The necessity of practical work. [1]
Much has been said and written about practical occultism, and yet there are few who have more than a very vague idea of the meaning of this expression. By “practical work,” we mean neither the reading of books, nor the study of science, nor the exercise of charity, nor the promulgation of doctrines, nor the ennobling of character, nor the practice of virtue, but the binding of thought. All the former practices are extremely useful and absolutely necessary to arrive at the fountain from which springs the Elixir of Life; but they do not put that elixir into our bodies; we must not merely arrive at the fountain, but drink of it, if we desire the immortal life. All our speaking and writing and speculating about the laws of the spirit may be very useful, and render us more capable of attracting the spirit at some future period of our existence; but unless we unite ourselves with the spirit, the latter will pass away as it came, leaving empty the house in which it had no permanent dwelling. To unite the lower with the higher, to fix the spirit and to give it form within ourselves, is the great work of which the Alchemists speak, and of which the majority of mankind has no knowledge, and in the possibility of which the superficial reasoner does not believe. In Sanskrit this great work is called Yog, which means “to bind”; let us now examine briefly that it is that we wish to bind.
Man lives in an all-surrounding ocean of air and cannot live without it. He breathes the air into his lungs, and in doing so a part of the oxygen of that air is bound up in his body by combining with the particles of his venous blood, oxydizing it and transforming it into arterial blood, while at the same time the blood draws its supply from the chyle, and the chyle is supplied by the food that enters the organs of alimentation and digestion. But simultaneously with the process of assimilation a process of dissolution takes place; the oxygen, absorbed and bound up for a while in the blood, is used up and thrown out of the organism in various ways; if we could retain the power we have gained by breathing and prevent its loss, our bodies would last for ever.
But besides the ocean of material air which surrounds the world, there is another ocean, still more refined and ethereal, and still more impalpable than the air, the ocean of the living spirit, and as the lungs of man breathe the material air, so the heart of man breathes the spirit. Deep in the “heart” of man is the mysterious centre, the miniature counterpart of the great spiritual sun or “God,” sleeping in the vast majority of mankind in an unconscious or semiconscious state, attracting to itself the spiritual air which it needs for its life, and thereby inducing the movements of the material heart and the physiological process of breathing. The “heart” breathes spirit, as the lungs breathe air, and as parts of the all-surrounding ocean of air pass in and out of the physical body of man and help to build up the physical organism of the latter, so also parts of the all-surrounding ocean of spirit penetrate down to the spiritual centre of man, where they may awaken the sleeping germ to life and consciousness, develop the spiritual foetus, and finally produce the full grown regenerated man by the assistance of the nutriment furnished by the refined elements of the human soul. As the physical existence of man depends on his practice of the art of breathing,—an art instinctively practised by every living being; so the spiritual life of man as an individual or person, depends on his acquiring the art of breathing the spirit, to consolidate it and retain it, and to render within himself that which is volatile and transient, fixed and permanent. If the spiritual centre in man becomes united to a certain extent with that which flows to it from the universal ocean of spirit, it will begin to awaken to spiritual consciousness and to see the light of the latter; it will become illuminated with wisdom and attain a real knowledge of the truth, independent of opinion and intellectual speculation; it will be like a sun illuminating the soul, giving light to the “moon” of the intellect, but knowing spiritual truths independently of the latter.
The only power by which this process may be accomplished is the power of thought, and thought only becomes active, powerful and manifest, if it is expressed through the word. The whole of the universe with all its forms, the form of man included, is—according to the assertions of all the sages and illuminated seers—a product of the thought (or “active Imagination”) of the Great First and Supreme Cause, having found expression through His Word (or active Will,) through the action of which it became manifest or revealed. If the counterpart of the Universal Supreme Cause, resting within the centre of the soul of man, awakens to a consciousness of its own existence and powers, it will begin its immortal career as a self-conscious entity, all-powerful and all-wise, whose final destiny is far beyond the limits of our intellectual speculation. It must, however, be remembered that mortal man with all his power of thought, cannot at his pleasure, awaken the divine spiritual germ to consciousness, unless that germ chooses to awaken; the finite cannot control the infinite and cause it to obey its commands; it can only prepare the conditions under which the Eternal One may act; it can only prepare the temple for the residence of the god; it rests with the god, whether or not he chooses to enter.
