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Vol. 16 No. 12 Boulder, Colorado December, 2001This December HCT

brings tidings of two regretted events.

The publishing of the High Country Theosophist on amonthly basis has become increasingly burdensome and afterconsidering all the aspects of the problem we have decided tochange our publishing schedule to bimonthly as well as raisethe price. Accordingly, Vol 17, January 2002 will be the first ofthe bimontly issues. May\June will be the last issue of thepresent subscription year (6-01). All prepaid two yearsubscriptions will be honored at the old rate.

Readers may not be aware that our printing supplierdecided to close out his business rather than invest in newequipment. We had been faithful customers for the last 15years. Of the currently available local printing concerns thebest offer quoted reflects a cost increase of approximately 30%We have maintained the $9.00 yearly subscription rate over theyears in spite of two postal rate increases. We feel that now ouronly workable choice is to increase our subscription rate on thenew bimonthly publication schedule to $12.00 domestic,$15.00 foreign surface and $20.00 foreign via air.

Fortunately our readers still have the option of a freesubscription to the HCT via Internet, and we shall continue tooffer free subscriptions to those for whom the subscription costrepresents a hardship. We will continue exchanging with

Contents

This December Hct…..............…1

Canadian TheosophistReprint Project……...................2

The Passing OfEmmett Small……......................2

Autobiographical Sketch……....2

Background Of Our Lives……..7

Thy Final Friend…….................9

A Digital Library:…….............11

Secret Doctrine Q & A ……....13

A Personal God……................16

Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali......…18

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companion publications as before. Thesechanges will be detailed as usual on the lastpage of the HCT.

Most of our readers are aware of the factthat editor Dick Slusser has been workingunder an increasing handicap with Parkinson’sDisease during the lifetime of the HCTbeginning in 1986. A great deal of gratitude isdue to co-editor Marty Lyman for herincreasing editorial support of the HCT. Thishas been made visible by her increasingcontributions to the monthly issues. Part ofthe reason for going bimontly is becauseMarty still teaches during the school yearmonths and is not retired.

Canadian Theosophist Reprint project

One of Dick’s goals is to reprint thewater and smoke damaged Canadian Theoso-phists for the years 1941-1961, some 120 outof print issues. The task involves the use ofscanning hardware coupled with an OpticalCharacter Recognition (OCR) program. Hehas been working with technical softwaresupport of the OCR and Pagemaker programs.It has taken about six months to arrive at amethod of producing a nearly identical, “lookalike” reproduction of the original documents.Dick plans to produce hard copy duplicatessuitable for binding and also share the resultswith Theosophical community by uploads tothe Internet. The 32 page pilot issue ofSeptember 1941 is nearly complete. Watchfor it

Some changes to the HCT

Less emphasis will be placedupon traditional Theosophical ma-

terials and more on comparative re-ligions, yogas, and results of con-temporary research into both Hin-duism and Buddhism.

The passing of Emmett SmallThe second event is the passing of a very,

dear, fellow student, Emmett Small. Theremainder of this issue will be devoted to himand his writings. Emmett Small exited thisworld on October 25, 2001 very peacefullysurrounded by his loved ones.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH[Emmett Small, May 3, 1903 - October

25, 2001Ed HCT]The following text is a composite of A

Biographical Sketch of Emmett Small, givenat Emmett’s Memorial Service, November 3,2001, and his own Autobiographical sketchfrom The Path of Unfoldment, pages 241-249,along with some added notes of our own.

Born in 1903, Emmett’s life spannedalmost the entire 20'h century. From horses andtrolleys to freeways and jet planes, frombeach-front property housing tent cities tocondominium complexes and biotech indus-tries, his vibrant inner life brought meaning,depth and purpose to the panorama of changethat unfurled before him.

Emmett loved Point Loma. It was hisfavorite place in the entire world. He used torun by the cliffs and down to the beach as a boyand he continued to walk up and down thesaged hills until last year. He would want youall to know how much he enjoyed yourcompany and how fortunate he felt to live inPoint Loma, so full of golden memories forhim.

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Although born in Macon, Georgia, hegrew up on Point Loma. Emmett had a ratherunusual childhood. Since the age of two, he wasa boarding student at the Theosophical RajaYoga Academy, located where the Point LomaNazarene University now stands. His motherwanted him to study at the Academy becauseshe believed in Theosophy and its universaltruths of peace, brotherhood, reincarnation andkarma. She wanted her son to be educated in thecompleteness of the Theosophical teachings.

As a student at the Academy, he studiedSanskrit, Latin and all the Romance languages.He learned to play cello, clarinet and piano. Heenjoyed acting in Shakespearean plays per-formed in the Greek Theater and playing tennisand baseball. He also loved working in thegardens and orchards. Above all, it was thecamaraderie of students and faculty, joiningtogether to work, create and study for a higherpurpose that sparked Emmett’s appreciationand gratitude for his life at Lomaland, as hefondly called it.

Emmett, himself wrote in his book ThePath of Self Unfoldment ...

Why, born in Georgia, was I takento California way back in March of1905? The answer, unusual parents.My mother was a first cousin of WalterT. Hanson, President of Bibb Manufac-turing Company of Macon, Georgia;and he became interested in Theosophyin the early 1890’s when W. Q. Judgeheaded the destinies of the Theosophi-cal Society in America. He organized aLodge of the T.S. in Macon whichflourished and became one of theleading centers in the U.S.A. Lateraround 20 or so members moved to

Point Loma when Katherine Tingley(who succeeded Judge as Leader, onJudge’s death in 1896) moved theHeadquarters there. My motherevidently received her inspiration ofTheosophy from her cousin, and(she later told me) dedicated me toTheosophy before I was born. TheRaja Yoga School started with 5members, all from Macon, in 1900.My father, not a member then of theT.S., but understanding of mymother’s devotion, agreed to mybeing educated away from home,though relatives and friends nearhim considered the idea ‘outland-ish’.

So, from then on, Point Lomawas my home, and the children, andlater the adults, there became mylarge “family.”

, I felt truly at home

there. The ideals and the philosophyappealed to me; the teachers of thevarious subjects in the schoolbecame friends; and when on thosefew occasions when (after 19 yearsof age) I visited my Georgia home-folks for short periods, I feltimmediately lonely and longed forthe hour of return to my growingduties.

I was a terribly shy boy, andperhaps my most pressing anddemanding necessity was to try toovercome that trait. I worked at it;and later the very curriculum thereeducated me to some degree out of it.As I grew to young manhood Ibecame a young group teacher in theBoys Department; I taught English

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literature and History (and evenbookkeeping!). I had, with all theothers, of course, become a memberof the Boys and Girls Chorus, of theOrchestra, and the Band trying firstviolin and piano (not very good atthose), then at 14, I think, the clarinetat which I gained some proficiencyand later played solos when we werebroadcast over KFSD by remotecontrol; also the cello which I lovedmost.

