Chapter V: Part I: Texts (1)

ORIGIN OF SUFISM.

It is generally conceded among the Sufis that one of the great founders of their system, as found in Islam, was the adopted son and son-in-law of the Prophet, Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib. But it is also admitted that their religious system has always existed in the world, prior to Mohammed. It is known that a tribe, Sufah, from whom possibly the name is derived, in “the time of ignorance” separated themselves from the world and devoted themselves to spiritual exercises like those of the present Sufis.

Sufism in its best known forms must thus be considered to be the philosophy of Mohammedanism and to represent the protest of the human soul against the formalism and barrenness of the letter of the Quran. Still there is much in favor of Schmölder’s assertion (Essai sur les ecoles philos. chez les Arabes) that Sufism is neither a philosophical system nor the creed of a religious sect, but simply a way of living.

Perhaps the simplest statement is this: _Sufism is theosophy from the standpoint of Mohammedanism_.

Said-Abul-Chair (about A. D. 820) is often called the author of Sufism. Abu Hashem (A. D. 767) has been called the first Sufi.

The _Dabistan_ maintains the identity of the pure Sufis and that of Platonism and it has popularly been supposed that Sufism has borrowed very much from the Vedanta and from Plato and Aristotle; it has even been confidently asserted that the similarity is so striking to the student, that it is a most easy matter to find identical statements in either of them. We must confess that our study does not prove the assertion. The similarity is to be accounted for by the universality of truth.

ETYMOLOGY.

The root of the word implies wisdom, the Greek Sophia, purity, spirituality, etc. Some have connected it with sûf, wool, on account of the woolen garment worn by the devotees.

Graham[43] maintains that “any person or a person of any religion or sect, may be a Sûfi. The mystery lies in this: a total disengagement of the mind from all temporal concerns and worldly pursuits; an entire throwing off not only of every superstition, doubt, or the like, but of the practical mode of worship, ceremonies, etc., laid down in every religion, which the Mohammedans term _Sheriat_, being the law, or canonical law; and entertaining solely mental abstraction, and contemplation of the soul and Deity, their affinity, etc.” In short, Sufism may be termed the religion of the heart, as opposed to formalism and ritualism.

“Traces of the Sufi doctrine exist in some shape or other in every region of the world. It is to be found in the most splendid theogonies of the ancient school of Greece and of the modern philosophers of Europe. It is the dream of the most ignorant and the most learned, and is seen at one time indulging in the shade of ease, at another traversing the pathless desert.” (Malcolm Hist. of Persia.)

_Abu-Said-Abul-Chair_, the accredited founder of Sufism, when asked what Sufism was, answered: “What you have in the head, give it up; what you have in the hand, throw it away; whatever may meet you, depart not from it.”

_Dschuneid_, a Sufi Shaikh, thus defined Sufism: “To liberate the mind from the violence of the passions, to put off nature’s claims, to extirpate human nature, to repress the sensual instinct, to acquire spiritual qualities, to be elevated through an understanding of wisdom, and to practice that which is good—that is the aim of Sufism.”

_Abul Hussein Nuri_ thus expressed himself: “Sufism is neither precept nor doctrine, but something _inborn_. If it were a precept, it could be followed; if it were a doctrine, it could be learned; it is rather something inborn—and as the Quran says: ‘Ye are _created_ in the image of God.’ Evidently no one can, either by application or by teaching, possess himself of the likeness of God.”

SUFI DOCTRINES.

DEITY.

_The Deity alone_ IS _and permeates all things. All visible and invisible things are an emanation from Deity, and are not absolutely distinct from it._

One sect “the Unionists,” believe that God is as one with every enlightened being. They compare the Almighty to a flame, and their souls to charcoal; and say, that in the same manner that charcoal when it meets flame, becomes flame, the immortal part, from its union with God becomes God.

According to the Dabistan, the presence of the universal Deity is fivefold. The first is the presence of “the absolute mystery.” The absolute mystery is one with “the invariable prototypes” (or realities of things). The second is the presence of “the relative mystery,” and this belongs to pure intellects and spirits. The third is the presence of “the mysterious relation,” which is nearest to the absolute evidence; this is the world of similitude or dream. The fourth is the presence of the “absolute evidence” which reaches from the centre of the earth to the middle of the ninth empyrean heaven. The fifth is “the presence of the rest,” and this is the universe in an extensive, and mankind in a restricted acceptation.

Silvestre de Sacy gives the following explanation to the above from Jorjani. The five divine presences are (1) the presence of the absolute absence (or mystery); its world is the world of the fixed substances in the scientific presence. To the presence of the absolute mystery is opposed: (2) the presence of the absolute assistance; it is the world of the throne or seat of God, of the four elemental natures. (3) The presence of the relative absence; this is divided into two parts: The one nearer the presence of the absolute mystery; the world of which is that of spirits, which belong to what is called intelligences and bare souls; the other: (4) Nearer the presence of the absolute assistance; the world of which is that of models (images). (5) The presence which comprises the four preceding ones, and its world is the world of mankind, a world which reunites all the worlds, and all they contain.

GOOD AND EVIL: ETHICS.

