[Wahre Aufklärung über transzendentale Dinge]
Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
We are used to seeing that when the snow melts in the mountains in spring, floods soon follow. First here, now there, a clear brook winds its way down over the heap and moistens the meadows and vineyards, but soon it becomes a rushing stream that carries all sorts of rubbish with it, devastates its banks and, when its springs have dried up, again disappears, leaving nothing but morass. Such floods also take place in the course of the spiritual development of mankind. The same law regulates within as without; in the spiritual as in the material. If we hang a ball of lead by a thread and swing it, it will not only return to where it started, but beyond it, and then again to the opposite end of the way; until, after much traveling back and forth, it comes to rest at the center. Every action is followed by a corresponding reaction. History bears witness to this.
A period of superstition, religious wars and witch trials of the Middle Ages was followed by a period of disbelief and the most crass materialism, before whose proponents the world bowed on its stomach and worshiped them as its idols. But the consequences which followed from their heresies led to such irrational extremes that the influx dwindled. There arose, as a counter-current, Spiritism, which was useful to the world in that it bore witness to the existence of a transcendental world, and brought evidence, which could suffice even the most stubborn doubter and scoffer, that if a man at death lost his earthly body leaves, that’s why it’s far from over with him. This gave blind materialism its deathblow; but with spiritism superstition also found its way in again, because the laws of nature on which spiritistic phenomena are based were still little known. Although spiritism brought much benefit, restoring religious sentiment which some had almost lost as a result of their rationalistic views, and reviving in men the hope of life after death, it also brought with it great dangers itself; for now thousands began to practice idolatry with the spirits of the dead, and instead of true self-reliance in the divine power within each, substituting their unhesitating recourse to invisible “spiritual guides” whom they did not know that sometimes a devil hides behind the mask of an angel. They did not know the forces which set tables in motion for them, produced knocking sounds, etc., and made communications from the spirit realm, which, despite all the unctuous phrases used in them, could be lies and deceptive as well as true. With the spread of spiritualism came an increase in superstition and fanaticism. It was now a question of directing spiritualism in the right direction by studying the laws on which its phenomena were based, removing the veil of mystery which hung over their causes, exposing the phantoms and giving rational explanations for spiritualistic phenomena.
This came about through the theosophical movement introduced by H. P. Blavatsky, which resulted in a revival of occult science, then known only to a few initiates. The key to this higher knowledge was found in the knowledge of the sevenfold constitution of the micro- and macrocosm. First it became known that there is another invisible world or “astral plane” besides our world, which has its inhabitants just like the visible world, and that every human being, in addition to his visible body, also has an ethereal, invisible one underlying the physical body known as the “astral body” [etheric body] through which he can communicate with the inhabitants of the astral world (the so-called “spirits”).
As useful as this knowledge can be when it is put to good use, it also brought great new dangers; because not everyone is ready for the use of psychic powers and the spread of occult teachings which has opened the door to magic, witchcraft and the art of the devil. There is only one “magic,” namely the use of spiritual (magical) powers. When they are used for the benefit of mankind, this is called “white magic”; when used for selfish ends and to the detriment of others, it is “black magic” which brings ruin to the one who practices it. But how few who aspire to become “magicians” are there today, free from selfishness and are possessed with self-conceit. Each reader may imagine for himself the consequences that would arise if everyone could magically make their neighbor sick or kill them.
There is no art in getting in touch with the inhabitants of the astral world, for it is the deepest of them (elemental spirits, animals, remains of the dead, suicides, criminals, devils in human form, etc.) that are most easily accessible and available at all times; but he who does not know the “spirits” and cannot control them is easily possessed and controlled by them. Not only in the insane asylums and penitentiaries, but also outside of them there are many such possessed people of all possible degrees; from those who are just harmless fools to the lust killers or those driven to suicide by astral influences.
The more potent a remedy, the more harmful it is as a poison if used for ill-will. The ancient sages had good reasons for hiding their occult secrets from the world and sharing them only with their tried disciples. Yes, there used to be the death penalty for betraying such secrets, and rightly so; for whoever gives a child poison to play with only exposes it to the danger of bodily death; but whoever helps an ignorant, selfish person to acquire magical powers is exposing him to the loss of his immortal soul, to spiritual death.
