts o1 the case, *a/ing the re@uisite steadyand persistent e11ort to clear away the *ist 1ro* within and gradually o0erco*e theinertia to which he is accusto*ed. In order to do this the *an should resol0e be1ore goingto sleep to try when he lea0es the body to awa/en hi*sel1 and see so*ething or do so*euse1ul wor/. This, o1 course, is *erely hastening the natural process o1 e0olution. It isdesirable that the *an should 1irst ha0e de0eloped co**on sense and *oral @ualitiesthis 1or two reasons 1irst, lest he *ay *isuse such powers as he *ay ac@uire; second, lest

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he be o0erwhel*ed by 1ear in the presence o1 1orces which can neither understand nor control.

8B )y so*e accident, or by unlaw1ul use o1 *agical cere*onies, he *ay so rend the 0eilthat it can ne0er wholly be closed again. Instances o1 this are to be 1ound in A Beitched

life by H.P.)la0ats/y, and in 4anoni by Lord )ulwer Lytton

'B A 1riend *ay act 1ro* without upon the closed shell surrounding the *an andgradually arouse the Pa0e 4C *an to higher possibilities. This, howe0er, would ne0er bedone unless the 1riend were @uite sure that the *an to be awa/ened possessed thecourage, de0otion, and other @uali1ications necessary 1or use1ul wor/.

)ut the need o1 helpers on the astral plane is so great that e0ery aspirant *ay be certainthat there will not be a day>s delay in arousing hi* as soon as he is seen to be ready.

It *ay be added that when e0en a child has been awa/ened on the astral plane, the

de0elop*ent o1 the astral body would proceed so rapidly that he would 0ery soon be in a position upon that plane but little in1erior to that o1 the awa/ened adult, and would, o1 course, be *uch in ad0ance, so 1ar as use1ulness is concerned, o1 the wisest *an who wasas yet unawa/ened.

)ut unless the go e4pressing hi*sel1 through the child:body possessed the necessary@uali1ication o1 a deter*ined yet lo0ing disposition, and had clearly *ani1ested it in his pre0ious li0es, no occultist would ta/e the 0ery serious responsibility o1 awa/ening hi*on the astral plane. When it is possible to arouse children in this way, they o1ten pro0e*ost e11icient wor/s on the astral plane, and throw the*sel0es into this wor/ with awhole:souled de0otion which is beauti1ul to see.

Also, while it is co*parati0ely easy to wa/en a *an on the astral plane, it is practicallyi*possible, e4cept by a *ost undesirable use o1 *es*eric in1luence, to put hi* to sleepagain.

leeping and wa/ing li1e are thus seen to be in reality but one during sleep we are awareo1 that 1act, and ha0e the continuous *e*ory o1 both, i.e.$ astral *e*ory includes the physical, though, o1 course, the physical *e*ory by no *eans always includes the*e*ory o1 the astral e4periences.

The pheno*enon o1 sleep:wal/ing so*na*bulis*B *ay apparently be produced in

se0eral distinct ways.

"B The ego *ay be able to act *ore directly upon Pa0e 1C the physical body during theabsence o1 the *ental and astral 0ehicles in cases o1 this nature a *an *ight be able, 1or e4a*ple, to write poetry, paint pictures, etc., which would be 1ar beyond his ordinary powers when awa/e.

(7



$B The physical body *ay be wor/ing auto*atically, and by 1orce o1 habit, uncontrolled by the *an hi*sel1. Instances o1 this occur where ser0ants rise in the *iddle o1 the nightand light a 1ire or attend to other household duties to which they are accusto*ed or where the sleeping physical body carries out to so*e e4tent the idea do*inant in the*ind be1ore 1alling to sleep.

8B An outside entity, incarnate or discarnate, *ay seie the body o1 a sleeping *an anduse it 1or his own ends. This would be *ost li/ely to happen with a person who was*ediu*nistic, i.e.$ whose bodies are *ore loosely ?oined together than usual andthere1ore *ore readily separable.

With nor*al people, howe0er, the 1act that the astral body lea0es the physical bodyduring sleep does not open the way to obsession, because the ego always *aintains aclose connection with his body and he would @uic/ly be recalled to it by any atte*pt that*ight be *ade upon it.

'B A directly opposite condition *ay also produce a si*ilar result. When the principlesor bodies 1it *ore tightly than usual, the *an, instead o1 0isiting a distant place in hisastral body only, would ta/e his physical body along as well, because he is not whollydissociated 1ro* it.

&B o*na*bulis* is probably also connected with the co*ple4 proble* o1 the 0ariouslayers o1 consciousness in *an, which under nor*al circu*stances are unable to *ani1estthe*sel0es.

!losely a/in to sleep:li1e is the condition o1 trance, which but the sleep state, arti1iciallyor abnor*ally induced. ediu*s and sensiti0eQs readily pass out o1 the physical body

into the astral body, usually unconsciously. The astral body can then e4ercise its1unctions, Pa0e 2C such as that o1 tra0elling to a distant place, gathering i*pressionsthere 1ro* surrounding ob?ects and bringing the* bac/ to the physical body. In the caseo1 a *ediu* the astral body can describe these i*pressions by *eans o1 the entranced physical body but, as a rule, when the *ediu* co*es out o1 the trance,the brain does notretain the i*pressions thus *ade on it, no trace being le1t in the physical *e*ory o1 thee4periences ac@uired. -ccasionally, but rarely, the astral body is able to *a/e a lastingi*pression on the brain, so that the *ediu* is able to recollect the /nowledge ac@uiredduring trance. Pa0e )C

(#



!hapter "9 +rea*s

!onsciousness and acti0ity in the astral body are one thing the *e*ory in the brain o1 that astral consciousness and acti0ity are a totally di11erent *atter. The e4istence or theabsence o1 physical *e*ory in no way a11ects the consciousness on the astral plane, nor the ability to 1unction in the astral plane with per1ect ease and 1reedo*. It is, in 1act,notonly possible, but also by no *eans unco**on, 1or a *an to 1unction 1reely and use1ullyin his astral body during the sleep o1 the physical body, and yet to return to the physical body without the slightest *e*ory o1 the astral wor/ upon which he has been engaged.

The brea/ in consciousness between the astral and the physical li1e is due either to un:de0elop*ent o1 the astral body, or to the want o1 an ade@uate etheric bridge between the

astral and the dense physical *atter o1 the bodies.

This bridge consists o1 the closely:wo0en web o1 ato*ic *atter, through which the0ibrations ha0e to pass, and which causes a *o*ent o1 unconsciousness, li/e a 0eil, between sleeping and wa/ing.

The only way in which *e*ory o1 the astral li1e can be brought through into the physical brain is by su11icient de0elop*ent o1 the astral body and by an awa/ening o1 the etheric!ha/ra*s, one 1unction o1 which is to bring 1orces 1ro* the astral to the etheric. Inaddition, there *ust be acti0e 1unctioning o1 the pituitary body, which 1ocuses the astral0ibrations.

o*eti*es, on awa/ening, there is a 1eeling that so*ething has been e4perienced o1 which no *e*ory re*ains. The 1eeling indicates that there has been Pa0e (C astralconsciousness, though the brain is insu11iciently recepti0e to recei0e the record. At other ti*es the *an in his astral body *ay succeed in *a/ing a *o*entary i*pression on theetheric double and the dense body, resulting in a 0i0id *e*ory o1 the astral li1e. This isso*eti*es done deliberately when so*ething occurs which the *an 1eels that he ought tore*e*ber on the physical plane. uch a *e*ory usually 0anishes @uic/ly and cannot bereco0ered e11orts to reco0er the *e*ory, by setting up strong 0ibrations in the physical brain, still 1urther o0erpower the *ore delicate astral 0ibrations, and conse@uently render success e0en *ore i*possible.

There are so*e e0ents, too, which *a/e such a 0i0id i*pression upon the astral body thatthey beco*e i*pressed upon the physical brain by a /ind o1 repercussion see page $'$B.

In other cases, a *an *ay succeed in i*pressing new /nowledge on the physical brain,without being able to con0ey also the *e*ory o1 where or how that /nowledge wasgained. Instances o1 this, co**on to *ost people, occur where solutions o1 proble*s, pre0iously insoluble, suddenly arise in the consciousness, or where light is suddenly

%9



thrown on to @uestions pre0iously obscure. uch cases *ay be ta/en to indicate that progress is being *ade with the organisation and 1unctioning o1 the astral body, althoughthe physical body is still only partially recepti0e.

In cases where the physical brain does respond, there are 0i0id, reasonable and coherent

drea*s, such as occur to *any people 1ro* ti*e to ti*e.

6ew people, when in the astral body, care whether the physical brain re*e*bers or not,and nine out o1 ten *uch disli/e returning to the body. In co*ing bac/ to the physical body 1ro* the astral world there is a 1eeling o1 great constraint, as though one were beingen0eloped in a thic/, hea0y cloa/. The ?oy o1 li1e on the astral plane is so great that physical li1e in co*parison with it see*s no li1e at all. any regard the daily return to the physical body as *en Pa0e +C o1ten do their daily ?ourney to the o11ice. They do not positi0ely disli/e it, but they would not do it unless they were co*pelled.

E0entually, in the case o1 highly de0eloped and ad0anced persons, the etheric bridge

between the astral and the physical worlds is constructed, and then there is per1ectcontinuity o1 consciousness between the astral and the physical li0es. 6or such people li1eceases to be co*posed o1 days o1 re*e*brance and nights o1 obli0ion, and beco*esinstead, a continuous whole, year a1ter year, o1 unbro/en consciousness.

-ccasionally, a *an who has nor*ally no *e*ory o1 his astral li1e, *ay unintentionally,through an accident, or illness, or intentionally by certain de1inite practices, bridge o0er the gap between astral and physical consciousness, so that 1ro* that ti*e onwards hisastral consciousness will be continuous, and his *e*ory o1 his sleep li1e there1ore be per1ect. )ut, o1 course, be1ore this could ta/e place, he *ust already ha0e de0eloped 1ullconsciousness in the astral body. It is *erely the rending o1 the 0eil between the astral

and physical that is sudden, not the de0elop*ent o1 the astral body.

The drea* li1e *ay be considerably *odi1ied as a direct result o1 *ental growth. E0eryi*pulse sent by the *ind to the physical brain has to pass through the astral body, and, asastral *atter is 1ar *ore responsi0e to thought:0ibrations than is physical *atter, it1ollows that the e11ects produced on the astral body are correspondingly greater. Thus,when a *an has ac@uired *ental control, i.e.$ has learned to do*inate the brain, toconcentrate, and to thin/ as and when he li/es, a corresponding change will ta/e place inhis astral li1e; and, i1 he brings the *e*ory o1 that li1e through into the physical brain, hisdrea*s will beco*e 0i0id, well:sustained, rational, e0en instructi0e.

In general, the *ore the physical brain is trained to answer to the 0ibrations o1 the *ental body, the *ore is the bridging o1 the gul1 between wa/ing and sleeping Pa0e ,Cconsciousness 1acilitated. The brain should beco*e *ore and *ore the obedientinstru*ent o1 the *an, acting under i*pulses 1ro* his will.