Katherine Tingley (KT), for rea-sons which she perhaps alone knew, alsothrew me into the dramatic effort. Shebelieved the drama was a great teacher,that it had lessons which could be taughtin no better way of the nature of life, itspurpose, its tests and its inner victories.So I was given roles in A MidsummerNight’s Dream, and particularly (wayback in 1927) in The Tempest asProspero. I was young for that part, but Iwas thrust into it, and I believe I learnedfrom it.

Physical education was not ne-glected. We played tennis, football(called Association Football in thosedays, like Soccer today), baseball,basketball; trained in broad jump, high-

jump, rings and bars; hundred-yard dash,etc. I enjoyed them all, especially tennisand baseball. Holidays-Fourth of July,Thanksgiving, etc.-we had great times,decorating the athletic field with flags andbunting; tennis matches in the morning;band music and a big feast for everyone atnoon; and games in the afternoon. TheRaja Yoga slogan was: a balance of all thefaculties: physical, mental, moral andspiritual. I would say our curriculum insound degree lived up to that.

As a boy I also worked in what wecalled the P & S Department, typing, withmy cousin Ross White, the weeklyrequisitions from the 500 or so studentson “The Hill.” I also delivered (onbicycle) the mail to the students who livedin scattered tents and dwellings (later theyall came to the office to pick up their ownmail which we handed them from the slotsinto which they were placed on arrival).Later, (when about 19 or 20) I helpedAxel Fick, then Purchasing Agent for theSociety, and with him went to San Diegoon Mondays and Tuesdays to help with allkinds of needed requisitioned items, suchas toothbrushes, razor blades, soap, ‘etc.,etc. Those years I was still studying.

Then when I was 22 I worked for ayear as secretary in the General Manager’sOffice, and the next year moved to help inthe office of the Secretary, Joseph H.Fussell, in what was called the UBBuilding at South Ranch. That became myhome in a way. I remember well KT oncemeeting me at the top of the stairs of theTemple, and saying to me: “You are tohelp Mr. Fussell and Professor Purucker.”And it turned out that way. I remembertoward the end of the afternoon in thoseearly days I’d run down the sloping hills tothe large vegetable gardens the Societyhad just above the cliffs overlooking thePacific; and there I’d work for the last

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hour of the day before suppertime. Someyears earlier I used to take the boys’ groupthere first thing after breakfast from about7:30 to 9 o’clock (we’d had breakfast at6:20), so I knew something of the generallayout, what to do in thinning out theyoung onions and carrots, in shuckingcorn, digging sweet potatoes or yams, andso on. We enjoyed it.

I remember well the MemorialService for KT (who had suffered a fatalauto accident in Osnabruck, Germany, onMay 30, 1929, and died at Visingso,Sweden, on July 11, at the TheosophicalSchool grounds there). The atmosphere ofdevotion and gratitude can with quickthought be brought to life again. UnderDr. Gottfried de Purucker (generallyknown as GdeP), some of us did moreactive work in speaking before the publicat Point Loma and at the various lodges,mostly in California, and our past trainingwas seen to have been soundly supportivethen. I also worked in the Editorial Officeand soon came to realize that that was mybasic forte, for I stayed in that area (andthe last year at Point Loma was whollythere) until the Headquarters (because ofthe War) moved in May of 1942.

Before that I had fallen in love witha young schoolgirl whose parents weremembers of the Society from Sweden. Infact the girl’s father, Axel Fick, was theone before mentioned who headed thePurchasing Department until his death inJuly, 1925. The mother Gerda Fick, was asister of Tell Berggren, a physician for awhile at Battle Creek, Michigan; she wasan assistant teacher and house-mother inthe Girls Department. When I fell in love,the girl, Carmen Helena, was considered“too young”, and it was arranged she visither relatives in Sweden. She was twoyears there, but when she returned toPoint Loma and became a young teacher

herself in the School we were engagedand next year were married (Feb. 25,1939).

Since then my life has been filledwith the blessings of a loving wife and indue time three lovely children, two girlsand then a boy (Gwen Hillhouse, ClaraNugent and Kenneth Robert). To them, allfour, I owe unsaid but treasured memoriesand experiences of the crowded decades.And when in 1969 Clara married WilliamBerno (Bill), a talented son-in-law washappily added to the family.

Emmett was a scholar; he loved to read,write and study. He was an excellent writerwith a keen mind who understood clearly theuniversal truths expressed in Theosophy —thefocal point of his life. He wrote numerousarticles throughout his life, and spoke atconferences around the world on Theosophi-cal topics, such as karma and reincarnation,the purpose of life, and following one’shighest duty. For his 80'h birthday, the familypublished a collection of his articles entitledThe Path of Self Unfoldment.

He earned his living as a technical writerat Bill Jack Scientific Instrument Company,Ryan Aeronautical Company and GeneralAtomic. A natural teacher, he also taughtCreative Writing in Adult Education and later,after his official retirement, taught writing athome to aspiring authors. With Helen Todd,Emmett created and edited The EclecticTheosophist, a bi-monthly international news-letter, from 1971-1992. From 1946 to about1985 Emmett was very active in the RobertBrowning Society. He served as president forten years and enjoyed lecturing on Browning’sworks.

In 1971 with Iverson Harris andTheosophical friends, Point Loma Publica-

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tions (PLP), a non-profit corporation wasformed, which focuses on publishing Theo-sophical books and books related to worldreligions. This was the culmination of a longtime dream — to share the wisdom of greatthinkers and philosophers with others. Sincethat time, over fifty different titles have beenpublished ranging from a Sanskrit text used inuniversity courses to a book on TibetanBuddhism by Lama Doboom Tulku.

Continuing with The Path of SelfUnfoldment

In 1970 we moved from LomaPortal to Point Loma, just seven minutes’walk to the open-air Greek Theater andother buildings on the former Theosophi-cal grounds now occupied by Point LomaNazarene College. So here as I type theselines I am on Charles Street where as alittle boy one of my older cousins, orperhaps a teacher, walked me to the two-story house just four doors east of us, tosee my mother and father when they cameout for a visit and stayed there. Full circlein many ways.

So, you see, how fortunate I am,with past and present in harmony, andwith loving wife and children to brightenthe full hours of Today.