Practical occultism or Yog consists therefore in the sinking of one’s own thoughts down to the centre of the heart, excluding all other thoughts, which do not serve the purpose in view, and giving it there, expression in a word, a letter or a sign. Gradually such a sign, letter or word may become alive within ourselves, we shall hear it with our interior ear, see it with the interior eye, and perceive it by the interior sense of feeling. Other interior senses will be opened and certain manifestations of an interior power will take place, of which it would not be wise to speak; and the reason why they should not be mentioned is, not that we wish to appear mysterious or to withhold any knowledge from others; but because an untimely knowledge of such effects would act injuriously upon the imagination of those who desire to obtain their results; they might fancy they possessed them, and their fancy would distract their attention and thereby prevent the accomplishment of their object.
And now we come to one of the most important points regarding this subject. The power of the “Word,” if it attains spiritual life, is only comprehended by few, and it is not at all immaterial what thought, sign or word we choose; for by the action of the living word those elements in the human constitution which correspond to its meaning become endowed with life, and if they are such as ought to be kept in subjection, they may become rebellious and destroy reason as well as the health of the body. No man’s constitution is exactly like that of another, and an exercise which may be good and useful for one, may be evil and injurious for another. The beginner therefore requires the guidance of a spiritual instructor, an illuminated practical occultist or in other words an Adept, to instruct him and give him the pass word and sign, until he has his own interior senses opened, and when he may receive further instruction by his own spiritual ego or “Master.”
In India the common word used for the practice of Yog is AUM.[2] How far this word may be useful for all beginners, I am unable to state. In Europe the letters J. A. O. and afterwards the other vowels and consonants are sometimes practised for the same purpose, until they are seen, felt and heard. They then form the key-word to other mysteries, but I do not know whether or not any one has ever succeeded in attaining a high degree of development by following such general rules and without having any guide to give him special instructions.
There are few who can see the necessity of such instruction, few whose Karma affords them an opportunity to obtain it, and fewer still, who having obtained such instructions, have the energy and determination to carry them out to the end. And yet without this practical work how little can we accomplish. Only those can enjoy eternal life, who have come into possession of it by the process of spiritual regeneration. The spiritual life belongs to the spirit alone and is independent of the life which acts in the body. With the first divine and interior thought, penetrating the whole of the interior I and rendering us able to feel the truth, even as from afar, the germ is deposited for the future regenerated spiritual man. If this germ is continually supplied with appropriate food by a continuous flow of thought and goodwill, it may become self-conscious and develop. “Then the new man may grow and the old one die; for the new one has seen the light and begins to love it.”[3] Without this regeneration we shall, at the time when the soul[4] separates itself from the body) again enter the state of the formless, to begin the struggle for self-consciousness and individuality in some future incarnation; ennobled perhaps by merits acquired during the past or weighted by new evil Karma, while those who have attained spiritual self-consciousness and self-knowledge will be free from the bonds of matter.