The drea*ing o1 ordinary e0ents does not inter1ere with astral wor/, because thedrea*ing ta/es place in the physical brain, while the real *an is away attending to other

%"



*atters. It does not really *atter what the physical brain does, so long as it /eeps itsel1 1ree 1ro* undesirable thoughts.

-nce a drea* is started, its course cannot usually be changed but the drea*:li1e can becontrolled indirectly to a considerable e4tent. It is especially i*portant that the last

thought on sin/ing to sleep should be a noble and ele0ating one, as this stri/es the/eynote which largely deter*ines the nature o1 the drea*s which 1ollow. An e0il or i*pure thought attracts e0il and i*pure in1luences and creatures, which react on the *indand astral body and tend to awa/en low and earthly desires.

-n the other hand, i1 a *an 1alls asleep with his thoughts 1i4ed on high and holy things,he will auto*atically draw round hi* ele*entals created by si*ilar e11orts o1 others, andconse@uently his drea*s will be lo1ty and pure.

As we are dealing in this boo/ *ainly with the astral body, and pheno*ena closelyassociated with it, it is not necessary to atte*pt to deal e4hausti0ely with the so*ewhat

large sub?ect o1 drea* consciousness. e0ertheless, in order to show the proper setting o1 the part which the astral body plays in the drea* li1e, it will be use1ul to gi0e a 0ery brie1 outline o1 the *ain 1actors operati0e in producing drea*s.6or a detailed study o1 thewhole *atter the student is re1erred to that e4cellent te4tboo/, (reams by!.W.Leadbeater , 1ro* which the 1ollowing 1acts are e4tracted.

The 1actors concerned in the production o1 drea*s are :

": The loer physical #rain$ with its in1antile se*i:consciousness, and its habit o1 e4pressing e0ery sti*ulus in pictorial 1or*. Pa0e /C

$: The etheric part of the #rain$ through which sweeps a ceaseless procession o1 disconnected pictures.

8: The astral #ody$ palpitating with the wild surgings o1 desire and e*otion.

': The ego in the causal bodyB who *ay be in any state o1 consciousness, 1ro* al*ostco*plete insensibility to per1ect co**and o1 his 1aculties.

When a *an goes to sleep, his ego withdraws 1urther within hi*sel1, and lea0es his0arious bodies *ore 1ree than usual to go their own way. These separate bodies "B are*uch *ore susceptible o1 i*pressions 1ro* without than at other ti*es; and $B ha0e a

0ery rudi*entary consciousness o1 their own. !onse@uently there is a*ple reason 1or the production o1 drea*s, as well as 1or con1used recollections in the physical brain o1 thee4periences o1 the other bodies during sleep.

uch con1used drea*s *ay thus be due to "B a series o1 disconnected pictures andi*possible trans1or*ations produced by the senseless auto*atic action o1 the lower physical brain; $B a strea* o1 casual thought which has been pouring through the etheric part o1 the brain; 8B the e0er:restless tide o1 earthly desire, playing through the astral

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body and probably sti*ulated by astral in1luences; 'B an i*per1ect atte*pt atdra*atisation by an unde0eloped ego; &B a *ingling o1 se0eral or all o1 these in1luences.

We will brie1ly describe the principal ele*ents in each o1 these /inds o1 drea*s.

": *hysical Brain (reams. ! When in sleep the ego, 1or the ti*e, resigns control o1 the brain, the physical body still has a certain di* consciousness o1 its own and in additionthere is also the aggregate consciousness o1 the indi0idual cells o1 the physical body. Thegrasp o1 the physical consciousness o0er the brain is 1ar 1eebler than that o1 the ego o0er the brain, and conse@uently purely physical charges are capable o1 a11ecting the brain to a0ery *uch greater e4tent. E4a*ples o1 such physical changes are irregularity in thecirculation o1 the blood, indigestion, heat and cold, etc..Pa0e .C

The di* physical consciousness possesses certain peculiarities "B it is to a great e4tentauto*atic; $B it see*s unable to grasp an idea e4cept in the 1or* in which it is itsel1 anactor conse@uently all sti*uli, whether 1ro* within or 1ro* without, are i**ediately

translated into perceptual i*ages; 8B it is incapable o1 grasping abstract ideas or *e*ories, as such, but at once trans1or*s the* into i*aginary percepts 'B e0ery localdirection o1 thought beco*es 1or it an actual spatial transportation, i.e.$ a passing thoughto1 !hina would transport the consciousness instantly in i*agination to !hina; &B it hasno power o1 ?udging the se@uence, 0alue or ob?ecti0e truth o1 the pictures that appear be1ore it; it ta/es the* all ?ust as it see*s the*, and ne0er 1eels surprised at anythingwhich *ay happen, howe0er incongruous or absurd; (B it is sub?ect to the principle o1 association o1 ideas, and conse@uently i*ages, unconnected e4cept by the 1act that theyrepresent e0ents which happened near to one another in ti*e, are apt to be throwntogether in ine4tricable con1usion; %B it is singularly sensiti0e to the slightest e4ternalin1luences, such as sounds or touches, and 7B it *agni1ies and distorts the* to an al*ost

incredible degree.

The physical brain thus is capable o1 creating su11icient con1usion and e4aggeration toaccount 1or *any, but by no *eans all, drea* pheno*ena.

$. )theric Brain (reams. ! The etheric brain is e0en *ore sensiti0e during the sleep o1 the body than it is during ordinary wa/ing consciousness to in1luences 1ro* outside.Whilst the *ind is acti0ely engaged, the brain thereby being 1ully e*ployed, it is practically i*per0ious to the continual i*pinge*ent o1 thought 1ro* without. )ut the*o*ent the brain is le1t idle, the strea* o1 inconse@uent chaos begins to pour through it.In the 0ast *a?ority o1 people, the thoughts which 1low through their brains are in realitynot their own thoughts at all, but 1rag*ents cast o11 by other people. !onse@uently, insleep li1e especially, any passing thought which 1inds so*ething Pa0e C congruous toitsel1 in the brain o1 a sleeper, is seied upon by that brain and appropriated, thus startinga whole train o1 ideas e0entually these 1ade away and the disconnected, purposelessstrea* begins 1lowing through the brain again.

A point to notice is that, since in the present state o1 the world>s e0olution there are li/elyto be *ore e0il thoughts than good ones 1loating around, a *an with an uncontrolled

%8



brain is open to all sorts o1 te*ptation which *ind and brain control *ight ha0e sparedhi*.

E0en when these thought:currents are shut out, by the deliberate e11ort o1 another person,1ro* the etheric brain o1 a sleeper, that brain does not re*ain co*pletely passi0e, but

begins slowly and drea*ily to e0ol0e pictures 1or itsel1 1ro* its store o1 past *e*ories.

8. Astral (reams :These are si*ply recollection in the physical brain o1 the li1e andacti0ities o1 the astral body during the sleep o1 the physical body, to which re1erence hasalready been *ade in the preceding pages. In the case o1 a 1airly well:de0eloped person,the astral body can tra0el without disco*1ort to considerable distances 1ro* its physical body can bring *ore or less de1inite i*pressions o1 places which it *ay ha0e 0isited, or o1 people who* it *ay ha0e *et. In e0ery case the astral body, as already said, is e0er intensely i*pressionable by any thought or suggestion in0ol0ing desire or e*otion,though the nature o1 the desires which *ost readily awa/en a response in it will, o1 course, depend on the de0elop*ent o1 the person and the purity or otherwise o1 his astral

body.

The astral body is at all ti*es susceptible to the in1luences o1 passing thought:currents,and, when the *ind is not acti0ely controlling it, it is perpetually recei0ing these sti*uli1ro* without, and eagerly responding to the*. +uring sleep it is e0en *ore readilyin1luenced. !onse@uently, a *an who has, 1or e4a*ple, entirely destroyed a physicaldesire, which he *ay pre0iously ha0e possessed 1or alcohol, so that in Pa0e 144C wa/ingli1e he *ay 1eel e0en a de1inite repulsion 1or it, *ay yet 1re@uently drea* that he isdrin/ing, and in that drea* e4perience the pleasure o1 its in1luence. +uring the day, thedesire o1 the astral body would be under the control o1 the will, but when the astral bodywas liberated in sleep, it escaped to so*e e4tent 1ro* the do*ination o1 the ego, and,

responding probably to outside astral in1luence, its old habit reasserted itsel1. This classo1 drea* is probably co**on to *any who are *a/ing de1inite atte*pts to bring their desire:nature under the control o1 the will.

It *ay also happen that a *an *ay ha0e been a drun/ard in a past li1e and still possessesin his astral body so*e *atter drawn thereinto by the 0ibrations caused in the per*anentato* by the drun/enness. Although this *atter is not 0i0i1ied in this li1e, yet in drea*s,the control o1 the ego being wea/, the *atter *ay respond to drin/:0ibrations 1ro*without and the *an drea*s that he drin/s. uch drea*s, once understood, need notcause distress ne0ertheless they should be regarded as a warning that there is still presentthe possibility o1 the drin/:cra0ing being re:awa/ened.

)go (reams ! uch as the nature o1 the astral body changes as it de0elops, still greater isthe change o1 the ego, or real *an, that inhabits it. Where the astral body is nothing but a1loating wreath o1 *ist, the ego is also al*ost as *uch asleep as his physical body, being blind to the in1luences o1 his own higher plane and e0en i1 so*e idea belonging to itshould *anage to reach hi*, since he has little or no control o0er his lower bodies, hewill be unable to i*press the e4perience on the physical brain.

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leepers *ay be at any stage 1ro* that o1 co*plete obli0ion up to that o1 1ull astralconsciousness. And it *ust be recollected, as already said, that e0en though there *ay be*any i*portant e4periences on the higher planes, the ego *ay ne0ertheless be unable toi*press the* upon the brain, so that there is either no physical *e*ory at all, or only a*ost con1used *e*ory. Pa0e 141C

The principal characteristics o1 the consciousness and e4periences o1 the ego, whether or not they be re*e*bered in the brain, are as 1ollows :

"B The ego>s *easure o1 ti*e and space are so entirely di11erent 1ro* that which he usesin wa/ing li1e that it is al*ost as though neither ti*e nor space e4isted 1or hi*. anyinstances are /nown where in a 1ew *o*ents o1 ti*e, as we *easure it, the ego *ay ha0ee4periences which appear to last 1or *any years, e0ent a1ter e0ent happening in 1ull andcircu*stantial detail.

$B The ego possesses the 1aculty, or the habit, o1 instantaneous dra*atisation. Thus a

physical sound or a touch *ay reach the ego, not through the usual ner0e *echanis*, butdirectly, a 1raction o1 a second be1ore e0en it reaches the physical brain. That 1raction o1 asecond is su11icient 1or the ego to construct a /ind o1 dra*a or series o1 scenes leading upto and cul*inating in the e0ent which awa/ens the physical body. The brain con1uses thesub?ecti0e drea* and the ob?ecti0e e0ent, and there1ore i*agines itsel1 to ha0e actuallyli0ed through the e0ents o1 the drea*.