W. Emmett Small May 3, 1983

Small. Emmett. The Path of SelfUnfoldment. pages 241-247

and Biographical Sketch ofEmmett Small May 3, 1903 - October25, 2001To continue this story, we explain the

circumstances under which we met EmmettSmall. It was during the 1988 Secret DoctrineCentennial Conference in Pasadena, Califor-

nia. We happened to be sitting next to Emmettduring this conference. He gave warm supportto our modest efforts in publishing The HighCountry Newsletter which at the time containedonly information about our study centeractivities. We were becoming dissatisfied withthis and felt a need to share indepth studies witha greater Theosophical Community world-wide. Emmett placed before us an example ofhow an independent editor could serve thisgreater movement. Our inspiration camechiefly from reading his Eclectic Theosophist.

About a year later our High CountryStudy Group wanted to support a sister lodge ina developing country. Emmett gave us theaddress of a woman (Rosemary Vosse) in SouthAfrica who provided us with addresses of anumber of African Theosophists. Many of ourAfrican Theosophists were introduced in thismanner and are still in correspondence today.

Later, in December of 1991, when theEclectic ceased publication, a number ofEmmett’s European subscribers joined ourHCT readership. The HCT could not haveachieved what it has without Emmett’s help.

A third area of support came when co-editor Marty Lyman wanted to prepare a talkabout G. de Purucker and discuss hisqualification as an interpreter of The SecretDoctrine.

We had noticed in G de P’s writings whatappeared to be air of “authority” beyond that ofa mere Fellow Student. When we queriedEmmett on this point, his reply was: “look inmy archives.”

Doing this we discovered a transcript of a“closed” session between G de P and theKatherine Tingley Memorial Group whichgave some hints of who Purucker really was.With Emmett’s permission we printed the

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unpublished transcript in the July 1991 HCTunder the title of “The Mystery of G dePurucker.”

During the years between 1988 and1997, every twoyears we wouldvisit SouthernCalifornia.

We always madeit a point toinclude a visitwith Emmettand family.

Marty, es-pecially re-members thevisits to PointLoma Nazarene

College, site of the former Point LomaTheosophical Community. Emmett andCarmen would take us on a personal tour of theTheosophical grounds. These fond memoriesexisted up to the day of his death, when Martywas teaching at East High School in Denver,Colorado.

It was a fine, crisp and sunny day. Shehad the afternoon off and went for a stroll inDenver’s City Park. Looking at the City ParkStatuary, brought back memories of all thosevisits to San Diego, the ocean, and the GreekAmphitheatre and what Emmett wrote to usonce.

... We always find volunteers toreplace the tired sentries, and the world,bad as it is in present state of transitoryperiod, can yet furnish us with a few mennow and then. ...

Mahatma Letter 28

Emmett died emanating great peace,light and strength of spirit. From a memorialservice that he gave for a dear friend, HalDempster in 1962, he wrote the following thatis appropriate for himself. Emmett “wouldhave us take some of the peace andunderstanding which surrounds him; besustained by some of the noble acceptancewith which he gave himself to his Greater Self,some of the knowledge and wisdom — untilsuch time as we meet again.”May Emmett’s spirit always live on!

BACKGROUND OF OUR LIVESby Emmett Small

Thoughts Stirred by the Passing ... ofEmmett Small, a Dedicated Member of thePoint Loma Theosophical Headquarters

‘Background: a flower, a perfect rose;but against a sheet or board of the same color,where is its beauty? It lies unrevealed; there isno background. But placed against naturalgreenery nearby, and Background returnsbeauty and brings meaning to Foreground. OrGreek temple: white columns and entablaturescome alive and tug at the heart only when seenagainst shall we say background of sun-splashed Attic blue? Or a star, caught in a forkof eucalyptus tree; only deep background ofnight brings it intimately near.

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Today I sit at the open-air GreekTheater on Point Loma. This view, Irecall, had been described some thirtyyears ago as of “surpassing beauty”.But now in honesty should not theadjective be dropped? If analyzed,there is still a cool beauty of line andform; but between Doric pillars nocrest-foamed waves break, no stretchof ocean draws the eye to farawayhorizon. The old natural canyon,chaparral covered, that ran down tothe sea has been bulldozed to flatterrain useful for athletic field, anddistance is blocked by a solid screenof close grown trees. Background hasbeen snatched away. All now isforeground, practical, utilitarian. Weare limited to the Immediate, withoutsupport and challenge and poignantbeckoning of a Beyond which bringsvision and meaning.

When one leaves us whom wehave known long and well our thoughtlingers on the life just ended,pondering its significance, yes, and itsmystery (for all of our lives in astrange degree are a mystery). Andour thought moves beyond a singleindividual to embrace the many whothrough the swift-moving decades ofthis century have been friends,fellow-students, fellow-searchers ofthe mysteries of life.

Ruminative thought today cen-ters not only on these brief life-moments of association but reachesout to what is beyond, what may becalled the Background of their lives.

For it was not only Foreground ofindividual decision that brought theseseveral hundred in 1900 and thefollowing years to Point Loma and thetheosophical nucleus and the Schoolestablished there; it must also havebeen some ancient love, someunbreakable link revived, some driv-ing energy out of the past, purposiveand persuasive. For among the variedgroup were students of Blavatsky,supporters of Judge, followers ofKatherine Tingley. We forgo listingnames; they are too many for thisrecounting; but all are loved, allremembered, all respected. Each onewas the personal actor on the stage ofhis or her own choosing this life; buteach was also part of a backgroundgroup-drama, held together by Ideaand Ideal as represented in Theo-sophical teaching studied and prac-ticed. And, again, Background of thatbackground were the past lives ofeach. One seemed to catch someinkling of ancient continuity of theThread-Self bringing opportunityagain to work together.

Those who were part of thatcommunity do not need to bereminded of the program there, abeehive of activity from early morn tonight; literary and editorial work,planting of trees and orchards,growing of vegetables; humming ofprinting presses; bindery and photoengraving; classes in the School;music and drama rehearsals and thesound of piano, violin, cello, orches-

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tra, chorus, and band, and weeklyconcerts; arrival and entertaining ofdistinguished visitors; tireless prepa-ration of meals and kitchen work. (Allthis is well reported in Greenwalt’sCalifornia Utopia; Point Loma 1897-1942.) To those living for many yearsat Point Loma, and especially to thosewho grew up there from earliestchildhood, it was a world complete.

[A Eulogy written by Emmett Small dedicatedto those who have passed at Point Loma Head-quarters and now he too has joined them. Ed.HCT]

THY FINAL FRIEND

I tear a leaf from my April notebook.. . But why, when bounteous Spring lies

joyously before us, speak of Death? Theflowers that bloom in the Spring, tra-la,have nothing to do with the case!