_There is no absolute difference between Good and Evil; all that exists, exists in unity and God is the real author of all the acts of mankind._

The Sufi says that evil only came into the world through ignorance, and that ignorance is the cause of error and disunion among men. The following tale answers to the point: “Four travelers—a Turk, an Arab, a Persian, and a Greek, having met together, decided to take their meal in common, and as each one had but ten paras, they consulted together as to what should be purchased with the money. The first said _Uzum_, the second _Ineb_, the third decided in favor of _Inghur_, and the fourth insisted upon _Stafilion_. On this a dispute arose between them and they were about to come to blows, when a peasant passing by happened to know all four of their tongues, and brought them a basket of grapes. They now found out, greatly to their astonishment, that each one had what he desired.”

They believe the emanating principle, proceeding from God, can do nothing without His will and can refrain from nothing that He wills. Some of them deny the existence of evil on the ground that nothing but good can come from God.

The Dabistan: One sect, “the Eternals,” conceive that man is taught his duty by a mysterious order of priesthood,[44] whose number and ranks are fixed, and who rise in gradation from the lowest paths to the sublimest height of divine knowledge.

Another sect, “the Enlightened,” teach that men’s actions should neither proceed from fear of punishment nor the hope of reward, but from innate love of virtue, and detestation of vice.

THE SOUL, ITS LIFE AND CONDITIONS.

_The soul existed before the body and is confined in it like in a cage. To the Sufi, death is liberation and return to the Deity._

_The soul is confined in a body_ (metempsychosis) _to be purified, to fulfill its destination, the union with Deity_.

_Without the grace of God_ (Fazlu allah) _no soul can attain this union, but God’s grace can be obtained by fervently asking for it_.

_The soul_ of man is _of_ God, not _from_ God, an exile from Him; it lives in the body as in a prison and banishment from God. Before its exile the soul saw _Truth_, but here it only has glimpses “to awaken the slumbering memory of the past.” The object of all Sufi teaching is to lead the soul onward by degrees to reach that stage again.

“You say ‘the sea and the waves,’ but in that remark you do not believe that you signify distinct objects, for the sea when it heaves produces waves, and the waves when they settle down again become sea; in the same manner men are the waves of God, and after death return to His bosom. Or, you trace with ink upon paper the letters of the alphabet, a, b, c; but these letters are not distinct from the ink which enabled you to write them; in the same manner the creation is the alphabet of God, and is lost in Him.”

RELIGIONS

_are matters of indifference_; still they serve as stepping-stones to realities. Some are more useful than others, among which is al-Islam, of which Sufism is the true philosophy.

THE WORLD, &c.

_The world is life_ and intellect, as far as the mineral kingdom; but the manifestation of intellect in everybody is determined by the temperature of the human constitution. Sometimes beauty attains an excellence which is uttered with ecstacy, and becomes a modulation more powerful than that which strikes the ear; and this is the work of the prophet.

THE TARIGAH OR “JOURNEY OF LIFE” AND ITS STATES.

The main duty of this life is _Meditation on the Unity of Deity_ (wahdaniyah), the _Remembrance of God’s Name_ (Zikr), and _Progression in the Tarigah_ (the Path, the Journey of Life).

Human life is a _journey_ (safar) and the seekers after God are _travellers_ (salik). _Perfect knowledge_ (marifah) of Deity as diffused throughout creation is the purpose of the journey. _Sufism is the guide_, and the _end of the journey, is Union with God_.

The natural state of every human being is nasut. In this state the disciple can not yet observe the Law (shariat). This is the lowest form of spiritual existence.

The states in the Tarigah are the following:

The first state is called _Shariat_—the _state of law or method_. The student’s passions are in this degree checked by a rigid observance of ritual, &c., whereby he learns human nature and to respect order and finds out for himself the rudiments of a knowledge of God.

The second state is _Tureequt_ or the way, or road. This state implies mental or spiritual worship, abstracted totally from the above. The student learns to see the propædeutic nature of ceremonies and devotes himself to realities. At this stage the ascetic exercises begin and he holds communion with _Melkut_ or the angelic world.

The third state, _Huqeequt_, or the state of truth is the state of inspiration or greater natural knowledge. The Sufi now lives no more in faith but in subjective truth and spiritual power; he has seen the similarity of God’s nature and his own; all antinomies are destroyed, even sin disappears from his reflections.

The fourth and last state is _Marifut_ or union of spirit and soul with God. “Union (with God) is reality, or the state, truth and perception of things, when there is neither lord nor servant.” Still “the man of God is not God; but he is not separate from God.” At this stage man’s “corporeal veil will be removed, and his emancipated soul will mix again with the glorious essence, from which it had been separated, though not divided.”[45]

_Aziz ibn Muhammad Nafasi_ in a book called _al-Maqsadu ‘l-Aqsa_ or the “Remotest Aim,” (trans. in E. H. Palmer’s Oriental Mysticism) marks out the journey a little differently from that already described.

When a man possessing the necessary requirements of fully developed reasoning powers turns to them for a resolution of his doubts and uncertainties concerning the real nature of the Godhead, he is called a _talib_ “a searcher after God.”

If he has further desire for progress he is called a “murid” or “one who inclines,” and he places himself under the instruction and guidance of a teacher and becomes a “traveller.”

The _first_ stage of his journey is called “ubudiyah” or “service” and is as described above.

The _second_ stage is ishq or “love.” He loves God. The divine love filling his heart, it expels all other loves and brings him to the _third_ stage, Zuhd or “seclusion.” He occupies himself exclusively with contemplation of God and his attributes, and comes to the fourth state, Marifah or “knowledge.”