This habit, howe0er, see*s to be peculiar to the ego which, so 1ar as spirituality isconcerned, is still co*parati0ely unde0eloped. As the ego de0elops spiritually, he rises beyond these grace1ul sports o1 his childhood. The *an who has attained continuousconsciousness is so 1ully occupied with higher plane wor/ that he de0otes no energy to

this dra*atisation, and conse@uently this class o1 drea* ceases 1or hi*.

8B The ego possesses also to so*e e4tent the 1aculty o1 pre0ision, being so*eti*es ableto see in ad0ance e0ents which are going to happen, or rather which *ay happen unlesssteps are ta/en to pre0ent the*, and to i*press the sa*e on the physical brain. anyinstances are recorded o1 such prophetic or warning drea*s. In so*e cases the warning*ay be heeded, the necessary steps ta/en, and the 1oreseen result either *odi1ied or entirely a0oided. Pa0e 142C

'B The ego, when out o1 the body during sleep, appears to thin/ in sy*bols an idea,which down here would re@uire *any words to be e4pressed, is per1ectly con0eyed to

hi* by a single sy*bolical i*age. I1 such a sy*bolic thought is i*pressed upon the brain, and re*e*bered in wa/ing consciousness, the *ind *ay itsel1 translate it intowords on the other hand it *ay co*e through *erely as a sy*bol, un:translated, and so*ay cause con1usion. In drea*s o1 this nature, it see*s that each person usually has asyste* o1 sy*bology o1 his own thus water *ay signi1y approaching trouble pearls *ay be a sing o1 tears and so 1orth.

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I1 a *an wishes to ha0e use1ul drea*s, i.e.$ to be able to reap in his wa/ing consciousnessthe bene1it o1 what his ego *ay learn during sleep, there are certain steps he should ta/eto bring about this result.

6irst, it is essential that he should 1or* the habit o1 sustained and concentrated thought

during ordinary wa/ing li1e. A *an who has absolute control o1 his thoughts will always/now e4actly what he is thin/ing about, and why; he will also 1ind that the brain, thustrained to listen to the pro*ptings o1 the ego, will re*ain @uiescent when not in use, andwill decline to recei0e or respond to casual currents 1ro* the surrounding ocean o1 thought. The *an will thus be *ore li/ely to recei0e in1luences 1ro* the higher planes,where insight is /eener and ?udg*ent truer than they can e0er be on the physical plane.

It should scarcely be necessary to add that the *an should also be co*plete *aster o1 atleast his lower passions.

)y a 0ery ele*entary act o1 *agic, a *an *ay shut out 1ro* his etheric brain the rush o1

thoughts which i*pinge upon it 1ro* without. To this end, he should, when lying down tosleep, picture his aura, and will strongly that its outer sur1ace shall beco*e a shell to protect hi* 1ro* outside in1luences. The auric *atter will obey his thought, and 1or* theshell. This step is o1 appreciable 0alue towards the desired end. Pa0e 14)C

The great i*portance o1 1i4ing the last thought, be1ore 1alling to sleep, on high and noblethings, has already been *entioned; it should be practised regularly by those who wish to bring their drea*s under control.

It *ay be use1ul here to add the Hindu ter*s 1or the 1our states o1 consciousness

53grat is the ordinary wa/ing consciousness.

Svapna is the drea* consciousness, wor/ing in the astral body, and able to i*press itse4periences upon the brain.

Sushupti is the consciousness wor/ing in the *ental body, and not able to i*press itse4periences on the brain.

Turiya is a state o1 trance, the consciousness wor/ing in the buddhic 0ehicle, being so 1ar separated 1ro* the brain that it cannot readily be recalled by outer *eans.

These ter*s, howe0er, are used relati0ely, and 0ary according to the conte4t. Thus, in oneinterpretation o1 23grat$ the physical and astral planes are co*bined, the se0en sub:di0isions corresponding to the 1our conditions o1 physical *atter, and the three broaddi0isions o1 astral *atter *entioned on page "'7.

6or 1urther elucidation the student is re1erred to An introduction to 'oga$ by Annie)esant, page "(, et se0.$ and also to A Study in %onsciousness, were wa/ing

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consciousness is de1ined as that part o1 the total consciousness which is wor/ing throughthe outer*ost 0ehicle. Pa0e 14(C

!hapter # !ontinuity o1 !onsciousnessAs we ha0e seen, 1or a *an to pass in unbro/en consciousness 1ro* one 0ehicle toanother, e.g.$ 1ro* the physical to the astral, or vice versa$ it is a re@uisite that the lin/s between the bodies should be de0eloped. ost *en are not conscious o1 these lin/s, andthe lin/s are not acti0ely 0i0i1ied, being in a condition si*ilar to that o1 rudi*entaryorgans in the physical body. They ha0e to be de0eloped by use, and are *ade to 1unction by the *an 1i4ing his attention upon the* and using his will. The will sets 1ree andguides /undalini, but unless the preli*inary puri1ication o1 the 0ehicles is 1irst thoroughlyacco*plished, /undalini is a destructi0e instead o1 a 0i0i1ying energy. Hence the

insistence, by all occult teachers, on the necessity o1 puri1ication be1ore true yoga is practised.

When a *an has rendered hi*sel1 1it to be helped in 0i0i1ying the lin/s, such assistancewill ine0itably co*e to hi* as a *atter o1 course, 1ro* those who are e0er see/ingopportunities to aid the earnest and unsel1ish aspirant. Then, one day, the *an will 1indhi*sel1 slipping out o1 the physical body while he is wide awa/e, and without any brea/ in consciousness he disco0ers hi*sel1 to be 1ree. With practice the passage 1ro* 0ehicleto 0ehicle beco*es 1a*iliar and easy. The de0elop*ent o1 the lin/s bridges the gul1 between physical and astral consciousness, so that there is per1ect continuity o1 consciousness.

The student thus has not only to learn to see correctly on the astral plane, but also totranslate accurately the *e*ory o1 what he has seen 1ro* the astral to the physical brainand to assist hi* in this he is trained to carry his consciousness without brea/ 1ro* thePa0e 14+C physical plane to the astral and *ental and bac/ again, 1or until that can bedone there is always a possibility that his recollections *ay be partially lost or distortedduring the blan/ inter0als which separate his periods o1 consciousness on the 0arious planes. When the power o1 bringing o0er the consciousness is per1ectly ac@uired, the pupil will ha0e the ad0antage o1 the use o1 all the astral 1aculties, not only while out o1 the body during sleep or trance, but also while 1ully awa/e in ordinary physical li1e.

In order that the physical wa/ing consciousness should include astral consciousness it isnecessary that the pituitary body should be 1urther e0ol0ed, and that the 1ourth spirillae inthe ato*s should be per1ected.

In addition to the *ethod o1 *o0ing the consciousness 1ro* one sub:plane to another, of

the same plane, 1ro*, e.g.$ the astral ato*ic to the lowest sub:plane o1 the mental$ thereis also another line o1 connection which *ay be called the ato*ic short:cut.

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I1 we picture the ato*ic sub:planes o1 astral, *ental, etc., as lying side by side along arod, the other sub:planes *ay be pictured as hanging 1ro* the rod in loops, as though a piece o1 string were wound loosely round the rod. -b0iously, then, to pass 1ro* oneato*ic sub:plane to another one could *o0e by a short cut along the rod, or down and upagain through the hanging loops which sy*bolise the lower sub:planes.

The nor*al processes o1 our thin/ing co*e steadily down through the sub:planes but1lashes o1 genius, illu*inati0e ideas, co*e through the ato*ic sub:planes only.

There is also a third possibility connected with the relation o1 our planes with the cos*ic planes, but this is too abstruse to be dealt with in a wor/ which purports to deal only withthe astral plane and its pheno*ena.

erely to obtain continuity o1 consciousness between the physical and the astral planesis, o1 course, @uite Pa0e 14,C insu11icient in itsel1 to restore *e*ory o1 past li0es. 6or thisa *uch higher de0elop*ent is re@uired, into the nature o1 which it is not necessary to

enter enter.

A *an who has thus ac@uired co*plete *astery o0er the astral body *ay, o1 course,lea0e the physical body, not only during sleep, but at any ti*e he chooses, and go to adistant place, etc..

ediu*s and sensiti0es pro?ect their astral bodies unconsciously, when they go intotrance but usually on co*ing out o1 trance there is no brain:*e*ory o1 the e4periencesac@uired. Trained students are able to pro?ect the astral body consciously and to tra0el togreat distances 1ro* the physical body, bringing bac/ with the* 1ull and detailed *e*oryo1 all the i*pressions they ha0e gained.

An astral body thus pro?ected *ay be seen by persons who are sensiti0e or who *aychance to be te*porarily in an abnor*al ner0ous condition. There are on record *anycases o1 such astral 0isitations by a dying person near the ti*e o1 death, the approach o1 dissolution ha0ing loosened the principles so as to *a/e the pheno*enon possible 1or people who were unable at any other ti*e to per1or* the 1eat. ee also page &9 1or asi*ilar pheno*enon produced by a thought!form6. The astral body is also set 1ree in*any cases o1 disease. Inacti0ity o1 the physical body is a condition o1 such astral ?ourneys.

A *an *ay, i1 he /nows how to set about it, slightly densi1y his astral body by drawing

into it, 1ro* the surrounding at*osphere, particles o1 physical *atter, and thus2*aterialise2 su11iciently to beco*e physically 0isible. This is the e4planation o1 *anycases o1 2apparitions2, where a person, physically absent, has been seen by 1riends withtheir ordinary physical sight. Pa0e 14/C

%7



!hapter "$ +eath and the +esire:Ele*ental

At death, the consciousness withdraws 1ro* the dense physical body into the etheric

double 1or a short ti*e, usually a 1ew hours, and then passes into the astral body.

+eath thus consists o1 a process o1 unrobing or unsheathing. The ego, the i**ortal parto1 *an, sha/es o11 1ro* itsel1, one a1ter the other, its outer casings, 1irst the dense physical then the etheric double then e0en the astral body, as we shall see later.

In al*ost e0ery case the actual passing:away appears to be per1ectly painless, e0en a1ter along illness in0ol0ing terrible su11ering. The peace1ul loo/ on the 1ace o1 the dead isstrong e0idence in 1a0our o1 this state*ent, and it is also borne out by the directtesti*ony o1 *ost o1 those who ha0e been @uestioned on the point i**ediately a1ter death.

At the actual *o*ent o1 death, e0en when death is sudden, a *an sees the whole o1 his past li1e *arshaled be1ore hi*, in its *inutest detail. In a *o*ent he sees the wholechain o1 causes which been at wor/ during his li1e; he sees and now understands hi*sel1 as he really is, unadorned by 1lattery or sel1:deception. He reads his li1e, re*aining as aspectator, loo/ing down upon the arena he is @uitting.