But indeed they do. For-philosophi-cally-the flower is born from the seed, itgives birth again to seed, and from thence,after Death, comes ‘Spring’ once more. Theendless cycle is complete, only to beginagain. The philosophic reflection born fromthis is that within Death is Spring, rebirth,and that each Season has its cycle,recurring, ever recurring. Our humanbusiness is to see that that cycle spiralsupward.

When we were children and growingup through adolescence we used to attendthe regular Sunday evening meetings ofLomaland students at Point Loma, and themeeting began with Family Chorus. Oneof the songs had in it the lilting phrase,“When Death shall come, thy final friend,nor long to leave nor fear to go.” ThatFamily Chorus ‘moment’ has lingeredlong in my memory through succeedingdecades. I hear now the music, neither sadnor glad nor ponderous nor overly joyful.Perhaps reflective even for a youngster?

Later the inborn theosophic thoughtof it all came to life quite naturally, and thestudy of Death has since been a mostintriguing, perhaps compelling, aspect ofthe whole theosophical philosophy. But, ofcourse, we should remember that any oneTeaching, so called, contains within it allthe others. Not a one you could nameflaunts this rule.

Brotherhood, for instance. Go deepwithin it-philosophically, scientifically,religiously, it is all there. The same withthe idea of Reincarnation, with Karma,with Cycles, with Hierarchies, above all, ithas always seemed to me, with Death. Onelearns more about oneself from its studythan any other.

The poets knew this. Whitman calledit the Opener of Vision; William Sharp (orFiona McCleod) the Gateway to Life;Shelley intoned “He is not dead. He hath

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awakened from the dream of life.”

And Browning: “Death completesliving, shows life in its truth. Manlearningly lives: ‘till death helps.”

Fear-what men call fear-does nottouch this at all. there may be wondermentas to what then? There may be questioningas to details of the great change-over, butthat is not fear; it is more a meditativeprolonged thought on what we know is notyet fully known but will become more andmore so as we evolve.

Perhaps it is the leave-taking of agrowing number of friends and fellow-students of many decades that elicits theselines. With Death’s coming it is as thougha door stands ajar briefly between thisworld, filled with its swirling human trafficand the multiplicity of problems crying forimmediate attention, and another world,alive and vibrant in its own superioratmosphere. Can we gather a hint of whatthat inner world really is? Can we seizefrom out that ambient some great truth thatwill extend our human understanding ofthe totality of life so that, even in fading, asit is bound to fade, the light of this truth stillwill illumine our pathway for our destineddays on earth? Ah, for a moment we see wereceive a touch of Reality.

Spring is here. The wisteria hangspurple festoons graciously over theneighbor’s second-story porch; the aza-leas, pink and white and prolific, brighten

the surrounding green of trees and shrubs;the pansies of variegated colors look upquizzically from their borders; the sweetalyssum scatters its whitenessunrestrainedly; and the roses bloom, herewith patrician beauty, there with plebianrobustness, but they bloom and theyperfume their ambience.

Yes, Spring is here, and within it allthe seasons, within each season all theseasons. And so within the season calledDeath we know it as a preparation, a sleep,a dreaming, and-certainly theosophically-an inner awakening in its mysteriouscorridors-a cyclic need, restorative, beau-teous, eloquent Death. “Nor long to leave,nor fear to go.”

From The Eclectic Theosophist,Sept./Oct. 1982.

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Co-editor, Marty Lyman, has al-ways been curious as to why HPBnever mentioned Kashmir Shaivismas a teaching. Why was it not men-tioned in the Indian Philosophy text?For a long time, she thought it wassimply because there was some“sexual mystique” or taboo surround-ing it. Now, she has come to realizethat this is not so. It was a teachinglost to the world due to the smallnumber of its followers. Now it, aswell as many other teachings are be-ginning to be researched. Many arecoming out of Tibet. Many bookson these lost teachings are comingto America and are appearing on In-ternet. Here following is an example.

A DIGITAL LIBRARY:HOME TO THE WISDOM OF THE

SAGES OF INDIA

For thousands of years, Indianphilosophers, scholars, and poetshave expressed their philosophicalinsights in treatises, sacred songs,and commentaries on scriptures.Some of the most precious teach-ings known to humankind arefound in the ancient texts of Indianphilosophy. Unique analyses of thenature of the mind, deep mysticalinsights, and entire inner and outercosmologies were created, arguedthrough, and refined over thecenturies. Thousands of textsresulted, captured in writing for thestudy of succeeding generations of

students. Before the coming of themodern age, craftsmen painstak-ingly copied these texts by hand inorder to preserve them for thefuture. Throughout much of Indianhistory, these scribes recorded thiswisdom by etching the charactersonto the specially dried and treatedleaves of palm trees. In themountains of Kashmir and otherregions of the north where palmtrees do not grow, they used thebark of birch trees instead. Thesecraftsmen and scholars becameexperts in the use of thesematerials, but, given the harshenvironment of India, even the bestpreserved of these natural materi-als would decay over a fewhundred years, making it necessaryfor later generations of scribes tocreate new manuscripts.

In this way, the great wisdomof India has been preservedthrough the centuries. Yet evenwith the dedication of scholars andscribes, many manuscripts havebeen lost: either destroyed orhidden when invasions criss-crossed the subcontinent, leavingsocial upheaval in their wake.During the past two hundred years,many of these leaf manuscriptshave been gathered into librariesfor protection, yet only a portionhave been identified and cata-logued. Though many manuscripts

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have been thus preserved, many ofthem have never been translatedfrom the original Sanskrit andothers still remain hidden in privatehomes or libraries, their veryexistence unknown to the scholarlyworld. For many centuries, the onlyway for scholars to read these textswas to travel long distances,tracing a manuscript perhaps to aremote pandit’s house or to aspecialized library.

As these texts are the founda-tion of the different branches ofyoga and spiritual wisdom, theMuktabodha Institute has made acommitment to make these manu-scripts more easily available toscholars around the world, as wellas to help preserve them in theiroriginal form. If these texts becomemore available, interested scholarswill be able to study, translate, andprepare commentaries on them, sothat this valuable knowledge willbe accessible to students andseekers around the world.

With this intention, severalyears ago the Muktabodha Institutebegan microfilming rare manu-scripts in their original form. Thisyear we expanded our initiative toinclude a digital imaging project,which will enhance our ability tomake these treasures accessible.Through digital technology, it ispossible to make them available

through Internet sites to anyscholar, located anywhere in theworld. We are, in fact, creating adigital library of important textsand manuscripts by converting ourexisting microfilm to digital im-ages and creating new digital filesas our field representative recordsnew material with a digital camera.