When settled he is come to the _fifth_ stage, wajd or “ecstasy.” He now receives revelations and soon reaches the sixth stage, that of hagigah or “_truth_,” and proceeds to the final state, that of “wasl,” or “union with God.”

He has now finished the journey and remains in the state he has come to, still going on, however, progressing in depth of understanding. Finally he comes to “the total absorption into Deity.”

_The Zikr_, or ecstatic exercises belonging to the training on this journey, will be explained in our second part: Symbols.

THE SEVEN WAY-STATIONS OF PILGRIMAGE are these:[46]

The _first_ degree consists of penitence, obedience, and meditation, and in this degree the light is, as it were, green.

The _second_ degree is the _purity of the Spirit_ from satanic qualities, violence, and brutality, because as long as the spirit is the slave of satanic qualities, it is subject to concupiscence, and this is the quality of fire. In this state Iblis evinces his strength, and when the spirit is liberated from this, it is distressed with the quality of fierceness, which may be said to be _flashing_ and this is conformable to the property of wind. Then it becomes insatiable (lit. eager after anything to excess), and this is similar to water. After this it obtains quietness, and this quality resembles earth (_i. e._ apathy or cessation from all action). In the degree of repose, the light is as it were, blue, and the utmost reach of one’s progress is the earthly dominion.

The _third_ degree is the _manifestation of the heart_, by laudable qualities, which is similar to red light, and the utmost reach of its progress is the middle of the upper dominion; and in this station the heart praises God, and sees the light of worship and spiritual qualities.

The _fourth_ degree is the _applying of the constitution to nothing else but to God_, and this is similar to yellow light, and the utmost reach of its progress is the midst of the heavenly _Malkat_ “dominion.”

The _fifth_ degree of the soul is that which resembles white light, and the utmost aim of its progress is the extreme heavenly dominion.

The _sixth_ degree is the _hidden_, which is like a black light, and the utmost reach of its progress is “the world of power.”

The _seventh_ degree is “the evanescence of evanescence,” which is “annihilation” and “eternal life,” and is colorless. It _is absorption_ in God, non-existence and effacement of the imaginary in the true being, like the loss of a drop of water in the ocean. It is _eternal_ life as the union of the drop with the sea. “Annihilation” is not to be taken in the common acceptation, but in a higher sense, “annihilation in God.”

SUFI SYMBOLICAL LANGUAGE.

The Sufis inculcate the doctrine, “Adore the Deity in his creatures.” It is said in a verse of the Quran—“It is not given to man that the Deity should speak to him: if it does so it is by inspirations, or through a veil.” _Thus all the efforts of man should tend to raise the veil of divine love and to the annihilation of the individuality_ which separates him from the Divine essence; and this expression “raise up the veil,” has remained in the language of the East as expressive of great intimacy.

One of the most violent and able of the enemies of the Sufis, says that they deem everything in the world a type of the beauty and power of the Deity and adds that it appears from both their actions and writings, that it is in the red cheeks of beautiful damsels that they contemplate its beauty; and in the “impious” daring of Nimrod and of Pharaoh, that they see and admire the omnipotence of its power.[47]

The Persian commentator _Suruni_ says in regard to sexual love: “the beauty of the wife is a ray from God and not from the beloved herself. The Mystic recognizes the fact of the divine beauty everywhere in creation, and loves because he in beauty sees a revelation of the blessings of the divine name. It is therefore the prophet says he prefers these three things to all others: women, incense, and enjoyments.”

_Jellaladdin Rumi_ said: “They (the Sufis) profess eager desire, but with no carnal affection, and circulate the cup, but no material goblet; since all things are spiritual, all is mystery within mystery.”

_Jami_ exclaims, addressing the Deity:

Sometimes the wine, sometimes the cup we call Thee!
Sometimes the lure, sometimes the net we call Thee!
Except Thy name, there is not a letter on the tablet of the universe:
Say, by what name shall we call Thee?

_Nizami_ explains himself:

Think not that when I praise wine I mean the juice of the grape;
I mean that wine which raiseth me above self.
“My cup-bearer” is to perform my vow to God;
“My morning draught from the tavern” is the wine of self oblivion.

* * * * *

By heaven so long as I have enjoyed existence,
Never hath the tip of my lip been stained with wine!

In regard to _Hafis_ it is maintained that by _wine_ he invariably means _devotion_; and his admirers have gone so far as to compose a dictionary of words of the language, as they call it, of the _Sufis_. In that vocabulary _sleep_ is explained by _meditation_ on the divine perfections, and _perfume_ by hope of divine favor; _gales_ (_i. e._ Zephyrs) are illapses of grace; _kisses and embraces_, the raptures of piety; _idolators_, _infidels_, and _libertines_ are men of the purest religion, and their _idol_ is the creator himself; _the tavern_ is the cell where the searcher after truth becomes intoxicated with the wine of divine love. Read with this key to the esoteric meaning, Mr. Clouston says, the gazelles of Hafis are no longer anacreontic and bacchanalian effusions, but ecstatic lucubrations on the love of man to his creator. The _keeper_, or wine seller, the spiritual instructor; _beauty_ denotes the perfection of the supreme being; _tresses_ and _curls_ are the expansion and infiniteness of his glory; _lips_, the hidden and inscrutable mysteries of his essence; _down_ on the cheek, the world of spirits, who encircle the creator’s throne; and a _black mole_ is the point of indivisible unity; lastly, _wantonness_, _mirth_ and _ebriety_, mean religious ardor, ecstasy and abstraction from all terrestrial thoughts and contempt for all worldly things.