The condition o1 consciousness immediately a1ter the *o*ent o1 death is usually adrea*y and peace1ul one. There will also be a certain period o1 unconsciousness, which*ay last only 1or a *o*ent, though o1ten it is a 1ew *inutes, or se0eral hours, andso*eti*es e0en days or wee/s.

The natural attraction between the astral counterpart and the physical body is such that,a1ter death, Pa0e 14.C the astral counterpart, 1ro* 1orce o1 habit, retains its accusto*ed1or* conse@uently a *an>s physical appearance will still be preser0ed a1ter death al*ostunchanged. Al*ost : because in 0iew o1 the 1act that astral *atter is 0ery readily *oulded by thought, a *an who habitually thin/s o1 hi*sel1 a1ter death as younger than heactually was at the ti*e o1 death will probably assu*e a so*ewhat younger appearance.

Fery soon a1ter death, in *ost cases, an i*portant change ta/es place in the structure o1 the astral body, owing to the action o1 the desire ele*ental.

uch o1 the *atter o1 the astral body is co*posed o1 ele*ental essence see page (B thisessence is li0ing, though not intelligent and 1or the ti*e it is cut o11 1ro* the general*ass o1 astral essence. )lindly, instincti0ely, and without reason it see/s its own ends andshows great ingenuity in obtaining its desires and in 1urthering its e0olution.

E0olution 1or it is a descent into *atter, its ai* being to beco*e a *ineral *onad. Itsob?ect in li1e, there1ore, is to get as near to the physical as it can, and to e4perience as

%#



*any o1 the coarser 0ibrations as possible. It neither does or could /now anything o1 the*an in whose astral body it is 1or the ti*e li0ing.

It desires to preser0e its separate li1e, and 1eels that it can do so only by *eans o1 itsconnection with the *an it is conscious o1 the *an>s lower *ind, and realies that the

*ore *ental *atter it can entangle with itsel1 the longer will be its astral li1e.

-n the death o1 the physical body, /nowing that the ter* o1 its separated li1e is li*ited,and that the *an>s astral death will *ore or less @uic/ly 1ollow, in order to *a/e the*an>s astral body last as long as possible, it rearranges its *atter in concentric rings or shells, the coarsest outside. 6ro* the point o1 0iew o1 the desire ele*ental this is good policy, because the coarsest *atter can hold together longest and best stand 1riction.

The re:arranged astral body is called the '3tan3 , or su11ering body in the case o1 a 0erye0il *an in Pa0e 14C whose astral body there is a preponderance o1 the coarsest *atter, itis called the (hruvam or strong body.

The re:arrange*ent o1 the astral body ta/es place o0er the sur1ace o1 the counterpart o1 the physical body, not o0er the sur1ace o1 the o0oid which surrounds it.

The e11ect is to pre0ent the 1ree and 1ull circulation o1 astral *atter which usually ta/es place in the astral body. In addition, the *an is able to respond only to those 0ibrationswhich are recei0ed by the outer*ost layer o1 his astral body. The *an is thus shut up, asit were, in a bo4 o1 astral *atter, being able to see and hear things o1 the lowest andcoarsest plane only.

Although li0ing in the *idst o1 high in1luences and beauti1ul thought:1or*s, he would be

al*ost entirely unconscious o1 their e4istence, because the particles o1 his astral bodywhich could respond to those 0ibrations ar shut in where they cannot be reached.

!onse@uently, also, being able to sense only the coarsest *atter in the astral bodies o1 other people, and being entirely unconscious o1 his li*itations, he would assu*e that the person he was loo/ing at possessed only the unsatis1actory characteristics which hewould be able to percei0e.

ince he can see and 1eel only what is lowest and coarsest, the *en around hi* appear to be *onsters o1 0ice. Under these circu*stances it is little wonder that he considers theastral world a hell.

The re:arrange*ent o1 the astral body by the desire ele*ental does not in any way a11ectthe recognisability o1 the 1or* within the o0oid, though the natural changes which ta/e place tend on the whole to *a/e the 1or* grow so*ewhat 1ainter and *ore spiritual inappearance as ti*e passes on : 1or reasons which will presently be *ade clear.

In course o1 ti*e, the outer*ost shell or ring disintegrates the *an then beco*es able torespond to the 0ibrations o1 the ne4t higher le0el o1 the astral plane, and thus 2rises to the

79



ne4t sub:plane2 and so Pa0e 114C on 1ro* one sub:plane to another. His stay on each sub: plane will, o1 course, correspond to the a*ount and acti0ity o1 the *atter in his astral body belonging to that sub:plane.

When we spea/ o1 a *an 2rising2 1ro* one sub:plane to another, he need not necessarily

*o0e in space at all he rather trans1ers his consciousness 1ro* one le0el to another. Inthe case o1 a *an with a rearranged astral body, the 1ocus o1 his consciousness shi1ts 1ro*the outer shell to the one ne4t within it. The *an thus gradually beco*es unresponsi0e tothe 0ibrations o1 one order o1 *atter and answers instead to those o1 a higher order. Thusone world with its scenery and its inhabitants would see* to 1ade slowly away 1ro* his0iew, while another world would dawn upon hi*.

As the shell usually disintegrates gradually, the *an thus 1inds the counterparts o1 physical ob?ects growing di**er and di**er, while thought:1or*s beco*e *ore and*ore 0i0id to hi*. I1 during this process he *eets another *an at inter0als, he willi*agine that that *an>s character is steadily i*pro0ing, *erely because he is hi*sel1

beco*e able to appreciate the higher 0ibrations o1 that character. The re:arrange*ent o1 the astral body, in 1act, constantly inter1eres with a *an>s true and 1ull 0ision o1 his1riends at all stages o1 their astral li1e.

This process o1 re:arrange*ent o1 the astral body, which ta/es place with *ost people,can be pre0ented by the *an setting his will to oppose it in 1act, anyone who understandsthe conditions o1 the astral plane should altogether decline to per*it the re:arrange*ento1 the astral body by the desire:ele*ental. The particles o1 the astral body will then be/ept inter*ingled, as in li1e, and in conse@uence, instead o1 being con1ined to one astralsub:plane at a ti*e, the *an will be 1ree o1 all the sub:planes, according to theconstitution o1 his astral body.

The ele*ental, being a1raid in its curious se*i:conscious way, will endea0or to trans1er its 1ear to the Pa0e 111C *an who is ?olting hi* out o1 the re:arrange*ent, in order to deter hi* 1ro* doing so. Hence one reason why it is so use1ul to ha0e /nowledge o1 these*atters be1ore death.

I1 the re:arrange*ent, or shelling, has already occurred, it is still possible 1or thecondition to be bro/en up by so*eone who wishes to help the *an, and 1or the *an to bethus set 1ree to wor/ on the whole astral plane, instead o1 being con1ined to one le0el.Pa0e 112C

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!hapter "8 A1ter:+eath Li1e Principles

It cannot be too strongly insisted that it is not 1ound that any sudden change ta/es place in

*an at death on the contrary, he re*ains a1ter death e4actly what he was be1ore, e4ceptthat he no longer has a physical body. He has the sa*e intellect, the sa*e disposition, thesa*e 0irtues and 0ices; the loss o1 the physical body no *ore *a/es hi* a di11erent *anthan would the re*o0al o1 an o0ercoat. oreo0er, the conditions in which he 1indshi*sel1 are those which his own thoughts and desires ha0e already created 1or hi*. Thereis no reward or punish*ent 1ro* outside, but only the actual result o1 what he has hi*sel1 done, and said, and thought, while li0ing in the physical world.

As we proceed with our description o1 the astral li1e a1ter death, it will be recognised thatthe true 1acts correspond with considerable accuracy with the !atholic conception o1 purgatory, and the Hades or underworld o1 the 3ree/s.

The poetic idea o1 death as a uni0ersal le0eller is a *ere absurdity born o1 ignorance, 1or,as a *atter o1 1act, in the 0ast *a?ority o1 cases, the loss o1 the physical body *a/es nodi11erence whate0er in the character or intellect o1 the person, and there are there1ore as*any di11erent 0arieties o1 intelligence a*ong the so:called dead as a*ong the li0ing.

This is the 1irst and the *ost pro*inent 1act to appreciate that a1ter death there is nostrange new li1e, but a continuation, under certain changed conditions, o1 the present physical plane li1e.

o *uch is this the case that when a *an 1irst arri0es on the astral plane a1ter physicaldeath he by no *eans always /nows that he is dead and e0en when Pa0e 11)C he doesrealise what has happened to hi* he does not always at 1irst understand how the astralworld di11ers 1ro* the physical.

In so*e cases people consider the 0ery 1act that they are still conscious, an absolute proo1 that they ha0e not died and this in spite o1 the *uch:0aunted belie1 in the i**ortality o1 the soul.

I1 a *an has ne0er heard o1 astral plane li1e be1ore, he is li/ely to be *ore or lessdisturbed by the totally une4pected conditions in which he 1inds hi*sel1. 6inally, heaccepts these conditions, which he does not understand, thin/ing the* necessary andine0itable.

Loo/ing out upon the new worlds, at the 1irst glance he would probably see 0ery littledi11erence, and he would suppose hi*sel1 to be loo/ing upon the sa*e world as be1ore.As we ha0e seen, each degree o1 astral *atter is attracted by the corresponding degree o1 physical *atter. I1, there1ore, we i*agined the physical world to be struc/ out o1 e4istence, without any other change being *ade, we should still ha0e a per1ect replicateo1 it in astral *atter. !onse@uently a *an on the astral plane would still see the walls,

7$



1urniture, people, etc., to which he was accusto*ed, outlined as clearly as e0er by thedensest type o1 astral *atter. I1, howe0er, he e4a*ined such ob?ects closely he would percei0e that all the particles were 0isibly in rapid *otion, instead o1 only in0isibly as onthe physical plane. )ut, as 1ew *en obser0e closely, a *an who dies o1ten does not /nowat 1irst that any change has co*e o0er hi*. Thus *any, especially in Western countries,

1ind it di11icult to belie0e that they are dead, si*ply because they still see, hear, 1eel andthin/. <ealisation o1 what has happened will probably dawn gradually, as the *andisco0ers that though he can see his 1riends he cannot always co**unicate with the*.o*eti*es he spea/s to the*, and they do not see* to hear he tries to touch the*, and1inds that he can *a/e no i*pression upon the*. E0en then, 1or so*e ti*e he *ay persuade hi*sel1 that he is drea*ing, 1or at other ti*es, when his 1riends are Pa0e 11(Casleep, they are per1ectly conscious o1 hi* and tal/ with hi* as o1 old.

)y degrees the *an begins to realie the di11erences between his present li1e and thatwhich he li0ed in the physical world. 6or e4a*ple, he soon 1inds that 1or hi* all pain and1atigue ha0e passed away. He also 1inds that in the astral world desires and thoughts

e4press the*sel0es in 0isible 1or*s, though these are co*posed *ostly o1 the 1iner *atter o1 the plane. As his li1e proceeds, these beco*e * ore and *ore pro*inent.

oreo0er, though a *an on the astral plane cannot usually see the physical bodies o1 his1riends, yet he can and does see the physical bodies o1 his 1riends, and conse@uently/nows their 1eelings and e*otions. He will not necessarily be able to 1ollow in detail thee0ents o1 their physical li1e but he would at once be aware o1 such 1eelings as lo0e or hate, ?ealousy or en0y, as these would be e4pressed through the astral bodies o1 his1riends.