As, at present, many of thesetexts exist only in their fragilepalm-leaf form or as rare out-of-print books, it is exciting to thinkwhat an enormous service thisproject will provide to Indologistsaround the world. Another area ofour initiative impacts a particularlyimportant area of scholarly re-search that is also sufferingthrough lack of attention andfunding. Though many manu-scripts exist as single copies, thereare also instances where manydiffering versions of a particularmanuscript are circulating. In suchcases, scholars have painstakinglygathered all the available manu-scripts of a particular text andstudied and analyzed them tocreate what is known as a “criticaledition.” These critical editionsrecreate the original text as closelyas possible. Many of these criticaleditions have been published in theoriginal scripts and languages(usually Sanskrit). But over theyears, many such editions, of even

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the most renowned texts, havegone out of print, due to therelatively small market for them.Often even the libraries of promi-nent research universities do nothave copies. This means that, forall effective purposes, these textsare unavailable to scholars in thefield, especially younger ones whohave not had the opportunity tobuild their own libraries.

Recognizing this situationand knowing the value to scholarsof being able to work with original,primary texts, Muktabodha is alsodigitizing rare critical editions.These will be included in ourdigital library, which will allowscholars to either read them on-lineor download them to createpersonal working copies.

The Muktabodha digital li-brary promises to have vastpotential and will be an ongoingproject spanning many years. Ourimmediate priority, however, is toplace on-line [Internet] the textsand original manuscripts of theKashmir Shaivite tradition, therebyhelping to foster further translationand study of this philosophy. It is agreat honor for us to be involved inthis exciting project.

From the Muktabodha news-letter, Summer 2001 issue

SECRET DOCTRINE QUESTIONAND ANSWER SECTION

CONDUCTED BY GEOFFREY A.BARBORKA

Readers of The Canadian Theosophistare invited to participate in this feature bysending their questions c/o The Editors to beforwarded to Mr. Barborka.

Question. Is the earth chain a reincarna-tion of another earth chain or a reincarnationof the lunar chain?

Answer. There is no doubt whatsoeverabout the correct answer to this question. TheSecret Doctrine has clearly supplied theanswer in Volume I: the earth chain is thereimbodiment of the lunar chain. To quote:“The Earth, the Child of the Moon,” (I, 173)illustrated by a diagram (I, 172; I, 225 6-vol.ed.; I, 196 3rd ed.). Because of the way thequestion is worded, an opportunity is given topoint out to the questioner that thefundamental concept regarding reimbodimentfor planets or reincarnation for humans hasnot been grasped. Reincarnation has beenconsidered “from below” from the point ofview of bodies or forms, instead of “fromabove” from the standpoint of the immortalprinciples which use vestures, or vehicles, fortemporary manifestations. Thus Reincarna-tion (the doctrine of rebirth for humans) doesnot signify having the same body in the nextrebirth on earth, because the monad (theimmortal principles) will assume a newvesture. Similarly the “higher principles” of aplanetary system cannot possibly have thesame “body” in the reimbodiment of theplanetary system. The “higher principles” orinner principles of both chains are the same,but the outer vehicles are represented by the

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lunar chain or the earth chain respectively.“It thus becomes apparent how perfect is

the analogy between the processes of Naturein the Kosmos and in the individual man. Thelatter lives through life-cycle, and dies. His‘higher principles,’ corresponding in thedevelopment of a planetary chain to thecycling Monads, pass into Devachan, whichcorresponds to the ‘Nirvana’ and states of restintervening between two chains. The man’slower ‘principles’ are disintegrated in timeand are used by Nature again for the formationof new human principles, and the sameprocess takes place in the disintegration andformation of Worlds. Analogy is thus thesurest guide to the comprehension of theOccult teachings.” (Ibid.)

Question. If there will be an entirelydifferent vehicle for man during the FifthRound, how can Fifth Rounders be on earthnow?

Answer. Here again, because of focusingattention upon the vehicles one is unable tounderstand the true significance of FifthRound stage of evolution. It is true of course,that during the Fifth Round the vehicle forman will be entirely different but it will alsobe different during the Seventh Root-Race ofthis Fourth Round After all, the type ofvehicle does not determine the Fifth Roundstage of evolution The words of The SecretDoctrine about Fifth Rounders very wellillustrates the confusion that exists upon thissubject: “Those who knew that a Round waspreceded and followed by a long Pralaya, apause of rest which created an impassable gulfbetween two Rounds until the time came for arenewed cycle of life, could not understandthe `fallacy’ of talking about `fifth and sixthRounders’ in our Fourth Round. Gautama

Buddha, it was held, was a Sixth-Rounder,Plato and some other great philosophers andminds, ‘Fifth-Rounders.’ How could it be?One Master taught and affirmed that therewere such ‘Fifth-Rounders’ even now onEarth; and though understood to say thatmankind was yet `in the Fourth Round,’ inanother place he seemed to say that we were inthe Fifth. To this an ̀ apocalyptic answer’ wasreturned by another Teacher: ̀ A few drops ofrain do not make a Monsoon, though theypresage it.’ ̀ No, we are not in the Fifth Round,but Fifth Round men have been coming in forthe last few thousand years.’ This was worsethan the riddle of the Sphinx! Students ofOccultism subjected their brains to the wildestwork of speculation. For a considerable timethey tried to outvie Oedipus and reconcile thetwo statements. . . . To this day it is evidentthat the latter (Theosophists) have utterlyfailed to understand the meaning of the term`Fifth and Sixth Rounders.’ But it is simplythis: every `Round’ brings about a newdevelopment and even an entire change in themental, psychic, spiritual and physicalconstitution of man, all these principlesevoluting on an ever ascending scale.” (S.D. I,161-2; I, 215-6 6-vol. ed.; I, 184-5 3rd ed.)

In other words, the Fifth Roundersrepresent the developmental stage of thespiritual aspect of the Manas principle-that isthe Buddhi-Manas-instead of the KamaManas aspect, which is being predominantlystressed during the present stage of the FourthRound cycle.

Question. How does one explain insimple terms the Theosophical idea of God?Especially the idea of the Absolute beingunconditioned, without qualities or person-

15

ality?Answer. To give a response in as brief a

manner as possible-from the Theosophicalviewpoint: God is the unknowable deificessence. Elaborating the idea: this deificessence pervades every animate being, for thatmatter even every atom in the universe. Withregard to the Absolute: it is considered to bethe ultimate basis of All Thought. Conse-quently as soon as one attempts to define theAbsolute it is no longer unconditioned-a wordsignifying not limited by conditions of spaceor time or free from relation. Since H. P.Blavatsky wrote explicitly concerning God,as well as on the Absolute, her words are nowquoted:

If God is infinite, . . . limitless—and especially if absolute, how can hehave a form, and be a creator ofanything? Form implies limitation,and a beginning as well as an end;and, in order to create, a Being mustthink and plan. How can theABSOLUTE be supposed to think-i.e..., to have any relation whatever tothat which is limited, finite, andconditioned? This is a philosophical,and a logical absurdity....

