Note:[1]

Ever since the advent of the Theosophical Society in India, the occurrence of “Occult Phenomena” has been a thorn in the flesh of those who do not know how to discriminate properly. Letters have been dropped unexpectedly from the vacant air on apparently trivial occasions, invisible bells have been heard to ring, writing and pictures have been produced from no visible material, jewelry has been received from “no where,” rings and other things have been duplicated and some persons have even received comparatively large amounts of money for the avowed purpose of reimbursing them, for expenses voluntarily incurred, which, although made with the best motives, were the least to say unnecessary.

          On the other hand, many an “honest inquirer” has come to Head-quarters for the purpose of “investigating,” and made the most frantic efforts to obtain a “test,” without any other result than that of being thoroughly disappointed. Some have vainly asked for advice from the “Masters,” and their assistance in what seemed to them most important personal affairs; but which on closer examination were found to be such as had best be left to the consideration of the applicants themselves. Others threatened seriously that they would indeed refuse to believe in the existence of the “Masters,” unless the said “Masters” would come and comply with their conditions; and others again have gone away, having their vanity deeply wounded, and their sense of self-importance stung to the quick by the apparent negligence of the Mahatmas to take any notice of them or grant their requests, and it is but natural that such should denounce the “Occult Phenomena” and cry their ruffled temper to sleep by yelling “humbug,” because only in this way can they express their indignation for having been disappointed and put their Self-conceit to rest.

          Some look at the “Occult Phenomena” in the same manner as the Spiritualist upon the message from the “dear departed one,” as a necessary “test,” and believe that without these phenomena Theosophy could not exist. They therefore extol the “Phenomena” to the skies and wonder why the Mahatmas do not come and perform a public exhibition in their astral bodies, or convince the hardened sceptic by some knockdown argument. Others, who are perhaps of a more gushing and sentimental nature, and are taking a more exalted view of the sanctity of every thing that they expect to come from what they call the “Spiritual World,” denounce the “Phenomena” as frivolous and unnecessary; they say that our “holy cause” is materially injured by such trivial performances which do not at all agree with their ideas of what the nature of such a communication ought to be. All these show a want of proper discrimination.

          “There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.” If we notice a phenomenon, which is not within our every day experience, we are liable to look at it as a “miracle” and invest it with an air of solemnity and importance, which it does not actually deserve, and which was never claimed for it by its authors. Man in his present conditioned state is now just as much in the “Spiritual” World as he ever will be, and that what may be subjective to one, may be objective to another, “hence the natural distinction made by his mind—the analyst of his physical sensations and spiritual perceptions—between an actuality and a fiction,” which mind, being trained by a false education to look at every thing coming from the so called “spiritual world” with the greatest awe and respect and as something “supernatural” and strange, forgets entirely to apply to such things the same manner of reasoning, which it applies to the common occurrences of his every day life, and which is the only advisable one.

          The Mahatmas have often enough assured us that they are not Gods; neither are they anything supernatural. They claim to be only human beings (see Sinnett’s “Occult World”) and we must look upon them as such, although they are far more advanced on the road to perfection than we are, and they therefore know a great many things, which are still unknown to our philosophy. Being men, they have evidently the right to write letters to whomsoever they please and about whatever subject they may choose, and if they have means to do so, without making use of the ordinary methods used for that purpose, and if they can transmit those letters independently of H. M. Mail Service, it would be obviously foolish to offer any captions criticisms on their methods. They may of course write to whom they please and whenever they please and write in what manner and on what subject they may find necessary, useful or convenient. The only thing that is astonishing to new investigators is the manner in which those letters are written and the (to them incomprehensible) way in which they come, and the recipients of such letters therefore consider it sometimes useful to make public the fact of having received such letters, without deeming it necessary to reveal their contents in full, and the astonished new investigator consequently often fails to see the connection between the apparently insignificant character of what little has been shown to him, and the imaginary solemnity and importance with which he invests the supposed “miracles.” Those who see these phenomena every day, look upon them as they do upon other common occurrences. They are not any more awe-struck, when they get a letter from a Mahatma than they are in receiving one from another friend or teacher, and they cease to be astonished about them. If we would apply the same standard to the occurrences of every day, with which we judge these so called “supernatural” phenomena, its absurdity would at once become evident. If I am here in India and have a friend in New York, who would occasionally write me a letter, I would certainly be glad to get a letter from him, partly on account of the information which it would contain, and partly on account of its being a symbol of the continuance of the relations existing between my friend and myself. I would not look upon that letter every time as being a “phenomenon” or go into extasis {sic, ecstasies?} about having the possibility demonstrated to me that letters can be written and that they can be sent from America to India. But if some ignoramus, who had never beard of such things as letters and mails, were present, the mere fact of the arrival of such a letter might appear almost incredible to him, and if to convince him that the letter did come from Now York, I would show him some very unimportant sentence in the said letter, without letting him see the more important and perhaps confidential contents of the same, he would undoubtedly be surprised that such (to him) abnormal and extraordinary “feat” as the sending of a letter from New York to India would imply, should have been performed to accomplish such a small result.