Thus, although the li0ing o1ten suppose the*sel0es to ha0e 2lost2 the dead, the dead are

ne0er 1or a *o*ent under the i*pression that they ha0e lost the li0ing.

A *an, in 1act, li0ing in his astral body a1ter death is *ore readily and deeply in1luenced by the 1eelings o1 his 1riends in the physical world than when he was on earth, because hehas no physical body to deaden his perceptions.

A *an on the astral plane does not usually see the whole astral counterpart o1 an ob?ect, but the portion o1 it which belongs to the particular sub:plane upon which he is at theti*e.

oreo0er, a *an by no *eans always recognises with any certainty the astral counterpart

o1 a physical body e0en when he sees it. He usually re@uires considerable e4perience be1ore he can clearly identi1y ob?ects, and any atte*pt that he *a/es to deal with the* isliable to be 0ague and uncertain. E4a*ples o1 this are o1ten seen in haunted houses,where Pa0e 11+C stone:throwing, or 0ague, clu*sy *o0e*ents o1 physical *atter ta/e place.

6re@uently, not realising that he is 1ree 1ro* the necessity to wor/ 1or a li0ing, to eat,sleep, etc., a *an a1ter death *ay continue to prepare and consu*e *eals, created

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entirely by his i*agination, or e0en to build 1or hi*sel1 a house in which to li0e. A case isrecorded o1 a *an who built 1or hi*sel1 a house, stone by stone, each stone beingseparately created by his own thought. He *ight, o1 course, with the sa*e a*ount o1 e11ort ha0e created the whole house at once. He was e0entually led to see, that as thestones had no weight, the conditions were di11erent 1ro* those obtaining in physical li1e,

and so he was induced to in0estigate 1urther.

i*ilarly, a *an new to the conditions o1 astral li1e *ay continue to enter and depart1ro* a roo* by a door or window, not realising that he can pass through the wall ?ust aseasily. 6or the sa*e reason he *ay wal/ upon the earth when he *ight ?ust as well 1loatthrough the air.

A *an who has already during earth li1e ac@uainted hi*sel1, by reading or otherwise,withthe general conditions o1 astral li1e, naturally 1inds hi*sel1 a1ter death on ground *ore or less 1a*iliar, and conse@uently he should not be at a loss to /now what to do withhi*sel1.

E0en an intelligent appreciation o1 occult teaching on this sub?ect, as e4perience hasshown, is o1 enor*ous ad0antage to a *an a1ter death, while it is a considerablead0antage 1or a *an *erely to ha0e heard o1 the conditions o1 astral li1e, e0en though he*ay ha0e regarded such teachings as one o1 *any hypotheses, and *ay not ha0e1ollowed the* up 1urther. In the case o1 others, not so 1ortunately situated as to their /nowledge o1 the astral world, their best plan is to ta/e stoc/ o1 their position, endea0our to see the nature o1 the li1e be1ore the*, and how they can *a/e the best use o1 it. Inaddition, they would do well to consult so*e e4perienced 1riend. Pa0e 11,C

The condition o1 li1e re1erred to abo0e constitute 5K*alo/a, literally the place or world

o1 5K*a or desire the Li*bus o1 scholastic theology. In general ter*s 5K*alo/a is aregion peopled by intelligent and se*i:intelligent entities. It is crowd ed with *any typesand 1or*s o1 li0ing things, as di0erse 1ro* each other as a blade o1 grass is di11erent 1ro*a tiger, a tiger is di11erent 1ro* a *an, there being o1 course, *any other entities li0ingthere besides deceased hu*an beings ee !hapters "# to $"B. It interpenetrates the physical world, and is interpenetrated by it, but, as the states o1 *atter in the two worldsdi11er, they co:e4ist without the entities o1 either world being conscious o1 those o1 theother. -nly under abnor*al circu*stances can consciousness o1 each other>s presencearise a*ong the inhabitants o1 the two worlds.

5K*alo/a is thus not di0ided o11 as a distinct locality, but is separated o11 1ro* the rest o1 the astral plane by the conditions o1 consciousness o1 the entities who belong to it, theseentities being hu*an beings, who ha0e sha/en o11 the dense and etheric bodies, but whoha0e not yet disentangled the*sel0es 1ro* 5K*a, i.e.$ the passional and e*otionalnature. This state is also called Pretalo/a, a preta being a hu*an being who has lost his physical body, but is still encu*bered with the 0esture o1 his ani*al nature.

The 5K*alo/ic condition is 1ound on each sub:di0ision o1 the astral plane.

7'



any who die are at 1irst in a condition o1 considerable uneasiness, and others o1 positi0eterror. When they encounter the thought:1or*s which they and their /ind ha0e 1or centuries been *a/ing : thoughts o1 a personal de0il, an angry and cruel deity, and eternal punish*ent : they are o1ten reduced to a pitiable state o1 1ear, and *ay spend long periods o1 acute *ental su11ering be1ore they can 1ree the*sel0es 1ro* the 1atal in1luence

o1 such 1oolish and utterly 1alse conceptions.

It ought, howe0er, in 1airness to be *entioned that Pa0e 11/C it is only a*ong what arecalled Protestant co**unities that this terrible e0il assu*es its *ost aggra0ated 1or*.The great <o*an !atholic !hurch, with its doctrine o1 purgatory, approaches *uch *orenearly to a true conception o1 the astral plane, and its de0out *e*bers, at any rate, realisethat the state in which they 1ind the*sel0es shortly a1ter death is *erely a te*porary one,and it is their business to endea0our to raise the*sel0es out o1 it as soon as *ay be byintense spiritual aspiration, while they accept any su11ering which *ay co*e to the* asnecessary 1or the wearing away o1 the i*per1ections in their character, be1ore they can pass to higher and brighter spheres.

Thus we see that although *en should ha0e been taught by their religion what to e4pect,and how to li0e on the astral plane, in *ost cases this has not been done. !onse@uently agood deal o1 e4planation is needed regarding the new world in which they 1indthe*sel0es. )ut, a1ter death, e4actly as be1ore it, there are 1ew who attain to an intelligentappreciation o1 the 1act o1 e0olution and who, by understanding so*ething o1 their position, /now how to *a/e the best o1 it. Today, large nu*bers o1 people, both 2li0ing2and 2dead2, are engaged in loo/ing a1ter and helping those who ha0e died in ignorance o1 the real nature o1 the a1ter:death li1e vide !hapter $7 on In0isible HelpersB.Un1ortunately, howe0er, on the astral plane, as on the physical, the ignorant are rarelyready to pro1it by the ad0ice or e4a*ple o1 the wise.

To a *an who has, be1ore he dies physically, already ac@uainted hi*sel1 with the realconditions o1 li1e on the astral plane, one o1 the *ost pleasant characteristics o1 that li1e isits rest1ulness and co*plete 1reedo* 1ro* those i*perious necessities, such as eating anddrin/ing, which burden physical li1e. -n the astral plane a *an is really 1ree, 1ree to dowhate0er he li/es, and to spend his ti*e as he chooses.

As already indicated, a *an who has died physically, is steadily withdrawing intohi*sel1. The whole cycle Pa0e 11.C o1 li1e and death *ay be li/ened to an ellipse, o1 which only the lowest portion passes into the physical world. +uring the 1irst portion o1 the cycle, the ego is putting hi*sel1 1orth into *atter the central point o1 the cur0eshould be a *iddle point in physical li1e,when the 1orce o1 the ego has e4pended itsoutward rush and turns to begin the long process o1 withdrawal.

Thus each physical incarnation *ay be regarded as a putting o1 the ego, whose habitat isthe higher part o1 the *ental plane, outwards into the lower planes. The ego puts the soulout, as though it were an in0est*ent, and e4pects his in0est*ent to draw bac/ addede4perience, which will ha0e de0eloped new @ualities within hi*.

7&





The portion o1 the li1e a1ter death spent on the astral plane is there1ore de1initely in the period o1 withdrawal bac/ towards the ego. +uring the latter part o1 the physical li1e the*an>s thoughts and interests should be less and less directed towards *erely physical*atters si*ilarly, during the astral li1e, he should pay less and less attention to the lower astral *atter, out o1 which counterparts o1 physical ob?ects are co*posed, and occupy

hi*sel1 with the higher *atter, out o1 which desire : and thought:1or*s are *ade. It is notso *uch that he has changed his location in space though this is partially true, ee!hapter "'B, as that he has *o0ed the centre o1 his interest. Hence the counterpart o1 the physical world which he has le1t gradually 1ades 1ro* his 0iew, and his li1e beco*es*ore and *ore a li1e in the world o1 thought. His desires and e*otions still persist, andconse@uently, owing to the readiness with which astral *atter obeys his desires andthoughts, the 1or*s surrounding hi* will be 0ery largely the e4pression o1 his own1eelings, the nature o1 which *ainly deter*ines whether his li1e is one o1 happiness or o1 disco*1ort.

Although we are not in this boo/ dealing with that portion o1 the li1e a1ter death which is

spent in the 2hea0en:world2, i.e.$ on the *ental plane, ne0ertheless, in order to understand1ully what is happening to the Pa0e 11C astral body on the astral plane, it is desirable to bear in *ind that the astral li1e is largely an inter*ediate stage in the whole cycle o1 li1eand death, a preparation 1or the li1e on the *ental plane.

As we ha0e seen, soon a1ter physical death, the astral body is set 1ree e4pressed 1ro* the point o1 0iew consciousness, 5K*a:anas is set 1ree. 6ro* this, that portion o1 lower:*anas, which is not ine4tricably entangled with 5K*a, gradually 1rees itsel1, ta/ing withit such o1 its e4perience as 1it 1or assi*ilation by the higher *ental body.

eanwhile, that portion o1 the lower *anas which still re*ains entangled with 5K*a,

gi0es to the astral body a so*ewhat con1used consciousness, a bro/en *e*ory o1 thee0ents o1 the li1e ?ust closed. I1 the e*otions and passions were strong, and the *entalele*ent wea/, then the astral body will be strongly energised, and will persist 1or aconsiderable ti*e on the astral plane, It will also show a considerable a*ount o1 consciousness, due to the *ental *atter entangled with it. I1, on the other hand, the earthli1e ?ust closed was characterised by *entality and purity rather than by passion, the astral body will be poorly poorly energised, will be but a pale si*ulacru* o1 the *an, and willdisintegrate and perish co*parati0ely rapidly. Pa0e 124C

7(



ha&ter 1( The After3Death Life5Partic$lars

In considering the conditions o1 a *an>s astral li1e, there are two pro*inent 1actors to beta/en into account "B The length o1 time which he spends on any particular sub:plane$B The a*ount o1 his consciousness upon it.