_Mohemmed Missiree_: On the Tesavuf, or spiritual life of the Sufis. Translated from the Turkish by John P. Brown, Esq., of the American embassy at Constantinople. (In Journ. of Am. Orient. Soc. vol. viii.):

What is the beginning of at-Tesavuf? Faith, which has six pillars, namely: (1) Belief in God, (2) in His Angels, (3) in His Books, (4) in His Prophets, (5) and in the Last Day, and (6) in His decree of Good and Evil. What is the result of the Tesavuf? It is not only the reciting with the tongue of these pillars of faith but also establishing them in the heart. What is the distinction between a Sufi and an ordinary person? The knowledge of an ordinary person is a “counterfeit faith” whereas that of the Sufi is “true faith.” What do you mean by “counterfeit faith?” It is that which an ordinary person has derived from his forefathers, or from the teachers and preachers of his own day, without knowing why it is essential that a man should believe in these six articles for his soul’s salvation. What is the proof of faith? The proof of faith consists in a search being made for the true origin of each of these six pillars of faith, until the enquirer arrives at “the Truth.” The Sufis regard certain things as lawful which are forbidden. For instance, they enjoin the use of wine, wine-shops, the wine-cup, sweethearts; they speak of the curls of their mistresses, and the moles on their faces, cheeks, &c., and compare the furrows on their brows to verses of the Quran. What does this mean? The Sufis often exchange the external features of all things for the internal, the corporeal for the spiritual, and thus give an imaginary signification to outward forms. They behold objects of a precious nature in their natural character and for this reason the greater part of their words have a spiritual and figurative meaning. For instance, when, like Hafis, they mention wine, they mean a knowledge of God, which, figuratively considered, is the love of God. Wine, viewed figuratively, is also love; love and affection are here the same thing. The wine-shop, with them, means “spiritual director,” for his heart is said to be the depository of the love of God. The sweetheart means the excellent preceptor, because, when anyone sees his beloved, he admires her perfect proportions, with a heart full of love. As the lover delights in the presence of his sweetheart, so the Salik rejoices in the company of his beloved preceptor. The sweetheart is the object of a worldly affection, but the preceptor of a spiritual attachment. The curls or ringlets of the beloved are the grateful praises of the preceptor, tending to bind the affections of the disciple; the moles on her face signify that when the pupil, at times, beholds the total absence of all worldly wants on the part of the preceptor, he also abandons all the desires of both worlds—he perhaps even goes so far as to desire nothing else in life than his preceptor; the furrows on the brow of the beloved one, which they compare to verses of the Quran, mean the light of the heart of the preceptor; they are compared to verses of the Quran, because the attributes of God, in accordance with the injunction of the Prophet, “Be ye endued with divine qualities,” are possessed by the preceptor.

(_To be continued._)

THEOSOPHICAL SYMBOLISM.

The number 7 has, ever since the Theosophical Society was founded November 17th, 1875, played a prominent part in all its affairs, and, as usual, the symbols which particularly relate or pertain to the Society are in number, seven. They are: first the seal of the Society; second, the serpent biting his tail; third, the gnostic cross near the serpent’s head; fourth, the interlaced triangles; fifth, the cruxansata in the centre; sixth, the pin of the Society, composed of a cruxansata entwined by a serpent, forming together T. S.; and seventh, OM the sacred Vedic word.

The seal of the Society contains all of the symbols enumerated, excepting _aum_, and is the synthesis of them. It, in fact, expresses what the Society is itself, and contains, or ought to, in symbolic form, the doctrines which many of its members adhere to.

A symbol to be properly so called, must be contained in the idea or ideas which it is intended to represent. As a symbol of a house could never be the prow of a boat, or the wing of a bird, but must be contained somewhere in the form of the house itself; that is, it must be an actual part chosen to represent or stand for the whole. It need not be the whole, but may be a lower form or species used as the representative of a higher of the same kind. The word is derived from the Greek words meaning _to throw with_, that is to throw together. To be a just and correct symbol, it should be such as that the moment it is seen by one versed in symbolism, its meaning and application become easily apparent. The Egyptians adopted to represent the soul passing back to its source, after the trial in the Hall of Two Truths, a winged globe, for a globe is a symbol of either the Supreme Soul or a portion of it, and the wings were added to represent its life and flight to the upper spheres. In another branch of their symbology they represented justice by a scale which gives a just balance; while even there in the Hall of Two Truths, they reverted again to the other mode and symbolized the man being weighed by justice, in the form of his heart over against the feather of truth in the opposite pan of the scales.

There is one very curious hieroglyph of the Egyptians which deserves some study by those of curious mind. Here we will merely point it out, remarking that there is a mine of great value in the Egyptian method of picturing their ideas of the macrocosm. In one of the numerous papyri now in the British Museum, there is a picture of a globe being held up by a beetle by means of his head and two fore legs, while he is standing upon a sort of pedestal which has certain divisions, looking on the whole, like a section of an hour glass crossed by horizontal lines that project from each side. This pedestal represents stability; but what does the whole mean or shadow forth? Those who can follow up suggestions should direct their thoughts to the relation which the Sun bears to the earth in its orbital revolution.