“We believe in a UniversalDivine Principle, the root of ALL,from which all proceeds, and withinwhich all shall be absorbed at the endof the great cycle of Being....

“Our DEITY is neither in aparadise, nor in a particular tree,building, or mountain: it is every-where, in every atom of the visible asof the invisible Cosmos, in, over, andaround every invisible atom and

divisible molecule; for IT is themysterious power of evolution andinvolution, the omnipresent, omni-potent, and even omniscient creativepotentiality.. . .

“In short, our Deity is theeternal, incessantly evolving, notcreating, builder of the universe; thatuniverse itself unfolding out of itsown essence, not being made. It is asphere, without circumference, in itssymbolism, which has but one ever-acting attribute embracing all otherexisting or thinkable attributes --ITSELF. It is the one law, giving theimpulse to manifested, eternal, andimmutable laws, within that never-manifesting, because absolute LAW,which in its manifesting periods isThe ever Becoming.” (The Key toTheosophy, pp. 62-5)Question. In regard to the so-called

“population explosion”, may I inquirewhether there is any statement in The SecretDoctrine in regard to a limited number ofhuman monads?

Answer. There is a passage indicatingthat the number of monads seeking incarn-ation in the human kingdom is indeed limited,although the number is not given. The periodis also stated when the arrival of “newmonads” ceased. Thereafter births in thehuman kingdom are referred to as “incarnat-ing monads”, not “fresh monads.”

“Questions with regard to Karmaand re-births are constantly offered,and a great confusion seems to existupon this subject. Those who are bornand bred in the Christian faith, andhave been trained in the idea that a

16

new soul is created by God forevery newly-born infant, areamong the most perplexed. Theyask whether in such case thenumber of incarnating Monads onearth is limited; to which they areanswered in the affirmative. For,however countless, in our concep-tions, the number of the incarnat-ing monads-even if we take intoaccount the fact that ever since theSecond Race, when their respec-tive seven groups were furnishedwith bodies, several births anddeaths may be allowed for everysecond of time in the aeons alreadypassed-still, there must be a limit.It was stated that Karma-Nemesis,whose bond-maid is Nature, ad-justed everything in the mostharmonious manner; and that,therefore, the fresh pouring-in, orarrival of new Monads, had ceasedas soon as Humanity had reachedits full physical development. Nofresh Monads have incarnatedsince the middle-point of theAtlanteans. Hence, rememberingthat, save in the case of youngchildren, and of individuals whoselives were violently cut off bysome, accident, no Spiritual Entitycan reincarnate before a period ofmany centuries has elapsed, suchgaps alone must show that thenumber of Monads is necessarilyfinite and limited.” (S.D. II,, 302-303; III, 304 6-vol. ed.; II, 316-73rd ed.)

A Personal Godby Rev. Isaac Okorie

Recently we received the following articlefrom Rev. Isaac Okorie, a long time sub-scriber in Nigeria, West Africa. We find itespecially relevant in this issue of the HCTbecause both he and the Secret DoctrineStudy Section address the concept of a “Per-sonal God.”

P.O. Box 62Okposi OkwuOhaozara L.G.A.Ebonyi State Nigeria (W\A)

Dear Editor,I wish to write on a very relevant issue whichI feel is wholly welcome by kinetic [Active ordynamic] minds and at the same time chal-lenging to orthodox belief system.

The belief in a god having a human form orattributes is an important aspect of orthodoxChristian religions the world over. Mostardent believers of orthodox churches whoclaim to have been born again are not apartfrom a highly debasing doctrine of anthropo-morphism. In their view, God occupiesphysically a definite geographical region therein the upper space universally known as thethird heaven.

They have forgotten that God is ‘Almighty.’He is a universal spirit that penetrates andinter- penetrates all forms of life. His ‘al-mightiness’ is invariably questionable if heactually prepares himself a habitation in the

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third sphere among the many spheres thatexist in the spiritual realms. If there wereto be a truth, the implication is that otherdeities and spiritual beings who inhabit thefourth and fifth spheres are mightier thanHim judging the distance and the degree ofvibration of each plane of consciousness.

The problem is the stunted consciousnessof man about God and where God ispermanently located by human limitedconsciousness. Man has not fully realizedhimself as a spiritual being who shouldthink spiritually and expansively. Thestate of mixed adversity affects man in thesense that his spiritual progression is badlyhampered.

God is never a personage that has a begin-ning, who grows old and expects annihila-tion at any point in time by some forcesmightier than Him. Those Christianreligious fanatics drink the name of Jesusjust as a thirsty person would voraciouslyconsume water. They fail to realize thatthis has no relevant effects as their posi-tions are not backed by wisdom andspiritual knowledge.

The key teaching of Jesus that God iswithin every person is quite alien to them.Knowing that God is not apart from manand that He is not fixed permanently at aplace within the physical universe is abasic transcendental knowledge thatcontains salvation. Avatars like Jesus,Krishna and Buddha came with a commonintent of raising the consciousness of thehuman race from base consciousness to

the universal.

People do pray to a kind of God they sizedup and fixed at a place having hands andfeet and even eating the same food theyeat. No wonder most prayers are notanswered. This is because they are wrongin their conception of the absolute powerof God and His location in nature, alsothey mentally perceive the nature of Godas similar to that of man. Viewed from aproper spiritual perspective, adherents ofthis kind of idea about God are not realis-tic neither are they aware of the quintes-sence of whom they claim to worship inspirit and in truth.

Therefore to believe that the creative Godhas everything in common with mortalmen is a falsified belief and those who stillpostulate the same will sooner or latter bebrought to a position of ridicule becausethe divine truth is meant to expose false-hood in all its ramifications and at thesame time present the truth about the truenature of God.

A real candidate for truth should strive tobring God and this kingdom right downinto here and now, and make God avail-able as a full time partner in his dailyliving. It will amount to a gross betrayalof belief on the side of mortals whomentally separate themselves from theUniversal All - One - through wrongdoctrines.Isaac P. Okorie (Rev.)