          This comparison may appear ridiculous; but it is certainly true, and the ignorance of the above hypothetical ignoramus does not appear more pitiful to us, than our ignorance about occult matters must appear to those who are in full possession of occult knowledge; and the same line of reasoning may also be applied to the other phases of occult phenomena, which are only “Occult,” because the majority of mankind have not sufficiently progressed to understand the processes by which they are produced.

          Those persons who know neither the contents of letters, said to have been received from the Mahatmas, nor the process by which they have been written or “precipitated,” have no right to complain about a “waste of powers,” etc, about which they know absolutely nothing, and which may exist only in their imagination. They talk about our relation to the Mahatmas not as it really exists, but only as they suppose it to be, and the sooner they accustom themselves to look upon our revered Masters as teachers and friends and wise men, instead of looking at them with the same feeling of awe and superstition and fear with which the Fiji-islander looks upon bis Deity; the sooner will they find that the so-called “Occult Phenomena” are neither intended to convert incredulous sceptics, nor are they produced for the purpose of astonishing the public; but are principally methods of communication or instruction. To appreciate a thing properly and according to its true value, we must neither depreciate its importance, nor over-estimate the same.

          As to those persons who have been disappointed in their expectations of obtaining letters or presents from the Masters, they—unless superior reasons existed for the non-compliance with their demands—have probably only to blame themselves for not having made themselves sufficiently prominent (in a spiritual meaning of the term) to attract the Masters’ attention or to deserve their consideration. No amount of “tests” could possibly convince them, because spiritual things can only be grasped by our rising above the sphere of materiality, and material natures can do that only to such a limited extent as their limited powers will permit. They may perhaps be surprised and startled by some (to them) inexplicable fact; but soon new doubts will arise, new “tests” will be asked for, and the “honest investigator” will only be perplexed and dissatisfied.

          To arrive at the truth or to become worthy of the attention of the Mahatmas, we must rise up to their sphere, instead of attempting the impossible task of dragging them down to our level. They cannot put that into us, which we have not the power to assimilate; they cannot grant any personal favours; because the fact of their doing so would imply an injustice and be incompatible with the high standard of morality necessary to constitute a Mahatma.

          There is a general misunderstanding on the part of new beginners, who “want to become Chelas” and force themselves, upon the attention of the Masters, instead of developing their intellectual faculties and waiting until Chelaship descends to them. High Spiritual development is impossible without intellectual development, and a high degree of intellectual expansion is necessarily followed by a corresponding, development of spirituality. To live in a cave or jungle, to stand on one leg or to stare at the end of one’s nose may develope a state of useless sensitiveness or insanity, but to develope spiritual powers the intellectual faculties mnst be strengthened first, because upon them as a basis rest and from thence grow as a necessary result the Occult powers of the spiritual man.

An American Buddhist.

Note:

[1] Occult Phenomena. An American Buddhist [Franz Hartmann]. The Theosophist 5, no. 7 (April 1884), 165-166. {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos, by Robert Hutwohl, ©2020}