Note[1]
An erroneous opinion seems to prevail to a certain extent amongst the public that, by joining the Theosophical Society, one must necessarily become endowed with wonderful powers. Many think that, after the “mystic rites” of the first initiation have been performed, they are to constitute so many “Messiahs” to be sent into the world to perform miracles and to cure the sick, and they look perhaps with contempt and pity upon the multitude of M. D.’s, who, at a great expense of labour and money and after much trouble, study and vexation of mind, have obtained their sheepskin and title, but only an inferior knowledge; while they, —happy mortals!—at the expense of only ten Rupees, have been suddenly transformed from the condition of ignoramuses into that of paragons of medical wisdom. The sovereign right of a regular M. D. to kill or cure has, as they think, been conferred upon them without putting them to the irksome and tedious labour of developing their intellectual powers sufficiently to deserve that right, and they are going to exercise it, let the consequences be what they may.
The number of such would-be saviours of mankind is very large, and we are continually in receipt of letters, asking for our assistance to spread the practice of “medical magnetism” all over the country; but we shall not only do nothing of the kind, but we shall use our endeavours to discountenance entirely the indiscriminate attempt to use such powers and to denounce quackery in all its departments.
Not many would he so rash as to desire to be put into the office of first engineer on a steamboat, without knowing anything about the powers of steam or the mechanical construction of the engine. Any man in such a position would be afraid that an explosion might follow and that his own valuable head might be blown off. But the medical quack runs no such risk for his head. He thinks that if he fails or makes a mistake, it is the patient who suffers, not he. He probably does not consider the doctrine of Karma of sufficient importance to remember that each cause will have its effect that the curse of his ignorance comes home to roost, and that he will be the chief sufferer in the end. “The Karma of evil, be it great or small, is as certainly operative at the appointed time as the Karma of good,” and if an uneducated mesmerizer injures his victim by a misapplication of his magnetism, or by the impurity of the same, it will be useless for him to excuse himself by saying that he has done evil by intending to do good; because he ought to have known that he was wrong to bring forces into play, the natures of which he did not understand. Man is a more complicated mechanism than a steam engine, and in man the many and more active forces involved in the process of life are far less simple to handle than steam. We have been answered that the “regular profession” generally does not know more than the most common tyro about the laws of what is called “animal magnetism” and therefore it would be useless to turn such patients as wish to be treated by “mesmerism” over to them, and such is the truth. We do not desire to shield prejudice or defend ignorance, whether it is openly practised or whether it hides itself behind the seal of a medical diploma; but we would, warn professional as well as unprofessional ignoramuses, not to meddle with such things, before they have thoroughly studied the subject.
Let therefore those who “feel called” to practise mesmerism, whether they are M. D.’s or ordinary mortals, first study the constitution of man in its different aspects, the real nature and causes of the diseases, which they propose to treat, and the quality of the forces they wish to employ. Let them live such lives as will develop only a healthy and pure magnetism. Let them be of good health, use the proper food and occult training, and above all lead truly moral lives. In short let them be true Theosophists, and the powers which they seek will descend upon them without being “transferred” by the editor or any one else. Their very presence will then act as a charm against disease, they will carry blessings in every house, and their patients will get well without having to submit to a course of ridiculous “passes, blowings and snappings of fingers.” Diseases and doctors’ bills will decrease where such men go, and the blessings of mankind will follow them in their path.
But those who, ignorant of the laws of life and health and perhaps only for the purpose of gratifying their own vanity, or as a sort of amusement, or for gain, attempt indiscriminately to infuse an undesirable or perhaps injurious magnetism into their fellow beings, are entirely in the wrong, and to convince them of this fact is the object of the writer. A man cannot become an Adept by staring at the end of his nose or by standing on one leg for an hour every day; to become such he must first develop his intellectual faculties to their fullest extent. He cannot become a healer by making faces or passes at patients according to the rules laid down in books on Mesmerism, which teach how the “passes” are to be made. To become a real healer, he must first put himself into the possession of a healthy magnetism and then know how to intelligently apply the same. To do the first he must continually lead a life not only of physical but also of mental purity; for evil desires poison the magnetic emanations, impure thoughts pollute them and selfish motives impart deleterious qualities to the same. A wrongly directed or vacillating will gives a wrong direction to their action, and an ignorant mesmeriser may do a great deal of harm. To become a successful magnetic healer, one must be possessed of a Knowledge of the laws of nature, especially such as relate to the cause of human suffering, of sufficient Wisdom to apply the forces with which be deals properly and of an entirely unselfish Love for humanity. We can therefore encourage only those in the practice of medical magnetism, who are properly qualified; and we can only consider those qualified, who, by a long-continued course of study, have obtained a true insight into the nature of disease, and by observation and practice developed sufficient intuition to intelligently apply the same.
An American Buddhist.
Note:
[1] Magnetic Quackery. An American Buddhist [Franz Hartmann] The Theosophist 5, no. 8 (May 1884), 184-185. {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos, by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}