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THE YOGA SUTRASOF PATANJALI“The Book of the Spiritual Man” An

Interpretation by Charles Johnston (Con-tinued from Page 103)

35.Where non-injury is perfected all‘ enmity ceases in, the presence of him whopossesses it

We come now to the spiritual powerswhich result from keeping the Command-ments : from the obedience to spiritual lawwhich is the keeping of theCommandments Where the heart is full ofkindness which seeks no injury to another,either in act or thought or wish, this fulllove creates an atmosphere of harmony,whose benign power touches with healingall who come within its influence Peace inthe heart radiates peace to other hearts,even more surely than contention breedscontention

36.When he is perfected in truth, allacts and their fruits depend on him

The commentator thus explains: If hewho has attained, should say to a manBecome righteous! the man becomesrighteous. If he should say Gain heaven!the man gains heaven. His word is not invain.

Exactly the same doctrine was taughtby the Master who said to his disciples:Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soeversins ye remit they are remitted unto them;and whose soever sins ye retain, they areretained.

37.Where cessation from theft isperfected, all treasures present themselvesto him who possesses it.

Here is a sentence which may warn usthat, beside the outer and apparentmeaning, there is in many of thesesentences a second and finer significance.The obvious meaning is that he who haswholly ceased from theft, in act, thoughtand wish, finds buried treasures in his path,treasures of jewels and gold and pearls.The deeper truth is, that he who in everyleast thing is wholly honest with the spiritof Life, finds Life supporting him in allthings, and gains admittance to the treasurehouse of Life, the spiritual universe.

38. For him who is perfect incontinence, the reward is valour andvirility.

The creative power strong and full ofvigour, is no longer dissipated but turned tospiritual uses. It upholds and endows thespiritual man, conferring on him thecreative will the power to engenderspiritual children instead of bodily prog-eny. An epoch of life, that of man theanimal has come to an end; a new epoch,that of the spiritual man, is opened. The oldcreative power is superseded and tran-scended a new creative power, that of thespiritual man, takes its place carrying withit the power to work creatively in others forrighteousness anal eternal life.

One of the commentaries says that hewho has attained is able to transfer to theminds of his disciples what he knows

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concerning divine union, and the means ofgaining it. This is one of the powers ofpurity,

39. Where there is firm conquest ofcovetousness, he who has conquered itawakes to the how and why of life.

So it is said that before we canunderstand the laws of Karma, we mustfree ourselves from Karma The conquestof covetousness brings this rich fruit,because the root of covetousness is thedesire of the individual soul, the willtoward manifested life. And where thedesire of the individual soul is overcomeby the superb, still life of the universal Soulwelling up in the heart within, the greatsecret is discerned, the secret that theindividual soul is not an isolated reality,but the ray, the manifest instrument of theLife, which turns it this way and that untilthe great work is accomplished the age-long lesson learned. Thus is the how andwhy of life disclosed by ceasing fromcovetousness. The Commentator says thatthis includes a knowledge of one’s formerbirths.

40. Through purity comes a with-drawal from one’s own bodily life, aceasing from infatuation with the bodilylife of others.

As the spiritual light grows in theheart within, as the taste for pure Lifegrows stronger, the consciousness openstoward the great, secret places within,

where all life is one, where all lives are one.Thereafter, this outer manifested fugitivelife, whether of ourselves or of others,loses something of its charm and glamour,and we seek rather the deep infinitudesinstead of the outer form and surroundingsof our lives, we long for their inner andeverlasting essence. We desire not somuch outer converse and closeness to ourfriends, but rather that quiet communionwith them in the inner chamber of the soul,where spirit speaks to spirit and spiritanswers; where alienation and separationnever enter: where sickness and sorrowand death cannot come.

41.To the pure of heart come also aquiet spirit, one-pointed thought, thevictory over sensuality, and fitness tobehold the Soul.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for theyshall see God, who is the supreme Soul;theultimate Self of all beings. In the deepestsense, purity means fitness for this visionand also a heart cleansed from all disquiet,from all wandering and unbridled thought,from the torment of sensuous imaginings;and when the spirit is thus cleansed andpure, it becomes at one in essence with itssource, the great Spirit, the primal Life.One consciousness now thrills throughboth for the psychic partition wall isbroken down. Then shall the pure in heartsee God, because they become God.

42.From acceptance, the disciplegains happiness supreme. -

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One of the wise has said: acceptconditions accept others, accept your-self. This is the true acceptance, for ailthese things are what they are throughthe will of the higher Self, except theirdeficiencies, which come throughthwarting the will of the higher Self, andcan be conquered only through compli-ance with that will. By the trueacceptance, the disciple comes intooneness of spirit with the overrulingSoul; and, since the own-nature of theSoul is being, happiness, bliss, he comesthereby into happiness supreme.

43. The perfection of the powers ofthe bodily vesture comes through thewearing away of impurities, andthrough fervent aspiration.

This is true of the physical powers,and of those which dwell in the highervestures. There must be, first, purity; asthe blood must be pure before one canattain to physical health. But absence ofimpurity is not in itself enough, elsewould many nerveless ascetics of thecloisters rank as high saints. There isneeded further a positive fire of the will;a keen vital vigour for the physicalpowers, and something finer, purerstronger, but of kindred essence for thehigher powers. The fire of genius issomething more than a phrase, for therecan be no genius without the celestialfire of the awakened spiritual will.

44. Through spiritual reading, the

disciple gains communion with the divineSpiritual reading meant, for ancient India,

something more than it does with us. It meant first therecital of sacred tests which, in their very sounds hadmystical potencies; and it meant a recital of textswhich were divinely emanated, and held inthemselves the living, potent essence of the divine.

For us, spiritual reading means a communingwith the recorded teachings of the Masters ofwisdom, whereby we read ourselves into theMaster’s mind, just as through his music one canenter into the mind and, soul of the master musician.It has been well said that all true art is contagion offeeling: so that through the true reading of true bookswe do indeed read ourselves into the spirit of theMasters, share in the atmosphere of their wisdom andpower, and come at last into their very presence.

45. Soul-vision is perfected through perfectobedience to the Master

The sorrow and darkness of life come of theerring personal will which sets itself against the willof the Soul the one great Life. The error of thepersonal will is inevitable since each will must befree to choose, to try and fail and so to find the path.And sorrow and darkness are inevitable until the pathbe found, and the personal will made once more onewith the greater Will, wherein it finds rest and power,without losing freedom. In His will is our peace. Andwith that peace comes light. Soul-vision is perfectedthrough obedience.

46.Right poise must be firm and without strainHere, we approach a section of the teaching,

which has manifestly a two-fold meaning. The first isphysical, and concerns the bodily position of thestudent, and the regulation of breathing. These things

21

have their direct influence upon soul-life,the life of the spiritual man, since it isalways and everywhere true that-our studydemands a sound mind in a sound body.The present sentence declares that, forwork and for meditation, the position of thebody must be steady and without strain, inorder that the finer currents of life may runtheir course.

