THE HIDDEN SIDE OF THINGS/PART 25
CHAPTER XXV
THE WAY TO
SEERSHIP
I HAVE no doubt that many people will find it
difficult to believe much of what I have written. I sympathise with them,
because I realise quite well how fantastic much of it would have appeared to me
before I had studied these matters or was able to see them for myself. I know
also that, without throwing the slightest imputation upon my good faith, many
people will inevitably doubt whether I have seen all these things clearly and
reported them exactly. One quaint criticism was offered by a friend, who said:
“It seems as though you had written this to
justify your own peculiarities, for the things that you recommend here are just
those in which you differ from many others.”
The friend was confusing cause and effect; if I
do, or try to do, these various things which I have prescribed, it is just
because I have seen with regard to them what I have described in the book. If,
however, there are those, as there well may be, who find these things hard to
believe, I can only say to them that the best way to get corroboration of any
of the Theosophical ideas is to take them for granted and work with them, for
then it will soon be found that they prove themselves.
It is within the power of every man to develop the
faculties by which all this has been seen, nor is there any mystery as to the
method by which such development is achieved. These faculties will inevitably
come to every one in the course of his evolution, but most men still stand a
long way from the point at which they are likely to unfold, though sporadic
flashes of clairvoyance are by no means uncommon, and many people have at least
a certain amount of sensitiveness.
Let me not be misunderstood when I say that the
ordinary man is still far from the probability of possessing these senses. I do
not mean because he is not good enough, for it is not a question of goodness at
all-- although it is certainly true that if a man of impure or cruel tendency
should acquire such faculties he would do far more harm than good with them, to
himself and to every one else. I mean that the whole trend of modern life and
thought is unfavourable to such unfolding, and that the man who wishes to
undertake it must to a great extent abstract himself from the life of the world
and get himself into an entirely different atmosphere.
Such a life as I have prescribed on this book is
precisely that which would put a man into a favourable position for the growth
of these faculties; and it is not difficult to see how far from this is the
ordinary life of the present day. That is why it seems unhopeful to suggest to
the average person that he should undertake the task of opening out these
powers. They are unquestionably within his reach; but to get himself into a
position from which he could begin a real effort towards them means already
much radical alteration in the life which he has been accustomed to live. And
then, even when he has gradually eradicated from his body all the poisonous
products of flesh, alcohol and tobacco, when he has raised his aspirations from
the lower to the higher, when he has cast out from himself all traces of
self-consciousness or impurity-- even then the effort required is greater then
many men could make.
The eventual result is as certain as the working
out of a problem in Euclid, but the time occupied may be long, and iron
determination and an indomitable will are required for the work; and these are
faculties which at present are the possession of but few. Nevertheless “what
man has done man can do” if he will; I who write have succeeded in this thing,
and I have known others who have succeeded; and all who have gained that prize
feel it to be far more than worth all the efforts put forth in the course of
its attainment. Let me then conclude my book by a plain statement, made as
simply as possible, of what these powers are, by means of which it has been
written, why they are desirable, and how they may be acquired.
A fish is a denizen of our world, just as a man
is; but it is obvious that his conception of that world must be exceedingly
imperfect. Confined as he is to his one element, what can he know of the beauty
of landscapes, of the glory of sunsets, of the far-reaching interests of our
varied and complex human life? He lives on a globe of which he knows almost
nothing; yet no doubt he is perfectly satisfied, and thinks that what he knows
is all there is to know.
It is not flattering to our self-conceit, yet it
is an absolute fact, that the majority of mankind are precisely in the position
of the fish. They are living in a world, only one small department of which is
within their ken; yet they are quite content with that, and are usually blankly
ignorant or fiercely incredulous as to the wider and grander life which
surrounds them on every side.
How do we know of this wider life? Not only by religious
revelation, but because there are men who have learnt how to see, not indeed
the whole of our world, but at least much more of it than is seen by most
people. These are the men whom we call seers, or clairvoyants.
How do they see more than others? By the opening
of latent faculties-- faculties which every one possesses, but which few as yet
know how to use. Every man has other vehicles of matter finer than the
physical-- what St. Paul calls a “spiritual body” as well as a “natural body”.
Just as through the senses of the physical body we become aware of physical
things, so through what may be called the senses of these finer bodies do we
become aware of higher things.
The advantages of such sight are manifold. For its
possessor most of the problems of life are solved; for him it is not a matter
of belief but of knowledge that man survives what is called death, that eternal
Justice rules the world, that there is no possibility of final failure for
anyone, and that, however deceptive appearances may be, in reality all things
are working together for good. The man who is a seer can not only learn much
more than others; he can also be much more helpful to his fellows than others.