To proceed with our analysis: The second symbol is the serpent biting his tail. This is wisdom, and eternity. It is eternity, because that has neither beginning nor end and therefore the ring is formed by serpent swallowing his tail. There is an old hermetic symbol similar to this, in which the circle is formed by two serpents interlaced and each swallowing the tail of the other one. No doubt the symbolism in that is, in respect to the duality of the manifested All, and hence, two serpents inextricably entwined.

Furthermore, the scales of the reptiles form the figures of facettes or diamonds, which shadow forth the illimitable diversity of the aspects of wisdom or truth. This is not due to any want of coherence or congruity in truth itself, but solely to the diverse views which each individual takes of the one Truth. These reflecting facettes are the beings composing the macrocosm: each one has developed himself only to a certain degree, and therefore can only appreciate and reflect that amount of wisdom which has fallen to his lot. As he passes again and again through the form of man, he slowly develops other various powers of appreciating more truth, and so at the last may become one with the whole—the perfect man, able to know and to feel completely his union with all. This is when he has acquired the highest Yoga. So in our experience and in history and ethnology we find individuals, nations and races, whose want of responsiveness to certain ideas, and others whose power to grasp them, can only be explained by the doctrines of Reincarnation and Karma. If those doctrines are not accepted, there is no escape from a blank negation.

It is not necessary to express the duality of the Supreme Soul by two serpents, because in the third component part of the Seal, elsewhere, that is symbolized by the interlaced triangles. One of these is white, that one with the point uppermost, and the other is black with its apex directed downward. They are intertwined because the dual nature of the Supreme, while in manifestation, is not separate in its parts. Each atom of matter, so called, has also its atom of spirit This is what the _Bagavad-Gita_[48] denominates Purusha and Prakriti, and Krishna there says that he is at once Purusha and Prakriti, he is alike the very best and the very worst of men. These triangles also mean, “the manifested universe.” It is one of the oldest and most beautiful of symbols, and can be discovered among all nations, not only those now inhabiting the earth, but also in the monuments, carvings and other remains of the great races who have left us the gigantic structures now silent as far as the voice of man is concerned, but resounding with speech for those who care to listen. They seem to be full of ideas turned into stone.

The triangles thus combined form in the interior space, a six sided plane figure. This is the manifested world. Six is the number of the world, and 666 is the great mystery which is related to the symbol. St. John talks of this number. Around the six sided centre are the six triangles projecting into the spiritual world, and touching the enclosed serpent of wisdom. In an old book, this is made by the great head of the Lord rising above the horizon of the ocean of matter, with the arms just raised so that they make the upper half of the triangle. This is the “long face,” or macrocoscopos, as it is called. As it rises slowly and majestically, the placid water below reflects it in reverse, and thus makes the whole double triangle. The lower one is dark and forbidding in its aspect, but at the same time the upper part of the darker one is itself light, for it is formed by the majestic head of this Adam Kadmon. Thus they shade into one another. And this is a perfect symbolism, for it clearly figures the way in which day shades into night, and evil into good. In ourselves we find both, or as the Christian St. Paul says, the natural and spiritual man are always together warring against each other, so that what we would do we cannot, and what we desire not to be guilty of, the darker half of man compels us to do. But ink and paper fails us in the task of trying to elucidate this great symbol. Go to Hermes, to St. John, the Caballah, the Hindu books, wherever you please, and there will you find the seven times seven meanings of the interlaced triangles.

OM is the Sacred Vedic syllable: let us repeat it with a thought directed to its true meaning.[49]

Within the small circle, placed upon the serpent, is a cross with its ends turned back. This is called the Gnostic Cross. It signifies evolution, among other ideas, for the turning back of its ends is caused by the revolving of the two diameters of the circle. The vertical diameter is the spirit moving down and bisecting the horizontal. This completed, the revolution round the great circle commences, and that motion is represented in the symbol by the ends turned back. In Chapter III. of _Bagavad-Gita_, Krishna says: “He who in this life does not cause this cycle, thus already revolved, to continue revolving lives to no purpose, a life of sin, indulging his senses.” That is, we must assist the great wheel of evolution and not oppose it; we must try to help in the great work of returning to the source from whence we came, and constantly endeavor to convert lower nature into higher, not only that of ourselves, but also of our fellow men and of the whole animated world.

This cross is also the symbol of the Hindu Chakkra, or discus, of Vishnu. In the Mahabharata is described the conflict between the Asuras and Devas, for the possession of the vase of Amreeta which had been churned with infinite trouble, from the ocean, and which the Asuras desired to take for themselves. The conflict began when _Rahu_, an Asura, assuming the form of a Deva, began drinking the ambrosia. In this case the Amreeta was spiritual wisdom, material existence, immortality, and also magic power. The deceit of _Rahu_ was discovered before he had swallowed, and then the battle began.

“In the midst of this dreadful hurry and confusion of the fight, _Nar_ and _Narayan_ entered the field together. _Narayan_ beholding a celestial bow in the hands of _Nar_, it reminded him of his Chakkra, the destroyer of the Asuras. The faithful weapon, ready at the mind’s call, flew down from heaven with direct and refulgent speed, beautiful, yet terrible to behold. And being arrived, glowing like the sacrificial flame, and spreading terror around, _Narayan_ with his right arm formed like the elephantine trunk, hurled forth the ponderous orb, the speedy messenger, and glorious ruin of hostile towns, who raging like the final all destroying fire, shot bounding with desolating force, killing thousands of the Asuras in his rapid flight, burning and involving, like the lambent flame, and cutting down all that would oppose him. Anon he climbeth the heavens from whence he came.” (Mahabharata, Book I, Chap 15.)