If we look around the world today we see thousands eager to acquire occult powers to use for their own personal gain and the detriment of others; People who seek to learn witchcraft at any cost, even the cost of losing their souls, and on the other hand we see a multitude of false prophets around who take advantage of the ignorance and credulity of such supposed “truth seekers,” misleading them and gaining an advantage! Occult secrets, prudently guarded by the wise, are trumpeted from housetops for pennies today, and the most sacred things are bartered in public markets. Especially unfavorable are certain injunctions originating in India, which, though useful to the few who are prepared for them, are highly injurious to the great majority, who use them improperly. Warnings are of little use either, for curiosity is an instinct that is difficult to overcome, and in the end everyone thinks that these warnings are good for others but unnecessary for themselves.
The consequences of this ignorance are already making themselves felt. Insanity and also the number of crimes from psychological causes (possession, hypnotism, telepathic suggestion, etc.) are increasing alarmingly, nervousness, hysteria, mediumism are claiming more victims every day, and the awareness of true human dignity (in other words, “faith to the deity in mankind”), which is the basis of all spiritual development and all “occult advancement,” seems to be disappearing more and more.
What then is the right way to attain true enlightenment about transcendental things?
The path to this is the path of self-knowledge, because everything that is not based on your own insight and experience but only on hearsay is not true knowledge and is always subject to doubt. But by self-knowledge is the realization of one’s higher transcendental self, and this path is described in the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible and thousands of other religious scriptures. It consists in raising the higher self-awareness inherent in every human being, whereby the inner life is awakened and the senses of the inner human being are opened up. The first step to this is the inward purification of the soul away from self-importance, selfishness and lust for personal gain in relation to transcendental things, and no man can take the second step without having taken the first. If you try to jump, you will fall on your face. Whoever wants to shine in his own light, the light of the spirit cannot shine in him. Whoever wants to snatch something for himself in spiritual things cannot reveal the will of his God in him. Therefore the Sage Sankaracharya [Śaṅkarācārya] says that for the attainment of Self or God-realization, the ability to discern the true immortal Self from the transitory self is the first condition.
In order to attain this ability, the seeker after truth should open his heart, i.e., feeling, wanting and thinking, pointing to the higher and acting accordingly. He should always have the highest ideal of all humanity before his eyes, carry it in his heart and seek to realize it within himself. When he becomes conscious of his transcendental existence, the things of the transcendental sphere of existence also become clear to him, and the consciousness of his higher Ego raises him above the delusion of self, without his leaving the material ground in which he is rooted.
But whoever, driven by selfishness, self-conceit and greed, opens his gates to the lying spirits of the astral plane, exposes himself to great dangers and will be deceived by them. If his thinking and striving is directed towards the lower astral forces, then in the end he still loses the feeling for the higher forces. That is why it is also written in the Bible: “Whoever has (wisdom) will be given to him in abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken away from him.” Many who would like to raise themselves to Adeptship out of their own power lose what little common sense they have.
It is easy to study books on transcendental things and to do spiritistic experiments, but the path to real knowledge is difficult, for self-knowledge is born of self-control. No man can generate the light within himself; he can only strive to establish the conditions under which the light of truth can be revealed in him. This happens through the love of truth. He who loves himself and his personal gain more than the truth is worshiping an idol of his own making and does not demand the truth. But to those who love the truth above all things, it reveals itself in its greatness, purity and glory. The best way to gain clarity about transcendental things is to study them from the spiritual point of view, and the main thing is spiritualization. “Seek first of all the kingdom of God (the kingdom of truth within you and without you), and everything else will be given you (by the Masters of Wisdom).” Not everyone is comfortable with that.
Note
[1] True Enlightenment About Transcendental Things. [Wahre Aufklärung über transzendentale Dinge. Franz Hartmann, M.D. Zentralblatt für Okkultismus 3, no. 1 (July 1909), 3-7] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}