What is man, but a centre around which organized substance has crystallized, and to which continually flow and from which radiate the invisible principles of the universe? He is continually subject to change and remains not for two moments of time exactly the same. Only that which is absorbed by and consolidated with his organism belongs to him and forms a part of his body while it remains with it; only those spiritual elements which are absorbed by his spirit and united with it will belong to his spiritual body and form a part of it in the future. Having attained spiritual substance and spiritual life, he will no more require a physical form, his power of perception will be incomparably more perfect than that of the physical senses; his consciousness will be far higher and penetrate to the centre of everything, he will not need to speculate with opinions, for he will possess real knowledge and he will be a Theosophist, because he will be one with Wisdom and Truth, and live in the Light. But there is still another and very important reason why this practice of practical occultism should be undertaken by those who desire spiritual progress. We are told that those who wish to become perfect and pure must get rid of all impurities, selfish desires, vices and passions. This is easier said than done; for how can we get rid of a desire for that which we desire ? Man is a product of will and imagination and he cannot change his will, imagination and desire, unless he has the will and desire to change it. There are two ways in which an evil inclination, evil desires and vices may be changed. The first way is to experience the suffering which they produce. An evil desire produces evil acts, and evil acts are productive of suffering and repentance. Some people follow this road. It is a long and dangerous road and often leads to perdition; for the gratification of sensual pleasures is followed by a remembrance of the pleasures experienced and causes a desire for their repetition, and it may not be before the close of our life that the suffering which must necessarily follow is experienced. There is another road more sure, nearer and safer: Nature suffers no vacuum; we cannot eradicate an evil unless we replace it by good. It will be useless to attempt to pump bad air out of a vessel, unless we can fill it with better air; and if we fill it with water, the air will come out without any effort to expel it. Evil desires will exist as long as they are nourished by evil thoughts, and evil thoughts will exist in the mind as long as there are any evil inclinations to attract them. If we can send only good thoughts down to the centre of the soul, the evil desires will soon be starved and die. This is, however, extremely difficult to accomplish, as long as we are controlled by our thoughts and do not obtain the power of controlling them ourselves; nor can we obtain control over our thoughts as long as we allow them to flow into our minds in an irregular manner. Only the Adept thinks that which he chooses, the average man thinks that which comes into his mind. If any one doubts this, let him attempt to keep a single thought in his mind only for a few minutes, without allowing another thought to enter, and he will soon experience the difficulty. But in this practice of Yog the student receives a certain word or sentence, which exactly suits his condition, and if he seriously applies himself to this work, letting his thought continually dwell upon this word, unwelcome and inappropriate thoughts will soon cease to be attracted to him, the evil elements of his soul will die off, and if he attains the power of inner vision, he may even see the processes going on in the organization of his soul and witness the decomposition and putrefaction of its evil parts and excrescences, in t he same manner as we may see a wart or a cancer on the physical body decay and drop off; until at last when all these evil parts have perished, there will be nothing left to attract such evil thoughts, which, like birds of prey, assemble where the odour of a carcass attracts them, and instead of animal elementals, the powers of light will surround the purified soul, in whose centre rests eternal life, peace and happiness.
Motion lives in the circumferences but in the centre is rest. The surface is the realm of illusions, but in the depths of the soul exists knowledge. The periphery is surrounded by clouds and darkness, but in the centre is light. There, the spirit breathes upon the soul and there is the kingdom which is the inheritance of those who choose to be the elect. From this centre comes the light and the life which pervades the soul and the physical body. The soul is the circle formed by thought around the spiritual centre; but the power producing and fixing thought radiates from that centre and in it are all powers united. In this centre is the sum of your spiritual world; its light is the Truth, its heat is the love for the good and the beautiful. The organ for light is Faith, based upon knowledge and experience; the organ for heat is the heart. Let them act together in harmony, and you will obtain life, consciousness and power by the process of spiritual regeneration. All that is of real value to know, rests in the depths of the soul. Learn to ask at the centre, and you will receive the true answer. In the average man the light burning in the sanctuary is not perceived, although its heat may be felt. The voice sounding from the interior is not distinctly understood, although it may be heard through the thick walls of the semi-material soul like the ringing of bells at a great distance; but as the power of feeling, in the physical organism, formed the foundation for the development of the senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, etc., so likewise the power of intuition will, in the growing spiritual organism, develop the inner sight, hearing, smell and taste. These things will not be understood nor believed by those who reason merely from the material plane; neither are they written for the purpose of convincing such people; but to those who seriously desire to know the truth, the above hints may be useful, to lead them to a path, where they will find still more light.
Notes:
[1] Occultism in Germany. The Necessity of Practical Work. F. Hartmann [Franz Hartmann, M.D.] The Theosophist 8, no. 86 (November 1886), 82-87 {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos, by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}
[2] In Five Years of Theosophy there is an article about this word and its significance, but not having the book, I cannot refer to it. (page 540).
[3] John iii. 20.
[4] The higher parts of the 5th principle.