Ezekiel, of the Jews, saw this wheel, when he was among the captives by the river Chebar in Chaldea. In a vision he saw the four beasts and the man of the Apocalypse, and with them “for each of the four faces,” was a wheel, of the colour of a beryl; it was “as a wheel within a wheel,” and they went wherever the living creatures went, “for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” All of this appeared terrible to him, for he says: “And when they went I heard a noise like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of a host.”

There are many other meanings concealed in this symbol, as in all the others.

In the center of the interlaced triangles is placed the _Cruxansata_. This is also extremely ancient. In the old Egyptian papyri it is frequently found. It signifies life. As Isis stands before the candidate, or the soul, upon his entry, she holds in one hand this cross, while he holds up his hand that he may not look upon her face. In another there is a winged figure, whose wings are attached to the arms, and in each hand is held the same cross. Among other things we find here the horizontal and vertical diameters once more, but conjoined with the circle placed on top. This is the same as the old astrological sign for Venus. But in the seal, its chief and most important meaning is _the regenerated man_. Here in the centre, after passing the different degrees and cycles, both spirit and matter are united in the intelligent regenerated man, who stands in the middle knowing all things in the manifested universe. He has triumphed over death and holds the cross of life.

The last theosophical symbol is, the pin of the Society, adopted early in its history but not used much. It is the cross we have just been considering, entwined in such a way by a serpent, that the combination makes T S as a monogram.

The foregoing is not exhaustive. Every symbol should have seven meanings of principal value, and out of every one of those we have been considering can be drawn that number of significations. Intelligent study of them will be beneficial, for when a consistent symbol, embodying many ideas is found and meditated upon, the thought or view of the symbol brings up each idea at once before the mind. NILAKANT.

REVIEWS.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES.—An essay by J. D. Buck, (Robert Clarke & Co., Cincinnati, O.). This little pamphlet of 32 pages, is an essay read by Dr. Buck before the Liberal Club of Cincinnati. The author tries to show that one truth has run all through the Ancient Mysteries, and later, is even to be found in the Christian Church. His hint on p. 22, that “the Apostolic Catholic Church possessed the Secret Doctrine, that some of its clergy apprehended the great truths, but that there was wisdom for the priests and command for the people,” is full of truth. At the present day the great Jesuit College possesses much knowledge of the theurgy which is a part of the practice of the Secret Doctrine, and if all the magical practices of the disciples of Loyola were known, the Christian world would be startled. They know enough of forecasting the future to fear all such movements as the Theosophical Society, and have tried, as they still try, to undermine it within its own borders.

Anyone who reads Dr. Buck’s essay with a candid spirit, will agree with him that one core of truth underlies all religions, and will feel the refreshing influence of the author’s clear mind and solid sense.

INWORLD.

[A poem taken from the January number of “The Dial,” 1842, the organ of the Transcendentalists, edited by RALPH WALDO EMERSON.]

Amid the watches of the windy night
A poet sat, and listened to the flow
Of his own changeful thoughts, until there passed
A vision by him, murmuring as it moved,
A wild and mystic lay—to which his thoughts
And pen kept time—and thus the measure ran:

All is but as it seems,
The round, green earth,
With river and glen;
The din and the mirth
Of the busy, busy men;
The world’s great fever
Throbbing forever;
The creed of the sage,
The hope of the age,
All things we cherish,
All that live and all that perish,
These are but inner dreams.

The great world goeth on
To thy dreaming;
To thee alone
Hearts are making their moan,
Eyes are streaming.
Thine is the white moon turning night to day,
Thine is the dark wood sleeping in her ray.
Thee the winter chills,
Thee the spring time thrills;
All things nod to thee—
All things come to see
If thou art dreaming on.
If thy dream should break,
And thou should’st awake,
All things would be gone.

Nothing is, if thou art not,
From thee as from a root
The blossoming stars upshoot,
The flower cups drink the rain.
Joy and grief and weary pain
Spring aloft from thee,
And toss their branches free.
Thou are under, over all;
Thou dost hold and cover all;
Thou art Atlas—thou art Jove:—
The mightiest truth
Hath all its youth
From thy enveloping thought.
Thy thought itself lay in thy earliest love.

Nature keeps time to thee
With voice unbroken:
Still doth she rhyme to thee
When thou hast spoken.
When the sun shines to thee,
’Tis thy own joy,
Opening mines to thee
Nought can destroy.
When the blast moans to thee
Still doth the wind
Echo the tones to thee
Of thy own mind.
Laughter but saddens thee
When thou art sad,
Life is not life to thee,
But as thou livest,
Labor is strife to thee
When thou least strivest:—

More did the spirit sing, and made the night,
Most musical with inward melodies,
But vanished soon, and left the listening bard
Wrapt in unearthly silence—till the morn
Reared up the screen that shuts the spirit world
From loftiest poet and from wisest sage.

OUTWORLD.