The length o1 time depends upon the a*ount o1 *atter belonging to that sub:plane whichhe has built into his astral body during physical li1e. He will necessarily re*ain upon thatsub:plane until the *atter corresponding to it has dropped out o1 his astral body.

+uring physical li1e, as we ha0e already seen, the @uality o1 the astral body which he builds 1or hi*sel1 is directly deter*ined by his passions, desires and e*otions, andindirectly by his thoughts, as well as by his physical habits : 1ood, drin/, cleanliness,continence, etc.. A coarse and gross astral body, resulting 1ro* a coarse and gross li1e,will cause the *an to be responsi0e only to lower astral 0ibrations, so that a1ter death hewill 1ind hi*sel1 bound to the astral plane during the long and slow process o1 thedisintegration o1 the astral body.

-n the other hand, a re1ined astral body, created by a pure and re1ined li1e, will *a/e the*an unresponsi0e to the low and coarse 0ibrations o1 the astral world, and responsi0eonly to its higher in1luences conse@uently he will e4perience *uch less trouble in his post:*orte* li1e, and his e0olution will proceed rapidly and easily.

The a*ount o1 consciousness depends upon the degree to which he has 0i0i1ied and usedthe *atter o1 the particular sub:plane in his physical li1e. Pa0e 121C

I1 during earth:li1e the ani*al nature was indulged and allowed to run riot, i1 theintellectual and spiritual parts were neglected or sti1led, then the astral or desire body will persist 1or a long ti*e a1ter physical death.

I1, on the other hand, desire has been con@uered and bridled during earth li1e, i1 it has been puri1ied and trained into subser0ience to the higher nature, then there will be little toenergise the astral body, and will @uic/ly disintegrate and dissol0e away.

The a0erage *an, howe0er, has by no *eans 1reed hi*sel1 1ro* all lower desires be1oredeath, and conse@uently it ta/es a long period o1 *ore or less 1ully conscious li1e on the0arious sub:planes o1 the astral plane to allow the 1orces which he has generated to wor/ the*sel0es out, and thus release the higher ego.

The general principle is that when the astral body has e4hausted its attractions to onele0el, the greater part o1 its grosser particles 1all away, and it 1inds itsel1 in a11inity with aso*ewhat higher state o1 e4istence. Its speci1ic gra0ity, as it were, is constantly

7%



decreasing, and so it steadily rises 1ro* the dense to the lighter strata, pausing only whenit is e4actly balanced 1or a ti*e.

To be upon any gi0en sub:plane in the astral world is to ha0e de0eloped sensiti0eness o1 those particles in the astral body which belong to that sub:plane. To ha0e per1ect 0ision

on the astral plane *eans to ha0e de0eloped sensiti0eness in all particles o1 the astral body, so that all the sub:planes are si*ultaneously 0isible.

A *an who has led a good and pure li1e, whose strongest 1eelings and aspirations ha0e been unsel1ish and spiritual, will ha0e no attractions to the astral plane, and will, i1 entirely le1t alone, 1ind little to /eep hi* upon it, or to awa/en hi* into acti0ity e0enduring the co*parati0ely short period o1 his stay. His earthly passions ha0e been subduedduring physical li1e, and the 1orce o1 his will ha0ing been directed into higher channels,there is but little energy Pa0e 122C o1 lower desire to be wor/ed out on the astral plane.!onse@uently his stay there will be 0ery short, and *ost probably he will ha0e little *orethan a drea*y hal1:consciousness, until he sin/s into the sleep during which his higher

principles 1inally 1ree the*sel0es 1ro* the astral body, and enter upon the bliss1ul li1e o1 the hea0en:world.

E4pressed *ore technically, during physical li1e anas has puri1ied 5K*a with which itwas inter:wo0en, so that a1ter death all that is le1t o1 5K*a is a *ere residuu*, easilysha/en o11 by the withdrawing ego. uch a *an there1ore would ha0e little consciousnesson the astral plane.

It is @uite possible that a *an *ight, as a result o1 is pre0ious incarnations, possess agood deal o1 coarse astral *atter in his astral body. E0en i1 he has been so brought up,and has so conducted his li1e, that he has not 0i0i1ied that coarse *atter, and although

*uch o1 it *ay ha0e dropped out and been replaced by 1iner *aterials, yet there *ay be@uite a good deal le1t. !onse@uently the *an would ha0e to re*ain on a low le0el o1 theastral plane 1or so*e ti*e, until in 1act the coarse *atter had all dropped out. )ut, as thecoarse *atter would not be 0i0i1ied, he would ha0e little consciousness and would practically sleep through the period o1 his so?ourn there.

There is a point /nown as the critical point between e0ery pair o1 sub:states o1 *atter ice*ay be raised to a point at which the least incre*ent o1 heat will change it into li@uidwater *ay be raised to a point at which the least incre*ent o1 heat will change it into0apour. And so each sub:state o1 astral *atter *ay be carried to a point o1 1ineness atwhich any additional re1ine*ent would trans1or* it into the ne4t higher sub:state. I1 a*an has done this 1or e0ery sub:state o1 *atter in his astral body, so it is puri1ied to thelast possible degree o1 delicacy, then the 1irst touch o1 disintegrating 1orce shatters itscohesion and resol0es it into its original condition, lea0ing hi* 1ree at once to pass on tothe ne4t Pa0e 12)C sub:plane. His passage through the astral plane will thus be o1 inconcei0able rapidity, and he will 1lash through the plane practically instantaneously tothe higher state o1 the hea0en:world.

77



E0ery person a1ter death has to pass through all the sub:planes o1 the astral plane, on hisway to the hea0en:world. )ut whether or not he is conscious on any or all o1 the*, and towhat e4tent, will depend upon the 1actors enu*erated.

6or these reasons, it is clear that the a*ount o1 consciousness a *an *ay possess on the

astral plane, and the ti*e he *ay spend there in his passage to the hea0en:world, *ay0ary within 0ery wide li*its. There are so*e who pass only a 1ew hours or days on theastral plane others re*ain there 1or *any years, or e0en centuries.

6or an ordinary person $9 or 89 years on the astral plane a1ter death is a 1air a0erage. Ane4ceptional case is that o1 =ueen Eliabeth, who had so intense a lo0e 1or her countrythat she has only @uite recently passed into the hea0en:world,ha0ing spent the ti*e sinceher death in endea0ouring, until recently al*ost without success, to i*press upon her successors her ideas o1 what ought to be done 1or England.

Another notable e4a*ple was that o1 =ueen Fictoria,who passed 0ery rapidly through the

astral plane and into the hea0en:world, her swi1t passage being undoubtedly due to the*illions o1 lo0ing and grate1ul thought:1or*s which were sent to her, as well as to her inherent goodness.

The general @uestion o1 the inter0al between earth:li0es is co*plicated. It is possible hereto touch brie1ly only on the astral portion o1 those inter0als. 6or 1urther details the studentis re1erred to The nner Life$ Folu*e $, pages '&7:'%'.

Three principal 1actors ha0e to be ta/en into account:

"B The class o1 ego

$B The *ode o1 indi0idualisation.8B The length and nature o1 the last earth:li1e. Pa0e 12(C

The 1ollowing table gi0es a general a0erage o1 the length o1 the astral li1e, as deter*ined by the class o1 ego.

MOON3MEN5 *"RST ORDER"n#i8i#$alise# in Moon3hainRo$n# No<

Present t&e Average len0th of Astrallife<

+ A#8ance# e0os 'anof these are takin0

contin$o$sincarnations so thatfor the' the $estionof inter8als bet6eenli8es #oes not arise

+ ears5 an e0o 'a e8en&ass thro$0h ra&i#l an#$nconscio$sl

Men #istin0$ishe# inart; science or reli0ion

!eneral ten#enc isto6ar#s a lon0er astrallife; es&eciall in the caseof artists an# reli0io$s

7#



'en<

,o$ntr 0entle'enan# &rofessional 'en

243 2+ ears

/ @&&er 'i##le class 2+ ears

lass of E0o

Moon3Men5 Secon# Or#er Bo$r0eoisie (4 ears

Moon3Ani'al3Men Skille# 6orkers (4; on 'i##le le8el

Moon3Ani'al; *irst lass @nskille# labo$rers (43+4; on lo6er le8els

Moon3Ani'als; Secon# lassDr$nkar#s an#$ne'&loables

(43+4; $s$all on ,thle8el

Moon3Ani'als; Thir# lass Lo6est of h$'anit +; on /th le8el<

A certain di11erence is produced by the *ode o1 indi0idualisation , but this di11erence is*uch less in proportion in the lower classes. Those indi0idualised through intellect tendto ta/e an inter0al between li0es rather longer than that ta/en by those who indi0idualised

in other ways. Pa0e 12+C

3enerally spea/ing, a *an who dies young will ha0e a shorter inter0al than one who diesin old age, but is li/ely to ha0e a proportionately longer astral li1e, because *ost o1 thestrong e*otions which wor/ the*sel0es out in astral li1e are generated in the earlier parto1 the physical li1e.

It *ust be recollected that in the astral world or ordinary *ethods o1 ti*e:*easure*entscarcely apply e0en in physical li1e an4iety or pain will stretch a 1ew hours al*ostinde1initely, and on the astral plane this characteristic is e4aggerated a hundred:1old.

A *an on the astral plane can *easure ti*e only by his sensations. 6or a distortion o1 this1act has co*e the 1alse idea o1 eternal da*nation.

We ha0e thus seen that both "B the ti*e spent, and $B the a*ount o1 consciousnesse4perienced, on each le0el o1 the astral plane depend 0ery largely upon the /ind o1 li1ethe *an has led in the physical world. Another 1actor o1 great i*portance is the *an>sattitude o1 *ind a1ter physical death.

The astral li1e *ay be directed by the will, ?ust as the physical li1e *ay be. A *an withlittle will:power or initiati0e is, in the astral as in the physical world, 0ery *uch thecreature o1 the surroundings which he has *ade 1or hi*sel1. A deter*ined *an, on the

other hand, can always *a/e the best o1 his conditions and li0e his own li1e in spite o1 the*.

A *an, there1ore, does not rid hi*sel1 o1 e0il tendencies in the astral world, unless hede1initely wor/s to that end. Unless he *a/es de1inite e11orts, he will necessarily su11er 1ro* his inability to satis1y such cra0ings as can be grati1ied only by *eans o1 a physical body. In process o1 ti*e the desires will wear the*sel0es out and die down si*ply because o1 the i*possibility o1 their 1ul1il*ent.

#9



The process, howe0er, *ay be greatly e4pedited as soon as the *an realises the necessityo1 ridding hi*sel1 o1 the e0il desires which detain hi*, and *a/es the re@uisite e11ort. A*an who is ignorant o1 the true state o1 a11airs usually broods o0er his desires, thus Pa0e12,C lengthening their li1e,and clings desperately to the gross particles o1 astral *atter aslong as he can, because the sensations connected with the* see* nearest to the physical

li1e 1or which he still cra0es. The proper procedure 1or hi*, o1 course, is to /ill outearthly desires and to withdraw into hi*sel1 as @uic/ly as possible.