Since this seership is so desirable, since it lies
latent in every one of us, is it possible for us to develop it ? Certainly it
is possible, if we are willing to take the trouble; but for most men it is no
light task, for it means self-control and self-denial, perseverance and
single-mindedness. Other men have done it, so you can do it; but you cannot do
it unless you are prepared to throw all your strength into the effort, with an
iron determination to succeed.
The motive too, must be pure and good. The man
whose enquiry is prompted merely by curiosity, or by an ignoble desire to
obtain advantage or wealth for himself, will do well to take warning in time,
and leave any sort of occult training severely alone until mental and moral
growth are further advanced. For added power and knowledge mean added
responsibility, and the higher sight may be a curse instead of a blessing to a
man who is not ready for it.
There are many ways by which the inner sight may
be opened, and most of them are full of danger, and decidedly to be avoided. It
may be done by the use of certain drugs, by self-hypnotisation, or by
mesmerism; but all these methods may bring with them evil results which far
outweigh the gain. There is, however, one process which can by no possibility
do harm, and that is the way of thought-control and meditation. I do not say that
the undertaking is easy; on the contrary, it is excessively difficult; but I do
say that it can be done by determined effort, because it has been done.
The man who wishes to attempt this must begin by
acquiring control over his mind-- a herculean task in itself. He must learn to
concentrate himself upon whatever he may be doing, so that it shall be as well
done as is possible for him to do it. He must learn to wield his mind as a
skilful fencer wields his weapon, turning it at will in this direction or that,
and able to hold it as firmly as he wishes. Try to keep your mind fixed on one
definite subject for five minutes; before half the time has passed you will
find that wandering thoughts have slipped in unawares, and that the mind has
soared far away beyond the limits which you set for it. That means that it is
not perfectly under your control, and to remedy this condition of affairs is
our first step-- by no means an easy one.
Nothing but steady practice will give you this
power; but fortunately that practice can be had all day long, in business as
well as during hours of leisure. If you are writing a letter, keep your mind on
that letter, so that it may be written perfectly, clearly, quickly. If you are
reading a book, keep your mind on that book, so that you may fully grasp the
author' s meaning, and gain from it all that he intended you to gain.
In addition to thus practising concentration in
the ordinary course of life, it will help you greatly if you set apart a
certain time each day for special effort along these lines. Early morning is
the most suitable; but, at any rate, it should be at time when you can be sure
of being undisturbed, and it should always be at the same hour, for regularity
is of the essence of the prescription. Sit down quietly and get your mind
perfectly calm; agitation or worry of any sort is absolutely fatal to success.
Then turn the mind upon some subject selected beforehand, and consider it
attentively and exhaustively, never allowing your thoughts to stray aside from
it in the slightest degree, even for a moment. Of course at first they will
stray; but each time you must drag them back again and start afresh. You will
find it best to take concrete subjects at first; it is only after much practice
that the more abstract can profitably be considered.
When through long habitude all this has become
thoroughly familiar to you, when you have attained the power of concentration,
and when the mind is well under your control, another step may be taken. Begin
now to choose for the subject of your morning meditation the highest ideal that
you know. What the ideal is does not matter in the least, for we are dealing
now with basic facts and not with outer forms. The Hindu may take Shri Krishna,
the Muhammadan, Allah, the Parsi, Zoroaster, the Buddhist, the Lord BUDDHA, and
the Christian, the Lord Christ, or if he be a Catholic, perhaps the Blessed
Virgin or one of the Saints. It matters not at all, so long as the
contemplation of that ideal arouses within the man all the ardour, devotion and
reverence of which he is capable. Let him contemplate it with ecstasy, till his
soul is filled with its glory and its beauty; and then, putting forth all the
strength which his long practice of concentration had given him, let him make a
determined effort to raise his consciousness to that ideal, to merge himself in
it, to become one with it.
He may make that endeavour many times, and yet
fail; but if he perseveres, and if his attempt is made in all truth and
unselfishness, there will come a time when suddenly he knows that he has
succeeded, when the blinding light of the higher life bursts upon him, and he
realises that ideal a thousandfold more than ever before. Then he sinks back
again into the light of common day; yet that one momentary glimpse can never be
forgotten, and even if he goes no further, life will never look the same to him
as it did before he saw.
But if he persists in his endeavour, that splendid
flash of glory will come to him again and yet again, each time staying with him
longer and longer, until at last he will find himself able to raise his
consciousness to that higher level whenever he wishes-- to observe, to examine
and explore that phase of life just as he now does this; and thus he joins the
ranks of those who know, instead of guessing or vaguely hoping, and he becomes
a power for good in the world.
END OF THIS BOOK
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