The sun was shining on the busy earth.
All men and things were moving on their way—
The old, old way which we call life. The soul
Shrank from the giant grasp of Space and Time,
Yet, for it was, her dreamy hour half yielded
To the omnipotent delusion—and looked out
On the broad glare of things, and felt itself
Dwindling before the universe: Then came unto the bard
Another spirit with another voice,
And sang:—

Said he, that all but seems?
Said he, the world is void and lonely,
A strange vast crowd of dreams
Coming to thee only?
And that thy feeble soul
Hath such a strong control
O’er sovereign Space and sovereign Time
And all their train sublime?
Said he, thou art the eye
Reflecting all that is—
The ear that hears, while it creates
All sounds and harmonies—
The central sense that bides amid
All shows and tunes and realities?
Listen mortal while the sound
Of this life intense is flowing!
Dost thou find all things around
Go as thou art going?
Dost thou dream that thou art free,
Making, destroying all that thou dost see
In the unfettered might of thy soul’s liberty?

Lo, an atom troubles thee.
One bodily fibre crushes thee,
One nerve tortures and maddens thee,
One drop of blood is death to thee.
Art thou but a withering leaf,
For a summer season brief
Clinging to the tree,
‘Till the winds of circumstance,
Whirling in their hourly dance,
Prove too much for thee?
Art thou but a speck, a mote
In the system universal?
Art thou but a passing note
Woven in the great rehearsal?
Canst thou roll back the tide of Thought
And unmake the creed of the age,
And unteach the wisdom taught
By the prophet and the sage?
Art thou but a shadow
Chasing o’er a meadow?
The great world goes on
Spite of thy dreaming;
Not to be alone
Hearts are making their moan
And tear-drops streaming,
And the mighty voice of Nature
Is thy parent, not thy creature,
Is no pupil but thy teacher:
And the world would still move on
Were thy soul forever flown.
For while thou dreamest on enfolded
In nature’s wide embrace,
All thy life is daily moulded
By her informing grace.
And Time and Space must reign
And rule o’er thee forever,
And the Outworld lifts its chain
From off thy spirit never;
But in the dream of thy half-waking fever
Thou shalt be mocked with gleam and show
Of truths thou pinest for, and yet canst never know.

And then the Spirit fled and left the bard
Still wondering—for he felt that voices twain
Had come from different spheres with different truths
That seemed at war and yet agreed in one.
C.

ANOTHER THEOSOPHICAL PROPHECY.

In the first number of THE PATH was inserted a prophecy made from certain books in India called _Nadigrandhams_, respecting the Society.

This called forth from the _N. Y. Sun_, that model of journalism, a long tirade about the superficial knowledge which it claims pervades the Society on the subject of oriental philosophy. Unfortunately for the learned editorial writer in that paper, he never before heard of _Nadigrandhams_, which are almost as common in India as the Sun is here, nor does he appear to know what a _Nadi_ may be, nor a _Grandham_, either.

But without trying to drag the daily press of this country into the path of oriental knowledge, we will proceed to record another prophecy or two.

The first will seem rather bold, but is placed far enough in the future to give it some value as a test. It is this:—The Sanscrit language will one day be again the language used by man upon this earth, first in science and in metaphysics, and later on in common life. Even in the lifetime of the Sun’s witty writer, he will see the terms now preserved in that noblest of languages creeping into the literature and the press of the day, cropping up in reviews, appearing in various books and treatises, until even such men as he will begin perhaps to feel that they all along had been ignorantly talking of “thought” when they meant “cerebration,” and of “philosophy” when they meant “philology,” and that they had been airing a superficial knowledge gained from cyclopœdias of the mere lower powers of intellect, when in fact they were totally ignorant of what is really elementary knowledge. So this new language cannot be English, not even the English acquired by the reporter of daily papers who ascends fortuitously to the editorial rooms—but will be one which is scientific in all that makes a language, and has been enriched by ages of study of metaphysics and the true science.

The second prophecy is nearer our day, and may be interesting.—It is based upon cyclic changes. This is a period of such a change, and we refer to the columns of the _N. Y. Sun_ of the time when the famous brilliant sunsets were chronicled and discussed not long ago for the same prognostication. No matter about dates; they are not to be given; but facts may be. This glorious country, free as it is, will not long be calm: _Unrest_ is the word for this cycle. The people will rise. For what, who can tell? The statesman who can see _for what_ the uprising will be might take measures to counteract. But all your measures can not turn back the iron will of fate. And even the City of New York will not be able to point its finger at Cincinnati and St. Louis. Let those whose ears can hear the whispers, and the noise of the gathering clouds, of the future, take notice; let them read, if they know how, the physiognomy of the United States, whereon the mighty hand of nature has traced the furrows to indicate the character of the moral storms that will pursue their course no matter what the legislation may be. But enough. Theosophists can go on unmoved, for they know that as Krishna said to Arjuna, these bodies are not the real man, and that “no one has ever been non-existent nor shall any of us ever cease to exist.”

CORRESPONDENCE.

THEOSOPHY.

[A LETTER FROM A FRIEND.]