E0en a *erely intellectual /nowledge o1 the conditions o1 astral li1e, and, in 1act, o1 Theosophical truths in general, is o1 inesti*able 0alue to a *an in the a1ter:death li1e.

It is o1 the ut*ost i*portance that a1ter physical death a *an should recognise @uiteclearly that he is withdrawing steadily towards the ego, and that conse@uently he shoulddisengage his thoughts as 1ar as *ay be 1ro* things physical and 1i4 his attention uponspiritual *atters which will occupy hi* when, in due ti*e he passes 1ro* the astral planeinto the *ental or hea0en:world.

)y adopting this attitude he will greatly 1acilitate the natural disintegration o1 the astral body instead o1 unnecessarily and uselessly delaying hi*sel1 upon the lower le0els o1 theastral plane.

any people, un1ortunately, re1use to turn their thoughts upwards, but cling to earthly*atters with desperate tenacity. As ti*e passes on, they gradually, in the nor*al course o1 e0olution, lose touch with the lower worlds but by 1ighting e0ery step o1 the way theycause the*sel0es *uch unnecessary su11ering and seriously delay their upward progress.

In this ignorant opposition to the natural course o1 things the possession o1 a physical

corpse is o1 assistance to a *an, the corpse ser0ing as a /ind o1 1ulcru* on the physical plane. The best re*edy 1or this tendency is cre*ation, which destroys the lin/ with the physical plane.

A 1ew typical e4a*ples o1 astral a1ter:death li1e will best illustrate the nature and rationalo1 that li1e.

An ordinary colourless *an, neither specially good nor specially bad, is o1 course in noway changed by Pa0e 12/C death, but re*ains colourless. !onse@uently, he will ha0e nospecial su11ering and no special ?oy in 1act,he *ay 1ind li1e so*ewhat dull, because,ha0ing culti0ated no particular interests during his physical li1e, he has none in his astral

li1e.

I1 during his physical li1e he had no ideas beyond gossip, sport, business or dress, he willnaturally, when these are no longer possible, be li/ely to 1ind ti*e hang hea0ily on hishands.

A *an, howe0er, who has had strong desires o1 a low type, who has been, 1or e4a*ple, adrun/ard or a sensualist, will be in 1ar worse case. ot only will his cra0ings and desires

#"



re*ain with hi* it will be recollected that the centres o1 sensation are situated, not in the physical body, but in 5K*a, see page $'B, but they will be stronger than e0er, becausetheir 1ull 1orce is e4pressed in astral *atter, none o1 it being absorbed in setting in *otionthe hea0y physical particles.

)eing in the lowest and *ost depra0ed condition o1 astral li1e, such a *an see*s o1ten to be still su11iciently near to the physical to be sensiti0e to certain odours, though thetitillation produced is only su11icient still 1urther to e4cite his *ad desires and tantilisehi* to the 0erge o1 1reny.

)ut, as he no longer possesses a physical body, through which alone his cra0ings can beallayed, he has no possibility o1 grati1ying his terrible thirst. Hence the innu*erabletraditions o1 the 1ires o1 purgatory, 1ound in nearly e0ery religion, which are no inaptsy*bols 1or the torturing conditions described. uch a condition *ay last 1or @uite a longti*e, since it passes away only by gradually wearing itsel1 out.

The rationale and auto*atic ?ustice o1 the whole process is clear the *an has created hisconditions hi*sel1, by his own actions, and deter*ined the e4act degree o1 their power and duration. 6urther*ore, it is the only way in which he can get rid o1 his 0ices. 6or, i1 he were to be reincarnated i**ediately, he would start his ne4t li1e precisely as he1inished the Pa0e 12.C preceding one i.e.$ a sla0e to his passions and appetites and the possibility o1 his e0er beco*ing *aster o1 hi*sel1 would be i**easurably reduced. )ut,as things are, his cra0ings ha0ing worn the*sel0es out, he will be able to co**ence hisne4t incarnation without the burden o1 the* and his ego, ha0ing had so se0ere a lesson,is li/ely to *a/e e0ery possible e11ort to restrain its lower 0ehicles 1ro* again *a/ing asi*ilar *ista/e.

A con1ir*ed drun/ard will so*eti*es be able to draw round hi*sel1 a 0eil o1 etheric*atter, and thus partially *aterialise hi*sel1. He can then draw in the odour o1 thealcohol, but he does not s*ell it in the sa*e sense as we do. Hence he is an4ious to 1orceothers into the condition o1 drun/enness, so that he *ay be able partially to enter their physical bodies and obsess the*, through their bodies being once *ore able to e4periencedirectly the tastes and other sensations 1or which he cra0es.

-bsession *ay be per*anent or te*porary. As ?ust *entioned, a dead sensualist *ayseie upon any 0ehicle he can steal in order to grati1y his coarse desires. At other ti*es a*an *ay obsess so*eone as a calculated act o1 re0enge a case is recorded where a *anobsessed the daughter o1 his ene*y.

-bsession can be best pre0ented or resisted by an e4ercise o1 will:power. When it occursit is al*ost always because the 0icti* has in the 1irst place 0oluntarily yielded hi*sel1 tothe in0ading in1luence, and his 1irst step there1ore is to re0erse the act o1 sub*ission. The*ind should be set steadily against the obsession in deter*ined resistance, realisingstrongly that the hu*an will is stronger than any e0il in1luence.

#$



uch obsession is o1 course utterly unnatural and in the highest degree har*1ul to both parties.

The e11ect o1 e4cessi0e tobacco:s*o/ing on the astral body a1ter death is re*ar/able. The poison so 1ills the astral body that it sti11ens under its in1luences and is unable to wor/

properly or to *o0e 1reely. 6or the ti*e, the *an is as though paralysed : Pa0e 12C ableto spea/, yet debarred 1ro* *o0e*ent, and al*ost entirely cut o11 1ro* higher in1luences. When the poisoned part o1 his astral body wears away, he e*erges 1ro* thisunpleasant predica*ent.

The astral body changes its particles, ?ust as does the physical body, but there is nothingto correspond to eating and digesting 1ood. The astral particles which 1all away arereplaced by others 1ro* the surrounding at*osphere. The purely physical cra0ings o1 hunger and thirst no longer e4ist there but the desire o1 the glutton to grati1y thesensation o1 taste, and the desire o1 the drun/ard 1or the 1eelings which 1ollow theabsorption o1 alcohol, being both astral, still persist and, as already stated, they *ay

cause great su11ering owing to the absence o1 the physical body through which alone theycould be satis1ied.

any *yths and traditions e4ist, e4e*pli1ying the conditions described. -ne o1 the* isthat o1 Tantalus, who su11ered 1ro* raging thirst, yet was doo*ed to see the water recede ?ust as it was about to touch his lips. Another, typi1ying a*bition, is that o1 isyphus,conde*ned to roll a hea0y roc/ up a *ountain, only see it roll down again. The roc/ represents a*bitious plans which such a *an continues to 1or*, only to realise that hehas no physical body with which to carry the* out. E0entually he wears out his sel1isha*bition, realises that he need not roll his roc/, and lets it rest in peace at the botto* o1 the hill.

Another story was that o1 Tityus, a *an who was tied to a roc/, his li0er being gnawed by0ultures, and growing against as 1ast as it was eaten. This sy*bolised a *an tortured bythe gnawings o1 re*orse 1or sins co**itted on earth.

The worse that the ordinary *an o1 the world usually pro0ides 1or hi*sel1 a1ter death is auseless and unutterably weariso*e e4istence, 0oid o1 all rational interests : the naturalse@uel o1 a li1e wasted in sel1:indulgence, tri0iality and gossip here on earth.

The only things 1or which he cra0es are no longer possible to hi*, 1or in the astral worldthere is no Pa0e 1)4C business to be done, and, thought he *ay ha0e as *uch

co*panionship as he wishes, society is now 1or hi* a 0ery di11erent *atter, because allthe pretensions upon which it is usually based in this world are no longer possible.

an thus *a/es 1or hi*sel1 both his own purgatory and his own hea0en, and these arenot places but states o1 consciousness. Hell does not e4ist it is only a 1ig*ent o1 thetheological i*agination .either purgatory nor hea0en can e0er be eternal, 1or a 1initecause cannot produce an in1inite result.

#8



e0ertheless, the conditions o1 the worst type o1 *an a1ter death are perhaps bestdescribed by the word 2hell2, though they are not e0erlasting. Thus, 1or e4a*ple, itso*eti*es happens that a *urdered is 1ollowed about by his 0icti*, ne0er being able toescape 1ro* his haunting presence. The 0icti* unless hi*sel1 o1 a 0ery base typeB iswrapped in unconsciousness, and this 0ery unconsciousness see*s to add a new horror to

the *echanical pursuit.

The 0i0isectors also has his 2hell2, where he li0es a*id the crowding 1or*s o1 his*utilated 0icti*s : *oaning, @ui0ering, howling. These are 0i0i1ied, not by the ani*alsouls, but by ele*ental li1e pulsing with hatred to the tor*entor, rehearsing his worste4peri*ents with auto*atic regularity, conscious o1 all their horror, and yet i*pelled tothe sel1:torture by the habits set up during earth:li1e.

uch conditions are not produced arbitrarily, but are the ine0itable results o1 causes set inoperation by each person. ature>s lessons are sharp, but in the long run they are*erci1ul, 1or they lead to the e0olution o1 the soul, being strictly correcti0e and salutary.

6or *ost people the state a1ter death is *uch happier than li1e upon earth. The 1irst1eeling o1 which the dead *an is usually conscious is one o1 the *ost wonder1ul anddelight1ul 1reedo*; he has nothing to worry about, and no duties rest upon hi*, e4ceptthose which he chooses to i*pose upon hi*sel1.

<egarded 1ro* this point o1 0iew, it is clear that Pa0e 1)1C there is a*ple ?usti1ication 1or the assertion that people physically2ali0e2, buried and cra*ped as they are in physical bodies, are in the true sense 1ar less 2ali0e2 than those usually ter*ed dead. The so:calleddead are *uch *ore 1ree and, being less ha*pered by *aterial condition as, ar able wor/ 1ar *ore e11ecti0ely and to co0er a wider 1ield o1 acti0ity.

A *an who, not ha0ing per*itted the re:arrange*ent o1 his astral body, is 1ree o1 theentire astral world, does not 1ind it incon0eniently crowded, because the astral world is*uch larger than the sur1ace o1 the physical earth, while its population is so*ewhats*aller, the a0erage li1e o1 hu*anity in the astral world see page "$'B being shorter thanthe a0erage in the physical.

In addition to the dead, there are also, o1 course, on the astral plane about one:third o1 theli0ing, who ha0e te*porarily le1t the physical body during sleep.

Although the whole astral plane is open to any o1 its inhabitants who ha0e not per*itted

the re:arrange*ent o1 their astral bodies, yet the great *a?ority re*ain near the sur1ace o1 the earth.