It applies further to the poise of thesoul, that fine balance and stability whichnothing can shake where the conscious-ness rests on the firm foundation ofspiritual being. This is indeed the house setupon a rock which the winds and wavesbeat upon in vain.

47. Right poise is to be gained bysteady and temperate effort, and by settingthe heart upon the everlasting.

Here again, there is the two-foldmeaning, for physical poise is to be gainedby steady effort of the muscles, by gradualand wise training, linked with a rightunderstanding of, and relation with, theuniversal force of gravity. Uprightness ofbody- demands that both these conditionsshall be fulfilled.

In like manner the firm and uprightpoise of the spiritual man is to be gained bysteady and continued effort, always guidedby wisdom, and by setting the heart on theEternal filling the soul with the atmosphereof the spiritual world. Neither is effectivewithout the other. Aspiration withouteffort brings weakness; effort withoutaspiration brings a false strength, not

resting on enduring things. The twotogether make for the right poise whichsets the spiritual man firmly and stead-fastly on his feet.

48.The fruit of right poise is thestrength to resist the shocks of infatuationor sorrow.

In the simpler physical sense, whichis also covered by the wording of theoriginal, this sentence means that wiseeffort establishes such bodily poise that theaccidents of life cannot disturb it. as thecaptain remains steady, though disasterovertake his ship.

But the deeper sense is far moreimportant. The spiritual man too, mustlearn to withstand all shocks, to remainsteadfast through the perturbations ofexternal things and the storms andwhirlwinds of the psychical world. This isthe power which is gained by wise,continuous effort and by filling the spiritwith the atmosphere of the Eternal.

49.When this is gained, there followsthe right guidance of the life-currents, thecontrol of the incoming and outgoingbreath.

It is well understood today that mostof our maladies come from impureconditions of the blood. It is coming to beunderstood that right breathing, rightoxygenation, will do very much to keep theblood clean and pure. Therefore a rightknowledge of breathing is a part of thescience of life

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But the deeper meaning is, that thespiritual man, when he has gained poisethrough right effort and aspiration, canstand firm, and guide the currents of his lifeboth the incoming current of events, andthe outgoing current of his acts.

Exactly the same symbolism is usedin the saying: Not that which goeth into themouth defileth a man: but that whichcometh out of the mouth, this defileth aman. . . .Those things which proceed out ofthe mouth come forth from the heart out ofthe heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,uncleanness, thefts, false witness, blasphe-mies. Therefore the first step in purifica-tion is to keep the Commandments.

50.The life-current is either outward,or inward, or balanced; it is regulatedaccording to place, time, number; it isprolonged and subtle.

The technical, physical side of thishas its value. In the breath, there should beright inbreathing, followed by the period ofpause, when the air comes into contactwith the blood and this again followed byright outbreathing, even, steady, silent.Further, the lungs should be evenly filled;many maladies may arise from the neglectand consequent weakening of some regionof the lungs. And the number of breaths isso important, so closely related to health,that every nurse’s chart records it.

But the deeper meaning is concernedwith the currents of life; with that whichgoeth into and cometh out of the heart.

51.The fourth degree transcendsexternal and internal objects.

The inner meaning seems to be that,addition to the three degrees of controlalready described, control, that is, over theincoming current of life, over the outgoingcurrent, and over the condition of pause orquiescence, there is a fourth degree ofcontrol, which holds in complete masteryboth the outer passage of events and theinner currents of thoughts and emotion acondition of perfect poise and stability inthe midst of the flux of things outward andinward.

52.Thereby is worn away the veil,which covers up the light.

The veil is the psychic nature, the webof emotions, desires, argumentative trainof thought which cover up and obscure thetruth by absorbing the entire attention andkeeping the consciousness in the psychicrealm. When hopes and fears are reckonedat their true worth, in comparison withlasting possessions of the Soul; when theouter reflections of things have ceaseddistract us from inner realities; whenargumentative thoughts no longer en-tangles us, but yields its place to flashingintuition, the certainty which springs fromwithin, then is the veil worn away, theconsciousness is drawn from the psychicalto the spiritual, from the temporal to theEternal. Then is the light unveiled.

53.Thence comes the mind’s powerhold itself in the light.

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It has been well said, that what wemost need is the faculty of spiritualattention; and in the same direction ofthought it has been eloquently declaredthat prayer does not consist in our catchingGod’s attention but rather in our allowingGod to hold our attention.

The vital matter is, that we need todisentangle our consciousness from thenoise and perturbed thraldom of thepsychical and to come to consciousness asthe spiritual man. This we must do, first bypurification, through the Commandmentsand the Rules; and second, through thefaculty of spiritual attention by steadilyheeding endless fine intimations of thespiritual power within us, and by intendingour consciousness thereto; thus by degreestransferring the centre of consciousnessfrom the psychical to the spiritual. It is firsta question, first, of love, and then ofattention.

54.The right Withdrawal is thedisengaging of the powers from entangle-ment in outer things, as the psychic naturehas been withdrawn and stilled.

To understand this, let us reverse theprocess, and think of the one conscious-ness, centered in the Soul, graduallyexpanding and taking on the form of thedifferent perceptive powers ; the one will,at the same time, differentiating itself intothe varied powers of action. Now let usimagine this to be reversed, so that thespiritual force, which has gone into thedifferentiated powers, is once more

gathered together into the inner power ofintuition and spiritual will, taking on thatunity which is the hallmark of spiritualthings, as diversity is the seal of materialthings.

It is all a matter of love for the qualityof spiritual consciousness as againstpsychical consciousness of love andattention. For where the heart is, there willthe treasure be also; where the conscious-ness is, there will the vesture with itspowers be developed.

55.Thereupon follows perfect mas-tery over the powers.

When the spiritual condition whichwe have described is reached, with itspurity, poise and illuminated vision, thespiritual man is coming into his inherit-ance, and gaining complete mastery of hispowers. Indeed, much of the struggle tokeep the Commandments and the Ruleshas been paving the way for this mastery;through this very struggle and sacrifice themastery has become possible: just as, touse St. Paul’s simile, the athlete gains themastery in the contest and the race throughthe sacrifice of his long and arduoustraining. Thus he gains the crown.

From The Canadian TheosophistVol. 13 No. 4, pages130-135

(To Be Continued.)

Johnston, Charles, Patanjali, TheYoga Sutras of. The Canadian Theoso-phist Vol. 13 pages 168, 201, 230, 275,307, 340, 371

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