FOLLOW A WORD THROUGH THE COLLECTION
Search the corpus.
Phrase search ignores case and repeated whitespace. All-words search finds whole words anywhere on the same page. OCR errors can affect results.
14 matching pages
Page 1 of 11912 · PDF PAGE 19
…cy. Now here are three “ super-men, ’ all at loggerheads. What is there in common between Christ, Buddha, and Mohammed? Is there any one point upon which all three are in accord? No point of doctrine, no point of ethics, no. theory of a “ hereafter” do they share, and yet in the history of their lives we find one identity amid many diversities. Buddha was born a Prince, and died a beggar. Mohammed was born a beggar, and died a Prince. Christ remained obscure until many years after his death. Elaborate lives of each have been written by devotees,…
1912 · PDF PAGE 8
vi a villa actually prophesied to us long before we reached Naples by that Brother of the A.'. A.'. who appeared to me in Ziirich. Any point which was obscure to me was cleared up in some new discourse (the discourses have consequently been re—arranged). Before printing, the whole work was read by several persons of rather less that average intelligence, and any point not quite clear even to them has been elucidated. ᾿ May the whole Path now be plain to all! Frater Perdurabo is the most honest of all the great religious teachers. Others have sa…
1912 · PDF PAGE 79
… meaning, it is Samadhi.” He combines these three into Samyama. We shall treat of Dhyana as a result rather than as a method. Up to this point ancient authorities have been fairly reliable guides, except with regard to their crabbed ethics,- but when they get on the subject of results of meditation, they completely lose their heads. 63
1912 · PDF PAGE 67
SI However, the main point is to acquire some sort of in- hibitory power over the thoughts. Fortunately there is an unfailing method of acquiring this power. It is given in Liber III. If Sections I and 2 are practised (if necessary with the assistance of another person to aid your vigilance) you will soon be able to master the final section. In some people this inhibitory power may flower suddenly in very much the same way as occurred with Asana. Quite without any relaxa- tion of vigilance, the mind will suddenly he stilled. There will be a marve…
1912 · PDF PAGE 110
…dge of them is found satisfactory, he may become a Pro- bationer, receiving Liber LXI and the secret holy book, Liber LXV. The principal point of this grade is that the Probationer has a master appointed, whose experience can guide him in his work. He may select any practices that he prefers, but in any case must keep an exact record, so that he may discover the relation of cause and effect in his working, and so that the As. A.'. may judge of his progress, and direct his further studies. After a year of probation he may be admitted a Neophyte …
1912 · PDF PAGE 17
PRELIMINARY REMARKS XISTENCE, as we know it, is full of sorrow. To mention only one minor point: every man is a condemned criminal, only he does not know the date of his execution. This is unpleasant for every man. Consequently every man does everything possible to postpone the date, and would sacrifice anything that he has if he could reverse the sentence. Practicallyall religions and all philosophies have started thus crudely, by promising their adherents some such reward as immortality. No religion has failed hitherto by not promising enough;…
1912 · PDF PAGE 47
…l the functions of the body. This has been dealt with in the chapter on Asana. One may, however, mention that some Yogis carry it to the point of trying to stop the beating of the heart. Whether this be desirable or no it would be useless to the beginner, so he Will endeavour to make the breathing very slow and very regular. The rules for this practice are given in Liber CCVI. 31
1912 · PDF PAGE 71
…the elements of control, we may try the resultof gathering together all the powers of the mind, and attempting to focus them on a single point. We know that it is fairly easy for the ordinary educated mind to think without much distraction on a subject in which it is much interested. We have the popular phrase, “ revolving a thing in the mind ”; and as long as the subject is sufficiently complex, as long as thoughts pass freely, there is no great difficulty. So long as a gyroscope is in motion, it remains motionless relatively to its support, and…
1912 · PDF PAGE 53
…inly very remarkable effects are obtained in the way of “magic” powers; whether great spiritual results are equally common is a doubtful point. Persons wishing to study them may re- member that the Sahara desert is within three days of London; and no doubt the Sidi Aissawa would be glad to accept pupils. This discussion of the parallel science of mantra-yoga has led us far indeed from the subject of Pranayama. Pranayama is notably useful in quieting the emotions and appetites; and, whether by reason of the mechanical pressure which it asserts, …
1912 · PDF PAGE 85
…t not one has the courage to push. Let us accept provisionallythis explanation of greatness, and pass it by. Ambition has led us to this point; but we are now interested in the work for its own sake. A most astounding phenomenon has happened to us ; we have had an experience which makes Love, fame, rank, ambition, wealth, look like thirty cents; and we begin to wonder passionately, “What is truth?” The Universe has tumbled about our ears like a house of cards,
1912 · PDF PAGE 58
42 Some of these are only the “virtues” of a slave, invented by his master to keep him in order. The real point of the Hindu “ Yama ” is that breaking any of these would tend to excite the mind. Subsequent theologians have tried to improve upon the teachings of the Masters, have given a sort of mystical importance to these virtues; they have insisted upon them for their own sake, and turned them into puritanism and formalism. Thus “ non-killing,”which originally meant “do not excite yourself by stalking tigers,” has been interpreted to mean tha…
1912 · PDF PAGE 88
… is therefore no ὰpriori reason for rejecting anything on the ground that it is not directly perceived by the senses. To turn to another point. One of our tests of truth is the vividness of the impression. An isolated event in the past of no great importance may be forgotten; and if it be in some way recalled, one may find one’s self asking: “Did I dream it? or did it really happen?” What can never be forgotten is the 22%/?»!?ש”מקThe first death among the people that one loves (for example) would neverbe forgotten; for the first time one would rea…
1912 · PDF PAGE 98
… the “trick ” or “knack” of Dhyana. After a while one can get into that state without preliminary practice; and, looking at it from this point, one seems able to reconcile the two meanings of the word which we debated in the last section. From below Dhyana seems like a trance, an experience so tremendous that one cannot think of anything bigger, while from above it seems merely a state of mind as natural as any other. Frater P., before he had Samadhi, wrote of Dhyana: “ Perhaps as a result of the intense control a nervous storm breaks: this we …
1912 · PDF PAGE 27
… obstacles which you will discover as you go on, and it is proposed to deal with these in turn. But let us pass by for the moment to the point where you are nearing success. In your early struggles you may have found it difficult to conquer sleep; and you may have wandered so far from the object of your meditations without noticing it, that the meditation has really been broken; but much later on, when you feel that you are “getting quite good,” you will be shocked to find a complete oblivion of yourself and