DEAR BROTHER:

“It rejoices us all here more than I can tell you, to know that you have made such a start in America with Theosophy. We have had so many things to pull us back, that it has been quite as much as we could manage to keep our heads above water, and this not so much from the action of our enemies as from the apathy of our friends. It is strange to me to see how little faith there is in the power of truth, even among those who ought to realize this most strongly. Why should we fear and fold our hands when men speak evil of us or of the cause, why should we imagine that any attack on individual members can effect the position we take as a group or that theosophy can be endangered thereby? How few understand what theosophy is; they look upon it as solely an intellectual movement that can be damned by the folly of its adherents; they little dream of the strength that underlies the apparently inconsistent workings of this manifestation of truth which we call the Theosophical Society. And there is one thing which I believe establishes more than any other, the fact that the Society as a whole has true vitality within it, and that is the visible action of Karma in its developments.

“See how the mistaken value given to phenomena in the early history of the Society, brought immediately its Karmic development in the troubles then, and whenever any undue importance has been given either to individualities or any particular line of practice, it is always on that particular point that the next attack comes. So that while fully realizing that as an organization, the T. S. is defective in some things, I yet believe that there is a power within it that will purge it from its defects and carry it on in spite of the attacks of its enemies and what is worse still, the follies of its friends. What I do feel more and more is the necessity that we should remember and constantly keep before us what it is we are working for and not think we accomplish our end when we number our converts in the world of fashion, and gather around us men and women who vainly hope for psychic powers and the arts of fortune telling and reading the future. I do not fear black magic in our midst, but I do feel very strongly that there are many who will sink to the level of mere wonder-seekers and that they will become the prey of elemental influences.

“What can be done to make men realize, as you say, a sense of universal brotherhood and the true meaning of Theosophy. Well, let us join you in America and the few here who do realize that psychism is not spirituality, and let us try to stir the hearts of men with the living truths of Theosophy.

“I am most anxious, and have been for a long time, that we should address ourselves to another stratum of society than that (the intellectual and the fashionable) which we have sought. It is not that I would depreciate intellect; if I err in that matter it is in putting too much stress on intellectual development. But I am beginning to realize that the lower intellect can only deal with physical facts and that it can never develop ideas; these can only be apprehended by the higher intellectual faculties, and the ethical and emotional nature of man has also its higher and lower aspects.

“I wish very much that we had a literature calculated to appeal to the general masses, and I think that we should resolutely turn our attention to this object. I think the little book that Dr. Buck has just published very useful and I should be glad to see many more such little works treating of the various points of doctrine such as Reincarnation, Karma, &c. It is also encouraging to see such efforts as that contained in the small book lately out—_What is Theosophy?_ Doubtless, in connection with that, for it seems to have been written for the author’s children, you will call to mind what was written by one of the adepts, not so long ago: ‘there is a great likelihood that the sons of theosophists will become theosophists,’ and will quite agree with me in the idea that we need a literature, not solely for highly intellectual persons, but of a more simple character, which attempts to appeal to ordinary common sense minds, who are really fainting for such mental and moral assistance, which is not reached by the more pretentious works. Indeed, we all need this. It is fortunate that we have been able to live through the tide of mere psychism and bare intellectuality which threatened nearly to swamp us. And you know to whom we owe our escape, and now, that there are ten or twelve members left who are prepared to work on independently of perturbation, I think it a clear gain. What does it matter to us whether H. P. Blavatsky has or has not fulfilled all of her duties, or whether investigation has cast doubt into the minds of some. In so far as she has done her duty, her work will remain, and if perchance she has come to the end of her capabilities—which I do not admit—it is for us to carry on what she has thus far done.

“In America I hope you will not fall into running after wonders and psychic gifts to the detriment of true philosophical and moral progress.

“Believe me to be, fraternally yours, A.”

NOTE.—The whole of this letter should be carefully studied, and in particular the point that Karma brings its attacks just on the point or persons where or by whom stress has been laid on phenomena. It may be accepted as almost axiomatic by our members, that if any group or single person has paid too undue attention to phenomena, to astralism, psychism, or whatever it is called, there will develop the next trouble or attack upon the Society. It has been authoritatively stated by one of the great Beings who are behind this movement, that _it must prosper by moral worth and philosophy, and not by phenomena_. Let us well beware then. Phenomena, powers—or _siddhis_ as the Hindu say—are only incidental. Our real object is to spread Universal Brotherhood, in which task we necessarily explain phenomena, but the Society is not a _Hall for Occultism_, and that has also been asserted by an adept in India in reply to letters written him by certain well-known Englishmen who desired to establish a Branch then which should control all literature and phenomena. There are no secrets to be given out to any select persons, for no one receives a secret inaccessible to the rest, _until he has acquired the right to it_, and the proper sense to know when and to whom it is to be given out.—[ED.]

WHAT IS THE UDGITHA?

JAMESTOWN, April 16th, 1886.

DEAR BROTHER:—Will you kindly explain, through THE PATH, what is to be understood by the _Udgitha_, or hymn of praise to Brahm? With best wishes for the success of your enterprise, I remain,

Fraternally yours, L. J.

This is a vital question. It may have arisen from the peculiarity of the word inquired about, or it may be that our brother really knows the importance of the point. We refer him to the article upon OM in the April number. Om is the Udgitha, and OM has been explained in that article. Read between the lines; and read also the “Upanishad Notes” in this month’s PATH.

In the _Maitrayana-Brahmana-Upanishad_, (Pr. VI), it is said: “The Udgitha, called Pranava, the leader, the bright, the sleepless, free from old age and death, three footed, (waking, dream, and deep sleep), consisting of three letters and likewise to be known as fivefold, is placed in the cave of the heart.”