Passing to a higher type o1 *an, we *ay consider one who has so*e interests o1 arational nature, e.g.$ *usic, literature, science, etc. The need to spend a large proportiono1 each day in 2earning a li0ing2 no longer e4isting, the *an is 1ree to do precisely whathe li/es, so long as it capable o1 realisation without physical *atter. In the astral li1e it is possible not only to listen to the grandest *usic but to hear 1ar *ore o1 it than be1ore,

#'



because there are in the astral world other and 1uller har*onies than the relati0ely dull physical ears can hear. 6or the artist, all the lo0eliness o1 the higher astral world is open1or his en?oy*ent. A *an can readily and rapidly *o0e 1ro* place to place and see thewonders o1 ature, ob0iously 1ar *ore easily than he could e0er do on the physical plane.I1 he is a historian or a scientist, the libraries and the laboratories o1 the world are at his

disposal his co*prehension o1 natural processes will Pa0e 1)2C be 1ar 1uller than e0er be1ore, because he can now see the inner as well as the outer wor/ings, and *any o1 thecauses where pre0iously he saw only the e11ects. In all these cases his delight is greatlyenhanced, because no 1atigue is possible see page 7$B<

A philanthropist can pursue his bene1icent wor/ *ore 0igorously than e0er be1ore andunder better conditions than in the physical world. There are thousands who* he canhelp, and with greater certainty o1 con1erring real bene1it.

It is @uite possible 1or any person upon the astral plane a1ter death to set hi*sel1 to study,and to ac@uire entirely new ideas. Thus, people *ay learn o1 Theosophy 1or the 1irst ti*e

in the astral world. A case is on record e0en o1 a person learning *usic there, though thisis unusual.

In general, li1e on the astral plane is *ore acti0e than on the physical plane, astral *atter being *ore highly 0italised than physical *atter, and 1or* being *ore plastic. The possibilities on the astral plane, both o1 en?oy*ent and o1 progress, are in e0ery way*uch greater than those on the physical plane. )ut the possibilities are o1 a higher class,and it needs a certain a*ount o1 intelligence to ta/e ad0antage o1 the*. A *an who haswhilst on earth de0oted the whole o1 his thought and energy solely to *aterial things, islittle li/ely to be able to adapt hi*sel1 to *ore ad0anced conditions, as his se*i:atrophied*ind will not be strong enough to grasp the wider possibilities o1 the grander li1e.

A *an whose li1e and interests are o1 a higher type *ay be able to do *ore good in a 1ewyears o1 astral e4istence than e0er he could ha0e done in the longest physical li1e.

Astral pleasures being so *uch greater than those o1 the physical world, there is danger o1 people being turned aside by the* 1ro* the path o1 progress. )ut e0en the delights o1 the astral li1e do not present a serious danger to those who ha0e realised a little o1 so*ething higher. A1ter death a *an should try to Pa0e 1))C pass through the astral le0elsas speedily as possible, consistently with use1ulness, and not yield to their re1ined pleasures any *ore than to those o1 the physical.

Any de0eloped *an is in e0ery way @uite as acti0e during astral li1e a1ter death as duringhis physical li1e he can un@uestionably help or hinder his own progress and that o1 others@uite as *uch a1ter death as be1ore, and conse@uently he is all the ti*e generating /ar*ao1 the greatest i*portance.

In 1act, the consciousness o1 a *an li0ing entirely in the astral world is usually *uch*ore de1inite than it has been during his sleep astral li1e, and he is correspondingly better

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able to thin/ and act with deter*ination, so that his opportunities o1 *a/ing good or bad/ar*a are the greater.

It *ay be said in general that *an can *a/e /ar*a where0er his consciousness isde0eloped, or where0er he can act or choose. Thus actions done on the astral plane *ay

bear /ar*ic 1ruit in the ne4t earth li1e.

-n the lowest astral sub:plane a *an, ha0ing other things to occupy his attention,concerns hi*sel1 little with what ta/es place in the physical world, e4cept when hehaunts 0ile resorts.

-n the ne4t sub:plane, the si4th, are 1ound *en who, whilst ali0e, centred their desiresand thoughts chie1ly in *ere worldly a11airs. !onse@uently, they still ho0er about the persons and places with which they were *ost closely associated while on earth, and *ay be conscious o1 *any things in connection with these. They ne0er, howe0er, see physical*atter itsel1, but always the astral counterpart o1 it.

Thus, 1or e4a*ple, a theatre 1ull o1 people has its astral counterpart, which is 0isible toastral entities. They would not, howe0er, be able to see, as we see the*, either thecostu*es or the e4pressions o1 the actors, and the e*otions o1 the players, being not real but si*ulated, would *a/e no i*pression on the astral plane. Pa0e 1)(C

Those on the si4th sub:plane, which is on the sur1ace o1 the earth, 1ind the*sel0essurrounded by the astral counterparts o1 physically e4isting *ountains, trees, la/es, etc..

-n the ne4t two sub:planes, the 1i1th and 1ourth, this consciousness o1 physical a11airs isalso possible, though in rapidly di*inishing degree.

-n the ne4t two sub:planes, the third and second, contact with the physical plane could be obtained only by a special e11ort to co**unicate through a *ediu*.

6ro* the highest, the 1irst sub:plane, e0en co**unication through a *ediu* would be0ery di11icult.

Those lo0ing on the higher sub:planes usually pro0ide the*sel0es with whate0er scenesthey desire. Thus in one portion o1 the astral world *en surround the*sel0es withlandscapes o1 their own creation others accept ready:*ade the landscapes which ha0ealready been constructed by others. A description o1 the 0arious le0els or sub:planes will

be gi0en in !hapter "(B.

In so*e cases *en construct 1or the*sel0es the weird scenes described in their 0ariousreligious scriptures, *anu1acturing clu*sy atte*pts at ?ewels growing on trees, seas o1 glass *ingled with 1ire, creatures 1ull o1 eyes within, and deities with a hundred headsand ar*s.

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In what the piritualists call the u**erland, people o1 the sa*e race and the sa*ereligion tend to /eep together a1ter death ?ust as they do during li1e, so that there is a /indo1 networ/ o1 su**erlands o0er the countries to which belong the persons who ha0ecreated the*, co**unities being 1or*ed, di11ering as widely 1ro* each other as dosi*ilar co**unities on earth. This is due not only to natural a11inity but also to the 1act

that barriers o1 language still e4ist on the astral plane.

This principle applies, in 1act, to the astral plane in general. Thus at spiritualist s7ances in!eylon,it was 1ound that the co**unicating entities were )uddhists, and that beyond thegra0e they had 1ound their religious preconceptions con1ir*ed, e4actly as had Pa0e 1)+Cthe *e*bers o1 0arious !hristian sects in Europe. en 1ind on the astral plane not onlytheir own thought:1or*s, but those *ade by others : these, in so*e cases, being the product o1 generations o1 thought 1ro* thousands o1 people, all 1ollowing along the sa*elines.

It is not unco**on 1or parents to endea0our to i*press their wishes on their children,

e.g.$ with regard to so*e particular alliance on which their heart is set. uch an in1luenceis insidious, an ordinary *an being li/ely to ta/e the steady pressure 1or his own sub:conscious desire.

In *any cases the dead ha0e constituted the*sel0es guardian angels to the li0ing,*others o1ten protecting their sons, husbands their widows, and so on, 1or *any years.

In others cases a dead writer or *usical co*poser *ay i*press his ideas upon a writer o1 co*poser in the physical world, so that *any boo/s credited to the li0ing are really thewor/ o1 the dead. The person who actually e4ecutes the writing *ay be conscious o1 thein1luence, or *ay be entirely unconscious o1 it.

-ne leading no0elist has stated that his stories co*e to hi* he /nows not whence : thatthey are in reality written not by hi*, but through hi*. He recognises the state o1 a11airsthere are probably *any others in the sa*e case who are @uite unconscious o1 it.

A doctor who dies o1ten continues a1ter death to ta/e an interest in his patients,endea0ouring to cure the* 1ro* the other side, or to suggest to his successor *ethods o1 treat*ent which, with his newly:ac@uired astral 1aculties, he sees would be use1ul.

Whilst *ost ordinary 2good2 people, who die natural deaths, are unli/ely to be consciouso1 anything physical at all, as they sweep through all the lower stages be1ore awa/ening

to astral consciousness, yet so*e, e0en o1 these, *ay be drawn bac/ into touch with the physical world by great an4iety about so*eone le1t behind.

The grie1 o1 relati0es and 1riends *ay also attract the attention o1 one who has passed tothe astral plane Pa0e 1),C and tend to draw hi* down into touch with earth li1e again.This downward tendency grows with use and the *an is li/ely to e4ert his will to /eep intouch with the physical world. 6or a ti*e his power o1 seeing earthly things will increase;

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but presently it will di*inish, and then he will probably su11er *entally as he 1eels his power slipping 1ro* hi*.

In *any cases people not only cause the*sel0es an i**ense a*ount o1 whollyunnecessary pain, but o1ten also do serious in?ury to those 1or who* they *ourn with

intense and uncontrolled grie1.

+uring the whole period o1 the astral plane li1e, whether it be long or short, the *an iswithin the reach o1 earth in1luences. In the cases ?ust *entioned the passionate sorrowand desires o1 1riends on earth would set up 0ibrations in the astral body o1 the *an whohad died, and so reach and rouse his *ind or lower *anas. Thus aroused 1ro* his drea*ystate to 0i0id re*e*brance o1 earth li1e, he *ay endea0our to co**unicate with his earth1riends, possibly through a *ediu*. uch an awa/ening is o1ten acco*panied by acutesu11ering, and in any e0en the natural process o1 the ego>s withdrawal is delayed.

-ccult teaching does not 1or a *o*ent counsel 1orget1ulness o1 the dead but it does

suggest that a11ectionate re*e*brance o1 the dead is a 1orce which, i1 properly directedtowards helping his progress towards the hea0en:world, and his passage through theinter*ediate state, *ight be o1 real 0alue to hi*, whereas *ourning is not only useless but har*1ul. It is with a true instinct that the Hindu religion prescribes its hrKddhacere*onies and the !atholic !hurch its prayers 1or the dead.

Prayers, with their acco*panying cere*onies, create ele*entals which stri/e against the5K*alo/ic entity>s astral body, and hasten its dis1iguration, thus speeding hi* on towardsthe hea0en:world.

When, 1or e4a*ple, a ass is o11ered with a de1inite intention o1 helping a dead person,

that person will undoubtedly bene1it by the downpouring o1 1orce Pa0e 1)/C the strongthought about hi* ine0itably attracts his attention, and when he is drawn to the church heta/es part in the cere*ony and en?oys a large share in its results. E0en i1 he be stillunconscious, the priest>s will and prayer directs the strea* o1 1orce towards the personconcerned.

E0en the earnest general prayer or wish 1or the good o1 the dead as a whole, though li/elyto be 0ague and there1ore less e11icient than a *ore de1inite thought, has yet in theaggregate produced an e11ect whose i*portance it would be di11icult to e4aggerate.Europe little /nows how *uch it owes to those great religious orders who de0otethe*sel0es night and day to ceaseless prayer 1or the 1aith1ul departed. Pa0e 1).C

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The Astral Body Part - I

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